Dear XXXX, Welcome to our March Newsletter I want to start my own contribution with an apology! Due to unforeseen circumstances we have to change two of the diary dates included in the February Newsletter: ‘The Ramsgate Society Diamond Jubilee Celebration cannot now take place in April and we are planning to hold it in early June.  Please look out for your invitation to join us with details of how to buy tickets soon. The talk on Operation Dynamo billed for May 16th is also unable to go ahead on that date. We are still working on what we might be able to arrange instead. If you made these diary dates, please remove them! All the best, Terry Prue, Ramsgate Society Communication Lead An Appeal from our Vice Chair for Volunteers The Ramsgate Society relies on volunteers – would you like to join us or do you have a friend or family member who would? Volunteering can be a good way to gain experience for your CV or just to enjoy spending time working with others. We’re currently looking for volunteers to help run our monthly talks – perhaps a regular attendee at the talks who would be able to come along early and help on the door or maybe someone who is comfortable with tech and could assist with setting up the microphones etc. For our talks team we’re looking for a little time each month – usually a Thursday evening and less than 2 hours. Our trustees who comprise the Ramsgate Society committee are also volunteers. If you are interested in influencing how the charity runs and supporting its delivery of its charitable aims as a trustee, please let us know. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and explain a little more about the roles. You can speak to one of the current trustees at our talks or please send an email via the button below or use the Contact Us form on our website. Enquire about Volunteering Sophie Clissold-Lesser Ramsgate Society Vice Chair Talks Update 1: Julia Elton on John Smeaton 27/2/25 From the audience feedback it is fair to say that Julia Elton’s held the capacity audience spellbound with her talk on John Smeaton: The Making of an Engineering Genius. . One of her sources was an academic article from 1976 on ‘The construction of Ramsgate Harbour’ and she has kindly made it available for Ramsgate Society members. You can view and print this article here. Talks Update 2: National Coastwatch 20/3/25 Photo: Susanne Ford A final reminder that this talk, by Dave Coupland on the National Coastwatch Institution and its recent arrival in Ramsgate takes place this Thursday March 20th. As always, we ask you to book in advance so we can control numbers and ensure everyone gets a seat. For more information and to book, click below: Book here Talks Update 3: Saving Lives at Sea from Ramsgate 24/4/25 Photo: Wikimedia Commons Booking is now open for our April 24th talk when we welcome back John Ray from the RNLI to talk about the past and present saving of lives by the Ramsgate crews. John has been actively involved with the RNLI for over 40 years in a variety of roles and is currently Ramsgate RNLI’s archivist and a water safety education advisor. He will cover the history and work of lifeboats at Ramsgate since 1802. In view of the imminent 85th. anniversary of the event, he will include an account of the unique role of Thanet’s lifeboats during Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation. As usual the talk will be at the San Clu Hotel with doors open at 6:30pm and the event running from 7pm to 8pm. Booking is required in advance at £3 per person. Book here Terry Prue Our Next Litter Pick – March 23rd Promotional image: Guy Sawtell Another last reminder of an event coming up soon. As our contribution to the Great Ramsgate Spring Clean (March 21st to 30th) we will be repeating our Chine to Chine Litter Pick on Sunday March 23rd.  Meet at the Clock House from 10am to 12 noon and spreading out between the chines either end of Ramsgate to collect as much litter as possible. All equipment will be provided. No need to book and everyone welcome – especially families – with sweets and stickers available at the end of the event. Susanne Ford Lead on Events and Community Engagement Local Government Reorganisation (What Again?) The Government has nailed its colours very firmly to two masts: Growth and Devolution. It is consulting, but with very short timescales and a clear message that, unless local authorities can agree new arrangements among themselves, the Deputy PM will impose a solution. Much of the devolution push is about big cities and conurbations, particularly in the North and North-East, getting more powers in the area of planning and economic development, and elected Mayors, to grow the economy. However, the non-metropolitan “two-tier system established in the 1972-74 reorganisation of counties and districts, with different (but sometimes overlapping) powers and responsibilities- waste collection with districts, waste disposal with counties- is coming to an end. New Unitary Councils, with the full of powers and services of the previous county and district councils, will be created by combining a number of existing districts. The major benefit should be better integration of services. The Society is strongly in favour of the proposal, as far as it goes. The new unitaries need to be large enough to benefit from the potential economies of scale and able to provide a fully comprehensive service in key areas like education and social services, yet smaller and more local than the existing counties. The expectation is that they will have populations around 500,000. A number of alternative models for the reorganisation in Kent are in play. The Society favours 4 unitaries in addition to the existing Medway Unitary Council. It also favours the model of an East Kent Unitary based on combining the four districts of Thanet, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone & Hythe. These share some key geographical, economic and social characteristics: coastal, maritime, tourism, with pockets of economic and social deprivation. Their combined population according to the 2021 census was 524,000. As compared to many proposed new unitaries around the country East Kent would have a high degree of coherence and identity. It will, however, be essential to balance this shift to larger unitaries, which  may feel remote to the public, with a new emphasis on the existing “tier” of parish and town councils which provide a range of services and strong local identity. We have an excellent and active Ramsgate Town Council, with which the Society enjoys  a close working relationship. There is a huge opportunity for RTC to expand its presence and local services and help bridge the political representation gap created by the abolition of the district tier. Michael Ashley, Secretary. Climate Matters March 2025: Breathing Easily Image by Matt Brown,https://flickr.com/photos/57868312@N00/52716289592, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CC-BY-2.0 The world is changing dramatically day by day, and mostly in ways that spell problems for the environment and our ability to live in the manner to which we have become accustomed. However amongst all the gloom, a piece of news appeared recently that showed hope for a less damaging future. Despite fierce opposition to the 2023 expansion of the London ULEZ zone, data released last week by the Greater London Authority and reviewed by an independent advisory group of experts indicated that Ulez had had a positive impact and that London’s air quality had improved across the board and at a faster rate than that of the rest of the country. The biggest gains were seen in Central London where annual average PM2.5 concentrations fell from 17 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017 to 8 in 2024. Inner London also showed significant falls. Several London councils launched unsuccessful legal challenges to the rollout of ULEZ across a wider area, and Keir Starmer blamed it for Labour’s loss of the Ruislip and Uxbridge byelection. Not only dangerous pollutants such as PM2.5 have been reduced, but significant falls in carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide were recorded. Maria Neira, the director of environment, climate change and health at the World Health Organization (WHO), praised London’s efforts, which she said would “contribute to a healthier and more sustainable urban environment”. Under the ULEZ rules a small number of the most polluting vehicles pay a £12.50 charge to be driven inside the zone. Most petrol cars under 19 years old and diesel cars under nine years old are exempt. The latest figures show that 97% of the vehicles in the capital are now compliant and have no fee to pay. So what does this mean for people’s health? Toxic air affects every organ in the human body and increases the risk of suffering a number of conditions including asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, poor cognitive development in children and dementia in older people. About 4,000 premature deaths a year in London were previously attributed to air pollution. The people suffering most (and who have had the most benefit from ULEZ) are in deprived communities close to the busiest roads. It has been estimated that in 2023 80% fewer people were exposed to illegal pollution. Each phase of ULEZ has led to clear improvements in air quality in London. As the director of the Clean Air in London Campaign, Simon Birkett, says: ULEZ, together with related measures such as cleaner buses and taxis, have almost single-handedly helped London to slash nitrogen dioxide concentrations by two-thirds near busy roads, and nearly comply with legal limits and the WHO’s 2005 air quality guidelines … probably ahead of smaller UK cities. We often think that Ramsgate, beside the sea and with much lower levels of population and traffic, should have extremely good air quality. However, PM2.5 concentrations averaged across the town are 17.1 micrograms per cubic metre, the same level as central London before the extension of the ULEZ zone. Today’s level (from Accuweather.com) shows a PM2.5 concentration of 35 micrograms per cubic metre, regarded as unhealthy. Much of Ramsgate’s air pollution originates from shipping in the Channel and industry in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands, which shows that air pollution, like climate change, is not a local issue but an international one. The solution remains the introduction of cleaner fuels (and particularly, electric propulsion sources and industrial processes) and, where possible, a reduction in total miles travelled. We shall see how this plays with the President of the USA’s change in focus away from environment-friendly policies towards increasing fossil fuel consumption. I had a response following my last article about the ‘politicisation’ of the Society, which rather mistakes the Society’s approach. While politics drives our response to many major issues, I firmly believe that the environment should not be a political football. All parties should work together to protect both UK and world citizens from the damaging effects of climate change and environmental harms. The success of ULEZ in reducing pollution-related deaths and in-utero harm demonstrates very clearly why this should be the case. Phil Shotton, Ramsgate Society Lead on Environment and Climate Change Contact the Ramsgate Society If you have any queries about or for the Society please get in touch Members with events, workshops or news that you would like the Society to consider featuring in its newsletter please contact: news@ramsgate-society.org.uk Copyright (C) 2025 Ramsgate Society. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you provided us with your email address to send updates about the work we’re doing   Ramsgate Society c/o The Custom House Harbour Parade Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8LP United Kingdom