Boxley Parish Mail 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
Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained from the parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website Controlled crossing plan for school unveiled
PLANS for a fixed crossing point outside St John’s School in Provender Way have been received by Boxley Parish Council and a site visit is being arranged with representatives of the school and Kent Highway Services. The school insists that only a controlled cross-
ing point will work but it is hoped that the meet- ing will result in more information on costs. KHS has suggested that a zebra crossing would
be sufficient and has provided plans for this. De- signs for the controlled point would need to be supplied by contractor Jacobs at a cost of around £4,000. KCC leader Paul Carter, who is giving £16,000
from his member’s grant to the project, has made £1,000 available for the designs of the controlled crossing. Detailed costs were needed as it had been esti-
mated that a controlled crossing would cost be- tween £40,000 and £70,000. Parish clerk Pauline Bowdery said no decision
had been taken on the two options. The parish council was going ahead with the site meeting to get everyone’s views so that a presentation can be made to the council. The council has allocated an amount from its reserves but would need to sig- nificantly increase it if a pelican crossing is actu- ally needed.
Call for action to combat flytipping
FOUR parish councillors and two volunteers spent an hour- and-a-half litter-picking in Box- ley Road,Walderslade. Among the items removed
were tyres, a luggage trolley, power drills, plastic buckets and numerous old signs. The group was disappointed to have to leave behind two fridges, a pile of old fencing, lots of gar- den waste and various black bags too buried to be accessed. The council has become in- creasingly concerned about the amount of rubbish being dumped by residents through- out the parish. Boxley Road was targeted be-
cause the parish and borough Cllr Wendy Hinder had spent money in the past two years to
make it look nice, only to find the road again being littered. Chairman Cllr Martin Pepper
said: “This could be a lovely area with the verges full of spring flowers, but with all the rubbish and garden waste being thrownonto the verges and open spaces by local residents it has become a desert for flowers.” Other problem areas within
the parish will be targeted with letter drops and help – if any resident wishes to arrange a local litter pick. Residents will also be encouraged to report neighbours’ anti-social behav- iour, and PCSO Andy Hawthorn is also being asked to become involved.
Councillors and volunteers agreed that the idea that garden
Celebrating Boxley Warren launch event
HAVE you ever looked up at Boxley Warren and wanted to know more about these steep slopes that dominate the landscape? Boxley Warren has some amazing wildlife, scenery and archae-
ology and Boxley Parish Council is launching a project called Cel- ebrating Boxley Warren to give everyone the chance to enjoy and learn about this magnificent place. To find out more, and take part in activities for all the family, a launch event is being held at Tyland Barn, the headquarters of the Kent Wildlife Trust, on Sunday, May 29. The drop-in event from noon to 3pm will be followed by a walk to BoxleyWarren to take a look at what makes it so special. There will be displays about Box- ley Warren, what the project hopes to achieve, wildlife activities for children and a chance to sign up for future activities. The Celebrating BoxleyWarren project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Landscapes and Nature for All (LNA) Inter- reg IVA project. It will be managed by the Mid Kent Downs Coun- tryside Partnership. It will be on-going and will give people the chance to take part inwalks, wildlife recording, practical work, his- torical research and celebratory events. Info: Mike Phillips – 01303 815170 /
mike.phillips@
kentdowns.org.uk
Bid to attract more visitors to Downs
MEMBERS were told of suggestions for increasing the number of visitors to the Kent Downs from Maidstone. Cllr Geoff Smith, who reported on a meeting of the Mid Kent Downs steering group, said he raised concern about the issue, which was probably due to the shortage of local parking.
30 East
waste could be dumped, as it is biodegradable so would disap- pear, was totally unacceptable. It was stated: “If it is so biodegradable and not a prob- lem, why are tons of the stuff killing off all of the flowers? It also becomes an ideal nesting area for rats – and a fire hazard.” The council agreed that resi-
dents should dispose of their waste sensibly and legally and not turn a blind eye to a bit of garden waste going onto public land – they would be the first to complain if it were tipped over their fence onto their property. Garden waste sacks are available from local shops in Grove Green and the parish of- fice inWalderslade.
Cllr Martin Pepper (far right) with litter pickers and their ‘haul’. Police help for
elderly resident MEMBERS heard that PCSO Andy Hawthorn had targeted an area at Grove Green where an elderly resident had been suffering problems from users of an adjacent footpath. He was keeping an eye on an
area in Sandling due to con- cerns from local residents. He had been giving out SmartWater packs in an inita- tive with Maidstone Council. The PCSO continued to visit
clubs in the parish, including Boxley Brownies “who ap- peared to have a great time in- specting the police van and using its siren”.
Parish wants say over PCSOs’ new powers MEMBERS requested that the views of parish councils are consid- ered when new powers are allocated to PCSOs. Borough Cllr Bob Hinder reported on a meeting when Chief Supt
Matthew Nix had outlined proposals for future strategy within a 20% budget reduction. The police were going back to basics and no recruitment was expected during the next four years, except per- haps PCSOs, who were likely to be given new powers. It was stated that parishes
Food caddies RESIDENTS not wishing to purchase the degradable bags for the food caddy were advised they can wrap food in newspaper and place it in the caddy.
were indicating they wanted to see increased traffic powers for PCSOs. Cllr Kaz Macklin suggested
more powers in relation to youth justice and said: “As a parish we would like to be involved in that dialogue.”
Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735
Bluebell walk THE council is recommend- ing that local residents take a walk in theWalderslade Woods to see the bluebells. Maps for the woods and a spring flower walk leaflet are available from the parish office. Residents are reminded
not to pick them as they are precious wild flowers. Activity packs for chil- dren are also available.
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