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To: Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport

Public Inquiry for Princes Parade Road Closure

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We the undersigned, together with petition organisers, Kent County Councillors Rory Love and Andrew Weatherhead, urge the Secretary of State for Transport, in the interests of due process and transparency, to call a local public inquiry to consider the objections thoroughly and openly before deciding whether to make a Section 247 Order on the stopping up and diversion of Princes Parade, Hythe.

Why is this important?

Many of the issues raised by the public and by Cllr Rory Love about the proposed stopping up, relocation, and traffic calming of Princes Parade and their impact on the wider local road network were neither answered nor even addressed at the stage of the planning application.

Furthermore, such are the errors, misrepresentation, and avoidance of the issues in the report commissioned by Folkestone & Hythe District Council in response to the objections to the Stopping Up Order, that we believe the only way to address the objections, and to be seen to be addressing the objections, is for the Secretary of State for Transport to call a local public inquiry.

[Privacy matters to the petition organisers. Please note your email address will NOT be shared with them.]

Hythe, UK

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Updates

2021-08-23 21:44:43 +0100

Fantastic news! We’ve been successful in securing a Public Inquiry. Cllr Andy Weatherhead and I have gained some real traction on the Princes Parade issue; maybe more than has happened at any time in the 3 years since the planning committee approved the plans.

Our goal was a full local hearing, which the Transport Secretary has now announced; a Public Inquiry at the Civic Centre in Folkestone, starting on 19th October.

I’ll use the petition again at the Inquiry to show the strength of support for our case, so please keep sharing and encouraging people to sign it. Can we hit 5,000 signatures by October

We’ll keep you posted via 38Degrees, the amazing hosts of our petition, and on our Facebook pages:

@CllrRoryLove or https://www.facebook.com/CllrRoryLove
@adweatherhead or https://www.facebook.com/adweatherhead

There’s more to do, to prepare our cases, and win! You’ve helped us secure this Inquiry at which we can all finally have our say. Thank you!

Rory

2021-07-07 16:57:37 +0100

Thank you for your continuing support, and for spreading the word.

Now that we've passed the 4,000 signature milestone, I thought it a good time to write again to the Secretary of State's Office, attaching an updated version of our petition; all 131 pages of it!

We're not finished yet, so please carry on sharing the link with those who you think may be interested. But I want to keep this at the forefront of the minds of the officials drawing up a recommendation to the Sec of State as to whether to call a Public Inquiry.

We’d both like to thank you for your support. We’ll continue to keep you posted on progress, both via 38Degrees and on our Facebook pages:

@CllrRoryLove or https://www.facebook.com/CllrRoryLove
@adweatherhead or https://www.facebook.com/adweatherhead

The more signatures, the more persuasive our case. By working together, our community can make the strongest possible case for a full Public Inquiry.

2021-06-23 16:06:30 +0100

3,400 signatures and counting! If one of them is yours, then thank you for being one of our signatories. Cllr Andrew Weatherhead and I have been overwhelmed at the level of support for our call to the Secretary of State for a full local Public Inquiry before deciding whether to issue the Order to close and re-route the Princes Parade road.

When we reached the 3,000 milestone yesterday, I wrote again to the Secretary of State’s Office outlining the wide local support for a Public Inquiry, as demonstrated by our petition.

We’d both like to thank you for your support. We’ll keep you posted on progress, both via 38Degrees and on our Facebook pages:

@CllrRoryLove or www.facebook.com/CllrRoryLove
@adweatherhead or www.facebook.com/adweatherhead

In the meantime, please keep sharing the petition link. The more signatures, the more persuasive our case. By working together, our community can make the strongest possible case for a full Public Inquiry.

2021-06-18 10:15:24 +0100

1,000 signatures reached

2021-06-17 22:37:49 +0100

500 signatures reached

2021-06-17 19:26:06 +0100

100 signatures reached

2021-06-17 18:47:20 +0100

50 signatures reached

2021-06-17 18:26:26 +0100

25 signatures reached

2021-06-17 18:10:37 +0100

10 signatures reached