Action with Communities in Rural Kent has teamed up with British Gas to offer free cavity wall and/or loft insulation to anyone in receipt of eligible benefits including child tax credit and state pension credit; other benefits are included. It is also free to anyone living in certain geographical areas as defined by the Government.

There is no catch and you do not need to be a British Gas customer.

Insulating your home can save you hundreds of pounds on your energy bills and makes your home warmer; it's good for the environment too by lowering your carbon emissions.

For more information on this free offer and to check your eligibility contact British Gas free on 0800 980 9037 or speak to Tessa O'Sullivan at Action with Communities in Rural Kent on 01303 813790

Following the resignation of Cllr Bill Oakey, a vacancy has arisen for a Parish Councillor for Bridge. This will be filled by co-option to the Parish Council

Anyone interested in applying for this vacant position should contact Christobel Seath, the Parish Clerk, as soon as possible.

The closing date for expressions of interest is 31st May

Congratulations to Michael Northey who has been re-elected as our Kent County Councillor.

The results for our ward (Canterbury South East) were :

NORTHEY, Michael John	The Conservative Party Candidate	1385	33%
SOLE, Michael John	Liberal Democrat	1181	28%
KENT, Oliver John	UKIP	795	19%
BUTCHER, Jean Elizabeth	The Labour Party Candidate	549	13%
SHIRLEY, Emily Edith	Green Party	294	7%

Total votes cast: 4204 (31% turnout)

Keith Hall, aged 44, from Whitfield died following a collision on the A2 between Dover and Canterbury on Wednesday, 17 April 2013. It is believed that Mr Hall's MGB sports car had broken down at the side of the London-bound carriageway between Dover and Canterbury when a Scania tipper lorry was in collision with it. Mr Hall was declared dead at the scene. The driver of the lorry was shocked but not injured.

Police are continuing to appeal for information about the collision which happened at 3.20pm near Patrixbourne. The road had to be closed until 7.50pm to allow emergency services to deal with the collision and for the vehicles to be removed.

Can you help?

Anyone who witnessed the collision and has not spoken to police is urged to contact the Kent Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01622 798538.

Work has finished replacing the surface of the children's play area on the recreation ground.

This work was possible thanks to a grant from Canterbury City Council, which contributed 49% of the cost.

The Society held its Annual Spring Show on the morning of Saturday 13 April in Bridge Village Hall.

Judges Clive and Dian Godden commented that the quality of entries was good, despite the difficult growing conditions we had experienced in recent months. Again, despite this, the number of exhibitors and exhibits showed an increase on the previous year.

The "Open Class" to bake a lemon drizzle cake attracted an encouraging number of entries and was won by youngsters Marley and Clay Stevens-Greenwood from Bekesbourne. The Chairman's Challenge (Whitten Spencer Cup) to grow Jetfire bulbs in a pot attracted the highest number of entries and was won by Julia Cooper. The cup for the Best Bloom in Show was presented to David and Penny Spencer for their miniature bloom described by the judges as "exquisite", while the cup for the Best Flowering Pot Plant went to Jane Lovelock for her magnificent Clivia.

Thank you from the Committee to all who helped, entered or came along to support the event and make it a success.

A plaque has recently been erected to mark the oak tree which was planted in the recreation ground last year to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Quiet a few households in Bridge have today received phone calls from "their broadband provider". The calls show as "international" on phone displays. These calls are scams, attempting to access your computer. Some residents have been subjected to abuse and foul langauge when refusing to co-operate. If you get one of these calls, simply say "we don't have broadband" and hang up.

Grateful thanks are due to the volunteers who came to help on Saturday.

A natural hedge was planted against the new wire fence. The wild flower area was cleared of leaves to display the bluebells and more primroses and aconites were planted. Turf was removed from some areas ready for planting snowdrop plants and wild flower seeds at the end of the month. Thank you also to the local residents who generously donated plants. It was a very successful morning enjoyed by everyone.

Sue Hodges

Our results so far this season - and our upcoming fixtures for April/May. Show

01/09/12	Away	Charing F.C	W	0	-	8	Dayspring	C.C.F.C. Canterbury and District League Div 1
08/09/12	Home	Dayspring	W	2	-	0	Sentinels	Canterbury and District League Div 1
15/09/12	Home	Dayspring	L	3	-	4	Blean F.C.	Canterbury and District League Div 1
22/09/12	Home	Dayspring	W	5	-	1	Herne Bay Athletic	Canterbury and District League Div 1
29/09/12	Away	The Plough	L	0	-	4	Dayspring	THE CHALLENGE TROPHY 1st RND
06/10/12	Away	Burgess Hodgson	L	4	-	2 aet	Dayspring	Kent Cup 1st Round group C
13/10/12	Home	Dayspring	L	3	-	10	Faversham Harlequin	Canterbury Challenge Cup 1st Rnd
20/10/12	Home	Dayspring	W	6	-	1	Canterbury City A.	Canterbury and District League Div 1
27/10/12	Away	Red Arrow			v		Dayspring	Whitstable Challenge Cup
03/11/12	Away	Blean	L	3	-	1	Dayspring
10/11/12	Home	Dayspring	L	0	-	1	Chartham	(match played at Chartham due to pitch closure)
17/11/12	Away	Faversham	L	2	-	0	Dayspring
24/11/12	Home	Dayspring	Postponed				The Swan	Due to pitch closure
15/12/12	Away	The Swan	Postponed				Dayspring
22/12/12	Away	Red Arrow	Postponed				Dayspring	Whitstable Charity Cup
5/1/13	Away	Herne Bay Athletic	W	0	-	4	Dayspring
12/1/13	Away	Sentinels	L	3	-	1	Dayspring
19/1/13	Away	University Reserves	Postponed - snow				Dayspring
26/1/13	Away	Canterbury City A	Postponed - snow				Dayspring
2/2/13	Home	Dayspring	W	4	-	2	The Swan
9/2/13	Away	Chartham	W	0	-	1	Dayspring
23/2/13	Away	The Swan	Cancelled				Dayspring	Sewage on pitch
2/3/13	Home	Dayspring	W	7	-	0	Charing
9/3/13	Away	Red Arrow	Postponed: waterlogged pitch				Dayspring	Whistable Charity Cup, 2nd round
16/3/13	Away	Canterbury City 'A'	W	1	-	4	Dayspring
23/3/13	Home	Dayspring	Postponed: snow on pitch				Chilham	Faversham Charity Cup, 2nd round
29/3/13	Home	Dayspring	W	3	-	1	Chilham	Faversham Charity Cup, 2nd round.
30/3/13	Away	Red Arrow	L	4	-	2	Dayspring	Whitstable Charity Cup, 2nd round.
1/4/13	Away	Herne Bay Ath.	W	0	-	5	Dayspring	Faversham Charity Cup, 3rd round.
6/4/13	Home	Dayspring	Postponed				Faversham	District League Div 1. 15:00 kickoff
6/4/13	Away	St Stephens	L	3	-	1	Dayspring	Faversham Charity Cup, Semi final.
27/4/13	Home	Dayspring			v		Faversham Utd
6/5/13	Away	The Swan			v		Dayspring	Old Palace Road, KO 6.45pm
8/5/13	Home	Dayspring			v		University Reserves	KO 6.45pm
25/5/13	Away	University Reserves			v		Dayspring	KO 3pm

Full results and match reports can all be found here

Is this acceptable?

Read our MP Julian Brazier's response here.

What is going on?

The current situation is that the water company is 'over-pumping' and 'tankering' at various points because they have to respond to the emergency that exists, or is about to happen. They believe that if they did not take this emergency action, then there is a danger to public health because at various places along the sewer-line, there would be residents who would lose sewerage services, or worse, who would experience flooding into their homes from the sewer system.

Given that this is seen as an emergency, the Environment Agency has accepted that the water company has taken reasonable steps to preserve public health with their current operation, and so the current operation is deemed legal.

The operation is in two parts:

The tankering takes sewage from the system at various points, Riverside Close is one of those, to a treatment plant, so relieving the pressure within the sewer. This scheme means that we have tankers on the roads, noise at all hours in Riverside Close, and from time to time there are open manhole covers left off and pipework left in Riverside Close.

The 'over-pumping' involves pumping sewage from the system through a screen, into a settling tank, before passing it again through a screen and out into the Nailbourne River. As the river is currently in full flow, the volume of water sufficiently dilutes any sewage for the resultant fluid to pass test levels for public health. However, concerns remain wherever the water sits in pools, rather than flows, and, when the water flow rate diminishes, for then the sewage concentration will increase in proportion.

These operations are expected to be required for as long as the groundwater levels remain high. On latest predictions, this is likely to be for months rather than weeks, and will be required in any year when ground water levels are high.

With thanks to our Parish Council rep: Cllr Alan Atkinson

Ford Closed

The ford in Brewery Lane is now so deep that is has been closed to traffic. Also, with the river being contaminated, driving through the ford spreads the contamination around.

It is now an offence to drive through the ford

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Contamination

Southern Water has started pumping operations in Bishopsbourne and Bekesbourne. This means the Nailbourne is now contaminated with raw sewage through Bridge.

Keep pets and children out of the river along its entire course

The Environment Agency have now issued a groundwater flood alert for the Nailbourne. You can read it in full here

Current situation

After one of the wettest years ever recorded, groundwater levels around the Nailbourne, Little Stour and Petham Bourne are high. Groundwater levels in these areas are continuing to rise in response to the recent rainfall. The rate that the groundwater is increasing for the Nailbourne has reduced since the river has started to flow. However, the levels are still increasing but at a slower rate.

Current groundwater levels are comparable to those experienced in 2010 where impacts to sewerage systems and some roads were experienced. This lasted for several months. Improvements have been made to flood resilience and drainage infrastructure as well as the sewerage systems since 2010. We have also managed the river throughout the year in case a situation like this occurred.

The Nailbourne is currently flowing as far as the ford in Brewery Lane.

Actions

• If you live by the river, remove all fences or other obstructions
• Call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 or go online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk to find out if you can register to receive free Flood Alerts/Warnings for flooding from groundwater
• Move valuables from basements and cellars.
• Check pumps and any other flood protection equipment you have
• Keep drains and gullies around your property free of debris

Further information

For information on groundwater levels and the latest water situation report visit the Environment Agency website

You can also get practical advice on what to do before, during and after groundwater flooding from this Flooding from Groundwater publication