DownsMail In touch with your parish
Bearsted Council Classic car tally
A TOTAL of £1,169.49 was raised from the Classic Car Show. A revised plan was received regarding the child care facility and Bearsted and Thurnham Station. This detailed the num- ber of children attending and times of opening. It was felt that the original response to recom- mend refusal should remain. Councillors recommended re-
fusal of proposals for roof alter- ations, an extension and conservatory at 34 Bramley Crescent because of the visual impact on the street scene creat- ing a property out of character with the area. Following discussions with
other parishes, no action would be taken on Speedwatch until the new police structure had been in operation for six months. A finger post had been in- stalled at Church Landway. Leaf clearing would be car-
ried out by the handyman on footpaths from the station and Hog Hill if Maidstone Council did not clear them. Repairs costing £200 plus labour were approved for Bearsted Woodland Trust play area. The use of The Green for ex-
ercise classes was approved pending a public liability cer- tificate being received. Members were advised that
Tarmac hadbeenusedatthe rear of the new flats at CavendishWay, although block paving was in the plans. Maid- stone Council would be asked whether the plans were amended at any stage. It was reported that, despite
the weather, the feedback from the fireworks hadbeenvery positive. Improvements could be made in future with the event being held on a Friday or Saturday, perhaps. The clerk re- ported that gate takings were 50% of those from 2010.
Boughton Malherbe Council
Drivers caught
SUCCESSFUL Speedwatch checks caught an average 15 ve- hicles a day travelling at more than 30mph through the village. Thankswent to Robert Turner,
Mike Davidson, Ron Galton, Chris Wheel and Joan Drury for often turning out at 6am for a couple of hours of checks. Concerns were expressed
about the water leaks on Liver- ton Hill once it became frosty. The village green sign had
been refurbished to everyone’s satisfaction. Permission had been given by
Jamie Clark for the Diamond Ju- bilee beacon to go on his land. It was suggested that, as the post
50 East
and basket would last at least 100 years, it could go on the vil- lage green after the celebrations. Permission would have to be sought from the landowner. A hog roast was being planned for the celebrations and insurance cover was being in- vestigated. It was noted that planning permission had been granted by Maidstone Council for the fol- lowing proposals: Petsfield, Eastwood Road, Grafty Green, retrospective application for the erection of a day room; Wrens Nest, Headcorn Road, Grafty Green, erection of single-storey garden/ hobbies room with link to main house and listed build- ing consent for demolition of outbuilding; 2 Coldbridge Cot- tage, Coldbridge Lane, Egerton, two-storey extension. It was reported a new gateway
had been erected overnight at a traveller site on the Headcorn Road. This was being contested as it is illegal to erect a gateway opening directly onto a road. Following policing reorgani- sation, Inspector Geoff Wyatt would be taking over the east- ern sector, which includes Headcorn ward. Sergeant Mar- tin Foord and PCSO Siobhan de Burca would be covering the area.
Christine King was appointed
as the new parish clerk. The clerk was asked to report
a leak at the junction of East- wood Road and Headcorn Road, causingwater to run into Grafty Green.
Broomfield and Kingswood Council
Broadband help
RESIDENT Peter Corfield, who has agreed to be project manager for the application for super-fast broadband, was welcomed to the meeting and thanked on behalf of the parish.Hereported on several issues and suggested training vol- unteers to help people in the vil- lage update connections for their computers, which would im- prove speeds. Cllr Paul Beaney reported his disappointment with thepoorup- take on the parish forum. There were still many hits but no new threads. It was agreed to publicise the forum in the village magazine again. It had been agreed within the
Core Strategy response to Maid- stone Council that the parish would look at setting up a car share scheme as soon as was practicable. This would be in- cluded in the Neighbourhood Plan/visioning exercise. It was reported that the clerk
and assistant clerk had done ex- ceptionally well in their recent appraisals. It was agreed to purchase addi-
tional goal post sockets at a cost of £110 plus £12 delivery and VAT. This would enable the posts
to be re-positioned regularly to al- leviate wear and tear on the ground. The council was to investigate
an emerging games system called ‘Street Snooker’, described as a “kick wall target game”. The ini- tial unit can be added to at a later date to include basketball and tennis facilities to form a small multi-use games area. It was agreed to contact neigh- bouring parishes of Leeds and Hollingbourne about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The clerk had received an apol-
ogy from Kent Highways regard- ing lack of information on the closure of ChartwayStreet in Oc- tober. Further closures would be required in January, and also at Gravelly Bottom Road. MikeO’Neill was co-opted on
to the council, bringing it up to full strength with nine members and no vacancies. Despite advertising, no-one
had come forward to become the NeighbourhoodWatch area co-ordinator. The recent closure of Grav-
elly Bottom Road had been no- tified well in advance and was well signed and managed. The clerk had asked Kent Highways why there was no notification of a closure of Ulcombe Road, which had caused considerable inconvenience to residentswith four complaints received. Despite repeated promises, Maidstone Council had still not installed the new Duck Pond Lane street
signs.The clerk would chase this up. Repairs to the bus shelter in Cayser Drive had still not taken place following damage to the roof by a Gallagher cement lorry in March 2011.
Downswood Council
Hole in the ground A MANHOLE cover was miss- ing in GrampianWay, leaving a deep hole with a temporary cover placed over it. Borough Cllr Gordon Newton would check whether action could be taken by Maidstone Council. Concern had been expressed
over the re-routing of the No 8 bus. The new route did not go near the surgery. Arriva were understood to be re-examining the schedule. It was reported that trees were overhanging the cycle path at Deringwood Drive/Willington Street junction. It was reported that PC Lee
Tallon had moved to another area. The draft budget was consid-
ered. The suggested precept for 2012/13 would be £23,500. A quotation for planting 31 lavenders in Orchard Spot roundabout beds was agreed. It was reported that items dis- cussed at the Mallards Way meeting included a duck house on the island in the lake, a float-
To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330
ing site for a swans’ nest based towards the back of the island, two to three new picnic benches, an outdoor gym, re- placing the wooden handrail to the pathway by a more suitable structure, a gap in the hedge/ fencing at the back of the play area being closed off and anti- social behaviour issues from the pub car park. The idea of the parish taking
on, at a peppercorn rent, a lease at Foxden Drive was discussed, but it would first need to be in excellent condition. However, the borough did not think at this stage it would be able to take on this expense but it would visit Foxden to investigate possible refurbishment. The deadline had passed for submission of quotations for the granite tablet for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and none had been received. Cllr Newton said he would like to donate the tablet to the community of Downswood and wished for it to be installed around the time of the fete in June. Donations were agreed of
£100 for the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers tree warden scheme and £150 for the Samaritans.
Hollingbourne Council
HGV traffic
THE chairman emphasised the importance of verifying the weight limit through the village in light of the increasing num- bers of HGVs using Eyhorne and Upper Streets. It was noted that residents
were concerned by the presence of a rough sleeper seen at the railway station. Around the same time, paperwork contain- ing sensitive material was found in a vehicle at the old station yard. This had been passed to the police who would be asked for an update. The Red Cross had sent a re-
quest for volunteers for a possi- ble Hollingbourne emergency team. This would be published on the village website. It was reported that the PCSO
for the Hollingbourne area has been withdrawn by Kent police. The following planning ap- plications had been considered: Coldharbour Farm, Coldharbour Lane, Hucking, erection of de- tached agricultural building in- cluding 192 solar panels; 4 Hasted, Hollingbourne, removal and replacement of existing ter- race balcony; Oakdene, Firs Lane, amendments to planning permission; Winchmore, Ash- ford Road, single storey front extension. The council did not wish to object to any of these matters. It was noted that proposals for extensions at The Limes, Ey- horne Street, had been ap- proved by the borough council.
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