Deal Town Plan - Have Your Say

Published: 22 November 2021

Deal Town Council is asking everyone in Deal to answer three questions to help shape the future of the town

Before the pandemic, Deal Town Council started a Town Plan process. The first part of that process was to ask the question, "do we need one?". In January 2020, the Council consulted with community leaders from across the Deal area and the answer was "yes". A Town Plan can provide clear targets, better focus, improved use of resources and direction in a rapidly changing world. Consequently, work on a new Town Plan started and then was delayed by the pandemic.

Now, as we approach the end of 2021 and we all start looking towards the future, the Council is restarting the Town Plan process. The aim is to produce a medium-term, 3 to 5 year, plan. It is to be a live document with actions that the council can actively pursue, whether on its own or with partners such as Dover District Council or Kent County Council. Essentially, as suggested by our community leaders, the Plan must be a people's plan.

So, in the last few weeks of the year, Deal Town Council is asking everyone who lives or works in Deal to answer three questions:
• What's good about Deal?
• What do you not like about Deal?
• What could be done to make Deal even better?

The Town Plan Survey, asking these three questions, is now live on the Council’s website at www.deal.gov.uk. The Town Council has arranged for survey leaflets containing these three questions to be sent to every household in the three wards: Middle Deal; Mill Hill; and North Deal.

The Mayor of Deal, Cllr Chris Turner said, “We’re encouraging everyone to take part, young and old, there is no age limit. We are especially keen to hear from pupils in our schools, as this plan is about their future in their town.”

Completed survey leaflets can be sent back to the Council using a Freepost address or by popping them into the Town Hall. They can also be handed in at the Saturday Market.
The answers that people give to these three questions will be used to create a longlist of actions. Towards the end of January, this longlist will be sent out to local people who have offered to help prioritise the actions.

Cllr Chris Turner added, “the Town Council is listening, and this is a great opportunity for the people of Deal to contribute to the future of Deal.”

The Deal Town Plan Survey closes at midnight on Friday 31st December.