DownsMail In touch with your parish council.
Continued from page 32
Lynton Wright had agreed to become voluntary tree warden for East Peckham. It had been ascertained that
the popular choice for the re- naming of the sports hall was community centre as this would recognise the premises were in multi use. Aquote for repairs to the out-
door gym was being obtained. The junior swing and safety surface had been replaced as required by the 2010 RoSPA in- spection. It was agreed that the playing
fields be nominated for the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Chal- lenge, subject to the parish council being able at a future date to set aside an area specif- ically for dog walkers. The restoration of the East Peckham Ponds would be sug- gested for the Million Ponds project being supported by the Environment Agency. The first session of the youth
chat room would be held in July.
Cllr Nicola Kearns reported
that she had arranged for the Vehicles for Change youth bus to visit the village each Wednesday for three months, providing games, activities and a barbecue. It was reported that four councillors and the clerk had made a self-funded visit to Chereng where they had taken part in the VE commemora- tions and laid flowers at the war memorial on behalf of the residents of East Peckham. The visit also included a friendship drinkwith the residents, village lunch, interview with the local newspaper, horse drawn tour and a concert. It was felt the visit did much to promote the twinning initiative and firm friendships were made. It was resolved to donate £55 towards the Try Angle Awards 2011.
Kings Hill Council
Heath Farm plans REGARDING the proposals for Heath Farm leisure facilities, the main concerns had been car and coach parking and the planting scheme, but these queries had all been answered satisfactorily. Concern about the effect of a
line of trees near the allotment site was raised. The likely date for the opening of the allot- ments remained 2013. County Cllr Richard Long re- ported there was now a fully worked-up scheme for the Dis- covery Drive pedestrian cross- ing. This would cost £60,000 to £90,000 and had been approved in principle. However, KHS’s procurement arrangements were to change later in 2011 and this could be an opportu-
nity to get better value for money on the project. The parish council would ask KHS for alternative quotes for the scheme.
Discussions were underway between Liberty Property Trust and Tonbridge and Malling Council to agree the future pro- vision of parking
spaces.Cllr Long said KCC considers 1.5 spaces per dwelling to be insuf- ficient and recommends wider roads and more parking spaces per dwelling. He encouraged the parish council to use the guidance when considering fu- ture planning applications. Cllr Long had been lobbied on
the number of buses on the number 72 route going down Discovery Drive near the school. Speed humps made the buses unacceptably noisy. It was resolved to write to KHS to ask for the speed bumps to be removed to reduce the noise. Residents were to be asked for
their views on a KCC suggestion that costs, emissions and light pollution could be reduced by turning off every other street- light after midnight. It was agreed to research a curved roof for the Discovery Drive bus shelter. Initially, CCTV would not be installed on the shelter as itwas not good value for money, but if problems arose, the decision would be reviewed. The shelter would be checked daily and cleaned on a weekly basis. Following a request for con-
siderationofasiteinMarket Square for the skate park,Lib- erty had confirmed that the only available site was between the community centre and the Nursery on the Hill. It was reported that the parish
office was struggling with the workload due to the continued expansion of the council. The whole staff and office structure would be reviewed and the un- spent overtime of £5,000 from lastyearwouldbeusedin 2011/12 to help address the problem. It was reported that Section
106 money may be available for parishes to use. The clerk was asked to write to both TMBC and KCC for information.
Leybourne Council Bike patrols
IT was reported by PC Nick Stevens that late night push bike patrols had started to tar- get anti-social behaviour and under-age drinking issues. The bicycle was useful to target al- leyways and areas that are not easily accessible by car. No in- cidents were reported in Ley- bourne. The chairman, Cllr Bob Ulph, reported that Kent Fire and Res- cue performed a test run along Rectory Lane North and the fire engine was not able to access
the lane because of school drop- off parking. Letters were being sent by the police to the school and parents. Issues were also reported in
Park Road where cars were parked in the pinch
points.It was suggested these vehicles were left by commuters parking around Leybourne. Borough Cllr Brian Luker re- ported an order for “dog bone” access markings on the A20 had been submitted to prevent obstructions to residents’ prop- erties by commuter parking. It was noted these white lines were only advisory and patrols and action by the PCSO would be needed. PC Stevens agreed to investi-
gate issues with youths parking in Grange Close andwalking up to the woods to congregate and drink late at night. Taylor Wimpey had agreed to donate a permanent Christmas tree to the parish council and it would be planted shortly. It was agreed to purchase dis-
play boards for meetings at a cost of £444. A quote for £2,520 for works
on the village pump was ac- cepted. Signage in Castle Way, directing visitors to the pump, would be investigated. The next instalment of the
Bomb Hole grant had been re- ceived, and the village hall wouldmost likely break even at the year end, equating to a claw back of around £25,000. It was reported that an en- forcement notice had been re- ceived as the airplane at the Bomb Hole was 350mm too high. This had been rectified. Members agreed that £1,500
be ring-fenced for potential CCTV planning costs. No objections were raised to planning applications for an ex- tension at 2 Old Barn Road and conservatory at 37 Beadsman Crescent.
Ryarsh Council Tree warden
DAVE Storey and Ivor Emson were re-elected as chairman and vice-chairman for the forthcom- ing year. Cllr Lee O’Toole will continue as tree warden and Mary Mckinlay was co-opted to fill the parish councillor va- cancy. The filling of Workhouse Quarry was now finished and landscaping was taking place. There was still no reply from
Tonbridge and Malling Council about the out-of-hours issues at Ryarsh Brickworks site. Cllr Storey had approached Explore living about the possibility of allotments on the site but had no reply. The clerk had contacted the Countryside Access Service about horses using footpaths. Borough Cllr Matthew Balfour, who chairs the CAS, said this
was a countywide problem. There was a limited number of bridleways, but an increase in horse ownership. Concern was expressed about
the safety of riders using the road as well as horse mess left on pavements and footpaths. The clerk would write to local owners asking for mess to be cleared up and for riders to stop using footpaths. It was considered that the parking outside the Duke of Wellington continued to be dan- gerous. A request of yellow lines had been made and it had been suggested the pub be asked to put up a sign. The clerk was asked to inves-
tigate prices for replacing the swings and play area flooring as a first step towards looking for funding. The play equipment is old but safe and inspected an- nually and maintained.
Snodland Council No to objection
A GOVERNMENT planning in- spector has given permission for a fast food outlet behind 43 Malling Road to operate from 4pm to 10pm, seven nights a week. An application for this was submitted many months ago and the town council ob- jected to it on the grounds that this was a dangerous corner and also in a residential area. The borough council refused per- mission for the outlet but, on appeal, the inspector allowed it to go ahead. Councillors at the town council planning meeting were very unhappy to see that this could now go ahead. Annual town meeting guest speaker Dr Andrew Ashbee gave an interesting account of the formation of the historical society and how it came to take charge of the town museum. He explained some of the exhibits and also spoke about ones he hoped to acquire. County Cllr Sarah Hohler
spoke about her role in educa- tion at KCC and said that she would be willing to support safety signage on Birling Road from her member’s highways grant, if approval was given. She also hoped to see town
centre “street furniture” refur- bished soon and would be will- ing to help with this cost. After the annual town meet-
ing, the annual council meeting took place. The new chairman of the council is Anne Moloney and vice-chairman is Peter Misy. The new chairman said that
she looked forward to serving Snodland and reminded coun- cillors that they had been elected by the will of residents who expected them to work for the good of Snodland, not to push individual agendas. At the meeting of the ameni-
ties and recreation committee, concern was expressed that the
38 MallingSupport YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330
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 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56