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.
Kent County Council's BME (Black and minority ethnic) Achievement Awards are being presented at Kent County Council offices in Maidstone, Sessions House, Lecture Theatre this Friday, 30th October from 2-3.15pm (coffee available from 1.30).
New Lib Dem County Councillor Tim Prater is the first in Folkestone to give power direct to local residents to decide on which projects they want to see backed with £15,000 of grant funding.
Folkestone County Councillors Tim Prater and Rolund Tolputt have gained agreement from Kent County Council for an interactive "slow down" sign on Sandgate Hill on the approach to the junction with Coolinge Lane.
Having been to an excellent (and very well attended by Councillors from all Parties) briefing session on Safeguarding Children at Kent County Council today, I have even more respect for those who have to do the difficult, and often harrowing, job of helping to safeguard children - within Kent and elsewhere. There was a lot to digest and think about, but one set of figures stood out.
Tim Prater has slammed Shepway Council Leader Robert Bliss for misleading local residents on the income being raised through the recently imposed charges on Castle Road Car Park in Sandgate. In an article in the Folkestone Herald on 8th October, an article featuring Cllr Bliss describes the introduction of charges at Sandgate's Castle Hill Car park as a "success" with "takings averaging £700 a week".
County Councillors Tim Prater and Roland Tolputt are meeting with Kent Highways officers on Monday morning to discuss measures to slow traffic descending down Sandgate Hill from Folkestone into Sandgate.
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 |
