DownsMail In touch with your parish


Downswood Council Vacancy filled


ITWAS agreed that David Nut- tallwouldbeco-optedontothe council to fill the vacancy. KCC Cllr Gary Cooke said a meeting was to be held at St John’s School regarding the plans to expand to two forms of entry from September 2013. This was likely to create more space at Madginford School for Downswood children. Cllr Cooke was happy to re-


ceive requests for work to be ac- tioned by KHS housekeeping crew. He added that issues re- gardingsaltbinsshouldbead- dressed, and said £6 million had been found for resurfacing works. Cllrs Cheesman and Butler


were thanked for their work preparing the parish response to the Core Strategy consultation. This had been submitted to Maidstone Council. The Joint Parishes Group re- sponse was being prepared by Richard Eastham, of Feria. The totalcosttodatewillbe£500, which equates to £56.59 for Downswood. There was concern that trees


were being cut down in Old Church Road. Overgrown vegetation was re- ported at the junction of Dering- wood Drive and Willington Street. KHS had confirmed that this would be cut back. One of the spindles on the outdoor gym equipment was not working properly – Cllr Cheesman was to advise the clerk of the details. A large tree by the bus stop


near Gorham Drive needed cut- ting back as it was causing an obstruction to buses. Quotations were being sought


to cut back the hedge at the Foxden Drive play area. Cllr Roberts was congratu-


lated on his organisation of the Olympicnic celebrations.MPE provided a good service with the barbecue and refreshments. It was requested that the event be repeated next year and a pro- visional date of July 13 was set. It was requested that the Christmas Carols and Lights event be advertised in the No- vember edition of the Two Spires. Gala Lights were to be contacted about new motifs in the event that funding becomes available in time for this year’s display. The Facebook page was said


to be going really well. Twitter was not as popular but the council still had 30 followers.


Green issues


Hollingbourne Council


REGRET was expressed that Mr and Mrs Bennett remained dis- satisfied with the parish coun-


54 East


cil and the events that led to the death of their cat on the Millen- nium Green. The parish council was not responsible for the land or its management as it still be- longs to Hollingbourne Millen- nium Green Trust. Cllr Alan Williams, a former chairman, confirmed his wish to resign at the end of themeet- ing. The chairman thanked him for his long contribution to the work of the council and also for his personal support to him since taking on the chairman- ship. Mr Williams’ work and care of the footpaths was ac- knowledged, his tireless efforts to keep Hollingbourne litter free and his involvement with any resident needing support from the council was recognised. Mr Williams confirmed his continuation as countryside ac- cess warden and North Downs Way warden and offered con- tinued help and guidance in re- lation to these posts in future. Mr Bennett and Mr Waite


were co-opted to fill the vacan- cies on the parish council. The WI was congratulated on


a very successful safari market. The chairman reported recent decisions taken by KCC regard- ing the operating policies at Tovil were bound to make fly- tipping even worse. The result- ant costs could outweigh any savings, and as an example, he said that Greenway Court Road was completely blocked by a large amount of waste dumped in the road. Fly-tipping including, it is be- lieved, some asbestos, had been reported on land belonging to John Arthur Boyd. The clerk was to alert him. A productive meeting was


held with the French represen- tative responsible for twinning communities. Lesquin, near Lille, was not available to twin as first thought, but negotiations for a suitable place were ongo- ing.


Cllr Dr Bauer reiterated her


offer to provide compost to the village gardeners for tubs. Thanks were extended to all the village gardeners for their con- tinued efforts in making Hollingbourne an attractive en- vironment. She reported her dissatisfac-


tion with the recent trimming back at the A20 approach to the village, which had simply re- sulted in workmen cutting through the embedded litter.


Footpath concern Leeds Council


A RESIDENT raised concerns about the condition of three footpaths – opposite Burgess Hall Drive, the Landway bridle- way and the path from Forge lane through the village. The clerk was asked to report these to KCC. The resident also raised con-


cerns about the placing of a col- lection box on the public high- way by Leeds Castle. She was advised to take this up directly with the castle management. A lamp column was out at Burgess Hall Drive. The lighting contractors would be informed. The parish council had asked


KCC to replace the existing signs concerning lorry access, however national policy did not allow the signage to be changed at present. The clerk would circulate a


list of outstanding villagemain- tenance to all councillors for updating so that a comprehen- sive cleaning schedule could be forwarded to county Cllr Gary Cooke for the forthcoming vil- lage clean-up. The vacancy for the clerk’s


post had been advertised with a closing date of November 2. PCSO Richard Kirby reported


a problem with youths inWyke- ham Grove and the action being taken to resolve this. Quotes from two companies


had been received regarding the new parish website.The one from Zoologic was accepted.


Lenham Council Right to build


A PARISHIONER raised the issue of the new Right to Build, and explained how the scheme could be achieved. The chair- man thanked him and said such a project could run in conjunc- tion with the neighbourhood plan.


Another parishioner advised


that the gents’ toilets needed re- painting to cover graffiti. The parish council was to seek quotes for the work. Another parishioner brought


up the Co-op plans for a shop on the site of the former iron- mongers in Faversham Road.He said he was setting up a group to oppose the plan, as such a de- velopment would be in compe- tition with existing businesses. The chairman said the parish council was meeting with the Co-op and the landlord Ramac, and would call a public meeting after that. KCC Cllr Jenny Whittle was


still involved with the A20/Faversham Road junction alterations to make it a safer crossing point. The “20’s plenty” signs had


been installed around Ham Lane. The council agreed the loca-


tion earmarked for the new no- ticeboard was ideal as parishioners would see it walk- ing to and from the village. The noticeboard was not fit for pur- pose and would be replaced, to fit the existing posts. CCTV signs had been bought


for the BMX park,aswellas signs to advise people not to climb the trees in Royton Av- enue.


The chairman said full fund-


ing for the new water supply to the cemetery had been success- ful at no cost to parishioners, and installation would be com- pleted later this year. Cllr Goodwin gave an update


on the Joint Parishes Group’s re- ponse to Maidstone Council’s Core Strategy consultation pa- pers, and advised that not all the parishes agreed with one an- other’s comments, but this was to be expected. Cllr Newman said the parish council’s re- sponse had been sent to the planning department. Cllr Newman gave an update


on the neighbourhood plan. Maidstone Council had printed 5,000leafletsatnocosttothe parish council which advertised the times, dates and venues of the neighbourhood plan meet- ings in different areas of the parish. Cllr Newman asked for volunteers to put the leaflets into the Focus magazine. The chairman said scheduled


work was still to be completed on the Dickley Lane problem, Old Ashford Road resurfacing and the double yellow lining of Ham Lane. The chairman said he hoped outstanding work would be completed soon, as well as some gully-clearing. The chairman read out the re- ported crime figures for the parish over the preceding month. There had been four crimes: the theft of a vehicle, a burglary other than a dwelling, criminal damage and a theft from amotor vehicle. The aban- doned car outside the church had been reported to the police. An agreement had been reached with the construction manager of Jones Homes South East whereby the company could use the William Pitt car park to park vehicles, instead of Ham Lane. Community warden Martin Sherwood had reported a home alarms scam in the area. He also said there had been calls report- ing nuisance vehicles, and ad- vised anyone witnessing this to call the police on 101. Cllr Goodwin said the emer-


gency plan was nearly com- plete. Cllr Richard Greenwood


asked about the re-chalking work on thememorial cross,as he thought there was a problem with the promised chalk. A quote had been sought for a


clear-up of the cemetery en- trance and re-planting of young trees. It was agreed to go back to the contractor to ask about suit- able alternative trees. Cllr Bone said the Age Con-


cern community hub would lay on a Christmas lunch for the elderly if the Dog and Bear ceased its long-serving and wel- comed Christmas lunch. Cllr Andrew Barr said KALC was looking to petition against


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