Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained from the parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website
Boxley Parish Mail U-turn on land is blow to gym
CHAIRMAN: Martin Pepper CLERK: Pauline Bowdery ASST CLERK: Melanie Fooks
Parish Office, Beechen Hall, Wildfell Close, Walderslade, ME5 9RU Tel: 01634 861237 email:
bowdery@boxleyparishcouncil.co.uk Website:
www.boxleyparishcouncil.co.uk
THE parish council has apologised to the community after being forced to abandon proposals for an outdoor gym at Grovewood Drive.
Boxley councillors had voted by a major-
ity in favour of the scheme on green space nearWeavering Village Hall andMaidstone Borough Council had originally been happy with the idea. But following opposition from some resi-
dents, mainly on the grounds that the equipment could attract anti-social behav- iour, the borough did a U-turn and with- drew approval for the project on its land. The parish was informed of the decision,
made by the borough’s Cabinet member for leisure and culture, Cllr RichardAsh, as the two houses adjoining the open space were “adamantly against the installation of the equipment, as are a considerable number of the local residents”.
Litter pick PARISH councillors are organ- ising a litter pick at Boxley Road,Walderslade. Garden and general waste is being de- posited on public land and the parish council and MBC had re- cently spent taxpayers’ money clearing this away. The council has identified a number of areas where resi- dents are not correctly dispos- ing of garden waste and will be targeting these areas to ensure taxpayers’ money does not have to be spent clearing up after in- considerate residents.
Pub car park plans THE council’s environment committee objected to the Shepherd Neame planning ap- plication for four houses to be built in the pub car park at the Yew Tee Inn, Sandling.
Enforcement issues
THE council has decided to make a formal complaint to MBC about the lack of enforce- ment on issues notified to it. This is not the first time that the issue has
been raised andmembers felt that the prom- ised improvements had not materialized and they were frustrated at the lack of ac- tion.
Who do you think THEY are?
THE council is still keen to hear from people who know about the war memo- rial and the men on the Roll of Honour. The council would like to create a record of who the men were and record any of their deeds. If any person is interested in this type
of research and would like to volunteer, their help would be very much appreci- ated.
20 East Expressing his disappointment, chairman
Cllr Martin Pepper said: “We would like to apologise to all themembers of the commu- nity who thought they had got something they would have got enjoyment from. We worked really hard to see this through.” Members were reminded that the borough would have allowed the parish to install the gym without any notice to the residents but Boxley chose to follow a democratic process and inform them of the plan. Cllr Bill Stead said: “We feel this was a victory for the vociferous minority against the wishes of the majority. The council had expressed regret that Cllr
Ash had not personally notified the parish council of this decision. Cllr Pepper said: “He has disadvantaged
the very many for the very few and has ig- nored the democratic process of this parish council. I find that unacceptable.”
Jubilee orchard However, Cllr Alan Springate, who had
been against the scheme, said: “The people who live next door to it are the people who suffer and I think we have to take this into consideration.” Vice-chairman Cllr Pat Brooks said: “If we
have a project which some members of the community like the sound of, they should make their voices heard just as much as the objectors – we’d then get a balanced view.” At the start of discussions, the site had
been the only one identified as suitable. Cllr Kevin Perry suggested there were other areas in Grove Green that could be consid- ered.
Issues of anti-social behaviour are thought
to be minor, but continue to be monitored and residents have been encouraged to re- port them. Problems have been caused by youngsters parking next to the open space and playing music.
Latest on projects to green the parish Trees for country park
AN ANNIVERSARY project to develop an orchard behind Penshurst Place to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was progressing well. Parish clerk Pauline Bow-
dery said she would be work- ing on a grid survey of the area to help produce a loca- tion plan for the new trees. It had been suggested that wooden play equipment could be sited in a semi-circle with the trees around it so it could be viewed from the path. The proposals were not ready for public consultation. It had also been suggested to
invite a royal figure to unveil the project.
THE council has agreed the trees to be planted at Cobtree Country
Park.Members, hav- ing seen the plans for the ‘regeneration’ of the area, agreed some years ago to allo- cate £1,000 to purchase trees. Members wished to see na-
tive species introduced to in- crease the wildlife habitats. It has been agreed to purchase three sessile oaks, two field maples, two midland hawthorns and three common junipers.
Additional trees would be chosen by the park ranger. A black poplar or a whitty pear would be planted with a com- memorative plaque erected
Annual meeting planned
THE parish council is making initial plans for the annualmeeting of the parish, which is set to be held on May 9. It was suggested that the cost of this year’s
event should be trimmed compared to the increased budget for last year’s meeting, which attracted a disappointing turnout. Another suggestion was that it should be
held at a venue north of the Downs, as last year’s was to the south. Cllr KazMacklin said matching last year’s spending on the event would not result in any additional interest from the community. “In these current strapped times I don’t
think we can commit the expenditure like last year. I think we should take the course that we have done in previous years.” The council had asked for ideas from res-
idents about issues they would like to see debated but none had been suggested.
close to the pond area. Cobtree Country Park was
part of the Tyrwhitt-Drake legacy and is on a long lease to MBC for the benefit of the community.
Hopes for wildlife MEMBERS were told that an edging of trees would be planted around the former CTRL site off Chatham Road, north of Sandling village. It was hoped it would pro-
vide a wildlife link to the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at PilgrimsWay. Borough Cllr Bob Hinder
said that Maidstone Council was contributing £2,000 for landscaping on the site.
Grants still being awarded DESPITE the 30% cut in the concurrent functions grant from MBC, the parish council is still supporting local organisa- tions with grants. A 20% reduction has been made in
grants to organisations receiving an an- nual grant. Council chairman Cllr Martin Pepper said: “Parish councils have been working to the Big Society and localism for years. Itwill be interesting to see how the Government approaches all this but until then we are committed to support- ing and serving the community. We are endeavouring to assist the organisations in finding alternative funding sources.”
Walk and talk with PCSO THE parish’s PCSO Andy Hawthorn can be contacted via the police website or by leaving a message at the PCSO office on 01622 604390. He is also happy for resi- dents to approach him while on patrol.
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