The Leader said:

“As this evening’s meeting is potentially extensive in nature I intend my Leader’s Statement to be the antithesis of me, short and sweet, as there are far more important matters on the Agenda.

It will not of course escaped your notice that we are participating in the latest round of non-musical chairs as we now have a new group in the chamber, Reform UK, headed by its leader Councillor Richard Palmer, and whilst the group is new to us the majority of its Members of course are not so.

Moving on, I would like to say what a privilege and pleasure it was to attend the EKC Sheppey College’s extension groundbreaking ceremony. This of course was a part of the £20million Government funded Sheerness Revival project put together by Swale Borough Council (SBC) under the stewardship of Councillor Monique Bonney. The ceremony was attended by all three ward Members, together with Members from across the Borough, including of course our very own Mayor, Councillor Ben Martin. It really was a landmark event which signals a real intent to invest in the young people on the Isle of Sheppey.

Back on the mainland, encouraging active lives is firmly on the menu. Swale residents can give tennis a try for free from next month thanks to a partnership between SBC and the Lawn Tennis Association. Free parks tennis sessions are being launched on Sunday 2^nd March at 10am at King George’s playing fields in Sittingbourne. The sessions will be run by qualified trainers on the first Sunday of every month. The one hour sessions are open to anyone, no matter their ability or age, so there’s hope for me yet.  All equipment will be provided making it easy for people to pick up tennis, socialise and get active.

People have learned how to make paper free workshops funded by a £5k injection from the Council’s Town Centre action grant to purchase the equipment needed to run a variety of workshops. The town was of course once home to one of the largest paper making mills in the world and last year marked the centenary of Kemsley Mill producing paper. The workshop took place on the first day of the ‘hands on the past make it last Swale Wassail Festival.  The festival is running from 15^th to 22^nd February and aims to celebrate Sittingbourne’s heritage and the people who lived and worked here in the past and continue the tradition of wassailing by wishing prosperity to those here now and the people to come. Other free drop-in demonstrations including Roman hairdressing, early medieval weaving, singing, poetry writing and horse decorating and blacksmithing. The workshops will all be taking place in the Forum throughout the week culminating in the wassaling parade and Swale Wassail Day on 22^nd February.

Moving east of the Borough to conclude my brief statement there will be an opportunity to meet some of your favourite or maybe not so favourite authors at the Faversham Literacy Festival. The event is being supported this year by a grant from SBC. Faversham Literacy Festival CIC received £3.5k from the Council’s Town Centre Action Grant to help them put on a ten day festival. The event kicks off on 21^st February and there’s 9,000 tickets with a mix of free and paid-for events that draws in thousands of visitors to the town. This year’s festival will feature more than 60 talks from well-known authors such as Sebastian Faulks and Pam Ayres, wide range of family events and workshops for all ages and is also a chance for up and coming local authors to showcase their work.

Having concluded my whistle stop tour through Swale there is of course so much more that I could have said and added but as I stated in the outset, I’ll keep it short and sweet and accordingly that concludes my Leader’s Statement.”

The Leader of the Conservative Group said he welcomed the news on the Faversham Literacy Festival and wished them luck.

The Leader of the SIA Group advised that the Constitution Working Group would be considering the set timings for responses to speaking as there were now six political groups on the Council.

The Leader of the Reform Group said it was good to hear the coalition’s achievements and what could be achieved when Councillors work together.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said the Faversham Literacy Festival was the jewel in Faversham’s crown and she praised the hard work of the organisers.

Councillor Terry Thompson, on behalf of the Green Group, said he enjoyed hearing about events that linked to the past.

In acknowledging the success in levelling up, a Member spoke in support of the cross-party efforts.

The Leader acknowledged all comments.