As a Councillor I try to be properly responsive to communication and WILL reply to casework, questions etc (as long as they are polite!). Although voicemail, Messenger, WhatsApp and the rest I try to keep on top of, the best will be to email to me, preferably to tim@prater.uk from where I can send it to the correct one of my 5 Councillor email accounts for action!

If you haven't had a reply back from me in a couple of WORKING days please come back to me (the person that emailed me New Years Day with a casework peeve some years ago did get a reply that day, but my Christmas holidays have improved since!). Certainly if you've had no reply at all in 4 working days, please do check the address you sent it to and re contact me - that's not the way I roll, so something may have gone awry. Finally, although I answer to Mr Prater, Cllr and a few other names, I'd much prefer Tim!

An update from me goes through (almost) all doors in the division 3 times a year, but you can also find more regular updates from me online at http://www.prater.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/timprater

Finally - sign up on the form at the bottom of https://www.fhld.uk/news/prater to receive monthly Councillor Updates from me and the Lib Dem team in Folkestone & Hythe. It's fast and free! This will sign you up only to local news from the area, NOT campaigns and campaigning events. 

May 2026 Action List

5th May: attended Growth, Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee.

7th May: attended Selection and Members Services Committee and opposed almost all of a raft of constitutional changes put forward by and supported by every member of the Reform administration. On one hand changes that limit scrutiny of the Kent County Council Leader were put forward as a way of saving time in meetings, and simultaneously they backed proposals to say the Lords Prayer at the start of meetings and sing the National Anthem at the end, and to use Council resources and staff time to broadcast them.

13th May: site visit meeting with Kent Highways officers to discuss traffic speeds in Horn Street, Hythe.

21st May: will be attending Kent County Council Full Council. 

Southern Water have updated their Folkestone and Hythe Wastewater Action Plan for 2025-2030, detailing wastewater investment in the Folkestone and Hythe district either starting or finishing between 2025 to 2030. The total amount of planned investment for this period is now estimated at around £42m.

Their plan for 2025-30 included only £11m of works, which they outlined in a stakeholders meeting in New Rmoney in 2024.

Folkestone and Hythe District Council Leader Jim Martin, said:

“I think this increase in investment is directly attributable to the action of the Stakeholders group, lead by FHDC and supported by our MPs, with the full and active involvement of Parishes and residents. Together, we have argued Southern Water into a corner, giving them no option except to increase their investment.”

Councillor for Sandgate and West Folkestone, Tim Prater, said:

"This is a step forward. Not enough, but a lot more than we had previously been promised by Southern Water towards reducing sewage pollution in Folkestone and Hythe before 2030. 

“It feels like pressure has started to yield results: now need the work delivered whilst more pressure is applied. Less rainwater should be going to sewage, with more diverted to sea and drainaway solutions. Pump capacity along the coast should be further increased to ensure we do not need to see sewage released into the sea ever, let alone hundreds of times a year. when we can trust that the water quality off our beaches is excellent by default, then we'll have seen real progress.”

The plan now includes:

Southern Water add:

"In regard to the planned investment at Dymchurch Wastewater Treatment Works (WTW), the latest status is:

• Between 2027 and 2029 we will be spending circa £10m on improvements at Dymchurch WTW, focusing on additional biological treatment capacity, as well as providing more resilience on site to help with Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection of wastewater. 
• We’re currently scheduled to start these works in 2027, with completion in 2029. 
• We are currently in the design phase of the project, which looks at the most efficient way of delivering the programme and ensuring value for money."

Lib Dem Councillors Tim Prater and Gary Fuller hold regular drop-in advice surgeries in Sandgate & West Folkestone each month. No need for an appointment - just turn up. First Saturday of each month from 11-12.30pm at Sandgate Farmers Market in the Chichester Hall, 70 Sandgate High Street, Sandgate, Folkestone CT20 3AR.