The Leader said:

“I begin this evening on a very sombre note as my thoughts are with the family and friends of Juliette Kenny, a sixth form pupil at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham. The family so tragically lost their daughter as a result of the recent meningitis outbreak. No words can truly ease such a loss, but I want to place on record this Council’s deepest condolences. As a community, we stand with them in their grief and I would like to thank our health partners, schools, local services and our own staff for their swift response in what was an incredibly difficult, challenging and distressing time. As a council we will continue to support all efforts to safeguard public health and provide reassurance to our residents. Moments like this remind us of the importance of community, of looking out for one another, and of the vital role that our public services play every single day.

Turning to more positive matters, I was delighted to attend the official opening of the extension at EKC Sheppey College. This investment represents a significant step forward for education and skills on the Island. It is not just a building, it is an opportunity. An opportunity for young people and adult learners alike to access high-quality education, develop new skills, and build brighter futures. As a Council we are proud to support initiatives that strengthen pathways into employment and help our local economy to grow.

Whilst on the Isle of Sheppey I would like to commend the recent Royal Ballet and Opera, Sheppey Sings project, which brought young people from across the island’s junior schools together through music in a truly uplifting way. It was an absolute privilege to attend and witness the project in action as the young people performed excerpts from Humperdink’s opera Hansel and Gretel. Initiatives like this demonstrate the power of creativity and community spirit, they remind us that Swale is indeed rich in talent and can provide opportunities for youngsters to grow in confidence and ability.

I also wanted to briefly update Members on the £20 million Sheppey East, Government’s Pride in Place programme aimed at improving both physical infrastructure and wider social outcomes for the community. We are currently recruiting an independent chair to lead a new neighbourhood board, which will be responsible for shaping how this funding is used and ensuring that it delivers real, lasting benefits for local people. The chair will work with a diverse group of community representatives to develop and deliver a long-term plan focused on priorities such as transport, health, education, safety, and economic opportunity. This is a genuinely community-led initiative, designed to empower residents to shape the future of their area and it is great to see those closest to the coal face getting involved and in particular the enthusiasm and commitment from Ward councillors Lee-Anne Moore and Tara Noe. It is an exciting opportunity to bring forward fresh ideas, attract further investment, and deliver transformational change in Sheppey East and I would encourage anyone with the passion, skills, and commitment to get involved.

Back on the mainland I am delighted to announce progress in Sittingbourne town centre area, where we are delivering 51 new high-quality affordable homes on the former Cockleshell Walk car park, supported by funding from Homes England. These will be social rented homes, providing genuinely affordable housing for local families, at around half the cost of private rents.

This development will not only help address the significant demand for housing in the borough, but will also contribute to the wider regeneration of the town centre. The scheme has been carefully designed to reflect Sittingbourne’s heritage and enhance the local environment. I want to pay tribute to our officers and members past and present who have worked so hard to make this vision a reality. Councillors Ben Martin and Angela Harrison I know will be delighted to see this come to fruition but maybe not as delighted as former councillor colleagues Roger Truelove and  Ghlin Whelan who has relentlessly chewed on my ears about progress.

Moving on we are continuing to invest in the heart of the town through the refurbishment of the public toilets at Central Avenue car park. These well-used facilities are being comprehensively upgraded, including structural repairs, modern interiors, improved accessibility, and new baby changing facilities. The improvements will create cleaner, safer, more energy-efficient and family-friendly facilities, whilst also enhancing the external appearance of the site. While there will unavoidably be temporary disruption during the works, I am confident that the end result will be a facility that better meets the needs of all of our community.

Finally our initial consultation on Community Governance Review (CGR) closed on 9 February and the responses to that consultation have been used to prepare draft recommendations. Subject to this council’s approval a second consultation will be launched to get people's views on the proposed changes. I would therefore implore you all to reach out to your residents and provide as much information as possible to allow them to engage in the process and respond to the consultation.”

In response, the Leader of the Conservative Group thanked the Leader for his statement and echoed his words around the meningitis outbreak, sending his condolences to all those impacted by it. He raised the issue of negativity around social media sharing incorrect information on the topic, particularly younger people. Acknowledging the funding awarded to projects on the Isle of Sheppey, he said he hoped it delivered what was needed and he highlighted the important role that the community and Councillors played. The Leader of the Conservative Group said it was the responsibility of Councillors to paint the whole picture of CGR to residents, including the potential costs.

The Leader of the SIA Group sent his condolences to those impacted by the meningitis outbreak. Turning to the funding for Isle of Sheppey projects from Pride in Place, he spoke positively about the community and he encouraged more residents to become involved. The Leader of the SIA group said that CGR gave the opportunity for those areas without parishes to become more involved adding that localised projects and focus motivated local people. He contrasted Government’s encouragement of resident involvement in some ways whilst removing its voice in local government reform. He referred to the good work that Faversham Town Council did, particular the Hopper bus, and said all areas of Swale needed this and could be included if Sittingbourne Town Council was set up as a result of CGR.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group echoed the sentiments of others over the untimely death of the Faversham student, Juliet Kenny, from meningitis, and said it had shocked and devastated the student and Faversham community. She said Juliet was a dedicated community volunteer and had been nominated for a GEM award in 2023 for her compassion as a Queen Elizabeth (QE) school well-being ambassador.  The Head Teacher of the QE had described Juliette as an incredibly kind individual and simply by being herself, she naturally lifted people. The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group sent her condolences to Juliette’s friends and family and thanked everyone involved in the community response. Turning to the Pride in Place funding, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said it was an excellent opportunity for co-production on the Isle of Sheppey and she said more could be done to include local residents in designing services for the local community. The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said the Cockleshell Walk, Sittingbourne housing scheme was exciting, and she thanked current and previous Councillors, alongside officers who she said had been dedicated in achieving the funding required to be able to provide social housing. Finally she welcomed the news on the upgrading of the public toilets at Central Avenue car park, Sittingbourne.

The Leader of the Reform UK Group said the student’s death from meningitis was tragic and agreed with a previous speaker that a lot of misinformation had been shared locally. Referring to the Pride in Place funding, he praised the achievements of the community, the Council and former local MP Gordon Henderson when working together. He also agreed with a previous speaker’s comments on CGR.

The Leader of the Green Group sent his condolences to the family of Juliette, and said the nature of the disease meant it was also sudden. He drew attention to the rapid and comprehensive public health response and the response of the community, describing the patience and good behaviour of students that queued for the vaccination. The Leader of the Green Group spoke positively about the social housing at Cockleshell Walk, acknowledging that it was not as many as hoped or needed but the level of affordable homes needed would not be delivered without changes and plans being made, referring to a report later in the Agenda.

Members were invited to give a response to the Leader’s Statement and comments included:

·         It was disappointing the hospital trust was slow to report the outbreak of meningitis to the health agency;

·         praised SBC officers who helped coordinate the response to the outbreak;

·         spoke of the panic across the country in the response to the outbreak, the difficulty in securing vaccinations against it and the impact on the economy by the slow response;

·         children should routinely be vaccinated against meningitis;

·         said it was 40 years since SBC had built any social housing and expressed pleasure that housing was finally about to be built;

·         spoke of the long and difficult process to get to the point of delivering social housing and personally thanked Councillor Bonney in her role at Rainbow Homes, and the Head of Housing and Communities, the Section 151 Officer, the Director of Regeneration, the Accommodation and Resettlement Manager and the Democratic and Electoral Services Manager;

·         thanked all those Members that had sat on the shareholder panel, particularly Councillor Perkin;

·         the social housing scheme showed that investment and taking the initial risk was worth doing to provide for residents in the borough;

·         praised the new extension and facilities at the East Kent College (EKC) but reminded Members there were still children in the borough out of education because they were missing mainstream schooling places;

·         spoke about the good work of the Pyramid Project that supported youngsters not in school or work and said they were a charity that needed funding and she urged Members to contact the organisation if they knew of grant funding that might be available to the project;

·         referred to the many years of work that former Councillor Roger Truelove had put into the EKC college;

·         said that some of the youngsters who attended the bricklaying course at the EKC college helped build the extension and had now been taken on as apprentices;

·         highlighted that it did sometimes take a long time for plans to come together but felt positively that education was looking up for the Isle of Sheppey; and

·         decisions on education and school places needed to be made many years in advance.

In response, the Leader thanked Members for their comments.  He said that Faversham Town Council did a good job and the residents of Faversham should be proud. He spoke fondly of and quoted former Councillor Ghlin Whelan’s continued interest in the Cockleshell Walk social housing project. He joined in praise of the officers who had helped get the project this far, giving particular praise to the Section 151 Officer.