Boxley Parish Mail CHAIRMAN: Martin Pepper CLERK: Pauline Bowdery Parish Office, Beechen Hall, Wildfell Close, Walderslade, ME5 9RU


Tel and Fax: 01634 861237 email: bowdery@boxleyparishcouncil.co.uk Website: www.boxleyparishcouncil.co.uk Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained from the parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website


Concern at housing go-ahead


MEMBERS expressed disap- pointment that planning per- mission had been given for nine houses in the garden at 21 Franklin Drive, Grove Green. The council had attended the


MBC Planning Committee to ar- gue for refusal as it considered that therewas already too much traffic at Grove Green and the


residential road serving the site was too narrow and residents would be disturbed by further traffic movements. It was also considered that gardens should be seen as greenfield and not brownfield sites and development would lead to the loss of wildlife habi- tats.


Nursery prosecution welcomed


THE owner of Bredhurst Nurs- ery has been fined a substantial amount for not complying with planning enforcement over breaches of planning permis- sion. Over the years the site has


seen a number of planning ap- plications and quite a few com- plaints from residents and the


Chance to add names to the war memorial


THE parish council has been moni- toring cracks that have been appear- ing in one of the “drums” to the war memorial at Boxley Green. Members heard that there is now


a need to look at replacing the faulty drum and investigations are under way to ensure this is done as sensi- tively as possible. The council felt that it would be a


good opportunity to check that there were no omissions from the honour roll and hoped to enlist res- idents help in trying to locate the families and history of the men mentioned.


Beechen Hall MEMBERS were notified that more classes had been booked into Beechen Hall including Zumba whichwas now held on two evenings and also on a Fri- day morning. Members also heard that a fit-


ness class for the plus 60s who didn’t wish to Zumba was start- ing on a Friday and yoga was also having an additional ses- sion on a Tuesday. Members welcomed the addi-


tional usage and were invited by the assistant clerk to con- sider attending classes them- selves and told that more information could be found on the website.


More classes at The council will welcome contact


from any relative of someone named on, or who they think should be named on, the war me- morial and from anyone who has information about the memorial. Details of the names appearing on


the memorial can be obtained from the parish office and more informa- tion on any planned work. The clerk confirmed that the Gov- ernment guidelines would be fol- lowed and that the war memorial was registered on the UK National Inventory of War Memorials web- site.


Grant for Warren project


THE parish council, working in partnership with the Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partner- ship, has been successful in ob- taining a £49,000 lottery grant towards a three-year project to involve the local community in projects to understand the her- itage features of Boxley Warren and also to record and improve the SSSI. Boxley Warren covers 83 hectares and through the help of Maidstone Council and many volunteers it has been much im- proved since the bad days of fly-tipping and burnt-out cars. Plans are being made to


arrange many events and there will also be consultation with


ON March 27 all households in the United King- dom will be taking part in a census and the parish council has offered to host some drop-in events at Beechen Hall and will be displaying posters and leaflets to alert people to what is going on. The PCSOhas been briefed as workers will be knocking on doors. Since 1801 a day has been chosen every 10


years for a national census (except in 1941 dur- ing the war). The census provides an excellent source of in-


formation about the population. This enables cen- tral and local government, health authorities and many other organisations to identify need for


20 East


the community. Any person in- terested in receiving more in- formation can e-mail the parish office to be added to a mailing list. Details will also be in- cluded on the council's website. Chairman Martin Pepper


said: “In times of cuts this is ex- cellent news. This is a very special area that deserves more attention."


Annual meeting THE council is looking to make plans for the annual parish meeting and would welcome suggestions from any resident about issues that they would like debated. Ideas can be sent to the parish office.


Census form will provide crucial information


housing, education, health and transport services. The census statistics also feed into the alloca-


tion of funding for local authorities and play a major part in identifying need for local services in communities, so it is crucial the population es- timate is as accurate as possible. When the questionnaire envelope comes through the door you’ll easily recognise it by the purple 2011 Census logo. Take care of it. If, like many people, you want to complete the questionnaire online, your individual internet code is on the front of the questionnaire. More in- formation about the 2011 Census can be found at: www.census.gov.uk.


parish councils about usage and breaches of current planning permissions. The owner is currently ap- pealing against a MBC planning refusal for a camping and cara- van site. Boxley Parish Council has at- tended an inquiry to speak against such development.


Volunteers tackle vegetation


WALDERSLADEWoods Volun- teers, who meets on a monthly basis to undertake work to im- prove the woods for the com- munity, have agreed to clear overgrown vegetation from the steps, from Tunbury Bottom to- wards the school. The group will be building


more steps in other parts of the woodlands to make public ac- cess easier. Additional volunteers would


be welcomed as the group is planning more work. Details can be obtained from Rob on 01634 682048. Any resident interested in


just enjoying a walk in the many wooded areas around Walderslade can obtain a guide leaflet from the Parish Office. Activity packs for children are also available.


Hospital plans


are monitored MEMBERSwere told that a sign had appeared at the site of the proposed new hospital at Grove Green, advertising that the proj- ect was going ahead. Council- lors and the parish office will be monitoring the situation. The council had already arranged to forge links with the developer to ensure any issues occurring during the building work could be dealt with swiftly.


Rubbish hot-spots


to be targeted MEMBERS expressed concern that some residents were still dumping their garden waste and other material on highway verges or over the back of their fences onto private land. It was agreed that problem


areas would be leafleted and that residents would be encour- aged to report persistent of- fenders as the borough and parish councils spent ratepay- ers money in clearing up the flytipping to try to keep the areas looking nice.


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