DownsMail In touch with your parish Continued from page 37


The village hall committee was organising an event for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The vice-chairman hoped council members would support the hall committee in this venture.Ado- nation of £100 was agreed to- wards the celebrations.


Traffic calming AGREEMENT in principle was reached with KCC over funding a replacement traffic calming scheme in Heath Road. Once final scheme drawings have been prepared and safety audited, the parish councilwill again consult Coxheath residents in the hope of agreeing a safer solution. Work has started on refurbish-


Coxheath Council


ing the Heathside complex for use by the Kent and Medway Partnership Trust and the Kent Community Healthcare Trust. The parish council is looking


to organise groups of volunteers to help clear litter from themore untidy parts of the village. Mean- while, Maidstone Council envi- ronmental enforcement officers will be invited to attend the vil- lage from time to time, in an ef- fort to discourage litter. Coxheath Parish Council will


be sending a representative to an open day being organised by KCC on February 15 to meet prospective new community wardens. Progress was being made in


the development of a Neigh- bourhood Plan, and a first draft was due to be considered by the parish council in February. Cllrs Clive Parker and John Hughes were due to meet a member of KCC’s countryside access team in February to dis- cuss greater use of rural foot- paths around Coxheath and the need for the development of safe cycle routes. It was hoped the Lions Club of Maidstone would be organising a ceremonial (electric) lighting of the village centre beacon to cel- ebrate the Queen’s Diamond Ju- bilee. Residents were also planning to hold events/street parties on the Huntington Road village green and in PippinClose to celebrate the jubilee.


Office report


East Farleigh Council


THEclerk had written a short re- port on the issue of a possible parish office, as a basis for dis- cussion. The clerk was equally happy to continueworking from home or to work from an office in the village if an opportunity arose, but she felt that an office outside the village was not ap- propriate. It was agreed to leave things as they are for now and not pursue use of theOld School in Tovil. Cllr John Wilson had circu-


lated copies of the Save Our Bridge petition for comment. It was agreed that Cllr Brian Mor- timer should be added to the list of supporters on the front page. Ben Hilden of KCC has noted


the council’s request for an ex- tension of the 30mph speed limit in Dean Street from the Work- house Lane junction to its junc- tion with Lower Road. Subject to confirmation from County Cllr Paulina Stockell that she is pre- pared to fund the signage, he will put the request on Kent High- ways’ system and it will then be subject to the standard consulta- tion. It will also require police support. Cllr Peter Beasley reported on


the extensive work Tribute Trees are doing on the trees around the recreation ground. The play area had been closed while the work took place, for safety reasons. It was agreed that, as Pearsons


had not begun their maintenance work in the village until summer 2011, the council would extend their contract to September 2012 and would then put the contract out to tender.


Headcorn Council Litter pick day


A RESIDENT had complained about litter in the ditches along the Lenham Road and the bor- ough council had subsequently been out and dealtwith it. A vil- lage litter pick was planned for March.


HeadcornYouth Forum had re- quested funding of £500 towards insurance, affiliation fees and so- cial evenings at the village hall. A specialist community worker for the forum was being ap- pointed in the near future. The business steering group meeting had been well attended and discussed the need for su- perfast broadband, which was currently being pursued with KCC to obtain a grant.


Solar go-ahead COUNCILLORS unanimously agreed that ProTec should be asked to carry out the installation of a 4kWsolar PV system on the village hall and agreed that the parish council would bear the full cost of the installation. Pro- Tec required a payment of £5,418 in advance of the installation, with the remaining £3,612 payable upon completion of the work. After some discussion, members unanimously agreed that a cheque for £5,418 be writ- ten on the understanding that, under section 5.5 of the contract, should ProTec fall into adminis- tration, receivership or bank- ruptcy, the legal title of the equipment purchased remained with the parish council. Members agreed that the coun-


Hunton Council


cil should obtain a payment from the village hall committee each year, being the reduction in the


electricity bill according to the annual accounts, until such time as the £9,030 cost of the installa- tion borne by the parish council had been paid off. Flo Churchill of MBCl was in-


vited to meet with members to provide information and guid- ance on neighbourhood plan- ning regulations. The clerk had not contacted


the planning enforcement de- partment about the second mo- bile home at The Chances, Lughorse Lane, as the residents had put in a planning application to increase the number of cara- vans on the site. The parish council had been consulted on the application and provided a response. The chairman welcomedPCSO


JoWatts back to the area. She re- ported two separate incidents, in Water Lane and Bishops Lane, of stolen electrical earthing cable. She said this was a problem across Kent and that outbuild- ings aroundMaidstone were also being targeted by thieves. It was confirmed that Mr Hub-


ble had signed the licence agree- ment regarding the footpath linking Bensted Close to the vil- lage hall. David Smith of KCC was due to advise the parish council regarding commence- ment of the work. Mr Hubble asked KCC for a copy of the agreement and to confirm that it would cover the footpath under its public liability insurance. Mr Hubble did not feel that there was a secure agreement in place until he had received these doc- uments. The chairman expressed frustration at the length of time it was taking to get the agreements in place and suggested that the clerk followed up withMr Smith regarding sending the agreement to Mr Hubble and find out whether the Tregothnan Estate had signed its agreement. Annette Trought, chairman of


the Hunton Parish Plan Steering Committee, said the delay in in- stalling the permissive pathway provides a problem for the om- mittee in moving other actions forward. She also reported that a litter picking group had been formed. It wouldmeet three times a year. Guy Oliver had organised six people to help with Speedwatch, but due to the changes within the police the training has not been carried out as yet. This would fit in with the 20mph limit outside the school; the committee would liaise with the parish council re- garding the neighbourhood plan. The first meeting to progress


the community orchard was due to be held. The orchard would be approximately the size of two tennis courts and the area would require clearance of nettles and mowing. The area did not neces- sarily need to have trees; it could be a community picnic area.Mrs Trought was asked about the cost


and whether the parish council would be asked to provide some of the funding. Mrs Trought did not have details of any costs at the present time. In a discussion about ditch


and road verge issues at West Street, Cllr Porter commented that the road had got wider and this needed to be remedied. The chairman remarked that the hedge needed to be pulled back. The chairman of the village hall committee said that the plan was to cut a new ditch that would help relieve the pressure on the car park and stop the surface water. The clerk reported that Ben Hilden, traffic engineer at KHS, had identified sites for the inter- active 20mph speed limit signs outside the primary school.He was awaiting the formal design and cost of the scheme to pass on to Cllr Stockell. Borough Cllr John Wilson commented that KHS should be progressing highways issues as many seemed to be moving slowly. Members agreed that a meeting should be held with Richard Dixon ofKHSto discuss all current highways issues, using an agenda set by members. The clerk reported that she had contacted five other parish coun- cils to ask whether they would like to share a pack of 105 trees from The Woodland Trust with Hunton Parish Council. Chart Sutton Parish Council replied that it could take a maximum of 10 trees and the Teston Land Conservation Trust (Teston parish councillors are trustees) would take any remaining trees that could not be used. Mr Bishop asked members whether theywould be happy to plant some trees on non-public land owned by the village hall if it enhances the area as there is limited public land in Hunton. On this basis, members agreed that they could use a whole pack of 105 trees. Members agreed that it would be better to order a pack in the autumn, rather than spring.


Members agreed to contribute


£120 to Yalding Parish Council for their playscheme.


Jubileememento Linton Council


A LEAFLET with a return slip would be placed in the parish magazine for parents wishing to register their children for jubilee mugs.Abatch of 36 mugs would be purchased to be distributed on a first come first serve basis. It was agreed the parish coun-


cil should apply for 420 free trees under theWoodland Trust Diamond Jubilee Scheme. Current proposals on polytun-


nels would make it difficult to put one up within 250m of a footpath or dwelling. Therefore it would be virtually impossible to erect a polytunnel in the


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