DownsMail In touch with your parish


grass cutting and the contrac- tor’s quotation. It was agreed that Cllr Coulling and the coun- cil should negotiate further. The clerk was still waiting to


hear from the borough council about the Readers Court sign. Three residents had responded to the Courtlands consultation. One was in favour of a new sign, and two were opposed.the matter was deferred. Residents of Little Court


Lodge Farm had notified the council of plans for a street name plate. Cllr Roger Levett was to attend a sitemeeting and report back. A letter had been received re- garding parking issues in The Street. Parents of children at- tending the nursery were given letters asking them to park care- fully. It was agreed that a letter should be sent to the restaurant asking them to consider putting up a notice asking customers to avoid parking on the footpath or for the restaurant to reorganise its car park. It was noted that Church


Street needed cleaning and it was agreed to report this to the borough council. Cllr Perkins had applied


SUPERMARKET giant Sains- bury’s presented 6,600 Active Kids vouchers to Ditton Infant School to help buy new gym equipment. The Larkfield store collected customers’ unwanted vouchers and split them between Ditton and Burham schools, More than £115m worth of ac-


tive equipment and experiences have been donated to nurseries, schools, Scout and Guide groups and sports clubs across the UK over the seven years since the scheme was launched. Overall, more than 46,000 or- ganisations are now signed up to the scheme and in the Lark-


Torch honour A VISUALLY-impaired Net- work Scout from Wateringbury will be carrying the Olympic torch on part of its journey through Kent to the London 2012 Games. JamesNeate (24),who lives in


Bow Road, has been partially blind since birth. He will carry the flame throughWestgate-on- Sea on Thursday, July 19. An apprentice administrator


at Maidstone Hospital, he is an assistant leader with Watering- bury Beavers, and was nomi- nated as an Olympic torch bearer by his group Scout leader, Joanna Fyson. James raised £1,400 for Demelza children’s hospice by camping out in his back garden for 100 days through winter and received a Princess Diana Award for his achievement.


Scouts’ good turn for school


MOREthan20members of Black- lands Cubs, Beavers and Scouts took part in a sponsored clean-up in East Malling as part of Scout CommunityWeek. The group tidied up the area around theMalling School Lake. GroupScout Leader Carole Dud-


ley said: “This was our way of thanking the school for their sup- port. We’ve held badge days,


fundraising events and most re- cently, sports coaching and car driving at the school.” Michael Sutehall, head boy at


The Malling School, joined the group for the litter pick and said: “I will be talking to students dur- ing assembly and asking them to do their bit and not drop litter.” A dustbin lid, barbed wire and 12bags of rubbishwere collected.


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SmartWater to the war memo- rial and had some left. It was agreed that it should be used to mark the benches and railings in the village.


Tree removed


West Peckham Council


THE annual parish meeting heard that a diseased tree had been removed from the green and replaced with a new one do- nated by the Talbutt family in memory of Sarah Talbutt’s father, Merlyn Sear Parry. The council had inaugurated


the Corfe Citizenship trophy in memory of the contribution made to the parish by Michael Corfe and his late father. The first recipients of the trophy were Tricia Hamilton and her late husband, Jack. Residents noted that main


roads in and around the village had been salted and cleared in good time over the winter. Cllr Mike Freed welcomed


Rev Patricia Dickin to West Peckham. He expressed disappointment


that some newcomers to the village had not yet got


Ditton youngsters get Active


field and Aylesford area there are 84 registered organisations. Active Kids manager Lindsay Burks hopes that this year even more nurseries, schools, Scout and Guide groups and sports clubs in Larkfield will sign up to the campaign. Sainsbury’s Active Kids was launched in February 2005, in response to growing concerns around children’s activity and obesity levels. It is based on a system of vouchers that nurs- eries, schools, Scout and Guide groups and clubmark-accred- ited sports clubs can exchange for a variety of sports and activ- ity equipment and experiences.


involved in village life and asked those wishing to do so to make themselves known to the council. It was noted that drainage


works appeared to have resolved the flooding issues around Par- sons Corner. The council maintained its


policy on the use of polytunnels, which supports their use if used proportionately, considerately and safely to support viable agri- culture and within planning law. The objections to the HLF ap- plicationwerewell received and in many cases dealt with, mak- ing a fair outcome for all. The council was working with the borough council and the Beech Farm Partnership to see if a sat- isfactory conclusion could be reached in this case. The council had applied for a number of rights of way to be recognised. The council had passed on to


Kent County Council responsi- bility for mowing the grass at Parsons Corner and the mainte- nance of the hedge at Vicarage field to the landowners. Having maintained these for several years itwas discovered that they do not belong to the parish and


the council has no responsibility for them. The council had continued to support and had expanded the taxi voucher scheme. Cllr Freed offered condolences


to the family and colleagues of Cllr Mark Worrall, OBE, the leader of Tonbridge andMalling Borough Council, who had re- cently passed away. At the annual parish council meeting, PCSO Toni Matthews reported six crimes since Janu- ary 1: two cases of criminal dam- age, three thefts and one burglary. It was noted that the postbox in the centre of the vil- lage had been damaged. Roadworks were scheduled to


take place along Swanton Road from June 4-12. Potholes had ap- peared along Forge Lane and Pil- larbox Lane. Several ideas had been re- ceived regarding the Queen’s Ju- bilee celebrations. The council rejected the idea of a beacon, and cost may prevent the idea of a plaque outside the church de- tailing points of interest. An idea of a photograph of residents taken on the day was met with enthusiasm.


JS Active Kids at Ditton Infant School Coffee mates


pick up litter SNODLAND’s Coffee and Chat Group hosted a bash the trash event to clear up the recreation ground off Bramley Road. Run by Nicky Delacey of The


Beat Project, the group meets on Wednesdays from 11.30am to 2pm, with visitors who come in to offer advice. Citizens Advice and Connexions attend every week, and a Love Where You Live workshop has been held. Group member Jason Boyce organised the litter pick event. He said: “We were really pleased to see 19 people turn out. It was a rainy day but they filled two sacks of waste, mainly sweet wrappers and drinks bottles.” The groupmeets at Snodland Working Men’s Club.


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