Trees overgrown


DownsMail In touch with your parish Bredhurst Council


A LETTER had been sent to a resident in The Street regarding overhanging branches. Southern Water had advised


the parish council to contact Kent Highways about the gully near the motorway bridge. It had not been possible to


trace who left spent fireworks and other rubbish in the play- ing field. The litter bin and post on the corner of Blind Lane and Forge Lanewere still there, despite re- quests for removal. The clerk would continue to chase this with Maidstone Council. The playground refurbish-


ment project had now been completed. Fittings for the new toddler swing were awaited. A quote for replacement swings would be requested. Cllr Vanessa Jones was thanked for co-ordinating this project. Regarding the field next to Oaklands, no enforcement ac- tion was planned byMaidstone Council as theménage had been dismantled and the stable blocks were to be removed. The newsletter had been post- poned until after Christmas. It was suggested that a separate meeting be held to discuss the future of the newsletter. It was proposed that the coun-


cil look at the street light main- tenance contract to see if costs could be saved. The funding from the parish services scheme 2013/14 was approximately a 60% decrease compared to the concurrent functions grant for 2012/13. Some difficult decisions needed to be made at the budget meet- ing in January. A final decision on the precept would be made later.


Hall charges had gone up


from £24 to £28 from January. Therewas a short discussion on the possibility of alternative venues to reduce costs. It was agreed the chairman Cllr Char- lie Hewitt would investigate. A letter had been received


from a member of the public ex- pressing disappointment that the two-minute silence was not observed on Remembrance Sun- day by those playing football at Bredhurst Nursery. Concern was expressed at the


size of some of the large lorries passing though the village. The Lorry Watch scheme asked for oversized lorries in rural areas to be reported to the police. Cllr Ray Surridge had re- signed from the parish council and there were now two vacan- cies.


Broomfield and Kingswood Council


Fuel thefts up


PCSO Richard Kirby said there had been nine crimes reported


46 East


since the last meeting. He said there had recently been an in- crease in thefts of fuel and agri- cultural equipment.From January, PCSO Kirby would now be covering an additional two parishes. Cllr Peter Corfield said the


road show by Onwave at the vil- lage hall had been successful, and several parishioners had signed up to the satellite sys- tem. However, this was not the right answer for many for im- proved broadband. A letter had been written to MP Hugh Robertson regarding the lack of broadband facilities in rural areas. Cllr Jenny Whittle had said she would be looking into this.


Cllr Terry Baker said the re- sponse to the neighbourhood plan questionnaire had been very good, at 25%. Information from the questionnaire indi- cated that 17 people might be interested in becoming a parish councillor. An application for a small


grant towards the cost of the plan had been submitted to Maidstone Council. Cllr Baker said the first edi-


tion of the Village News would be eight sides of A4. Only 10 of the 27 parish clubs and soci- eties had responded. There would be limited advertising of local businesses, and therewere already two businesses pre- pared to subscribe. A request had been received


from Kent Fire and Rescue Serv- ice for assistance maintaining fire hydrants around the parish. Councillors agreed there were too many hydrants on rural lanes where there were no foot- paths or lighting to make this a feasible action for residents. Another quote for the notice-


board had been received from JRT Signs. Councillors asked how the noticeboard would be fixed. The clerk suggested a copy of the design should be forwarded to the landowners for their approval. It was agreed that JRT Signs would be asked to install the board once all in- formation had been clarified.


Downswood Council Resignation


CLLR Mike Ladds offered his resignation to the clerk,who said he would be missed. Pyracanthas overhanging the footpath on Deringwood Drive had not been cut back. The Longham Copse fence


was noted as still being in a dangerous condition. Maidstone Council had re-


jected the tree planting for the bank at Mallards, but suggested the area between the football pitch and the field could be used. Councillors rejected this offer as it was felt there were enough trees on the boundary and the view along the valley would be


affected. The borough council had said the yew tree at the top of the Mallards would be re- moved. Suggestions were made for a wildflower bed on the bank along from the memorial. Costs and inspection reports


for the Foxden Drive play area had been received from Maid- stone Council. It was agreed that the parish council would prefer to work closely with the borough council in bringing the play area up to date, rather than assuming responsibility for run- ning costs. Cllr Anne-Marie Butler pro-


posed a donation of £100 for St Nicholas Choir, and this was agreed. It was agreed to make a dona-


tion of £50 to the Kent tree and pond wardens. The Christmas carols and


lights ceremony had been well attended and enjoyed.Adate of November 29 was agreed for the 2013 ceremony. The Twitter and Facebook


pages were continuing to grow, with 77 followers on Facebook and 97 on Twitter. Cllr Cheesman said Downswood had a poor broad- band service as the voltage was low from the Otham exchange. However this was due to be up- dated in the spring. Mobile phone services provided by Or- ange/T Mobile and EE seemed particularly poor. A request from Kent Fire and Rescue Service to inspect fire hydrants on its behalf was con- sidered, but it was agreed that this would be better done by the professionals.


Plans considered THE following planning appli- cations were recommended by the parish council for approval by Maidstone Council: Mill House, Fairbourne Lane, listed building consent for a single storey rear extension to provide a conservatory and lobby area and relocation of existing inter- nal staircase to original posi- tion; land at rear of 5 Mercer Drive, pruning of beech tree. No objection was made to an application for Ringstead, Mar- ley Road, to extend games room to facilitate conversion into ac- commodation. The following were recom- mended for refusal: StationYard, Station Road, discharge of plan- ning conditions relating to change of use of tram shed to light industrial with first floor ex- tension and new roof and erec- tion of two light industrial units, being details of boundary treat- ments and landscaping; Pilgrims Retreat, Hogbarn Lane, erection of shop and office building and advertising consent for illumi- nated sign; The Mellows Marley Road, removal of planning con- ditions (retrospective change of


Harrietsham Council


use of land for gypsy family resi- dence) to allow a permanent per- mission; Broomfields, Hogbarn Lane, extension and conversion of stables to form two holiday lets; 9 St Welcumes Way, two- storey side extension, single storey attached replacement garage and front porch extension.


Kerbstone delay


Hollingbourne Council


COUNCILLOR Alan Bennett said Kent Highways had taken no action to repair the unsafe kerbstone opposite 77 Eyhorne Street. County Cllr Jenny Whit- tlewas duetomeetwithCllr Bennett. Cllr John Cobbett said he had contacted Murphy’s about the protracted length of time it was taking to repair the traffic light controls in Eyhorne Street. There were 17 reported crimes in the North Downs ward during November and 10 during December to date. Crime in Hollingbourne included theft from a stables, theft of shrub- bery from Hasteds and damage to a property in Pilgrim’sWay. PCSO Siobhan de Burca said residents should ensure their car doors were locked when left unattended. Cllr Mike Bedwell spoke


about the dissolution of the con- current functions grant and said the new scheme would hit rural parishes. It was also diffi- cult to set the budget for the forthcoming year. Mr Bedwell also stressed the


need to move on with a parish plan and said external help would be needed. The chairman also expressed concern at the significant in- crease in secondary school age children who were travelling to Maidstone by bus andhaveto cross the A20 where there is no crossing. Cllr John Cobbett, the clerk


and the chairman had visited Templeuve in northern France to proceed with the twinning process. The proposal was sec- onded by Cllr Cobbett and car- ried. It was resolved to permit the


WI to use the Cardwell pavilion at no cost for the annual pan- cake races. County Cllr Whittle was pur-


suing a weight limit for the Bourne bridge. Cllr Cobbett pointed out that


the interactive speed sign had still not been installed and the council was committed to half the cost. Cllr Frank Stephenson con- firmed receipt and completion of the paperwork for the Utility Warehouse.Fromnextyear, when anyone in the parish joins, the Utility Warehouse will contribute5%of the sum of its bills for the parish council to put back into the community.


You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


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