DownsMail In touch with your parish
Continued from page 51 longer be involved. Maria Cook would undertake the annual in- spection. The parish plan was pro-
duced in 2003 and needed up- dating to reflect current issues.. A resident had written to ex-
press disappointment that the Downs Mail subscription had been cancelled. A quote of £60 to repair the brickwork near the village green notice board had been ap- proved. An advertising poster had
been taped to the parish notice board. Cllr Jones was to follow this up. A resident reported that drains on the corner of Kemsley Street Road were still flooding during heavy rain. The drains were cleaned regularly – the soakaway on the corner of Kem- sley Street Road takes water from the fields but this came back into the road. In addition, it was reported that the street cleaners did not clean near the build-out on the motorway bridge, leaving unacceptable amounts of mud and other de- bris on the road.
Broomfield and Kingswood Council
Resignation
CLLR Peter Corfield said he would be resigning from the council as he and his wife would be moving away. Cllr Terry Baker asked the clerk to compile a list of people who had expressed an interest in be- coming a councillor and inform them of the impending vacancy. Cllr Mike Evans said there
were fewer crime reports than in the previous 10 weeks, when there had been a significant rise in crime in Kingswood and the surrounding areas. Complaints had been received
about a fence that had been erected at a property in the cen- tre of Kingswood, which was causing issues because where cars were parked on kerbside, vehicles had to approach the junction in the middle of the road, and the new fence affected sightlines around the junction. The clerk had spoken to Maidstone Council enforcement who said the land in question would need planning permis- sion for a change of use and the fence. Cllr Baker said the own- ers had informed him of their intention to apply for retrospec- tive planning permission. Regarding super-fast broad-
band, Cllr Corfield said that the “line of sight” to Broomfield and Kingswood was impeded by trees and a mast was there- fore not the solution. John Hood, the contractor for
the coppicing of the trees at the sports field, had informed the clerk he would continue with the work now the weather had
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improved. He would look for nesting birds before cutting. The clerk was trying to arrange a meeting with the Scouts and Maidstone Maver- icks about the sports field facil- ities and the parish council’s request to the Scouts to improve the Scout hut. Cllr Forster expressed con-
cern about the tarmac in the sports field car park,asitwas beginning to crack. He asked the clerk to check if there was a workmanship guarantee. Cllr Forster asked the clerk to
write to Mrs Endell to thank her for clearing rubbish in and around the sports field. The notice board was now erected, and filling up with no- tices, but alternative fixings were needed as the ones sup- plied were too big. There was a discussion about traffic calming anditwas de- cided to apply to the county councillor to request funding, with the anticipation that an in- teractive sign could be erected near the sports field and that “No HGVs” signs could be erected to deter large vehicles using the single track roads. Cllr Evans had organised the heritage day last year, and said there appeared to have been no apparent benefit to the parish. It was agreed not to participate this year.
Maidstone Council had noti-
fied its intention to withdraw funding for the cleansing of the recycling site at the village hall. The binswould still be emptied free of charge, but the landown- ers would be responsible for keeping the site clean. The village hall fair would
take place on July 6. A donation of £100 to Kingswood pre-school was agreed, to help with the re- placement of play mats. The clerk had reported an in- crease in dog fouling to the dog warden at Maidstone Council. Two people had come forward offering to make statements about separate incidents they had witnessed, where dog bags had been offered, with varying degrees of negative response.
School allocation THE meeting heard that the pressure on primary school places had been eased by the additional places at St John’s Primary School.
Downswood Council
Downswood children had been allocated places in nearby schools. A delivery of salt and spread-
ers was awaited. Acaseof flytipping in the
DCA car park had been traced to residents of Grampian Way. They had been given 24 hours to remove thewaste. Other inci- dents of flytipping included a table and chair in the River Len
and a bag of rubbish on Church Road.
There was concern about the replacement of timers and sockets from the lighting columns removed by Kent Highway Services. Cllr Martin Weeks asked whether it would be possible to have HGV restriction signs at Spot Lane, Deringwood Drive and the Sutton Road junction with Gore Court Road. County Cllr Gary Cooke had already made arrangements for a sign at the last location and said he would be happy to look at the other locations. Cllr Bill Greenhead was thanked for buying and planting the dogwood in Old Church Road/Spot
Lane.HughVaux had donated snowdrops from his garden which were planted at the Jubilee Stone by Cllr Roz Cheesman. It was agreed that the spare
guard from the hollies would be used to protect the existing alder at Mallards Way Open Space. It was agreed that the parish council would have the usual stall at the fete and all profits would go to the DCA. CllrWeeks said he would pro-
vide information boards to be displayed about the proposed local housing development, and he would investigate the pur- chase of pop-up gazebos. Gala Lights was to report on
the necessary repairs to the Christmas lights,sothatthe purchase of additional motifs could be considered. Maidstone Council had con- firmed delivery of equipment and collection of waste for the spring clean. It was agreed that a T-shirt would be provided, courtesy of Rajen Kantarai, for the child who collected the most litter. Cllr Simon Roberts proposed acceptance of first aid cover for the Olympicnic by the Red Cross at a cost of £70 +VAT. This was agreed. Consideration should be given to the number of eggs and spoons that would be required, and whether an ice cream van would be beneficial. Cllr Greenheadwas to prepare a poster to advertise the event. A letter had been received
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from Mr Brown about parking problems. It was noted that parking continued to be a prob- lem, particularly in Murrain Drive and Grampian Way. Cllr Weeks was to obtain a poster from the fire service to display at the fete reminding residents to keep emergency access in mind when parking.
Harrietsham Council Fallen tree
A RESIDENT had written about a tree which had fallen into the lake. The environment commit- tee recommended that the tree
be left in the lake. Cllr Taylor said there was no reason to re- move the tree and having sought advice, it was clear it would cause no harm to the lake, andmight actually be ben- eficial. Cllr David Oversby said this could be an ongoing situa- tion – if more trees were to fall into the lake they would have to be removed. It was agreed that thetreebeleftinthe lake and the situation monitored. Cllr Dennis Clifton said he would be clearing the stream, with the help of Audrey Joy. Cllr Janetta Sams said the
Court Lodge hole and road markings had still not been rec- tified. The block paving onWest Street had been re-seated, al- though the white lines still needed to be investigated. The clerk was working on quota- tions for the bollards. The amenity contracts were
due to be renewed and it was suggested they were split be- tween two contractors – Heber Horticultural Services and Losa & Loder. This was agreed. Cllr Taylor said the village
hall trust was looking for a chairman, treasurer and secre- tary. The screen had been deliv- ered and itwas to be installed in time for the next film club. Cllr Stephen Morris proposed
that the annual maintenance contract for the medical centre be renewed with Swale Heating at a cost of £128. This was agreed.
Water run-off
Hollingbourne Council
THE meeting heard that water continued to pour off the land, especially at the Eyhorne Street end of Greenway Court Road. Chairman Mike Bedwell said he understood Kent Highways were to reinstate the verges along that stretch of the road. Pipelines laid on nearby land were to be dealt with, potholes had been marked for repair and he hoped thiswas the beginning of the restoration of the village’s roads. PCSO Siobhan de Burca said
14 crimes had been reported across the North Downs ward, of which three had been at junc- tion 8 of theM20 services – two cases of making off without pay- ing and the theft of a vehicle, which was later found burned out. There were two reported thefts of cable from the Pilgrims Way. The clerk said a litter-pick
had been requested and urged people to report areas where lit- ter was a problem. The more calls Maidstone Council re- ceived, the more likely a village was to get regular cleansing. The clerk was to write to Maidstone Council about the appalling state of the recycling area at the end of Station Road.
You can e-mail the Downs Mail —
info@downsmail.co.uk
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