TOVIL PARISHCOUNCIL Parking charges target persistent users Borough van parking complaint


IT was suspected that the bor- ough council’s decision to charge drivers to park at the Church Street car park had led to the theft of a notification sign.


Following complaints of over- crowding from shoppers, Tovil Parish Council publicised the problems in the Downs Mail and notified vehicle owners of the regulations by placing lami- nated notices on the offending cars and vans. When persistent overstayers at the car park, which has a two-hour restric- tion, wre using it as a perma-


nent residential car park for days at a time, Maidstone Coun- cil offered to issue penalty no- tices to those vehicles which had overstayed the two-hour limit. A number of vehicles had


been given tickets, including three different cars thought to be owned by the same person. The sign warning motorists of


the parking regulations was then stolen. This was being replaced and


the two-hour limit will return – and so will the penalty notices for overstayers.


A PARKED Maidstone Council van was reportedly causing an obstruction for pedestrians in PassmoreWay. According to a resident, the vehicle was encroaching on to the pavement and forcing walk- ers onto the road. MBC was not the only culprit,


she said. “A 4x4 vehicle is on the grass area as well. We are having trouble getting our vehi- cles between cars, refuse collec- tors are having to go on paths, and vehicles are being dented.” Councillors stressed the prob- lem was that no enforcement


action could be taken until the road was adopted, which was proving difficult as developer Persimmon Homes had not sat- isfied the demands set by KCC. Local ward Cllr Ian Chitten-


den said: “Persimmon is hold- ing this up. We have been waiting 12 months for them to sort out a retaining wall. After that the road will be adopted.” The parish council agreed to


alert Maidstone Council to the parking situation, to enable en- forcement options to be ex- plored once the road has been adopted.


Development could help centre


TOVIL Parish Council is hoping that the de- velopment of 35 flats on land west of Eccle- ston Road could kick-start its aim to get a new community centre. Middlefields Pension Fund’s application


for the homes to be spread over two six- storey blocks was given planning permis- sion, but only after a planning officer’s Section 106 recommendations was amended. Maidstone Council’s planning committee


was dismayed that a £25,200 developer con- tribution was earmarked for the Holland Road surgery – around one mile from Ec- cleston Road but on the other side of town. Members decided to change these terms


Storm drain IT was reported that a storm drain at Albert Reed Gardens needed repairing. Borough Cllr Ian Chittenden


said this problem had been ap- parent for six months. He would try to get it rectified but this might involve digging up the road, he said.


Traffic calming THE Loose Valley traffic calm- ing scheme had been com- pleted, reported borough Cllr Ian Chittenden. The project, funded jointly by


Tovil and Maidstone councils, had been due for completion 18 months ago. Last autumn, members noted


that kerbing had not been prop- erly established at Upper Cris- brook Mill, and bollards had not been completed at Cave Hill. However both issues had been rectified.


nity centre, which will provide a mixture of community facilities including educational. health and social activities. It is hoped that the school building will


How the developer envisages the flats in Eccleston Road to look


to provide scope for the money to go to- wards the parish council’s project to convert Archbishop Courtenay Primary School in Church Road into a multi-purpose commu-


be vacant from January 2012, when the school moves into the new primary school building in Eccleston Road, near the Mid- dlefield‘s development. The parish council is exploring various funding avenues to help secure the pur- chase price of the school site. The flats development in Eccleston Road


will be of a high-density – 152 dwellings per hectare – the majority of which will be two-bedroom units, but will provide 49 parking spaces, a ratio of 1.4 per dwelling.


Appeal silence gives optimism MEMBERS were still waiting to hear if the refused proposal for a large concrete crushing plant in Straw Mill Hill would be re- opened. The parish council was pleased to discover that SBS Re- cycling’s application, to convert a disused paper recycling cen- tre into a facility that would process 90,000 tonnes of build- ing waste a year, had been turned down by KCC’s planning committee. However, because this was a decision that overturned previ-


its appeal. Coppicing looks incomplete and untidy


CLLR Glyn Charlton called for the tidy-up of coppicing work, which has been carried out on an extensive stretch of hedge and woodland on the boundary of Dean Street and Lower Road, and the agricultural land beyond. The council will write to the landowner to ask if they are happy


with the work that appeared to have been completed some time ago, but now looked incomplete and very untidy.


THIS PAGE IS EDITED BY TOVIL PARISH COUNCIL


CLERK: Alison Chew, Parish Office, c/o St. Stephen’s CE Infant School, Church Road, Tovil ME15 6QY TEL/FAX 01622 675628 EMAIL: tovilparishcouncil@btopenworld.com


14 Town You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


ous committee backing of the plan, it was widely thought that SBS would lodge an appeal. As Downs Mail went to press, notification of an appeal had not been submitted. Borough Cllr Ian Chittenden,


who is also a member of KCC, said: “I heard recently that SBS had not decided, which sug- gests to me that there is some hesitation. Often in this situa- tion they just come straight in and say they will appeal.” SBS has until June 7 to submit


Yes to contracts THE parish council has re- newed its agreements with the two contractors who undertake regular weekly grounds mainte- nance work and quarterly maintenance work on the an- cient burial ground. The council will also be as- suming responsibility for the upkeep of the shrub bed in Lower Tovil, outside Allnutt Mill Close.


We will celebrate


the royal wedding A GROUP of local residents is arranging a street party to cele- brate the royal wedding. Residents of Beaconsfield


Road and Wharf Road hope to stage events such as a chil- dren’s tea party, bouncy castle and gladiator-style podium on Saturday, April 30 – the day after the wedding.


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