HELP TO FUND THE REBUILDING OF HERNE BAY PIER

THE HERNE BAY PIER TRUST IS NOW OFFICIAL!
The Charities Commision registered the Trust on 25th February 2009
The charity number is 1128253
You can read more here:
Now the real work can start!

If you want to be involved in raising funds or want to donate to the pier, why not drop the trust an email here.

Herne Bay Festival 2009
A little birdie has told us, that there is only one Saturday for music on the cards at the Herne Bay Festival stage this year.
It has been confirmed that Chas 'n' Dave are booked to top the bill.
More money spent on one act, but only one Saturday for entertainment.
You can read more about them at:- http://www.chasndave.com/tour_dates.html

Some years ago we had 14 days for the Festival with a stage up for the whole period & local bands playing on it during the week nights... then it was reduced to ten days and no week-day bands. Following that it was seven days and two Saturdays. Now we hear it's one Saturday. Not a cut-back according to the Council. .... MMMM? Fireworks??

The leaflet on the left has been put on the racks at the old Visitor Information Centre that is now Mackaris at the Bandstand.
Great! You might think. At last there is some information for tourists about Herne Bay. Wrong!

The leaflet opens up to a large map on one side and a list of places to shop on the other. The problem is, a large percentage of the retail listings no longer exist! We at hernebaypier.com did a short walk around only in the town centre and came up with 67 businesses that are no longer there! And that was without going up Sea Street or Beltinge Village.
Some of the prize listings were The Carlton Hotel, Scruffy Ducks Pub, Woolworths, The Bait Shop on Central Parade, The Richmond Inn, The Royal Oak & of course the Tourist Info Office in the Bandstand.
Some of the retailers have been gone for over 5 years!!
But as we all know, the Council closed the Bandstand Information office and has given us improved facilities in the Council offices.

It turns out that the leaflet was printed a mere 5 years ago!!
We also visited the Council offices to see for ourselves. A whole pile of listings for Canterbury or Canterbury, One or two single sheets for Whitstable and one single sheet for Herne Bay.
The touch screen features just two B&B's for Herne Bay, (we know at least five without going there & counting), no hotels,( what about the Premier Inn?) and only two pubs (The Four Fathoms & the Share & Coulter halfway up the Thanet Way, we know of at leat sixteen!). Everything on the Website is about Canterbury and any in-depth information regarding Herne Bay or Whitstable refers you to Canterbury VIC for the answer. Would you travel to Canterbury to find out about a town six miles away??
As some of the Visitor Information Centre campaigners are now no longer allowed to contact the council over these matters, ( they have been declared a nuisance for demanding our rights), it must be said that the only answer is to shame this council via the internet & via any other media that read this.
The Visitor Information Centre wasn't broken, Why did the council try to fix it???

The Kavanagh Cinema in Herne Bay is in danger of closing for good if more people do not use it.
Some of hernebaypier.com went to see the latest Terminator movie. What a superb film it is too!
Mondays & Tuesdays offer £2.50 per ticket in either cinema and that is for all shows. (Full price – £5.20 : shows before 5pm £4.20) It's still a lot less than a night in the pub!!
Excellent sound and well presented. Great staff on the desk and good hospitality.
We did notice that there were not a lot of sweets at the counter anymore. We think this is due to lack of funds with the cinema in administration.
Apparently, some staff are working for free to save the show from closure. If this is the case, then full marks must go to them for trying their hardest to save both their jobs and the cinemas in our town. It would be great if the public go and support the Kavanagh before it is too late.The moment it shuts for good, the council is known to want the building to move the gym in there from the pier sports centre and and demolition will begin at the "Cowshed"
That will leave us without a cinema in "The Bay" and we will all have to travel some miles and pay through the nose at complexes in Ashford or Westwood.
Your choice:- "Use it or lose it"
Whitstable lost the Oyster Cinema, lets not lose ours!
As you are reading this, say to your family, " Who fancies the idea of going to see a movie?"
For details of showings & times at the Kavanagh Cinema, click here: