Faversham is a small town facing massive changes. Every town, village and city is being bombarded with new development but Faversham is under pressure from almost every direction: To the East, plans for the UK’s biggest solar plant are being pushed forward. To the South, a whole new town is proposed and to the West, developers are already busy building hundreds of new houses.
Meanwhile local health provision is under constant threat and the long promised Creek swing bridge in the heart of the town is showing scant signs of speedy installation. What are our councillors prioritising? How are they trying protect the town we all want to live in? How are they fighting for its heart and soul? How are they helping?
Are they constantly defending Faversham’s corner? Are they driving the debate on the solar farm? Are they opposing the threatened new town? Are they arguing the case for our Cottage Hospital and accessible routes to a nearby A and E? Are they campaigning for local bus services? Train services? Are they demanding affordable town centre retail spaces? Cleaner air? Are they planning for climate change (likely to threaten our low lying town sooner rather than later, as anyone who watches David Attenborough will know)?
Or are our town councillors mired so deep in a self-inflicted spiral of debt – the result of an ill-conceived back room decision to turn a disused shop into its new offices – that they have little time to focus on the challenges facing Faversham? Faversham has boasted many champions who have battled to keep its unique spirit alive. Thanks to them, our town remains a gem of a place to live. Today, many people dedicate their time, energy and passion to keep Faversham special and build a future to be proud of.
Meanwhile our Town Council has stagnated. Increasingly self-serving and inward looking in recent years, it routinely ignores the genuine concerns of the community, instead wasting its time and our money on preposterous vanity projects nobody asked for.
In our first issue, we investigate the most disastrous of these, with an in-depth report on the true costs of the council’s new offices. Some of the facts and figures we’ve unearthed may surprise you.
Faversham desperately needs a paper about our town – not Canterbury, Sittingbourne or Herne Bay – willing to do some serious digging into how our council tax money is spent. In future, we aim to bring you regular print and online coverage of local issues, news, features, reviews music, arts, restaurants, shopping, drinking, humour and events. We’ll print a letters page and welcome contributions and ideas. If you have a story to tell, or something interesting to say about the fascinating town we call home, please get in touch.
Faversham Eye will be free and contain no paid advertising. Committed to accurate reporting, it will take no particular political stance. We aim to celebrate the good, call out the bad and keep you in the picture about everything in between.