DownsMail In touch with your parish


Addington Council Important road


THE clerk had written to Kent Police to disagree with the sug- gestion in their letter that Seven Mile Lane was not part of the important route network. A re- sponse was awaited. It had been proposed that the


prize money from the Kent Men of Trees competition was used to obtain more trees to plant on the village green to try to stop vehicles crossing the green. It was agreed that planting whips to form a hedge would be more appropriate and that the clerk should investigate whether the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership could donate them. Requests had been received


from members of the public for a salt bin by the Seekers Trust and a dog waste bin near the wall of St Margaret’s Church at the opening of footpath MR171. The clerk would investigate.


Aylesford Council Cold-calling


COMMUNITY Warden Dave Leipnik reported that the launch of the cold-calling zone in Eccles had been postponed due to weather conditions but the scheme was now in place. The police contract of the civilian head of the Neighbour- hoodWatch scheme was due to end on March 31. Mr Leipnik was instrumental in setting up this scheme and there was con- cern that, with funding cuts, the contract may not be renewed. Community Warden Sara Hoskins-Davies referred to the success of the youth bus which attends the Aylesford area on Wednesday evenings and thanked the parish council for its financial support for theWii and projector. Work on the Valley of Visions sculpture “Dream Towers” was nearly complete in the recre- ation ground. There were continuing prob-


lems with dog fouling spoiling the use of the recreation ground by children and footballers. Glass panels were missing


from the telephone box in Bull Lane and the phone was not working. Its future would be queried with BT. Footpath parking in Bull


Lane continued to cause prob- lems for pedestrians. Metal fencing or bollards were sug- gested. Cllr John Balcombe had at- tended a site meeting about anti-social behaviour at Pre- mier Parade. Responsibility for the condition of the access stairs was being researched. With regard to the Lower Bell lay-by litter clearance, county Cllr Peter Homewood con- firmed that the fencing project


24 Malling


was proceeding, funded by his highways fund. A price of £8,451.20 was agreed for the Forstal Road tod- dler multi-play equipment. The clerk had sent the results


of the Eccles car park survey to Tonbridge andMalling Council, requesting help in progressing the project. With regard to flood defences,


the clerk reported a satisfactory meeting with the Environment Agency. Excess water into the quarry remained the long-term option, but in the mean time all parties involved would work on good maintenance of the stream and culverts. A recent incident was reported in which the ex- cessive height of the stream was discovered at 3am by local resi- dents. Potential flooding of properties was averted by resi- dents led by Glyn Debnam clearing the stream screens and monitoring the situation throughout the rest of the night.


Birling Council Bike questions


ALL members had questions re- garding December’s presenta- tion by the police on the off-road bike project. It was agreed that a list of questions which had been drawn up by a councillor should be forwarded to Sgt Kevin Brigden. The parish council requested to be kept up to date with progress on the project. It was suggested that the annual parish meeting on April 12 might be an appro- priate date for the public meet- ing to be held. A letter of thanks was re- ceived from Birling Parochial Church Council for the dona- tion towards the upkeep of the churchyard. Quotes had been obtained for repairs to the churchyard wall but more in- formation was required before the go-ahead could be given. Concerns had been expressed


by some residents about the late finish of the disco and noisy fireworks at the Nevill Bull on New Year’s Eve. An item had been included in February’s Pilgrims magazine asking if anyone would be pre- pared to take over running the Speedwatch scheme.


Ditton Council Snow query


BOROUGH Cllr Barry Stone had asked Kent Highways why the farmers were not out deal- ing with the snow and why the daily work schedule updates did not reflect what was actu- ally happening. He would re- port back. The following planning appli-


cations were considered: Spick- ets, Kiln Barn Lane, erection of


detached four-bedroom re- placement dwelling (amended design and siting) – no objec- tion; 13 Cedar Close, remove field maple with basal decay – no objection; 10 Cobdown Close, porch, side and rear sin- gle storey additions – no objec- tion; 4 Ditton Court Close, trim three yew trees – no objection. It was agreed that Scarbutts Printers should be contracted for the Ditton Gazette but a de- cision on the size of the publi- cation should be deferred. It was agreed to lift the ban on


the youth who damaged a table and glass panel in the Kilnbarn as he had attended at the parish office with his father to apolo- gise and pay in full for the dam- age and had been cautioned by the police.


East Malling and Larkfield Council


Precept set


MEMBERS agreed the precept for 2011/12 which results in a parish rate of £43.80. It was reported by borough


Cllr David Thornewell that the application by Morrisons to ex- tend the hours when they could sell alcohol had been allowed. The store manager had said that the process was part of the firm’s national policy so that all stores had similar licences but there was no intention to actu- ally increase the local store’s current opening hours. An appeal had been lodged


into the refusal on amenity and highway grounds of a new ac- cess at 105 Clare Lane, East Malling, onto Broadwater Road. A field shelter had been erected at Orchards, Stickens Lane, and it was being investi- gated whether permission was needed. Borough Cllr Anita Oakley re- ported she had received a com- plaint regarding access to Lunsford School during the re- cent bad weather. She had found that salting was not on the KCC schedule but the site had now been added. It was felt it should be drawn


to the attention of Liberty that the signs for Well Street said “Wells Street” and this should be corrected. Borough Cllr Liz Simpson


said the salt bin at Twisden Road had not been refilled and she was told by KCC that it was a borough council salt bin and its responsibility to refill. The borough had said it would have filled it but could not get the salt. The bin was still empty. It was reported that the pro-


posed skate park area had been revised to include BMX use. Awards for All had approved


the grant for the Church Farm Nature Trail and the order had


been placed for the interpreta- tion boards. Discussion also took place on the grazing of the Hebridean sheep by Mr Nor- man Cole. Fencing would be necessary to prevent them en- tering the wooded area or es- caping from the meadow. The clerk would contact Mr Cole to discuss this. With regard to the Kent Korf-


ball Tournament 2011, the or- ganisers had written with their plans to address the issues which caused concern last year. They planned to improve their marshalling of the parking at busy periods and also sought to relocate some of the camping to another area. They had taken the noise problems very seri- ously and suggested moving all or some of the camping (mainly the overseas visitors) to the field outside the village hall. They felt this would reduce the noise pollution greatly as there would be some barriers, such as the building and trees and hedges. Local businesses would be approached to see if they could use some of their spaces. A councillor commented on


the name Vigor Close for the Hillreed Homes development at the former Mill Stream School site. It was explained that Vigor was the name of a boy who was killed by a horse at this location and there was a plaque in the wall in his mem- ory.


E. Peckham Council Speed no-go


IT was reported that speed checks in the vicinity of the The Harp pub, Hale Street, had been abandoned as the police had been unable to find a safe place to do them. The PCSO would ascertain


the extent of the police investi- gation into the accident near The Harp which resulted in a young motorcyclist being se- verely injured. Crime statistics were down


and would be published in the parish magazine. He was aware that during the


recent snow emergency, snow- balls had been thrown at vehi- cles in Hale Street and one had been thrown in Old Road, re- sulting in damage to property. He asked that any further inci- dents be reported to the police control room. The primary school would be interested in participating, should the twinning with Chereng proceed. A recent survey of the sports


hall had identified urgent maintenance work and it was considered more cost efficient to carry out the work at the same time as the renovations to create a new office andmeeting hall. It was evident that the


Continued on page 30 You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40