Continued from page 24


DownsMail In touch with your parish Nursery Road had been iden-


tified as a good location for the mobile CCTV camera. Following a request for an in-


crease in the annual grant paid to the church for floodlights and upkeep of the churchyard, it was resolved to include this in the estimates for next year. Seasonal donations were agreed as follows: Age Concern, £250; Ditton Infant and Ditton Junior Schools, £200 each; Dit- ton Pop-In Club, £125. It was reported that two peo-


ple had been issued with 24- hour bans from the Kilnbarn. One was issued when a young man broke a table and glass panel. The other involved a man who was fighting and then put his fist through the disabled toilet door. The individuals would be advised that the ban would remain in force pending further investigation and that the police had been informed.


EastMalling and Larkfield Council


Nature grant


IT was reported that the Big Lot- tery Fund Awards for All scheme had awarded a condi- tional grant of £6,535 for the Church Farm nature trail. It was hoped the work could pro- ceed in the new year. Members were told that the


tax base for 2011/12 was £5,279.77 which made the parish council tax £43.97 –an increase of 65p on the current year. The willow tree in the court-


yard was to be removed as it was damaging the surface and was too close to the parish hall.


Surface query


EastPeckham Council


A RESIDENT asked why Kent Highways had not used a low noise and high drainage surface in the recent resurfacing works on the East Peckham bypass. KHS would be asked to explain. A resident was considering starting up a Tai Chi club in the village and had been advised of booking costs and hall avail- ability.


Footballers had commented


that the sports hall showers were not working properly. A plumber had advised that new shower heads might improve the situation but thought they would not make a significant difference. A further inspection was carried out which found that the shower pump had not been switched on. The problem had been resolved. An initial estimate for the ren- ovation and maintenance work on the building was around £54,000 and five contractors


30 Malling


would be asked to submit ten- ders. Members considered that the figure of £54,000, together with the amount spent on main- tenance works four years ago, was what should have been spent on the building in its life- time and that the problems had been caused by many years of neglect by a former manage- ment committee. It was re- solved that the council’s long-term aim would be the construction of a purpose-built sports and office complex. Feedback from parishes who


already have dog control orders was considered. Members said they were not anti-dog and wished to work with owners to achieve benefits for the village as a whole. It was resolved to obtain more information from Tonbridge and Malling Council. The parish had been awarded


a £15 tree voucher in the Kent Men of Trees annual competi- tion. It was resolved that the prize would part-fund a way- farer tree which would replace one of the failing trees in Old Road. A quotation from Headland Garden Services was accepted for the village grass cutting and care of Holy Trinity Church- yard. It was noted the charges had not increased for the third year running. Councillors agreed to support


the summer playscheme up to a limit of £809.95. Signposts which needed cleaning, especially those at the junction of Church Road/ Pound Road and at Bush Road would be referred to KHS.


Kings Hill Council Shelter plan


THE clerk was asked to obtain three quotes for the supply and installation of a suitable bus shelter at Discovery Drive, to apply for a grant from KCC and notify KHS that the scheme would be going ahead. It was agreed that the clerk should in- vestigate seating, CCTV and real-time display options for the shelter. An administration assistant would be co-ordinating the arti- cles for View From The Hill from January as the chairman Cllr Sarah Barker could no longer commit as much time to the project. It was agreed that a small arti-


cle be included in the next VFTH asking residents to be considerate with their hedges and trees. Borough Cllr Chris Brown ex- pressed his concern about KCC’s winter plan. Kings Hill had very few bins compared to other villages locally despite being far larger with higher traf- fic densities and being at higher altitude and therefore colder than lower-lying communities.


Leybourne Council Youth plans


THE CLERK reported that a rep- resentative from the church had met her and PCSO Lia Bishop to see if a youth forum could be formed in conjunction with the church youth club. It was thought this might assist fund- ing and volunteer opportuni- ties. All options were being explored. PCSO Susan Leng reported


that antisocial behaviour in Lit- tle Market Row was still a prior- ity with noise, litter and vehicle nuisance being targeted. The youths had welcomed the


parish council’s decision to keep the multi-use games area open later in the evening and were considering setting up a youth club. The PCSO detailed the ongo-


ing issues at Leybourne Grange with youths, vehicles, ghost hunting and potential thefts. This was being dealt with through high visibility patrols and liaising with the develop- ers’ security team. Two representatives of Kent Police Authority attended to hear feedback from the public. A councillor raised the issue of high turnover in neighbour- hood police personnel in recent years. It seemed that PCs did not stay in the area long enough to get to know the locality and people. A member of the public com- mented that residents had voiced concerns over a “them and us” element to the church and the parish and that the church seemed to be running as a “charity” with an emphasis on fundraising. It was widely felt that it was important for both organisations to join together for the community.Acouncillor suggested that the church was run by a committee, and had be- come more youthful and active and acknowledged that some people did not like the new structure. The councillor said that in terms of engaging with young people, it had improved, but he understood that it did not suit everybody. Members agreed to accept a


5%increase in the draft precept for the coming year, which would give the council around an extra £4,000. This would equate to around 6p per week per householder but it was likely there may not be an ac- tual increase because of the ad- dition of new homes at Leybourne Grange. The cost for the PCSO had


been included in the budget, al- though the final figure had not yet been supplied by Kent Po- lice.


The welcome letter to be sent


to new residents was agreed. The following planning ap- plications were considered: 4


Pump Close, demolition of porch, extension and garage, erection of new extensions and replacement garage – objection as overdevelopment of the site in its location; land rear of 15 Copsehill, reduce oak tree crown – no objections; land ad- joining 4 Broadoak, reduction of lime tree and horse chestnut – no objections; 22 Barleycorn, two-storey side extension – no objections; 50 Baywell, conser- vatory – no objections; Castle Lake, variation of planning con- dition to open pub/restaurant to non hotel users from 7am to 1am – objection as inappropri- ate for residential area; 246 Lon- don Road, extensions and conservatory – no objections.


Mereworth Council Bus stop move


THE new position of the bus stop at The Street had been agreed and installation of hard- standing was awaited. Only one crime – an assault –


had been reported since the last meeting. The refurbishment of the vil-


lage hall toilets was still being planned. Aretirement party for Fr Noel McConachie would take place on February 7. KHS had agreed to supply a


salt bag to be left at the village hall car park, but no volunteers had yet come forward to distrib- ute it. The chairman was to find out if any local tractor owners could help. It was agreed to purchase a plastic salt bin for The Street. It was agreed to purchase a


gift for Bill Piper in thanks for his good work in dealing with the football pitches. It was reported that litter was


being left on the football field. The clerk was to write to the club.


Nettlestead Council Pub closes


IT was reported that the Hop Pole had closed and a new venue was needed for the Chat- terbox Club. An evening buffet had been organised at The Rail- way pub and members dis- cussed possible venues for the club’s lunches. There had been one reported


crime – of criminal damage to a car, which had been down- graded to accidental damage. It was noted that PC Tom Mep- stead would be replacing PC Gary Shaw. There had been no progress


with the additional works asso- ciated with the new crossing at the village hall. The overgrown vegetation had been reported to Kent Highways. The jumbo bag of salt had


been received and was being de- canted into smaller bags for dis-


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