progress on the relocation of the flashing school sign.CllrJon Regan said a new site had been agreed and it would be moved as soon as KHS could resched- ule the work. The meeting heard that the school had done very well in the Kent Test, with a 50% pass rate putting it among the top five in the county. The school was awaiting an Ofsted inspec- tion and hoped to raise its rat- ing from satisfactory to good. With regard to parking diffi- culties, the parish council’s offer of the pavilion car park was helping. It was hoped that when building work in the vil- lage was complete, the problem should ease. Two candidates had ex- pressed an interest in being con- sidered for co-option to the council, but neither had at- tended the meeting. The matter was deferred. Tonbridge and Malling Bor-


ough Council had said an esti- mated grant of £1,970 would be paid to the parish for the coun- cil tax base rate. It was agreed that the precept would remain at £12,500 as long as there were no further government changes. The clerk was to contact the borough council to clarify the situation. The issue of rubbish stored on


the land behind Butchers Lane (the Old Village Pound) had been referred to the borough council’s environmental officer and a site visit was awaited. Cllr Dennis Styles said an-


other piece of land on Seven Mile Lane,justleftofthe school, was very untidy. Cllr Regan was to inspect in and as- certain ownership. It was agreed to hold a spring festival, to include the church, pub and school, in the village hall. It was suggested that new- comers and the school would be interested in an exhibition of Old Mereworth and Martin Wilgrosswould be asked to pre- pare and present this. Following a request from Kent


Fire and Rescue, the council de- cided it could not take on the re- sponsibility for inspecting fire hydrants as it had neither the skills nor the resources to do so.


Nettlestead Council Crime report


PCSO Nicola Morris was not at the meeting but had sent a crime report. There had been three crimes in the past month: a burglary, an attempted bur- glary and an incident of arson. Cllr VanHansbergen said foot-


path KM178 had some damage to one of the posts. The clerk was to report this to KCC. Cllr Nelson Gracie said he and councillors Meredith and Van Hansbergen had put some ques- tions to Maidstone Council. In order to move forward with a


DownsMail In touch with your parish Cllr Stretton was to speak to


neighbourhood plan, public participation was needed of at least 50%. Options included door knocking or an advert in the parish magazine. The neigh- bourhood planning committee was to arrange to meet again and would report back. An email had been received


from Ellie Kershaw suggesting that the amount the council would receive for the mainte- nance of the KGV field was £1,000. The chairman said he was still waiting for an answer on street lighting and how this would be funded. The chairman had looked at


the budget and if there was a capof2%onraising thepre- cept, this would have a knock- on effect, and there would have to be cuts within the parish.It was agreed to look at the budget again at the next meeting.


Work investigated Offham Council


THE clerk was asked to contact Tonbridge and Malling Council regarding work being under- taken at two properties. Vehi- cles were said to be delivering materials to Orchard Place,but high fencing meant the work could not be seen from the road. At Aldon Manor, groundwork had been undertaken and there had been a lot of large vehicle movements. There was no police report,


but there had been a burglary on Church Road. Tonbridge and Malling Coun-


cil had decided not to change the way refuse was separated and to keep the two bin system. The Joint Transport Board had agreed to progress the plans for SevenMile Lane/A20. The engi- neers had been asked to con- sider the design of the Teston Road and Ford Lane access. Work had begun on the tennis


court resurfacing but had since stopped. The tennis club was chasing 4Seasons for details of when work would continue. The clerk was to contact 4Sea- sons for confirmations that the kerbstones would allow space for future resurfacing. Regarding the request for dog


bins, Tonbridge and Malling council would empty the bins free of charge. The bin would need to be located at the top of the footpath, near Teston Road. The clerk was asked to conduct a land registry search to find out who owned the triangle of land at the end of Hodges Place. Cllr Nelson had spoken to the Offham Society who were to consider a joint meeting with the council on amatter of com- mon village interest. Members read a copy of the bylaws. The clerk was asked to find out how these could be amended, to allow the council the use of vehicles on the Green for events such as May Day.


the Lions about assisting with parking for the steam rally. Regarding repairs andmainte-


nance at the Teston Road play- ing field, Cllr Williams was waiting for a quote to landscape the village entrance by Aldon Lane. She had asked Spade- work if it would like to adopt the entrance by the nursery, but had been unable to find a con- tractor to help with occasional maintenance work. The meeting heard that the council received £767 from Tonbridge and Malling Council for churchyard maintenance, which did not cover the current cost. It was agreed to pay this money to the church so that it could select its own contractor. It was thought a contract would cost about £1,000 so the council agreed to pay the balance of £233 to the church. The clerk was asked to write


to AdrianMarchant, confirming that he could continue with the maintenance work for the sec- ond year. He should also be asked to carry out the mainte- nance for Cosgrave Field,for which he had quoted £570. No reply had been received


from Liberty to the request for funds to assistwith traffic calm- ing and the clerk was asked to contact them again. KCC had confirmed that traffic calming would have to be scheduled for the next financial year. County Cllr Hohler had agreed to make a contribution from her mem- bers highway fund. The slippery path alongTeston


Road would be brushed clean, but thismight not solve the prob- lem. Kent Highways would con- tinue to consider alternative solutions. A report had been re- ceived of a rut forming between the lay-by and Teston Road on the eastern approach to the vil- lage. This would be reported to Kent Highways. The meeting heard Margaret


Betts, a former parish councillor and primary school governor, had died. A donation would be made in her name to the Ba- nunule School Support Group.


Snodland Council Grant reduced


THE budget for 2013-14 was discussed in detail. Councillors were told that because of changes that have been made to the way parishes can calculate their council tax, the grant that Snodland would receive was about £5,000 less than had been expected. Several street lights would


need to be replaced in 2013 and to do this it would be necessary to increase the council tax for houses in Snodland by around £1 per year. Councillors agreed that they should put £5,000 to- wards new play equipment and also for Snodland Partnership


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and for the cemetery extension. An additional £9,000 was needed to upgrade some street lights. The budget was agreed. It was also agreed to press KCC to make sure the lights that it is responsible for are repaired quickly. The committee heard the new extension at Potyns was nearly completed although there con- tinued to be concerns about flooding from the pitches to- wards the bowls club. There had been a meeting with the borough council officers about the planned extension. A project manager had been agreed to prepare the plans to be put out to tender. There would almost certainly be a shortfall on the money available for the proposed extension and the community association and the councilwas actively looking for grant money to fill the gap. Grant funding had been found


to pay for most of the work on a new path in the play area at Nevill Park and to resurface the main path through the park.


Gate damaged


West Peckham Council


ONE of the traffic-calming gates had been knocked down by a lorry. Kent Highways had been informed and had placed cones at the site. The gates were un- likely to be repaired until the next financial year. The pothole on Forge Lane


had been marked for repair. Fairlawn Estate was to make good the road surface along Ox- enhoath Road, where tree felling and removal had been taking place. Councillors expressed con-


cerns about the stagnant water and drainage


issues in


Matthews Lane, which were causing flooding and an un- pleasant odour. The Environ- ment Agency was working with the local farm to resolve it. The council agreed there seemed little point in represent- ing the parish with regard to planning breaches on the Hugh Lowe Farm application. Cllr Mark Freed was to prepare a statement to this effect to Ton- bridge andMalling Council. A resident had contacted Tre- gothnan Estate with concerns about the state of the footpath and bridge next to East Lodge. The council approved the


final wording and design for the village green bylaws signs.Two signs would be purchased. The budget for 2013/14 was discussed. The precept would remain at £2,917. However, the tax base had dropped from £172.64 to £165.71, resulting in an increased band D charge of £17.60, 4.16% greater than the previous year’s charge of £16.90.


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