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Downs Mail
In touch with your parish
Crimes reported THERE had been three crimes since the last meeting – an inde- cent exposure inwoods at North Pole Road, an assault in private property atNorth Pole Road, and an assault in Springwood Road. Volunteers with common
Barming Council
sense and good communication skills were needed to act as stewards on Remembrance Sun- day. The clerkwas to investigate whether any of the stewards who were trained for the Olympic Torch relay lived in the area, as they could assist. Chairman Cllr Fay Gooch re- ported that four strategic sites had been put forward in the draft Core Strategy.One was be- hind the reservoir,which would affect residents of Broomshaw Road/Oakapple Lane, and an- other, which could provide 450 homes, was on Hermitage Lane, near the station. The Gallagher-proposed quarry extension had not been included in the KCC mineral and waste sites consultation. When queried, Cllr Gooch was informed that Kentish ragstone was at sufficient levels at pres- ent. It was agreed that the youth
club couldmark out a volleyball court just beyond the football pitch and basketball lines on the playground. The youth club also wished to
have some picnic benches on the playground area, but it was felt there would be little use for them during the winter. Residents in the cottages on
Tonbridge Road had raised con- cerns over parking at the parish hall. Some hirers were showing no consideration, resulting in residents being unable to access their garages. A letter would be sent to all hirers asking them to encourage car-sharing wherever possible as parking was limited. Six benches for which the parish council was responsible needed re-varnishing. One by the river needed refurbishing. Three local decorators had
been asked to quote for work re- quired in the parish
hall.Mortar repairs would be completed to the outside of the building at a cost of £200.
Loose Council Pavilion use
IT WAS agreed to allow use of the Parish Pavilion for Neigh- bourhoodWatch quarterly meet- ings for no charge, on condition of availability. A new Loose Neighbourhood
Watch co-ordinator had been identified by community war- den Liz Lovatt. The camera at the rear of the pavilion which had been van- dalised at the beginning of the
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week, had now been stolen, and the police informed. Councillors expressed disappointment at the theft as the camera had just been replaced with a new one. PCSO Matt Williams reported
that John the caretaker had pro- vided a CCTV recording of some vandals. Drugs were found in a large
shed at Salts Lane. There had been shed breaks in Northleigh Close and Pickering Street, a burglary in Busbridge Road, and the theft of petrol from the Tamarisk Shell garage. Some neighbouring parishes,
the North Loose Residents’ As- sociation and the Maidstone Council planning officer had been invited to ameeting to dis- cuss the neighbourhood plan process. Members of the public would be involved once the con- sultation was underway. Repair of the open gulley ad-
jacent to Brooks House was in hand by Kent Highways Serv- ices. Excessive lighting on the Leonard Gould site at Braddick Closewould be replaced by Bell- way Homes. A resident of Walnut Tree
Lane hadwritten to KCC to com- plain about parking problems created by parents during recent events at the Loose schools. It was suggested that yellow lines at the bus stop could help. The school could negotiate
with the parish council re park- ing on the King George V play- ing field, although it would have to be supervised. It was sug- gested that the school, parish council and ward councillor could arrange a meeting to dis- cuss the options. Loose Amenities Association
might be able to remove the silt from Brooks Field with the help of the Scouts. It was agreed to pay the £250
cost of the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership in- volvementwith Loose School,as it was considered to be a valued community project. Derek Corbett would continue
as the official pond warden at Brooks Field for the parish coun- cil and would organise work parties to clear the pond from time to time. Anew Code of Conduct was formally adopted. Aquote would be obtained for repairs to the allotment wall which could be paid for with money from the McAlpine budget. It was agreed that the environ-
ment committee should take over day to day running of the Brooks Field. Both co-opted members of the previous Brooks Field project committee had put in a lot of time and commitment towards de-silting the pond and would be thanked accordingly.
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