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Welcome to the St James, Isle of Grain Parish Council Website

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This website is designed to provide you with information about your Local Parish Council. You will find documents containing minutes of meetings, as well as strategic documents and financial information.


PRECEPT FOR 2025/26

On 28th January 2025, after lengthy discussion, the Parish Council set the Precept for 2025/26 at £70,229. This is collected by Medway Council on behalf of the Parish Council and is included in the Council Tax levied on all households in this parish.

  • The Precept per Band D Dwelling will therefore be £157.75 which is an increase of £11.49 over 2024/25 and a percentage increase of 7.9% (a reduction of 7.88% over 2024/25);
  • Although in percentage terms it appears to be a substantial increase, in monetary terms, the increase is 22 pence per week per Band D Dwelling.
The Budget/Precept 2025/26 is available to view on the Financial Information page of this website.

 


STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR FETE COMMITTEE 

At the meeting on 26th November, Parish Councillors were surprised and shocked to hear of the very negative comments about the Fete Committee on social media.  Whilst the Parish Council does not, at this time, have a social media profile, members felt that they wished to confirm that they have every confidence in the Fete Committee and fully support their efforts to deliver a remarkable event each year with support from local people and businesses.

The Parish Council will continue to provide, free of charge, the use of the St James Playing Field, Seaview Meadow and the Pavilion for this very important and enjoyable annual event. 

 

PLAY PARK

 

Residents may be aware that the safety surfacing in the play park was badly damaged during the summer months which cost £2,422 to repair. The damage was entirely due to vandalism and the whole cost was met by the Parish Council, and ultimately, by the rate payers of this parish. 

The Parish Council urges anybody who witnesses vandals damaging the play equipment and/or surfacing to report it to the police.

On a more positive note, you may notice that the swings and other items are being re-painted and further repairs to the roundabout are also planned.

 

AUDIT OF 2023/24 ACCOUNTS

The audit of the Parish Council accounts for 2023/24 was completed on 18th September 2024 by Mazars LLP. Their audit opinion was unqualified.

The Notice of Conclusion of Audit dated 27th September 2024 (including a statements of accounts) has been displayed on the notice boards in High Street and at the Village Hall and can be viewed on the Financial Information page of this website.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS 

Meetings of the Parish Council are held in the GP Surgery Waiting Room attached to the Village Hall. Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings. 

 

The date of the next Parish Council Meeting is 1st April 2025.  

The Village
St James, Isle of Grain is one of the eleven parishes within the Medway Unitary Authority area.

The village is situated on the North Kent Marshes and is the most remote village on the Hoo Peninsula, reached via the A228 and B2001. The village is bordered by the Rivers Medway and Thames and has a large industrial area on the landward side. The Medway Estuary and Marshes SSSI and South Thames Estuary and Marshes SSSI are adjacent.

The village has a primary school, a pub and a church. The Chapel is used as a public library (provided by Medway Council) and a resource and learning centre which is run independently.

Community Land
The Parish Council owns the freehold of land within the village including two playing fields and a coastal park, consisting of ¾ mile of foreshore bordering the estuaries of the Rivers Medway and Thames. All of this land is maintained by the Parish Council as public open space for the benefit of residents and visitors. There is a very active voluntary group called The Friends of Grain Coastal Park who carry out the maintenance of these public open spaces using equipment supplied by the Parish Council.

Within the public open space, the Parish Council provides and maintains a floodlit MUGA, skateboard ramp, children’s play area and outside fitness equipment.

Community Buildings
The Parish Council owns two community buildings – a Sports Pavilion and a Village Hall which are both well used.

The Sports Pavilion is used by local football teams and also houses a Youth Club run by Medway Council Youth Service.

The Village Hall is the main community building in the village and provides excellent facilities to hirers. It is regularly used each week by local groups and for private functions such as quiz nights, dances, parties, funding raising events and wakes. The highlight of the year is a Christmas Pantomime which is an original piece written and performed by a local theatrical group.

Attached to the Village Hall is a fully equipped doctor’s surgery which is leased to the local GP Practice. This clinic is also the parish War Memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives in two World Wars.