
Prater Welcomes Kent U-Turn on Streetlight Removals
Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater has welcomed a U-Turn by Conservative Kent County Council on the removal of streetlights in the area.
Tim has lived and worked in Sandgate (on Sandgate High Street) since 2004.
A trustee of the Sandgate Heritage Trust, Secretary of the Sandgate Members Club, Treasurer and Trustee of the Chichester Memorial Hall, former Trustee of the Gurkha Memorial Fund and former Governor of St Martin's School, and current Sandgate Speedwatch volunteer, Tim knows and works for the area!
Tim is honoured and delighted to have been elected as:
In May 2025 Tim won the Kent County Council seat from the Conservatives. He was the only non-Reform Councillor elected that day anywhere in Folkestone & Hythe, Dover & Deal, Ashford or Thanet.
In May 2023 Tim was re-elected to all the above town and district seats for four more years. At the District Council AGM on 24th May 2023, he became Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Governance.
Previously, Tim has served on Folkestone Town Councillor for Cheriton from 2006-2011, and Shepway District Councillor for Cheriton from 2007-2011, Kent County Councillor for Folkestone West from 2009-2013. He has sat on Sandgate Parish Council for Sandgate Village since 2011, was the Vice Chair of Sandgate Parish Council from 2018-2020 and Chair from 2020 to date.
Contact Tim by email to tim@prater.uk, call 07956 276118 or write to 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY. As a District Councillor he runs monthly surgeries at the 1st Sandgate Farmers and Makers Market of every month at the Chichester Hall, 70 Sandgate High Street from 11am-12.30pm (and has each month since election in 2019). No appointment needed: just turn up.
Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater has welcomed a U-Turn by Conservative Kent County Council on the removal of streetlights in the area.
Kent County Council are finalising proposals to remove over 3,000 streetlights across Kent, including over 200 in Shepway.
During December there were no reported incidents of theft or criminal damage in the ward. Police responded to vehicle obstruction issues in Military Road, Meadowbrook Court, Radnor Cliff Road and Castle Road. There have also been several reports of abandoned vehicles in the ward and these details have been passed to the local Council.
Kent Highways are planning to carry out footway reconstruction works in Coolinge Lane. These works involve the replacement of the existing footway surface with a newly constructed asphalt layer, together with localised kerb replacement works and new pedestrian guard railing.
This is the update for the months of November and December, for Cheriton, Morehall and surrounding areas.
On 18th January 2013, Sandgate Parish Council are running a trip to Sangatte to celebrate our village's twinning links. Few twinning arrangements have a closer local bond - on a clear day, you can *almost* see Sangatte across the channel!
Sign up to receive regular Councillor Updates from Tim Prater and the Lib Dem Councillor 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. To receive everything, including local news AND campaigning updates from the Lib Dems (still free!) sign up at https://www.fhld.uk/sign-up-for-updates
Tim's Council Record of Service
Council | Seat | Dates | Years |
Kent County Council | Folkestone West | 2009-2013 | 4 |
Kent County Council | Cheriton, Sandgate and Hythe East | 2025- | |
Shepway District Council | Cheriton | 2007-2011 | 4 |
Folkestone and Hythe District Council | Sandgate & West Folkestone | 2019- | 6 |
Sandgate Parish Council | Sandgate Village | 2011- | 14 |
Folkestone Town Council | Cheriton | 2006-2011 | 5 |
Folkestone Town Council | Folkestone Harvey West | 2019- | 6 |
Hythe Town Council | Hythe East | 2019- | 6 |
45 |