PUBLIC MEETING – 7.30PM ON THURSDAY 21 MAY 2026

Residents are invited to an urgent public meeting to discuss proposed parish boundary changes, which could affect all households in Ospringe.

Swale Borough Council is considering proposals by Faversham Town Council which include taking over land and some housing currently within Ospringe parish.

Consequences would include an immediate increase in council tax for those houses directly affected, while leaving fewer remaining households in Ospringe to cover the parish precept for services such as street lighting, looking after the playground, and so on.

The land Faversham Town Council wishes to incorporate within its boundaries also includes two large tracts of mostly open greenfield space, one of which is already subject to an application for 85 houses to which Ospringe Parish Council has strongly objected. It also includes the whole of Joyce Field allotments which have been run by Ospringe Parish Council for the community for over 130 years.

There are also further considerations for residents, including whether parishioners wish to be represented by a rural or urban council, and whether they wish to be governed by a non-political parish council or party political town council.

Details of the proposals in the Community Governance Review consultation can be found HERE.

The online form to respond to the proposals - which is the only form of response SBC will accept - can be found HERE.

The meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 21 May in the Church Room at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Water Lane.

Faversham Town Council did not consult or inform the parish council, or affected residents, before putting in its proposal to annex part of the parish. The first stage of the consultation has already taken place and despite numerous objections the proposals have remained in for the current stage of the consultation.

Ospringe Parish Council urges all residents to make their opinions known by answering via the online consultation. However, we advise residents to hold off responding until after the public meeting, to ensure that they are fully informed of the consequences.

The deadline for responding via the link above is Tuesday 2 June, so there is ample time after our meeting on Thursday.

 

WELCOME TO OSPRINGE

Welcome to the Ospringe parish website. Ospringe valley runs through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the south of the historic market town of Faversham in rural Kent, south east England.

Our website offers you details and updates from the parish council, together with details of clubs and organisations within it, local history, local info and contact details for local government representatives.

For the latest news and events, follow our Facebook page.

 

DEFIBRILLATOR

OSPRINGE Parish Council has acquired a heart defibrillator for the community, with kind contributions from Swale Borough Council and Queenborough Fishery Trust.

The defibrillator is now operational and situated in a bright yellow cabinet on the front wall of the Anglican Catholic Church in the centre of Painter’s Forstal for quick access.

It is registered with The Circuit, the UK network of publicly available defibrillators.

In an emergency where you suspect cardiac arrest, dial 999 and the operator will provide the code to open the cabinet and gain access to the defibrillator.

No training is needed to use the equipment as it gives real-time verbal instructions during use and runs automatically.

The Anglican Catholic Church is kindly providing the electricity needed for the cabinet in which defibrillator is kept.

A rota of volunteers has also been set up to complete regular checks on the equipment to ensure it remains ready for use.

If you wish to join the list of volunteers, please contact the Parish Clerk via [email protected].

 

DOWNLOADING DOCUMENTS: IMPORTANT NOTE

Some documents may not currently download onto Apple devices due to a fault that the website provider is currently working to resolve. Downloads to other desktops, laptops and phones should be operating normally. If you are unable to view or download any documents on this site, copies can be obtained by emailing the clerk via [email protected]. 

FLY TIPPING

The parish council is concerned about a rise in fly-tipping in the country lanes. We encourage parishioners to download the Country Eye mobile phone app, which allows the convenient instant reporting of fly-tipping to Swale Borough Council for action, including the precise location and photographs.

For information on how to download the app, click here or go to countryeye.co.uk.