Ashford Borough Council

On 15^th June 2015, an explosion in a property in Oak Tree Road and a subsequent fire damaged neighbouring flats and disrupted in an instant the lives of residents both in the eight Ashford Borough Council owned homes and those living nearby.

At the time the Council worked quickly going well above its statutory duty to provide displaced residents with support and advice and give financial assistance for any immediate items they needed. It also paid the equivalent of B&B costs to those staying with family and friends at the time and, where it was possible, possessions were recovered and stored free of charge until new properties were identified and secured. (more…)

We can all appreciate using clean and pleasant toilet facilities when we are out and about, whether we are shopping in town or visiting a restaurant or café. That’s why Ashford Borough Council is working with local businesses to improve the provision of safe and hygienic public toilet facilities in the town centre.

The Community Toilet Scheme sees local businesses working in partnership with the council to open up their toilet facilities to the public free of charge. We’ve teamed up with town centre businesses including shops, cafes and restaurants to provide clean, safe and accessible toilets for Ashford shoppers, residents and visitors.

In exchange for opening their toilets for public use, businesses are paid a small annual fee. The amount granted depends on the level of facilities the business can offer. Those that can provide multiple male and female toilets, baby changing facilities and wheelchair accessible toilets will receive the highest grant.

The council will also provide each business in the scheme with a window sticker to display in their shop front. The stickers will indicate the business is participating in the scheme and specify the type of facilities available. There will also be a dedicated area on the council website providing details of participating businesses with links to their websites in due course and short term details will be displayed on the existing public toilet buildings.

The facilities in Vicarage Lane will close as the Community Toilet Scheme is introduced into the town centre. The New Rents toilets will remain open and will be included in the review of the new scheme in due course. Vandalism and antisocial behaviour is a major concern in these public toilets which results in unplanned closures and inconvenience to the public. The transition of phasing out the town centre toilets and joining the Community Toilet Scheme allows the public to have access to a variety of pleasant, clean, and safe toilets in the heart of the town centre.

The public toilet provisions currently close at 5pm, whereas businesses in the Community Toilet Scheme are able to keep their facilities open for longer.

Ashford is following in the footsteps of dozens of local authorities nationwide who have already successfully introduced the scheme into their towns including Maidstone Borough Council.

Visitors will be able to find out which toilets in Ashford town centre are in the scheme via the council website in due course and via notices on existing public toilet buildings in the short term.

Ashford Borough Council 19 May 2016
www.ashford.gov.uk/news/improved-toilet-facilities-for-shoppers-in-ashford-town-centre-19th-may-1359/

Ashford Borough Council has set out how it will take a robust, firm but fair stance to those who deliberately flout controls, or seek to deceive or defraud the council. The message is clear – the council will be targeting the minority who spoil things for the majority.

Last week (Thursday 12^th May) the Cabinet endorsed taking a tougher stance on enforcement and compliance by approving an overall policy and a specific one which focuses on planning enforcement.

The council’s five year corporate plan includes a commitment to ensuring that enforcement powers are used effectively and to strengthening the approach to enforcement by taking a tougher line on compliance.

The Council’s Enforcement Policy sets out the council’s general approach where there is enforcement responsibility. It sets out the fair and proportionate approach the council will take but also makes it clear the seriousness with which it will pursue those who knowingly and deliberately flout controls, or seek to deceive or defraud the council.

Cabinet also endorsed The Local Enforcement Plan for Planning which relates specifically to planning enforcement and provides a user friendly guide on what constitutes a breach of control, how to report such a breach, the various remedies available to the council and the performance standards residents can expect the council to work to.

The council will follow Government advice which encourages councils to try to resolve issues by negotiation as this is very often the quickest and most effective way to resolve problems. However, the council will not hesitate to take formal legal action, where there is deliberate disregard for the proper observance of rules and regulations.

But where negotiation fails, or individuals deliberately or persistently ignore the rules and carry out development that seriously impacts on the wider community, then there should be no doubt that the council will take formal legal action whenever possible.

This is the first of a range of enforcement policies which will be brought before Cabinet in due course.

In parallel with this work the council’s website is being reviewed to provide a user friendly ‘report it’ function so members of the community can report issues quickly and easily.

Ashford Borough Council 18 May 2016
www.ashford.gov.uk/news/taking-a-firm-but-fair-approach-to-enforcement-18th-may-1358/

Ashford Borough Council are going to consult residents on proposed changes to their Council Tax Support Scheme.

The Council says that supporting the most vulnerable residents while encouraging those residents of working-age to return to work if they are able to do so – are the underlying principles behind the localised council tax support scheme in Ashford.

Ashford Borough Council was required to introduce a localised council tax support scheme in 2013 as part of the government’s wider welfare reforms. It has seen some people contribute towards their council tax bills for the first time.

After four years of very minimal change to its scheme, the proposals for the financial year beginning on 1^st April 2017 are more wide-ranging and cabinet members last night approved a period of formal consultation from 6^th June – 29^th August to ask existing claimants and other interested stakeholders for their views on the revised scheme.

With public-serving organisations facing shortfalls in funding from central government, Ashford Borough Council has been asked by the major precepting authorities (such as Kent County Council and Kent Police) to consider revising the scheme so that the money available to fund the services provided by them, as well as those provided by the council itself, stretches further. (more…)