Monchelsea Council Reservoir plan


DownsMail In touch with your parish Boughton


cables had been stolen from Bottlescrew Hill. PCSO Chainey revealed that


THE council was nearly ready to submit a planning applica- tion for a reservoir scheme at Parkwood Farm. Cllr Stephen Munford advised that, should the scheme be successful, the council would need to commit between £44,000 and £59,000 over and above the grant money received from DEFRA. Cllr Munford added that he would be getting in touch with the Army regarding the possibility of part of the earthworks being carried out under the ‘Military aid to the civil community’ project. The council agreed to commit up to £60,000 of its own funds towards the project. Cllr Munford expressed con-


cern that an area of St Peters churchyard containing graves of those with living relatives was being used for the growing of wild flowers.Hefeltthiswas unacceptable and proposed that the parish council contact the church accordingly.He sug- gested that the growing of wild flowers might be more appro- priate in areas containing an- cient graves only. Investigations had been made


about the possibility of provid- ing a GP surgery in the room at the village hall that is currently used as the parish office. Let- ters had been sent to the doc- tors surgeries in Coxheath to gauge interest in this. A resident stated that the sale


of his house in The Quarries had fallen through recently as his property was deemed to be within or adjacent to the flood plain. He asked whether the parish council would consider digging out the pond next to the wood yard to provide increased water storage capacity in the event of flooding. Cllr Douglas Smith pointed out that even if this work was carried out, the status of the area as a flood plain would remain. It was agreed that Cllrs Stephen Mun- ford and Wendy Clarke would meet the resident and a local earthworks contractor to dis- cuss possible excavation works to the area. PCSO Richard Chainey re- ported eight crimes in July and August, including four inci- dents of theft (hanging basket, catalytic convertor and battery stolen from motor vehicle, metal gate, satellite dish), two instances of criminal damage (fires lit, tyres slashed), one in- cident of attempted burglary and one case of vehicle inter- ference. There were eight re- ported crimes over the same two month period last year. KCC warden Liz Lovatt said


that a scrap metal carrier was seen acting suspiciously in Green Lane and that metal BT


he and Ms Lovatt had been get- ting SmartWater into the prop- erties of vulnerable residents within the parish. It was reported that sewage appeared to be contaminating a field in Church Hill (public footpath KM126). PCSO Chainey said that a new policing plan would be in place in November and that hewould then be covering Park Wood, Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton only. A resident raised concerns re- garding the use of Chinese lanterns near residential prop- erties and woodland. Ms Lovatt reported a reduc-


tion in off-road motorbike nui- sance at Furfield Quarry and Loose Swiss Scouts land. There had been a recent theft


of roof tiles from a property in Loddington Lane. A request was made for dou-


ble yellow lines on Heath Road next to Cornwallis Academy. Cllr Michael Bray was to arrange a meeting with the vil- lage hall committee to discuss its proposals for further refur- bishment work to the hall. It was noted that a councillor


had put in a request recently for tree preservation orders on trees in Haste Hill Road, Lewis Court Drive and Church Hill. There had been several re- sponses from parishioners to the survey regarding possible im- provements to Church Street.A meeting would be arranged with interested parties. There was no further progress regarding the transfer of the landscaping strip adjacent to Pested Bars Road. Cllr Ian Ellis asked the clerk


to chase up the latest methane monitoring report relating to Furfield Quarry. Due to other financial com- mitments, the village hall com- mittee’s request for an additional grant of £443 to- wards decoration costs was re- fused by the parish council. The council raised an objec-


tion to an application for an ad- ditional mobile home at Church Hill. Members felt no substanti- ating information had been pro- vided demonstrating the need for another caravan, and that it would be visually intrusive to the open countryside. Allotment holder Colin Mor-


gan, who already works on plot 33, was given permission to continue working on plot 23 fol- lowing the death of the plot holder who he had worked alongside. A final decision was deferred until March 2012 pend- ing news on the allotment wait- ing list following lease renewals in October. The council was advised that the external decoration works to


the village hall were now com- plete. The village hall commit- tee was looking into the possibility of re-roofing the flat roof above the committee room, which would cost around £15,000. The committee was also looking into the provision of additional football pitches on the recreation ground. Five out of the six pre- arranged Speedwatch checks had been carried out recently, with 13 drivers exceeding the speed limit.


Broomsfield and Kingswood Council


Rights of way


PARISH footpaths officer Nor- man King, a volunteer for the National Trail for Downs Way, advised about the proposed cuts of 50% by KCC for mainte- nance of public rights of way. He was particularly concerned about two footpaths – from Gravelly Bottom Road to Chart- way Street via Cross Drive (KH303) and Abbey Wood to Park Barn Road (KH302). He en- couraged the parish council to advertise for volunteers to help with maintenance and regular checks, otherwise there was a potential for owners to reclaim the land. Cllr Vince Cooper was elected chairman of the parish council. The damage to the bench at


the sports field had been re- ported to the police. A resident reported what appeared to be a bin sack full of rubbish, includ- ing bottles, upended close to the damaged bench. Kent Highways had offered a


salt bag for winter spreading. Storage location and arrange- ments for spreading would be confirmed. Maidstone Council would be contacted about the new Duck Pond Lane street name signs, which had still not been erected.


Staff pay rise


Chart Sutton Council


THE weekly salary for the litter picker,Mr James, was increased by £2.50 to £7.50. He was re- minded to wear his reflective jacket while out on his duties. A 25-litre replacement bin,


with rigid polythene liner, was purchased for the play area from Glasdon UK for £38. There was an incident of fly- tipping on a field near Plough Wents Road. This was wit- nessed by a local resident and duly reported. The flytipping that occurred the previous month in Warmlake Road was awaiting removal. However, gates had been put up to pre- vent further incidents. A theft from the Shop on The


Green was being investigation. The repairs to the pavilion


roof had been completed and Cllr StevenWaring advised that the gutter had been put on the front, which makes the roof look much better. He would ob- tain a quote for the installation of two electric showers. Members agreed that any fur-


ther decisions on CCTV for the Shop on The Green should be decided by the shop committee. However, the parish council would be willing to fund/con- tribute towards the purchase of the relevant equipment upon re- quest by the committee. Local football clubs would be


asked to retrieve their lost foot- balls from games played at the memorial field. Cllr Valerie Underdown ad-


vised that the fourth footpath walk leaflet had been finished. However, it had been noted that two of the walks didn’t follow registered footpaths/bridleways and would have to be amended. CllrWaring felt that a sign on Norton Road needed putting back in place. Several parishioners attended


the planning committee meet- ing to object to a proposed ex- tension at Malt House, Chart Road. Locals were unhappy about the erection of the bal- cony to the rear and four dormer windows to the front of the property. This resulted in the owners of Malt House agree- ing to meet the planning officer with a view to amending the ap- plication to reduce the size of the balcony and include ob- scure glazing panels on the side, and possibly to reduce the num- ber of dormer windows to the front of the property.


Coxheath Council Traffic options


A PARISH Council delegation met the new KCC member for environment, highways and waste to put forward alternative proposals for the Heath Road traffic calming scheme. The cabinet member was


open to suggestions for changes to be made and the next step will be an exercise to determine the cost of introducing changes on a phased basis. The costing exercise will be witnessed by the parish council. The parish was preparing a detailed response to the bor- ough council’s Core Strategy consultation document. Chris Lomax has been re- placed by Dawn Riarch-Brown as acting community warden pending the eventual recruit- ment of a permanent replace- ment for AdamMcKinley. Major concerns have been


raised over the policy being adopted by Maidstone Borough Council towards planning ap- plications for gypsy/traveller sites. The subject will be raised in a co-ordinated approach by a number of parishes to the south


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