The voice of the Dover Town Investment Zone (DTIZ) petition will be heard at a council meeting on May 14 in a 10 minute slot.

This news is welcomed after Alan Shirley, the petition leader, was told he would have to wait until July to speak.

Mr Shirley, 65, of Valley Road, River, had written to the chairman of the council Sue Nicholas to bring it forward.

The petition was designed to get Dover District Council to reveal publicly in a meeting how progress was going with the St James' development.

Mr Shirley emigrated to Australia for more than a decade, but on his return saw that the area had gone downhill.

A spokesman from Dover District Council said: "The petition would normally be received at the next scheduled meeting of the full Council on July 23 but as we are expecting there to be sufficient business to warrant the calling of an extraordinary council meeting on May 14, the chairman has made a decision to receive the petition at that meeting."

This decision was made as the Dover Mercury went to press.