For many people Kent is a county they rush through on their way to the Channel Tunnel or the Channel ports. Despite being bisected by high speed trains and motorways, it has some very attractive countryside and major tourist attractions such as Leeds Castle.
There are some excellent beaches, but many of the coastal towns have had a struggle to recover from the decline of British seaside resorts. Whitstable has moved up market and Margate is undergoing a process of regeneration that still has a long way to go.
For many people Kent is a county they rush through on their way to the Channel Tunnel or the Channel ports. Despite being bisected by high speed trains and motorways, it has some very attractive countryside and major tourist attractions such as Leeds Castle.
There are some excellent beaches, but many of the coastal towns have had a struggle to recover from the decline of British seaside resorts. Whitstable has moved up market and Margate is undergoing a process of regeneration that still has a long way to go.
The combination of unemployment blackspots, low incomes in many communities and a large retired population on the coast has made this fertile ground for UKIP which forms the opposition on Kenty Council.
Gillingham are the one league club that play in Kent, it being claimed that only those who live south and east of the River Medway are Men of Kent, rather than mere Kentish men. There are many Charlton supporters in the county who have moved out of London. The club runs an extensive coach service to bring supporters to game, officially known as Valley Express, but popularly known as the ‘Rickshaw’ after the leading member of Thanet Council, Rick Everitt, who instigated the service.
But what of non-league football in the county? Dover Athletic have just been promoted to the Football Conference, having been playing at Step 4 just six years ago. They have had a turbulent financial history, reflecting some of the economic challenges that the town has faced.
In 1983 the former Dover FC had to be disbanded, to be replaced by Dover Athletic. In 1999-2000, mounting financial difficulties saw the board of directors resign and the Supporters’ Trust take over the running of the club. A CVA was agreed, by which time debts has reached around £400,000.
By 2005 the club was in trouble again, but former director Jim Parmenter headed a consortium which cleared the CVA debts and put the club on a stable financial footing. Dover don’t have a big budget by Conference standards and are relying on a young squad, supplemented by some astute deals for more experienced players.
Elsewhere in the county, Ryman Premier Margate already had the budget of a club pushing for the Football League. Ebbsfleet, in the Conference South, have backers from Kuwait. Maidstone, who in an earlier incarnation were briefly a Football League side, get good gates for a third tier side.
Kent has changed as a county. I can remember when the Kent League had teams like Betteshanger Colliery and Snowdon Colliery from the Kent coalfield. Now the high speed Javelin service is boosting the attractiveness of places like Ashford and the surrounding area for well-off commuters who can afford the cost. Perhaps Kent football is on the up.