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Monchelsea Council Height of trees


A RESIDENT from Joywood on the Boughton Court Estate ex- pressed concern about the height of trees on the landscaping strip at the rear of his property. The land is owned by developer Tay- lor Wimpey but is likely to be transferred to Boughton Monchelsea AmenityTrust in the near future. The resident was concerned


that many gardens were in the shade and that tree roots could cause problems in the future. Re- cent maintenance had allowed easier access for youths to congre- gate, causing an increase in anti- social behaviour. The chairman Cllr Stephen Munford said no anti-social be- haviour had been reported to the police but the parish council had requested the area be patrolled during the summer. When the land was transferred,


the trust would look at reducing the height of the trees but they must remain for screening. Checks would bemade to ensure the trees were the recommended minimum distance from resi- dences. Once in ownership, the trust would meet residents to discuss future maintenance. PCSO Mat Thomas reported 13 crimes since the last meeting in- cluding one burglary,four thefts, two incidents of criminal dam- age, five assaults and one harass- ment.


Community warden Liz Lovatt


said there had recently been two occasions when horses had been illegally tethered on land at Fur- field Quarry. Two deer had been shot


in the grounds of Boughton Monchelsea Place and had to be put down. Anything suspicious in the area should be reported to the police on 101. A vulnerable resident in Boughton Monchelsea had poor quality work carried out on her roof. By intervening, the warden was able toprevent money chang- inghands and the matter waspur- sued by trading standards. Jubilee committee treasurer


Chris Ross reported that the total cost of the celebrations had been £2,817, while takings had been £4,393. It was now intended to hold an annual fair and the parish coun- cil agreed that its loan of £615.05 (spent on jubilee mugs, coins for the children attending the street party and rosettes for the dog show) be made into a gift. This would allow the committee to re- tain the fullprofit of £1,576 for ex- penditure on future annual fairs. The advertising signs at the Al-


bion Inn had been removed by the new landlord. The chairman had been in- formed by a borough council cab-


inet member that all work on conservation area appraisals had been stopped due to lack of fund- ing but thiswould be reviewed in future. A meeting would be arranged with the borough to pur- sue this further. The chairman would pursue


with the borough the issue of un- sightly areas adjacent to the Cock Street Conservation Area. The Linton Road Section 106 money (£1,630.57) had been put towards recently installed safety surfacing around the roundabout in the Church Street play area. Urgent repairs were needed to


the village hall roof, costing up to £17,500 plus VAT and the parish council agreed tomatch the fund up to £10,000. Regarding improvements to Church Street, a meeting at- tended by six residents had taken place. Issues identified were speeding traffic, narrow footpaths and eyesores such as the pub and the advertising on the BT phone box. The clerk would write to BT asking for the signs to be re- moved.


Overgrown footpaths in Atkins


Hill and overgrown grass verges inWierton Hill andWierton Road were reported.


Broomfield and Kingswood Council


Field request


A RESIDENT asked for permis- sion to use the sports field car park,which was agreed. Cllr Peter Corfield had received


a reply fromTalkTalk, stating that a “no cold calling” zone was not legally enforceable. The vacant two-bedroom house


in Peter Pease Close was to be of- fered to an applicant from the Broomfield andKingswood regis- ter of interest. Maidstone Coun- cil had advised that the list maintained by the clerk was in- valuable when filtering through more than 120 applicants. At a meeting between KCC, Maidstone Council and local parish councils it was agreed not to proceed with the DEFRA ap- plication for super fast broad- band. The combined parishes of Leeds, Hollingbourne, Harriet- sham, Lenham and Broomfield and Kingswood were to consider asking V-Fast Broadband suppli- ers to discuss the commercial vi- ability to service the five parishes. The advertisements of the council’s intention to carry out a Neighbourhood Plan were on the Maidstone Council website, and were to be carried in the Downs Mail and KM. Posters were dis- played on notice boards and a website, and letters were to be cir- culated to every resident.Aletter of application for funding had been sent to Maidstone council.A questionnaire was to be sent to every parishioner and the school was to carry out a project to in- volve children in the planning. It had been agreed that the


council could meet at the village hall on the thirdMondayof every month, with a provisional book- ing for the first Monday of every month should it be necessary.Cllr Mike Evans proposed that there be a six-month trial fromOctober, and this was agreed. There were no volunteers to continue with the Kingswood and Broomfield News.Itwas agreed that Cllrs Terry Baker, Peter Corfield and Mike O’Neill would formulate aproposal to en- sure the continuation of the Vil- lage News. Cllr Paul Beaney said there had


been no activity on the forum for the third month running. It was agreed the forum had not fulfilled its intended purpose of engaging with the youth of the village. It was agreed to ask the webmaster if there was any further action to be taken to reduce costs. Cllr Beaney was to investigate the KCC’s free website facility. A licence agreement had been signed with Maidstone Maver- icks for use of the sports field and toilet facilities. The owner of the land next to


the sports field wasno longerpre- pared to sell a piece of land to es- tablish a public right of way to the sports field. Cllr O’Neill said the gate to the


sports field near the Scout hut was swinging loose. Cllr Justin West offered to look at it with a view to repairing it. It was noted that Morry Lane,


East Sutton, would be closed for oneweek for drainage work from September 17. Aletter had been received from


Scout group chairman Alan Poul- ton asking for a donation towards the makeover of the Scout hut.It was agreed the council would be unable to make a donation but would provide the paint as agreed.


Coxheath Council Parking problems


FOLLOWING interventions by the parish council with the NHS Trusts occupying Heathside House, it was hoped that current overflow parking problems will be overcome. Both short term and long term solutions were being considered. Cllrs Clive Parker and John Hughes, accompanied by the clerk, attended a meeting with Maidstone Council officials, to exchange views on the prospec- tive parish services scheme. There are still major reservations over the stance being taken by the borough council on what is seen to be the “double taxation” of rural areas. Theparish council was to enlist


the help of the landowner to re- strict access to the area adjacent to Fairhurst Drive, which is at- tracting youngpeople riding quad bikes and similar vehicles, to the annoyance of local residents. Sev- eral actions have already been


taken by Kent Police. Maidstone Council environ- mental services will be holding a dog fun day in Coxheath on Sep- tember 15, to encourage people to be more responsible owners. For further details, contact Commu- nityWarden Jo Jewiss. Advice and costings were to be sought to repair the safety surface in the Coxheath Village Hall play area.The concrete litter bin in the vicinity of the youth shelter had been refurbished and would now be emptied on a regular basis by a local contractor. Concerns had again been raised


over the apparent reluctance of Kent Police to attend parish council meetings, even on an oc- casional basis.


East Sutton Council Country Eye


THERE were no crimes to report. PCSO Alan Beech said there was a possibility that CountryEye was to be revamped. Anupdate from Kent Highways


was received.Ablocked pipe was reported in Friday Street. Pot- holes in EastSuttonRoad, Church Lane, and Morry Lane had all been reported and repaired. Fin- ger signposts were to be inspected and possibly refurbished. KHS had investigated flooding


in Morry Lane, but no report had yet been received. A sign had been requested by


the bus shelter and Arriva had visited the site, although no deci- sion had been received. It was resolved the clerk would approach KCC Cllr JennyWhittle about a seat in the bus shelter. It was resolved to place a code


of conduct advertisement in the Kent Messenger.


Headcorn Council Eight crimes


THERE were eight crimes re- ported in July, and a written re- port was received from the community warden. The quotes for the Christmas


lights from Blanchere Illumina- tions had been received and would be discussed in Septem- ber. A letter had been received


from Switch Youth Café re- questing a meeting to discuss a potential funding opportunity by KCC for them to provide ad- ditional youth work in the vil- lage. A meeting was to be arranged. Following a recommendation


from the Open Spaces Commit- tee, it was resolved to replace three standard columns and lights in the High Street due to deterioration, and to include in the budget for 2013/14 the re- placement fo the remaining two outside Culpeper Court and near Rushford Close. The road closure plan for Re- membrance Day had been sub- mitted. Cllr Dungey was to draw up notification letters to be sent


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