Dartford Borough Council News

Councillor Mrs Ann Allen was elected as Mayor of Dartford for 2012/13 at a formal ceremony at Dartford’s Civic Centre on Wednesday 9 May.

Councillor Allen was also Mayor in 1993/4 and is looking forward to the year ahead, “I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the role of Mayor for the second time, meeting lots of people and supporting as many local groups and events as I can.”

The Mayor has appointed Miss Kim Cooper to be her Escort. Miss Cooper has worked tirelessly alongside Councillor Allen to support her work with local voluntary groups. Councillor Mrs Patsy Thurlow has been appointed Deputy Mayor. She will be escorted by Mr Denzil Reynolds.

The Mayor has chosen three charities to support during the coming year:
- Alzheimers & Dementia Support Services
- The New Yorkers Club
- The Mayor’s Fund for Young People

First elected to Dartford Borough Council in 1987, Councillor Allen served as a member for Wilmington West ward. Following changes to the Borough ward boundaries in 2002, she was elected to represent Joydens Wood ward – the area she still represents.

As well as serving on Dartford Borough Council, Councillor Allen has been a member of Wilmington Parish Council since 1981 and was elected onto Kent County Council as the Conservative Member for Dartford South West in 1997.

Councillor Allen has three children and has also been a foster carer. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and spending time with her eight grandchildren.

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Former Dartford Borough Councillor Ivor Jones DL has been awarded an honorary Aldermanship at a special meeting of the Council on Monday 23 April 2012.

During the ceremony, many Councillors spoke in praise of Ivor and his achievements during his long period of service to the Council. Councillor John Muckle (Lab) said, “We had a great working relationship and still have a great friendship. I’d like to congratulate and thank him for his service to the District, Borough and County Councils. It’s a great honour for us to award Ivor this aldermanship.”

Leader of the Council, Jeremy Kite, added, “Communities need people like Ivor. He has given immense public service to the Borough of Dartford and he is an inspiration to us all.”

Ivor Jones DL held a position in Local Government for more than 50 years. He was elected to Stone Parish Council in 1955, and held a position there until his retirement in 2011.

Following the local government reorganisation in 1973, he was elected to the new Dartford District Council for the Stone South Ward and held the position of Leader of the District Council from 1974 to 1982.

In 1995, he was reappointed as the Leader of the Borough Council – a position he held until 1998. Ivor remained an elected member of Dartford Borough Council until he retired in 2007.

During his term as Leader of the Council, construction began on Europe’s largest shopping centre – Bluewater. Ivor’s retirement as Leader came as the construction was nearing its end. As a special arrangement after all his involvement in the project and as a thank-you from the new Leader, Ivor was allowed to hold the position of Mayor of Dartford for an extended term between 1998 and 2000. This enabled him to attend Bluewater’s opening ceremony. He was also appointed as Deputy Mayor for 2002-2003.

He was elected as the Kent County Council Member for Dartford South West in 1993 until 1997 and 2001 until 2009.

In May 2001, Ivor was also appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, a position from which he has now retired.

Ivor was born on Christmas Day 1927, and is married to Dulcie and together they have two daughters, Rachel and Ceinwen, and several grandchildren.

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Dartford residents are invited to join the Mayor of Dartford Councillor Eddy Lampkin at his Civic Service to mark the end of his term of office.

The service will take place on Sunday 22 April 2012 at 3.30pm at Wilmington Christian Fellowship, Broad Lane, Wilmington.

Councillor Lampkin said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my year as Mayor for Dartford and am quite sad to see it draw to a close. I’ve met so many people from Dartford’s communities in the past year and it’s been great to see the fantastic work they do to make the Borough a better place.”

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A childhood friend of the Mayor of Dartford is putting his best foot forward this weekend to raise funds for the Mayor’s Charity Appeal.

Mayor of Dartford Councillor Eddy Lampkin and Graeme Maidment met when they were just eleven years old and have been good friends ever since.

Graeme is running the London Marathon on Sunday 22 April, with the money he raises being split equally between the Mayor’s four chosen charities – Arrow Riding School, DGSM yourChoice, chYps and Cherished Memories.

It’s the first time that Graeme has run the London Marathon and he’s hoping to complete it within four hours and 30 minutes.

Councillor Lampkin said, “It’s great that Graeme has chosen to support my Charity Appeal. The money he raises will greatly benefit the four charities and I wish him the best of luck in his Marathon challenge. I’m gutted that I can’t be there to cheer him on but I know his family will be there to offer him encouragement.”

To sponsor Graeme, please send a cheque made payable to ‘The Mayor’s Charity Appeal’ to The Mayor’s Parlour, Dartford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent DA1 1DR.

You can also donate to chYps at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GraemeMaidment

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Dartford and Sevenoaks Councils have embarked on a venture to provide a joint Environmental Health service.

The partnership, which goes live at the beginning of April, will save the councils a combined £1.7 million over five years.

As well as saving money, the larger environmental health team will bring greater capacity, and resilience, and customers will still receive the same high quality service as they do currently. Residents will continue to contact their own council for environmental health services, such as food safety and noise complaints.

The new team will be based at Dartford’s Civic Centre, with a satellite office in Sevenoaks.

Dartford and Sevenoaks Councils already have a number of successful partnerships in place, including an award-winning revenues and benefits team. The councils have also shared an environmental health manager since 2008.

Cllr Pat Coleman, Dartford’s Cabinet member for frontline services, said, “This latest service partnership with Sevenoaks District Council demonstrates Dartford’s commitment to make economies in the cost of its services wherever possible. I am sure this joint venture will not only amalgamate a lot of specialist expertise in environmental matters but also further improve our environmental services to the public.”

Cllr Elaine Bracken, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet member for environmental health, said, “We are committed to continually improving our services whilst making them as efficient as possible. This partnership will increase our expertise and knowledge, provide a better service for our residents and reduce our running costs helping us to freeze our Council Tax for a second successive year.”

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Former Dartford Borough Councillor Terry Smith has been awarded an honorary Aldermanship at a special meeting on Monday 26 March 2012.

Mayor of Dartford, Councillor Eddy Lampkin, chaired the meeting, where he and fellow Councillors spoke in praise of Terry Smith who had been an elected Councillor for over 40 years.

Leader of the Council, Jeremy Kite, said, “It’s a great honour for the Council to award this Aldermanship to Terry Smith in recognition of his service to the Borough. On a personal note, I would like to thank Terry for the immeasurable amounts of support and advice he has given me personally and the Council as a whole.”

Fellow Heath Ward Member Councillor Patsy Thurlow said, “I had known Terry for a number of years before 1999 when we both stood as candidates in Heath Ward. It was good to have someone who was ‘older and wiser’ to help me through my early days as Councillor. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honour and I’d like to thank Terry for all his help, support and friendship over the years.”

Terence Charles Harry Smith was born in the Heath Ward of Dartford and was elected on to the former Borough Council to represent the same Ward in 1965.

He became Mayor in 1969 and was appointed as Alderman for Heath Ward in the following year.

During his term as Mayor, Terry signed Dartford’s first Town Twinning Charter – twinning the Borough with Hanau in Germany. This partnership is still in place today.

With a special interest in planning, he held several positions within the Council, including Chairman of the Borough’s Planning and Transport Committee from 1987 to 1995, and Chairman of the Development Control Board following his re-election in 1999. Terry remained a member of the Development Control Board until he retired from the Council in 2011.

Terry studied Physics at Imperial College. Following his degree, he started his teaching career at St Mary’s Grammar School, Sidcup. After several promotions and the school amalgamating with St Joseph’s Grammar School, Abbey Wood in 1981, he became Headmaster. He retired from the post in 1994.

In his retirement, he has held several roles within the health sector including lay chairman for the Kent and Medway Health Authority.

Terry lives with his wife Peggy. Many members of his family were present at Monday night’s meeting to see him honoured for his “eminent services rendered to the Council”.

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Do you run a food shop, restaurant, pub or similar? Then you could be winning new customers simply by demonstrating your commitment to good hygiene standards.

Customers like to shop in premises that can prove they have good standards of hygiene – and they are even keener when it comes to eating out.

That’s why Dartford Borough Council is committed to the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme that gives every food retailer and restaurant a score out of five for its standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

We are supporting this scheme not just because it protects the public by ensuring premises across our Borough meet high standards, but also because we believe it can help you win new business.

As a food business, you are already legally required to meet hygiene regulations, so why not make the most of your efforts by telling existing – and potential – customers how well you have done?

This scheme was launched in Dartford in November 2010 with the businesses at Bluewater being the first to be inspected in the Borough. The scheme was successful and was rolled out across the Dartford area from April 2011. The scheme provides nationally-recognised ratings to make it easier for the public to judge which businesses are paying most attention to good hygiene.

Food businesses that work hard to achieve a good score – particularly those who meet the top standard and receive a score of five – should be making the most of their success.

The scheme is not optional and over time we will inspect every food shop and eatery in the borough. After inspection, we provide shops and restaurants certificates and window stickers highlighting how well they have done and we hope businesses will display them.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is being introduced across the country by the Food Standards Agency. The aim is to reduce food-related illnesses, which currently affect an estimated one million people a year in the UK and lead to 500 deaths.

A single, nationwide scheme means that the rating will have the same significance to consumers whether in Dartford or Derby, and will allow all businesses to be judged by the same criteria, wherever they are based.

We hope businesses will show their rating on their own websites and in promotional material. Ratings – and other useful information – can be found at www.food.gov.uk/ratings

For further information on food hygiene and the operation of the FHRS in Dartford please visit www.dartford.gov.uk/foodsafety

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