Dover News - September 2008

The Dering Roll, the oldest extant English roll of arms, dating from c. 1270-1280, and almost certainly produced in Dover, has been acquired by the British Library following a successful fundraising campaign. The Roll depicts 324 coats of arms, approximately a quarter of the entire English baronage during the reign of King Edward I.

A 30 year old man from Anglesey has been remanded in custody after being charged yesterday with attempting to smuggle approximately 100 kilos of heroin, with an estimated street value of £4.5 million, into the UK. He is now due to appear at Dover Magistrates Court on Thursday, 11 September.

Following national funding to help local businesses meet latest legislation, and as part of their ongoing work to ensure food safety standards across the area, Dover District Council has hosted special food safety seminars for almost 100 local businesses.

Dover District Council is changing how it lets its homes and has joined with other District Authorities in Kent to create a choice based lettings scheme called Kent Homechoice. Kent Homechoice is a new way of letting social housing, which will work with the Council's existing Housing Need Register.

The Dover Pride Strategic Partnership has announced the appointment of Anne Knight as the new Programme Director. Dover Pride is a multi agency partnership that is committed to successfully delivering the inspirational plans for regeneration, economic development and growth in Dover.

A unique collection of images capturing life in Dover in the fifties, sixties and seventies is featured in a new exhibition of the work of Dover photographer Ray Warner. This new Stairwell Exhibition is now open at Dover Museum and runs until 19 October.

Young sprinters were congratulated at Dover District Council offices this week following the Street Athletics races held on Dover Seafront on Sunday 24 August. The Street Athletics heats in Dover were held as part of a day of events to celebrate the Olympic handover from Beijing to London.

A major expansion of the recycling service from DDC is bringing fantastic news for the future - with an expansion of existing collections to include cardboard and plastic bottles and an extension of the green waste scheme to include another 13,000 homes.

The popular BBC Radio Kent presenters, Paul Harris and Paul James are in Dover on Friday (September 19th) to launch a new series of evening events at Charlton Parish Church.

Graham Benson, 45, of St Radigunds Road, Dover appeared at Folkestone Magistrates Court yesterday (15 September) and received a Community Order for 250 hours of unpaid work in the community after pleading guilty to three offences of benefit fraud involving Dover District Council and the Department for Work and Pensions.

A 30 year old Belgian national, Ali Kherchachi, was sentenced yesterday at Canterbury Crown Court to eight and a half years imprisonment for attempting to smuggle 6.5 kilos of cocaine into the UK through the port of Dover. The drugs had an estimated street value of £250,000.

Police who arrested a man at Hawkinge on Monday under the Terrorism Act are examining two kebab shops in Dover and Aylesham.

A magnificent pyrotechnic display in Dover is just one of a host of innovative and inspirational arts and cultural activities on offer throughout Kent over the weekend of 26-28 September to mark the launch the four-year Cultural Olympiad in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A lorry driver from Liverpool is due to appear in court today in connection with the seizure of approximately 40 kilos of heroin worth around £2 million at Dover's Eastern Docks.

Ground breaking regeneration work for the future of the district is taking place as work began on site today for the demolition of the former Stagecoach depot in Russell Street, as part of the massive multi million pound redevelopment of Dover Town Centre.

Dover District Council has revealed the first details of its plans for a weekend of celebrations next July to commemorate the centenary of Louis Blériot's epic flight across the English Channel. Throughout the weekend of 25-26 July 2009, Dover will host a prestigious international festival in celebration of Blériot's achievement in becoming the first person to fly across the Channel, and to commemorate the pioneering age of aviation.

The need for the second ferry terminal at the Port of Dover, planned for by the port authority, is starkly highlighted following the recent Channel Tunnel fire, according to Bob Goldfield, chief executive of the port. The last week saw a 34 per cent increase in freight vehicles to 55,286 and a 62 per cent increase in the number of coaches to 2,657 compared with the week before the tunnel fire.

Local residents are invited to come along and have their say at the next Dover West and Dover North Neighbourhood Forum meetings. The Dover West meeting will be discussing the subject of Active Older People, while the Dover North meeting will be discussing community safety.

Kent Police will trial a new temporary holding area for freight approaching the port of Dover on the A20 this Sunday evening (28 September). The scheme is designed to complement Operation Stack during peak periods of demand for ferry services while also easing severe congestion and tailbacks that occur along Dover's Townwall Street when continental freight traffic starts building up at the port.

Swiss adventurer Yves Rossy has become the first man to fly across the English Channel from Calais to Dover using a single homemade jet-powered wing, covering a distance of 35 kilometres in 13 minutes. Rossy successfully completed the challenge at 1:19pm today.

To mark the anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush at Tilbury 60 years ago, Dover Library will be hosting a musical interactive Calypso session led by Alex D Great from Music for Change - an educational arts charity that promotes awareness, understanding and respect for cultural diversity through music and the performing arts in order to achieve beneficial change.