DownsMail In touch with your parish


been in touch with the Kings Hill youth club and some youngsters were involved in the cricket club. Cllr Anderson said shewould


be pushing for more youth ac- tivities in the village. Borough councillor Janet Ser-


gison said she had a letter from a resident complaining about builders’ rubble on land behind her garden. The clerk said she had written to the landowner asking for the rubble to be cleared. PCSO Toni Matthews said


there had been four crimes re- ported. She said the parking at the school had improved. PCSO Kim Hockey would be joining her inMereworth. Chairman Dennis Styles re-


ferred to the Blaise Farm pro- posals for an anaerobic digester and itwas agreed that the coun- cil should be kept informed. It was proposed that a dona-


tion of £50 should be made to the Heart of Kent Hospice and this was agreed. The ramp for disabled access


to the village hall was to be completed over Easter. The investiture of thenewvicar


was to take place on April 25 and the first service on April 29. It was reported that Kent Highways had a 28-day repair schedule for potholes once they had been reported. Cllr Styles said it had been agreed that junctions on enter- ing the village would have flashing signs,andaschool warning notice would be put up at the village shop. The allotments were said to


be in good order. It was agreed to contact allotment holders to remind them that the hosepipe ban applied, although blue badge holders were exempt. Play areas and football pitches


were all said to be in good order, and the litter situation had im- proved. It was suggested that a new bin be installed just out- side the children’s play area at the recreation ground.


Elected to office CLLR Warwick Eden was elected chairman andCllrRodd Nelson-Gracie as vice-chair- man.


Nettlestead Council


Neighbourhood Watch re- ported that there had been a quad bike stolen. The new PCSO Nicola Morris


was not in attendance but had sent an annual report which was read out at the meeting by the chairman. Cllr Jackie Bennett said there


had been two new members of the Chatterbox scheme. Regarding the street light out-


side 7 Highgrove Cottages, the clerk had confirmed that the light did not belong to KCC or Wateringbury Parish Council.


The clerk would contact Maid- stone Council to see if she can get contact details of the devel- oper of the properties and see if it is still their responsibility. The potholes at Gibbs Hill


were becoming deeper and KCC would be asked if they are going to be re-surfaced this year. The clerk reported the notice-


board at the village hall was looking slightly tatty and she had obtained a quote for £30 for the repair work including it being rubbed down and var- nished. This was agreed. Cllr Martin Collis and Cllr


Anita Van Hensbergen had both visited the King George V field and stated that the tunnelswere still open and large enough to fit a small child in.Aquote for fill- ing in the tunnels of £120 was agreed.


Ryarsh Council Metal thefts


PCSO Laura Bullen introduced herself. There was one reported crime, which was an adult pro- tection issue. PCSO Bullen warned about manhole covers and gates being stolen. Explore Living had got plan-


ning consent to develop the Brickworks site for housing, al- though this would not happen in the current economic cli- mate. In the meantime the site was fully leased and popular with businesses. The current application was for two years and it was hoped house-build- ing would start in that time scale.


There was confusion over the permitted hours of operation, with residents suffering from lorries entering and leaving the site throughout the night. The application was to follow the hours set down by the traffic commissioner at the public en- quiry, although it would not in- clude Sundays. Councillors agreed to support TMBC’s proposals for the new standards regime under the Lo- calism Act. Cllr Dave Storey said drainage works in The Street had finished. Work to fill in holes in surrounding roads were in hand. A dangerous tree notice had


been served on Explore Living concerning the trees on the bank of The Street. There would be improved sig-


nage to stop lorries going down Workhouse Lane unnecessarily. A culvert from the manhole outside the pub to Old School Lane was scheduled to be cleared. It was reported that the trench


in the road near the manhole cover by Brooks Cottages had sunk. The council was to object to


the West Malling parking re- view, which, it believed would


discourage shoppers from using the town. The clerk had contacted Kent Highway Services about empty- ing the catchment pit on Sandy Lane, but this had not been done. She was to contact them again. The Public Rights ofWay offi-


cer had visited footpath MR149 and did not believe it had been used by more than one horse. The clerk was asked to find out how to change a footpath to a bridleway. It was reported that the street


light outside Godfreys was cov- ered in vegetation. The clerk was to deal with this.


Snodland Council Station boost


AT the annual town meeting, Ian Paterson gave a presentation on the work of theMedway Val- ley Rail Partnership.He showed the work that had been done at Snodland station and other stations along the line, to improve the environment and the service provided. Mr Paterson paid particular tribute to the students of Holmesdale Technology College for the mural that had been painted at the station, and to Moat Housing for the work that is under way to create commu- nity garden space on the old siding area near Church Fields. Following the presentation, annual reports were given from the council committees and from County Cllr Sarah Hohler and Paul Hickmott on behalf of the twinning committee. At the annual council meeting


the various committees and rep- resentativeswere elected for the next year. Anne Moloney was elected as chairman of the coun- cil and PeterMisy as vice-chair- man. The council had received a


letter of thanks from Bucking- ham Palace following a mes- sage of goodwill sent by the town to the Queen on the occa- sion of her Diamond Jubilee.


Teston Council Jubilee gifts


IT was agreed that the clerk should order 32 Jubilee mugs for under 18s and for residents to purchase. A request from Teston and


Wateringbury Nursery Group for the council to buy Jubilee coins for the youngsters was turned down, as there was only one Teston child at the nursery, who would receive a mug. Cllr Alan Perkins asked the council to reconsider making a grant to the Woodlands Trust. This was seconded by Cllr Peter Coulling andwill be considered at the next meeting. It was agreed that the clerk should have a budget of £400 for KALC training and the


CiCLA registration fee. It was noted that the clerk had


not claimed any telephone ex- penses for some time, due to a change in service provider and a difficulty in breaking down call costs. It was agreed to in- crease the office allowance by £35 to cover this. Cllr Fay Gooch updated the council on the protection for the Medway Valley. There was a reluctance to expand the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. She asked whether there was a prospect of the valley being given site-specific protection within the Core Strategy but the borough council has more pressing matters to consider. It was noted that perhaps conser- vation area status might be more achievable. It as noted that the Environ-


ment Agency would be taking ownership of the Teston Lock improvement scheme and would maintain the strip of land between the lock and the proposed side channel. Kent Highways were not able


to carry out repairs to the pave- ment by the White House in Church Street West but this would be kept in mind. It was agreed that the whole of the Church Street pavement re- quired attention. There were no further reports


of drivers refusing to deliver to Livesey Street properties. It was felt current signagewas unhelp- ful. The clerk was to investigate. The bollards at North Pole


had been replaced.While park- ing was still a problem, it was agreed that no action would be taken. Weed-killing was required at


the western end of Tonbridge Road and onMalling Road. A hole had appeared on the southern side of Tonbridge Road and this was being inves- tigated. The highway steward had re- quested siding of the verges on both sides of Tonbridge Road at thewestern end to reclaim some footpath. Vegetation was growing over


the footpath on Tonbridge Road on both sides of the electricity sub-station and this would be reported by the clerk. Cllr Coulling had met with contractors and received two quotations for construction of the pavement at Valley Court.It was agreed that he should nego- tiate further with the contrac- tors and write to Valley Court residents about the impending work. It was agreed that if there was


anymoney left over, this should be used for changing signs on the western gateway and meet- ing the cost of lowering the speed limit. There was a gap between the amount KHTwas willing to pay the council for taking over the


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