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Chairman's Report

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT MAY 2026

So another year has passed in my position as Chair of the Parish Council and not without event.

Firstly, as always, I would like to give my thanks to the support of the team. This year we saw 2 people leave the council, one for personal reasons and another due to a move out of the area. We had a new member join us in late Summer/Autumn – Cllr Jazz Bansill – who is proving to be an asset to the council already with fresh ideas and opinions.

In May last year, we were made aware that Medway Council were to sell off certain spaces and buildings which they felt were not economically viable and the Lower Stoke Car Park was one of them. This led us to a campaign to try to prevent this and the Save The Lower Stoke Car Park petition began.  This was formulated and over 1,000 signatures were obtained and the completed forms were later presented to Medway Council in support. Stoke Parish Council were given the first refusal to purchase, but this also depended on the costs involved due to the small budget that we have. In order to be in a good position to do this we had to make the hard decision to look to the precept for 2026-2027 to enable this. We are now in a position to keep this much valued asset within the Parish.

Last May saw the Car Park put to good use in support of this where a VE Day celebration took place. This was arranged with the Stoke Community Project and the free event to all was very well supported and attended.

Rivermead Trust were finally able to open the doors to their new school located in the old Stoke Village school buildings. All locals were invited to a tour of and I understand a few took up the offer. It is good to see this educational building back in use but still a sad time for the villagers who are struggling to get their children to the Allhallows school. 

Playparks are always an ongoing issue and being in our remit, we are responsible for their upkeep. It was noted earlier in the year that the brambles from the farmers field adjoining the Heron Way Park  were really overgrown and the fence was in danger of collapse. Following a meeting with the local farmer, these were eventually cleared but this left the fencing and posts damaged. Our big thanks go to the then Mortley Group for their help and support in rectifying this with a complete clear of the area with fencing installed at very limited cost to the Parish Council and therefore making this a safe environment again for the younger people of the village to enjoy. In September, a grant was secured to help with the costs to renovate the playpark with a complete repaint of the equipment and this was carried out in late Autumn. We hope this is seen as a marked improvement. We still have plans to improve the area and the other playparks but being responsible for three areas really stretches our budget.

December saw the Christmas tree lighting event with a good village attendance and the Grinch attended also. The tree, although much larger than anticipated, stood magnificently in the car park for all to admire. Our thanks again go to the former Mortley Group for making this all possible.

So far this year has passed with minimum problems. We hear that the Village Hall are continuing in their quest to improve the facilities and for the former Drs Surgery to be restored and put back to good use. Some of the work is being carried out voluntarily and there are grant applications ongoing for other funding.

And finally, I would just like to thank everyone for their continued support within our community.

Julie Wallace