This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
DownsMail In touch with your parish


Boughton Malherbe Council


Paths reported


FOOTPATH conditions at Judge Farm and Broadstone Cottage had been reported but no im- provements had been made. The clerk would investigate. There had been five reported crimes since the last meeting. These were shoplifting of a tor- toise, vehicle damage, three thefts of oil, gas and a mobile phone. There were 29 reported/com- mitted crimes for the same pe- riod in 2011. PCSO Alan Beech thought the big drop was partly due to increased patrols.The Speedwatch team continued to record speeding vehicles through the village and the in- teractive sign was in place. It would help if Boughton Monchelsea could afford to buy its own Speedwatch equipment as it was becoming increasingly difficult to borrow from other villages.


Concerns had been reported


about the proximity of the new speed indicator sign to the highway and the fear of a vehi- cle hitting it. This had been re- ported to Kent Highways, who were due to inspect it. Grass verges were cut from


the Headcorn end of the village to Park Farm, but the work stopped there. KCC was unable to give a reason. The litter pick day would be organised by Joan Drury in the spring, with equipment from Maidstone Council. Groups were formed to work


on an emergency plan for Boughton Malherbe and a vil- lage/neighbourhood plan. ChrisWheal,KentFireand Rescue Service volunteer, up- dated the council on the ser- vice’s integrated plan. Response times in rural areas were 12 to 15 minutes. Regarding Lenham, Charing and Harrietsham fire stations, the aim was to have two operational and available at key times, the ultimate goal being two on 24-hour cover. It was suggested that a skid


risk sign be erected in Wood- cock Lane.


Bredhurst Council Future of PCSOs


THERE was a discussion re- garding the future role of PCSOs. It was unlikely that a PCSO would be present at fu- ture parish council meetings in Bredhurst. One crime had been reported


–a car was taken from a drive- way in Dunn Street Road. A revised quote was accepted


for the playground refurbish- ment project, to include rub- berised surfaces beneath play equipment. The cost would be £7,500 with a 5% discount


42 East


agreed for prompt payment. Some of the money to be used was originally set aside for traf- fic-calming measures, but was not needed, and £2,000 had come from County Cllr Paul Carter’s member’s fund. A large amount of rubbish


was collected in the village tidy-up in October. Councillors thanked all the volunteers for their help. Some issues were noted:A


gulley in Kemsley Street needed inspecting as the road flooded- when it rained heavily; a prop- erty in The Street had overhanging branches and the owner would be requested that they be cut back: a drain on the motorway bridge was full of sand; a post on the build-out by the motorway bridge had been knocked over; tyres had been dumped in the field near the crossroads by Yelsted Lane. A lot of spent fireworks were


left in the playing field and the clerk was asked to try to estab- lish who had used the site with- out permission of the parish council. Cllr Vanessa Jones went through what was agreed with Kent Highways in respect of maintenance to be undertaken in the village, including re- placements of some sections of footpath in Dunn Street Road. This would be funded by KCC. It was understood that the rubbish dumped on land at Bredhurst Woods had been burned by the landowner. The Environment Agency was in- vestigating.


Broomfield and Kingswood Council


Cars on paths


COUNCILLORS asked the clerk to contact Kent Police regarding the increase of parking on foot- paths around the village. Broadcom had arranged a presentation at the village hall in December to demonstrate their solutions for a better broadband service. The neighbourhood plan questionnaire had been circu- lated and the steering group would collate the information. An application for part funding had been sent to Maidstone Council. To date the steering group had only spent £253. Printing costs for the Village


News for eight sides of A4 would be £400 for four editions of 700 copies in black and white on coloured paper. It was pro- posed that sponsorship by local businesses should be consid- ered and advertising should be considered on an ad hoc basis. Copy deadline for the first issue would be mid February, 2013. The council agreed to con- tribute £500 a year towards the costs. The clerk hadmade enquiries


about having an additional no- tice board for the village and had had an offer to site one out- side the shops in Cayser Drive. Two quotes of £1,355 and £867.90, both plus VAT, had been obtained and planning permission would not be re- quired, just advertising consent, Councillors agreed further quotes should be obtained.


Chairman elected CLLR Mark Housden was elected as the new chairman of the parish council. Cllr Christopher Evernden re- ported on the police meeting that he had attended. He con- firmed there would be no re- duction in the future funding of PCSOs. Arequest from Detling Village


Detling Council


Hall Management Committee had been received for financial assistance for work on the roof. No specific amount was re- quested. It was agreed that with the reduction in the concurrent functions grant and the possible cap on the increase of the parish precept, that the council was unable to consider it at present. However, it would look at this again during the budget setting process. Kemsley Farms would be re- quested to cut back the verges along Church Lane. John Monk had cleared up the damage in Horrish Wood caused by the dumped car. Members would meet on site


to discuss the mobility gate. The possibility of more inter- action with village organisa- tions and the holding of joint events was discussed and agreed. A list would be com- piled of all village organisations and their contact details. Cllr Evernden had been passed a number of historic documents by a parishioner and asked members what they would like to do with these. The chairman agreed to look through the items. Cllr Irene Bowie suggested


every resident attending ameet- ing should be sent a thank you letter. After discussion, it was agreed this was not necessary.


Nuisance youths LETTERS had been sent to the parents of youths gathering at the shops and acting in an anti social manner. A resident had written to Ar-


Downswood Council


riva to request the three late buses on the number 85 service be extended to include Downswood. County Cllr Gary Cooke would investigate whether two of the services were being dropped. Informa- tion would be put on the web- site/newsletter. Cllr Cooke was delighted that his member’s grant for £1,000


had been approved for Christ- mas lighting. A positive meeting had taken


place at Grove Green on plans to expand St John’s School. Pyracanthas overhanging the footpath on Deringwood Drive needed cutting back. Wooden posts on the green outside the Orchard Spot were broken, rotting or missing and needed replacing. A quote for £223.50 plus VAT


for bulb planting was agreed. The clerk was to request per- mission to plant two silver birch trees by the basketball hoop in Mallards, and two to re- place the vandalised trees at the junction of Grampian Way and Deringwood Drive. Maidstone Council would be informed that the parish coun- cil would prefer the yew tree at the top of Mallards not to be re- moved as, despite being very poorly cut back, it may produce shoots in the spring. The clerk had requested infor- mation from Maidstone Council regarding its suggestion for the parish council to take over the running of Foxden Drive play area. Until this was forthcom- ing, a decision could not be made. A quote for £305 plus VAT for


work on the Foxden Drive hedge was agreed. Ideas for a volunteer footpath


group were considered. Details would be included in the newsletter/website in the spring. New motifs would be pur- chased for Christmas from Gala Lights. A quote for £2,379.34 plus VAT for installing the light- ing was agreed. The parish’s facebook page,


had grown to 73 followers with 85 for Twitter.


Harrietsham Council Sites appeal


AS part of the community con- sultation for the neighbourhood plan, the parish council put out a call out for development sites within Harrietsham. Landlords wishing to have their land con- sidered as a possible develop- ment were asked to submit details in writing. The parish council had been informed by Maidstone Council that it was able to proceed with preparing its neighbourhood plan, following the boundary area consultation.


Plan considered


Hollingbourne Council


CHRIS Bowden from Navigus Planning spoke on the impor- tanceofa neighbourhood plan for the village. The meeting heard a neighbourhood plan must be taken into considera- tion when planning applica- tions were put forward under


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56