No Signs to Town Centre Herne Bay Train Station

very dissapointing nopt to even receive anacknowledgement from the Council. What is the point of reporting these problems?

Complaints Department Canterbury City Council

I reported this problems to you on 29th October 2008 and am very upset not to have received your reply. You send an email on 29th October 2008 advising yu would respond within 14 days. That was nearly four months ago

Sent: 20 February 2009 15:05 To: Viv Pritchard; Jan Uden; Customer Services; cjohnlaw@hotmail.com Subject: Signage to Town facilities from Herne Bay Station.

In February 2008 I suggested that the lack of signage outside the Train Station was causing confusion for new Visitors and asked if signs could be put up outsidethe Station to direc Visitors to the Towns facilities. Unfortunatey me plea has fallen on deaf ears. There is still no signage outside the Station As a frequent commuter via Herne Bay Train Station I regularly get asked for directions to the Sea Front. In January two elderly ladies asked me for directions to go to their B&B on the Seafront so I walked them through the park and directly to their B&B, being a couple of doors along from mine. These elderly ladies commented: when you exit the Station you are faced with a crescent of roads and possible routes and not a single sign to the Town Centre or Sea Front" goodness knows what experience they would have had, and what first impressions they would have had, had I, or someone, not been on hand.

Full public / Tourism facilities are provided by you at Canterbury East and West Train Stations with a map of the Town on the Wall inside the Station, very clear signs to the Town Centre outside the Stations, abundant pocket sized Maps of the Town readily available and even promotional material for Canterbury City and most importantly signs to the Visitor Information Centre. I feel that Herne Bay urgently needs and deserve the same facilities. May I ask you to install proper signage ouside the Station to the Towns facilities as well as Maps and promotonal material and if possible before the new Visitor Information Center is unveiled on 1st April 2009. Thank you Kim Hennelly Herne Bay Fix our Town

Dear Mr Pritchard, Head of Transport and Engineering I have noted your comments and thank you for your comprehensive reply. At a residents meeting last month the continued failure of the Council to maintain Herne Bay, from the Train Staton and park signage to dangerous roads and footpaths and lack of lighting was discussed. Feelings are certainly running high. I would like to copy you with one comment left on the fixmystreet portal from one resident: Posted anonymously at 13:34, Friday 20 February 2009 "I notice nothing has been done. As the Visitor Information Centre has been moved to William Street, would it not be a good idea to direct what few Visitos we will now get, to this new site. What signs we do have still direct Visitors to the Bandstand. Disgrace really when the Council have just had a £2.9m VAT refund windfall. Its our money is it not and we dont ask for much."

The matter of continued excuses of the Council in reponse to most complaints as a "lack of funding" is not accepted by residents. Paticularly when funds such as 2.9m VAT refund and CCTV funding by the Goverment to the sum of £900,000 are reported. The Council have a duty of care to the electorate to provide residents wih fair and reasonable distribution of funds with proper maintenance of the Town and full Public services such as signage and proper paving and lighting and very much consider they have the right to demand this. With regard to this particular complant regarding the lack of Signage from the Train Station to Town facilities, I would appraciate your update as to what progress has been made. Thank you Kim Hennelly Herne Bay Fix Our Town Campaign.

TO Viv Pritchard Head of Transport and Engineering

Could you please advise what action has been taken by Canterbury City Council to provide signage, lighting and CCTV to the Town to embrace not only the Visitor experience but the well being of the community. copy your email/blog below: Posted by Canterbury City Council at 13:48, Tuesday 19 May 2009

Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 12:41:43 +0000 From: Viv.Pritchard@canterbury.gov.uk To: kim-herne.bay@hotmail.co.uk; Jan.Uden@canterbury.gov.uk; customer.services@canterbury.gov.uk; cjohnlaw@hotmail.com CC: Dawn.Hudd@canterbury.gov.uk; Chris.West@canterbury.gov.uk

Dear Ms Hennelly I apologise for the delay in getting back to you. Unfortunately, responsibility for town centre signage does not fit neatly into the remit of any one department and there is no specific budget identified to cover this sort of work. Nevertheless, officers from different departments do talk to each other and we have been discusssing this issue. We do accept that Herne Bay would benefit from improved signage, particularly between the station and the town centre. However, to do this work properly we would need signs to follow the designated routes, logically, to the destinations. Simply erecting one sign rarely works. I would be happy to liaise with my Tourism colleagues and the Town Centre Manager to put forward a case for money in future budget reviews for consideration by members. You will be aware of very tight constraints on council expenditure at present and any new proposal will need to compete with a number of high priority schemes. Personally, though, I do think the case for better signage in Herne Bay is a strong one. You have also been in contact with us regarding the lack of signage from the Memorial Park. The same budget problem arises with this, but it may be possible to tackle both together within a comprehensive scheme. Alternatively, this could be dealt with as part of the major project to improve the Park. If we can find effective low cost measures, we may be able to come up with a quick interim solution which could, at least partially, solve the current problems experienced by visitors to the town. I am sure you will be disappointed with this response, but we are seriously hampered by budget constraints. Yours sincerely Viv Pritchard Head of Transportation and Engineering