DownsMail In touch with your parish Cllr AdamWard was to inves-


tigate the lighting failure out- side the pavilion. The borough council’s legal department had failed to pro- duce the deeds for the Millen- nium Green in spite of many requests to do so. Expenditure on the pavilion


was anticipated – the boiler service was due and would need replacing at some point, and there were minor leaks needing repair. It was agreed that CllrWard and the chairman would inspect the building and draw up a list of items to pres- ent.


Cllr Cobbett said much had


been achieved in preparation for the fete. Eight more gazebos had been bought on special offer. Cllr Ward suggested in- spiring people to decorate their houses again, as many had done for the Jubilee.


Build-outs safety THE build-outs in Upper Street had been constructed. There had been concern about safety issues at night,and KCChad agreed to provide additional lighting. The council was waiting to


Leeds Council


hear when the rumble strip would be installed in Penfold Hill.


Lorry Watch had been launched, and some HGVs were stopped on the morning of the launch. Since then, volunteers had been recording HGV sight- ings on the B2163. Sightings can be reported on the village website. There had been a complaint


about the parking of cars in Wykeham Grove. There were two problems. Parking at the en- trance of Wykeham Grove and Lower Street was said to be dan- gerous, and parking within 10 metres of the junction was ille- gal. The council was to talk to KCC about the possibility of double yellow lines. Cars were also parked further


up the Grove,withall four wheels on the pavement, which was also illegal. Residents were urged not to do this. The coun- cil pointed out that the resi- dents’ car park was under-used. The car park barrier at the church had been demolished and a new one had been ordered. Repairs to the streetlights had


cost £1,300. Police were not in attendance


at the meeting but reported that there had been a break-in at Wykeham Grove. Parish clerk Sherrie Babing-


ton had resigned after 10 years. The council thanked her for her help, and was advertising for a new clerk. The meeting heard that Maid-


stone borough council was looking to increase the number of new homes in the borough


from 10,800 to 15,000. The Joint Parishes Group was to make a combined response.


Lenham Council Drivers warned


THERE had been a spate of thefts from vehicles in Lenham and Harrietsham, and drivers were advised not to leave valu- ables on show in their cars and to securely lock their vehicles. KCC Cllr Jenny Whittle was unable to attend the meeting but sent in her report. She was in- vestigating how the youth club would be used under the new regime. She had been told there would be a minimum of two reg- ular youth work sessions per week in Lenham, with additional work in outlying communities. Other activities, including holi- day activities, would take place throughout the year. The head of youth services


was arranging to put the Switch Café and head teacher in touch with each other to discuss how the youth centre could be used by the café. Ben Hilden of Highway Serv-


ices was to check that the weight limit order on Ham Lane had been advertised. Cllr Whit- tle said the double yellow lines order had been advertised. Mr Hilden hadmade a request


from the crash remedial team to fund alterations to the junction of Faversham Road and the A20. If this was not successful, Cllr Whittle said she would consider funding a scheme next year. Cllr Whittle had spoken to Richard Emmett (Maidstone highways manager) about a salt bin by Sandway noticeboard, and he was to come back to her. Cllr Whittle waswriting to the chairman of the Southern Co-op to raise objections to the planned store because of the impact on village shops and highway issues. The council had requested a meeting with site owners Ramac about the fu- ture of the site. Cllr Jeremy Osborn said there


had been another meeting about the Groom Way development and a planning application would be submitted to Maid- stone Council. Cllr Newman gave an update


on the neighbourhood plan.He said a meeting would be arranged to progress the plan further. It was hoped to have a draft of the proposed plan pub- lished early in the year. Cllr Dryllie suggested the council joined Facebook and Twitter to keep the younger gen- eration up to date with parish activities. It was agreed to set a sum of money aside in the budget to set up a new website. Street lighting faults had been reported, as had drainage prob- lems. The Ham Lane part of the footpathwas sinking and would be repaired.


The grass bank between the entrances to Swadelands School had been damaged by the tow truck that parked overnight. It had been reported. Kerbing would be carried out as soon as possible. The salt bins had been topped


up with the exception of Cherry Close, which was due to be filled.


There had been 11 crimes in


the last month, including eight attempted thefts from vehicles, two cases of criminal damage and a theft from a garden shed. Cllr Richard Greenwood said


the Cross clean-up would have to wait until the spring as the land was too wet to work on. The Hatch charity had said it would pay of 70 tons of chalk to re-chalk the memorial cross. Cllr Gillett, a member of the


M20 Noise Action Group,was concerned that the parish coun- cil did not wish to become in- volved in the campaign.


Otham Council Pub damage


THE meeting heard three men had been arrested and inter- viewed for throwing a garden chair and damaging a window at the White Horse Inn. Oil had been stolen from the front of a cottage at Greenhill, and a horse rug had been stolen from Trojan Meadow stables. Borough Cllr Gordon Newton


said all Core Strategy meetings were being cancelled as the process was being revisited. A developer had offered to


build a roundabout at the site of Detling Aerodrome to assist with building proposals. Cllr Newton said if Otham


and Downswood councils wanted him to oppose develop- ment at junction 8, with the ex- ception of brownfield sites, that is what he would do. County Cllr Gary Cooke said


he was delighted the HGV signs were all in place. The position for a sign in Sutton Road was still being discussed. The grant application for resurfacing of the play area had been approved. Cllr Cooke said delays to road repairs were due to the weather, and not, as advised, due to lack of funding. A request was made for the


verge to be cut on the west- bound carriageway of the M20 by the Great Danes hotel. Phase one of the resurfacing


of the play area was initially funded by the council as it was urgently required and contribu- tions from the Jubilee fundwere expected. Phase 2 was due to commence shortly as £2,000 was being allocated from KCC’s community fund and £700 from Cllr Cooke’s member’s grant. Quotes for signs banning dogs


from the play area were dis- cussed. Cllr Mike Bottle was to


order two signs from the web- site, which would be fixed by Cllr Bob Drake. A quote had been received


from PaulWaring for tidying up the village green. Two options were proposed, ranging from £1,300 to £2,249, depending on the amount ofwork undertaken. It was agreed to “cherry-pick” from the quotation, according to budget. Cllr David Marchant said he


was concerned that the tree by the seats could be diseased.It was agreed to wait until spring to see if therewas any regrowth. A replacement salt bin was


still required for Avery Lane. It was agreed it should be sited on the other side of the road. It was felt that workmen had


left a mess when cutting down trees close to Gore Court Road/Titchfield Close footpath. The clerk was to email Cllr Marchant a copy of the tree schedule for checking.


Car tax campaign Ulcombe Council


OPERATION Cubit, clamping down on untaxed vehicles had been carried out in the borough. Kent Fire and Rescue Service


had asked the parish council to inspect its fire hydrants.The councilwas not prepared to take responsibility for inspections, but agreed to pass on faults. The parish council attended


the KALC annual meeting where the draft polytunnel pol- icy was endorsed. The meeting also agreed to


press the Department of Trans- port and the Highways Agency to provide a full motorway in- terchange at Junction 5 of the M25 to allow westbound traffic on to theM26. KALCalso agreed to call on the Government to review the defi- nition of gypsies and travellers to reflect “nomadic habit of life”, to require a reasonable level of proof for this status, and to re- view size limits for caravans. Long outstanding requests for highway signs had been chased up with Kent Highways. These included signage atWents Cross- roads, signs for the Chegworth Road/A20 junction and Cheg- worth Road/Wents crossroad warning the road is unsuitable for HGVs, and traffic calming signs for Chegworth Road. Boxley Parish Councilwas un- dertaking Speedwatch training for volunteers and had invited residents from outside the parish to attend. Interested parishioners should contact the clerk. A 25mph speed limit in Ul- combe village centre was dis- cussed and would be investigated. Volunteers were needed to


help with LorryWatch in prob- lem areas. Theywould be asked to report details of HGVs on un- suitable roads to Kent Police.


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