Pat is the Secretary of the Kent Green Party. She is a retired teacher of English and a published author.
“The Nailbourne has yet again changed from the stuff of quirky Kentish legend to real and present misery for residents of Barham Downs ward and beyond.Extreme weather events are set to become an ever larger part of our lives. An urgent, ongoing task for local government will be to continue to address the issues of both flooding and drought, lobbying vigorously to secure the necessary funding required to protect residents properly. As councillor for Barham Downs, I would ensure that we have a viable strategy and action plan.
Part of this strategy would include declaring Canterbury District a frack-free zone. Flooding at the site of a borehole drilled to extract unconventional gas would precipitate an environmental disaster and an unacceptable health hazard. Planning applications for exploratory boreholes just over the border in Dover District were withdrawn last year after it was recognised they would pose a serious risk of contaminating the drinking water of over 70% of households in the county. The same risk applies within our District and the question of such operations must be answered with an emphatic No.
