See-Saw campaigning

An update on the Grace Hill Library campaign to date has been published recently: it shows the range of activity and the powerful support of the local community.

As a result, politicians ranging from Damien Collins MP to local Folkestone Town Councillors, representing the Grace Hill Central Folkestone Ward, the District Council Leader, Jim Martin and others have expressed their support.

We have also finally broken the wall of silence at County Hall.

Cllr Peter Oakford has now written in response to a letter signed off by some 35 local community groups – perhaps with a slight prompt from an advertisement placed in the local press!
His reply sets out the KCC position – remarkably candidly: the well-known lack of funding and a policy of reactive maintenance put in place in 2011 – 12 years ago – to save money during what was of course during the years of austerity.

We’re pleased to have opened some initial dialogue.

There is no question that this has resulted from what at times has been a very difficult nut to crack: requiring enormous amounts of energy from a hard-working campaign team; collecting over 3000 petition signatures; arranging protest marches; requesting meetings with local councillors and others; lobbying County Hall; providing light entertainment and informative events; speaking with local people for weeks on end in the Town Centre; working with the media; taking legal advice and using every means possible to get the attention of our elected representatives.

Actually: it shouldn’t be this hard.

We have ramped up the pressure, with some key developments now suggesting we have reached a pivotal moment.
A legal challenge has been issued; Freedom of Information requests have been submitted.
And now the County Council has had to respond. It’s a start.

But now we need to move forward…

Hence the ‘See-Saw” metaphor.
We understand the challenges and we want to work with Kent County Council and other bodies to find solutions.
Perhaps it’s moving towards a point where we have achieved the goal of saying: “We’re not going anywhere!”
Now we need to see further signs of movement, with politicians preparing to speak directly to and with local people.

Rumour, misinformation, imagination and all the rest – have led to ideas circulating about what might happen next.

There is a real risk of moving irrevocably towards a neat temporary solution of a new location in the Town Centre – such as Folca – that over time becomes accepted as permanent. You can easily see this moving on to a disposal scenario.

There is a real risk that the District Council will come under political and financial pressure over this – overlooking the reality that this would involve significant outlay, move a community facility further away from needy and disadvantaged people.

There is a real risk that local people become even more cynical and see politicians as failing to serve our community.
So we don’t want to end up in a situation which shows a lack of imagination, a lack of effort to find a solution that works.
The campaign group – and the local community need some answers – and that requires a conversation.

So let’s talk.

Let’s talk about

• Re-visioning the use of this classic building as a place at the heart of our community: all about information
  • Adapting The Place Plan to become a People Plan – realising the potential of social capital in our community
  • Access to IT services: jointly commissioned advice and support services;
  • Community projects and voluntary sector activity; training activity; workshops and skills building sessions
  • Enterprise hub advice and activity; visitor information and heritage activity;
  • Linking the building to the Town Centre with re-worked roadways and a pedestrian zone on Grace Hill
  • Locating an information point on the corner opposite the Library on Shellon Street, next to the new bus station
  • Growing the hospitality sector economy by building strength in depth and relating this to other sectors, eg Travel
  • Growing the creative sector economy, working with the CF team – The Cube; Quarterhouse and Glassworks
  • Growing new elements to the local economy: cooperatives; partnerships; hi-tech and AI
• Finding funding – by bringing more revenue from these strands of partnership working – into the building
• Securing capital – in the form of using related grants well: Section 106, Community Infrastructure Levy, Levelling Up
  • Establishing a construction community partnership: local architects; builders; scaffolders; tradespeople – to help

In the last analysis: this is a public service: Kent County Council must make the running and show willing to engage.

We’re waiting and we are willing to bring energy, time and pragmatism to the table.