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.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced earmarked support totalling £15.9m for the regeneration of 12 city and town centres stretching from Falkirk to Folkestone.
![Petanque [Boules]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/4/csm_petanque-boules_eb866345d8.png)
Sandgate Parish Council has recently taken a lease on the Military Road Recreation Area, with responsilbility to maintaining and improving the park passing to the Parish Council from shepway District Council.
Kent Trading Standards is advising consumers of a product recall by R&R Ice Cream Ltd. The recall is a precautionary measure as three varieties of its multipack Chokablok ice cream sticks, purchased from Tesco and One Stop stores may contain fragments of broken lolly stick.
Kent Trading Standards are alerting members of the public to a product recall issued by B&Q relating to Verve 42cm & Verve 52cm Heated propagators.
On 7th March 2012 Officers Sarah Wallace and Mark Ball attended an address in Radnor Park Crescent in relation to report of a Burglary in progress. Upon arriving on scene the suspect had made off from the area. Whilst conducting enquiries the offender was spotted, and stopped by the officers.
Since the previous Parish Council Meeting there have been 4 crimes recorded in the ward: theft of scrap metal from Ross Way, lead roofing from Sandgate High Street, criminal damage to an outbuilding at Folkestone School for Girls and theft of waste bins at The Riviera.
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 |
