DownsMail In touch with your parish Continued from page 28


up by other local councils. The suggestion of removing the


porch area at the centre would be discussed further. The summer fete made al- most£1,000 for good causes. Next year’s fete would be held on Sat- urday, July 27, and more volun- teers were needed. Suggested names for the Kings


Hill sports facilities were dis- cussed. The following were put forward to Liberty PropertyTrust: The Runway; Beacon Fields; Heath Fields. Concern was raised about the


level of bus provision for school children to Tonbridge. The clerk would contact county Cllr Richard Long about this.


Leybourne Council Crime patterns


PCSO Ed Moore reported 10 crimes in July and 11 in August. Cllr Abbotson asked if dates could be provided for when the crimes took place to see if there was a pattern. PC Nick Stevens said this might not offer anything new and was very time-consum- ing to download.He agreed to see if more detailed information could be provided. PC Stevens said he had received two crime reports from Cllr Bob Ulph and waswaiting forCCTVfootage.The clerk was to follow this up. BoroughCllrBrian Luker asked


if the recent criminal activities were being carried out by local of- fenders. PCSO Moore said he thought the thefts were commit- ted by strangers to Leybourne, but criminal damage was mostly down to local people. KCC Cllr Sarah Hohler con- firmed that the priority signage on CastleWay was underway and a meeting had been held with the parish council and KCC, where plans were discussed. The coun- cil was now waiting for the plans to be submitted for review. Borough Cllr Brian Luker up-


dated councillors on the issues in Birling Road. A traffic count had taken place and he would be meeting Paul Lulham of KCC to discuss the results. Cllr Luker said there were still planning issues at Leybourne Grange and the bus gate was still being discussed. Cllr Mearns was voted in as


new chairman of the environ- ment and transportation commit- tee and thanked Cllr Valvassura for her efforts as chair.He said he had been in contact with Paul Lulham fromKCCand had assur- ances from him as part of the S106 contribution from the Grange that two bus shelterswith seating would be installed – one at the junction of Willowmead and one at the top of Little Market Row. The old bus shelter would be re-sited on the other side of the road nearWillowmead. The consultationprocess for the A20 parking restrictions was dis-


cussed and it was agreed for the clerk to chase Ben Hilden as warning signs had so far not been erected. Cllr Mearns asked Cllr Luker


about the bus services that would be provided at Leybourne Chase as the parish council would like some services diverted through Leybourne. Cllr Luker said the de- veloper organised this with bus companies and the routes had been agreed as part of the plan- ning conditions. He referred Cllr Mearns to the original planning documents.


Mereworth Council Cricket club


TREASURER of the cricket club, Phil Roberts, said the club had sought guidance from Peter Robinson regarding renovation of the cricket square.Iit was agreed that Jason Gledhill-Carr’s quota- tion should be accepted.Cllr Den- nis Styles asked if the club had any plans to form a junior cricket team as this would aid any further grant applications. Three crimes had been reported


in the previous month. Cllr Philip Olden said there had


been flooding on Seven Mile Lane and at the Mereworth/West Peckham crossroads, due to silt- ing up of drains. There had also been flooding at the slip road /A228. KCC Cllr Richard Long agreed to discuss the issues with KentHighways. The clerk had al- ready reported the slip road issue. It was agreed to accept the quo-


tation of £465 for repairs to the play area safety surfacing. Mereworth Village Hall had agreed that recreation ground and pavilion bookings were to be dealt with by the clerk and Bill Piper respectively. Cllr Jon Regan had discussed


the relocation of the flashing school sign with KHS, but was awaiting information on the new siting. Cllr Styles said he had arranged to have the gataeway signs repainted white. Cllr Styles said Mrs Tiptaft and


Mrs Varco were willing to con- tinue with Speedwatch but did not have enough volunteers. Cllr Regan said he waswilling tohelp. It was agreed that a decision on whether to continue with Speed- watch would be made once the effect of the interactive sign had been assessed. It was reported that all the al- lotment plots were in an accept- able condition. Three were being taken over by new tenants this month. The clerk said she would continue to dealwith pitch book- ings and would monitor the num- ber of extra hours worked. Cllr Styles said there was a problem with dog fouling on the recreation area, particularly near the hedge on Butchers Lane and around the allotments. Cllr Styles said the beech trees


on the recreation areas needed cutting back. It was agreed that


Cllr Regan and Cllr Oldenwould carry out this work. Cllr Regan had contacted bor-


ough Cllr Jill Anderson about the rubbish on the land to the rear of Butchers Lane, and she had re- ferred this to Tonbridge and Malling Council’s environmental health officer. Regarding the community transport fund, the clerk had ob- tained some information on ages of residents, but only borough- wide. There was no detailed in- formation on Mereworth itself. Cllr Styles had asked at the hos- pice and bureau and confirmed there had been no great demand from Mereworth residents for help with transport for several years. Cllr Jenny Thorogood felt Mereworth was self-sufficient due to the good spirit and network in the village where elderly resi- dents are helped by friends and neighbours. The clerk had written to the


tenant of land in Kent Street about reports of ragwort, asking for its removal. She had received a re- sponse indicating that the land had been cleared. Cllr Styles said he had been of-


fered two 9ft Christmas trees for use in the village. It was agreed to accept these. Cllr Olden suggested the large conical tree in the church grounds be decorated with lights. Cllr Thorogood said the Christmas tree festival would not be taking place in the church this year. Cllr Regan suggested a drinks party in conjunction with the church. Cllr Thorogood was to investi-


gate the possible lighting of a tree at The Triangle and was to con- tact a resident ofMalling Road to ask for his advice. The parish council Christmas dinner was to be arranged for De- cember 14. Cllr Regan was to book the restaurant.


Nettlestead Council Church theft


THERE had been a theft at the church during aweddingwhen a bridesmaid had her handbag stolen. A councillor reported a woman had been hit in the knee while walking in Wateringbury and that a missile had been fired from a van. The vanhad also been seen driving through Nettlestead and missiles had been fired at pedestrians. The clerk was to re- port this to PCSO Nicola Morris. Cllr Jackie Bennett said four


new people had attended the Chatterbox scheme and there were now a total of 25 members. There wasnoneed for a salt bag


this year and the clerkwould no- tify KHS. A quote had been obtained


from Fresh Air Fitness for a new piece of fitness equipment at the King George V field. The cost would be £1,200 to £1,400 de- pending on what was chosen. The chairman CllrWarwick Eden suggested, as only £350 funding


had been received from Golding Homes, an extra expenditure of £1,000 could not be justified.The clerk would contact Golding to see if the money could be used for anything else at the field. Regarding the parish services scheme, the chairman said he had placed an article in the parish magazine but had not received any response from residents. The possibility of an increase in precept was discussed in detail but no decision could be made until the budget was considered in January. The clerk reported on her meet-


ing and walk through the village with Richard Dixon of KCC. He had noted areas of concern which the clerk had highlighted. He would be doing Land Registry searches on the ditch in Hamp- stead Lane, which was over- grown, and a lay-by in Maidstone Road that had Japanese knotweed. The clerk would con- tact the relevant owners once she had received details. Residents of Waterside Mews


had asked if a slow sign could be placed on the road. Borough Cllr Steve Mcloughlin spoke about the possibility of incorporating the slow sign with the interactive sign being funded by County Cllr Paulina Stockell. A resident had asked whether there was a20mph limit in place in Bishops Close as she was aware that it used to be 20mph. The clerk would investi- gate.


Wrong direction Offham Council


IT was reported that mini bikes had been used at dusk along North Meadow in the wrong di- rection. There had been five burglaries


since the last meeting. Attention was drawn to the rise in thefts of heating oil from rural properties. Three vehicles had been shot at


on the M26 slip road at Adding- ton, although there were no in- juries or accidents. PCSOLaura Bullen would con-


tinue to visit Church Road and North Meadow. The village hall car park and drainage had been completed and looked good. A resident with technical ex- pertise was to be asked to become a technical adviser to the parish council inconnectionwith Blaise Farm. Liaison meetings had shown that a few residents were making complaints about odours. Members were aware that many villagers did not know about Blaise Farm, and blamed un- pleasant smells on the farm. To encourage the Environment Agency to take action, more needed to be done to inform the village of the problem, where it was coming from and what they could do about it. Andrew Field from Offham


Tennis Club addressed the meet- ing. The members and club com-


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