Sandacres We understand that building of the 35 houses is set to commence subject to finalising the Section 106 agreements as the final stage in obtaining planning permission. Section 106 agreements are set up between the council, developer or landowner when a planning application is assessed. The council identifies the type of enhancements that are needed to make sure the local development will boost the local area, if permission is granted. This can range from making sure the development has the right amount of open spaces, to building a set amount of affordable houses within the development, to ensuring the right infrastructure, such as roads, is installed. There may also be some outstanding issues over highways (surely the main issue if the new residents take to parking along Upnor Road), but we have been unable to obtain any further information. Riverside Waterfront Project As most of you will know, a major face-list is planned for the waterfront in Lower Upnor (Medway planning no. mc2009/0760). The first phase concerns the Green and detailed plans can be seen here. Regular Quizzing A reminder that Kwintessential Ken hosts a quiz every Monday evening in The Pier public house, starting at 8.45pm. Entry for the quiz is £2 per person, and at the end an optional £1 ticket will give you a chance of winning the Bubble-Buster jackpot prize and a jumbo bag of sweets. Mobile Library The mobile library visits Upnor on alternate Mondays between 9.45am and 10.20am. The libra.ry bus normally stops near The Pier and visits on those Mondays which follow a blue box (recycling) collection the preceding Friday. Is There A Local Historian In Upnor? Do you know about Upnor’s history or indeed local history in general? If so, would you be prepared to give a talk on the subject? Please contact Debbie Charleston on 07534 964102. In The Future… Dr. Derek Clarke will be giving a talk with supper at Medway Yacht Club at 7pm on 9th July 2010 on his career in pathology. Other events under consideration include talks by a bomb-disposal expert and a speech therapist. Dog Fouling This continues to be a problem for all, including responsible dog owners concerned about their reputation. Ir is not the dogs or only visitors who are to blame. Please clear up after your dog. Car Parking Thanks to the planning regulations only requiring that garages be sized to accommodate Austin A40s and Morris Minors, modern housing developments usually lack adequate car parking. While the difficulties are thus recognised, residents are asked to avoid parking on double yellow lines as this is causing access problems for others - don’t wait for your car to be scraped! New PCSOs Our previous PCSO Sean Brooks has moved on to Hoo, and Upnor now welcomes PCSO Mandeep Clare who can be reach at the police station on this number 01634 792346. Local History Upper Upnor’s first known inhabitant was a straight-tusked elephant who died on Tower Hill about 100,000 years ago, at a time when our climate and landscape were tropical. The skeleton was put on display at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington around 1930. About the time the elephant was put on display, the story was rife among children at the local school, many of whom were from service families au fait with both elephants and India, that an Indian man had walked an elephant called Nor all the way from India. When man and elephant arrived here, the elephant was said to have collapsed from exhaustion and the man, urging it on, said ‘Get up, Nor’, thus giving our place its name. History prefers to stick with uppan ore in Middle English, meaning “upon the bank”. |