marked reduction in over-sized vehicles, the majority of which were UK-registered. Sightings could be reported on the village website.


DownsMail In touch with your parish Another resident raised the


Residents were asked to park responsibly in Wykeham Grove, and the possibility of double yellow lines on the entry to the road was being discussed with KCC. The car park barrier at the church was in hand, and quotes were being sought. Anyone who saw who tried to drive under the barrier was asked to contact the council. The high cost of replacing ob-


solete street lighting was a cause for concern, and sugges- tions were invited. The policewere not present at


the meeting, and it was sug- gested that a letter was written to the Chief Constable, insisting on a police presence for subse- quent meetings. PCSO Richard Kirby said four incidents had been reported during January: a vehicle theft in Burberry Lane, a theft in Lower Street and two cases of criminal damage in Lower Street.


Parish clerk Sherrie Babing-


ton had agreed to stay on until a replacement could be found. The KCC councillor said Maidstone Council was review- ing an application by Golding Homes to build some 5,000 new homes betweenOtham, Langley and Leeds. He proposed ameet- ing with Golding Homes and residents, so that full details could be discussed. The parish council considered the proposal would meet strong opposition. A resident was concerned


aboutthe lackofactiontorec- tify the blocked gully next to the allotments. A report was to be sent to the appropriate au- thority.


issue of parking, and suggested this could be relieved by using the overflow church car park. The resident was advised that the area had restrictions on use, but this was to be investigated. The budget for 2013/14 had


been set and agreed, and was available on the new parish website.


Lenham Council CAB sessions


FOR several years, Lenham Parish Council funded the pro- vision of a CAB outreach ses- sion at the community centre. Unfortunately due to substan- tial financial cuts from the con- current functions grant from Maidstone Council, the sessions will no longer be available. If in future, the parish can secure in- creased funding, the situation will be reviewed. Parishioners were invited to


join the parish council on April 4 at the community centre for an informal assembly, followed by a buffet and drinks. Any groups, associations or societies wishing to give a brief report of their activities were offered the opportunity to promote their work. A vacancy for a member to represent the south ward of Lenham parish had arisen. The position was available by co-op- tion and anyone interested was asked to contact parish clerk Margo McFarlane on 01622 859682 or email margo.mcfar- lane@btinternet.com The parish council apologised


to parishioners who could not access the minutes of the previ- ous meetings on the website. There had been a problem with a link, which had been re- solved. Full copies of the min- utes were posted on the notice boards throughout the parish


PARKWood’s Fusion Healthy LivingCentre has received a valuable cash boost from regulars at the White Horse pub, Otham The White Horse Charity, founded in 2004, presented Fu- sion’s chairman Mike FitzGerald with a cheque for almost £900 to meet the cost of replacing fridges and a washing ma- chine at the centre. Mr FitzGerald ex- plained thework of the Fusion Healthy Living Centre to a packed pub of diners, telling them how it responds to the needs of the community it serves. The White Horse Charity has raised more than £40,000 in the past


Pub charity boosts centre


six years, primarily through weekly meat raffles, a charity bottle and summer barbecues, supporting some 80 good causes, including the Harmony Arts Group andMaidstone MS Society. The charity’s LyndaBonner said: “We are extremely proud of our char-


ity and are very grateful toCath and Archie and their family for allowing us to continue to run the charity in their pub, and of course to the cus- tomers who support us everyweek.” The charity is planning a fundrais- ing barbecue and disco in May.


and a copy was held at the li- brary. The parish council meets on


the first Wednesday of every month (except September). Planning meetings are held on the first Monday and third Wednesday of every month and there is a finance and general purposes meeting following the planning meeting on the third Wednesday. All meetings are held at the community centre at 7.30pm. Parishioners are welcome to at- tend and there is a public par- ticipation opportunity at the beginning of all meetings. The parish council also has a stall at the Sunday Market (April to September). The steering group for the neighbourhood plan was organ- ising meetings with local busi- nesses, land owners and stakeholders. Suggestionswere invited for use in the plan and future public meetings would be announced. The draft objec- tives were available on the parish website or from the clerk. Cllr Ian Younger had stepped


down from the planning com- mittee and was thanked for his work. Cllr Bradshaw has joined the committee. Members of the Lenham En- hancement Association spent several days pruning and tidy- ing up the trees on GroomWay. The area was considerably im- proved.


Ulcombe Council Annual meeting


THE annual parish meeting was to be held at Ulcombe vil- lage hall at 7pm on Tuesday, April 23. ThePCSOsaid two crimes


had been reported for the parish between January and February. KCC had advised that a con-


THE death knell has sounded for family services at a once- bustling rural parish church. Mothering Sunday saw the


final family service at the parish church of Otham, which has historically held a family serv- icetwiceamonth,onthe first and third Sundays. The Rev Steve Hughes, vicar of Otham and Langley, said: “Fam- ily worship services have been a significant feature of our church life at both Otham and Langley for some years. Sadly, however, it has proved no longer possible to maintain the fortnightly fam- ily service at Otham.” The service has been sup- ported by anything from a dozen people to more than 30. How- ever, planning and preparing for a family service takes consider- able time, and the responsibility has fallen on an ever-diminish-


sultation regarding the revision of routes for the mobile library across the county would take place in the summer. A response to the government consultation on changes to tem- porary stop notices would be submitted. Responses had been submitted by the parish council for the DCLG Examining the Speed Limit for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on single carriageway roads, the 2013/14 Police and Crime Plan and theMBC budget 2013/14 consultation. The large number of potholes


were continually being chased up with Kent Highways and new potholes reported. A request for all culverts in


the village centre to be cleared would be made again. Notice of a road closure at Fairbourne Lane foruptofive days starting from April 29 had been given. The parish traffic calming re-


port would be sent to the head of Kent Highways. LorryWatch signs would be obtained for dis- play on Chegworth Road. If anyone reported a possible breach of the HGV ban it was essential that the registration number be recorded. Two members of the parish council had attended the Parish Police Forum. They said the public were particularly warned to be aware of a recent increase in thefts from cars. The chairman had written to


find out the rationale behind the target numbers for future gypsy and traveller sites, which had been decided for Maidstone bor- ough, and for other parts ofKent, given that thiswould be the basis for Maidstone’s future gypsy and traveller strategic policy.


Church ends family services


ing number of people. “A small group of people


have been willing to prepare, lead and conduct fortnightly services. This has been a de- manding task as the preparation time and creativity required is far greater than that demanded for our more routine services,” he said. He added: “Without the nec-


essary and relevant outreach ac- tivity, the number of families attending our services has been disappointing and has not re- flected the huge potential that exists in our community.” Mr Hughes said that as there


were encouraging signs of inter- est and growth in the family services in Langley, it had been decided to focus resources on the one church, with joint fam- ily services on the first and third Sundays in the month.


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