The chairman had received a request for the hire of the pavil- ion for a county-wide event, as Hollingbourne was seen as cen- tral for the attendees. The clerk had received a letter


DownsMail In touch with your parish Complaints had been received


about the noise caused by off- road motor-cycling events. Res- idents were urged to complain to Maidstone Council.


from DHA Planning, asking if they could address the July meeting. The chairman hoped members of the public would also attend the meeting to hear the proposals. A resident had contacted the


clerk after witnessing fly-tipping. A replay had been sent, urging that the proper authorities be contacted, and the matter had been reported to the police. During land preparation for


the fete, old fence panels and posts had been found in the woodland next to the Lance Me- morial Field, and it was pointed out that the land belonged to a private individual who could take legal action if the culprit was identified. Cllr Alan Bennett reported on


the meeting he and Cllr Peter Waite had attended in relation to the call for sites for new houses. He was disconcerted to note that the parish council views on two recent applica- tions appeared to have been to- tally ignored. Cllr Susan Bauer was dissatis-


fied with the appearance of the A20 entrance to the village and the recent one metre grass cut. Cllr Ardley pointed out that was all the mowing the village would receive to the verges under the current regime. CllrWard said the soft surface


of the play area hadbeenre- paired. It was noted that the alarm system needed attention and the contact number on the pavilion needed changing.


Extension to Village clean-up Otham Council


THE village tidy was said to be well attended, with a lot of bot- tles and tins collected. A stolen handbagwas found and given to police, who would return it to its owner. At the annual parish meeting,


it was reported that the number of children attending Otham Pre- school had increased, providing an essential rise in income to- wards hall maintenance. Maintenance of the hall was


an ongoing concern, for which funds are being sought from every available source. Loft in- sulation was laid at the begin- ning of the year, thanks to a donation from the White Horse charity. The meeting also heard that


the parish council had put money into sorting out the northern end of the village green. Brushwood was cut out and the roots would be ground out.


Ulcombe Council Drug offence


PCSO Alan Beech attended the meeting and said there had been one crime between April and May (possession of a class A drug) and two reported crimes between May and June 10 (theft and criminal damage). He said that between April and June 2012, eight crimes had been re- ported. Ameeting had been held with Michael Murphy (principal


planning officer of spatial pol- icy for Maidstone Council), re- garding the call for sites for housing. He understood the council’s reasons for rejecting all the proposed sites, and said he didn’t think Maidstone council was interested in Ul- combe for housing. Notice of which sites were


being proposed or rejected was expected from July, and propos- als would then be presented to cabined in September. A public consultation would follow in October/November. Sites rejected at that point wouldbeunlikelytoberecon- sidered. Sites would be fully adopted in 2015, when the Local Plan was finalised. A resident had suggested a minibus service to and from Headcorn twice a week to help parishioners without a car. A notice would be put in the Ul- combe newsletter to gauge the level of interest for either a bus service or a car sharing scheme. The Friendship Club would also be approached to help de- termine need. Ulcombe Primary School had suggested the school might be used to accommodate a com- munity shop and tea room. The council discussed the idea at length, noting that significant funding and a large team of vol- unteers would be needed. They questioned whether, with the availability of internet shopping and local milkmen delivering groceries, it would be worth the work involved. The Friendship Club would be


asked if they were interested in providing teas on a regular basis. A replacement directional sign was finally in place at


home refused CYNTHIA Brice’s proposal to erect a first floor rear exten- sion at 1 Rutland Cottages, Back Street, Leeds has been refused.


Maidstone Council’s deci-


sion notice said: “The pro- posed development, by virtue of its design and scale, would cause harm to the amenity of the occupiers of a neighbouring residential property by way of signifi- cant loss of light to habitable rooms and represent a domi- nant and overbearing struc- ture that would cause harm to outlook.” The notice advised the ap- plicant to submit a joint pro- posal incorporating a currently undetermined ap- plication for a two storey rear extension that would “re- solve the harm” caused by the refused scheme.


CUSTOMERS in a busy Bearsted café were shaken when an unex- ploded bomb turned up in the car park outside. Two workmen dug up the suspect Second World War bomb while erecting a fence at the Cavendish café – but thought no more of it. It was only when ex-ser- vicemanMick Thurgood and his wife arrived for break- fast at the Cavendish Road property that the workmen thought they should play safe.Mr Thurgoodwas fairly confident the mystery device was a World War II shell, although it was battered and rusty. Butwhether itwas live or notwas anybody’s guess. Fencing contractor Lloyd Baker, from K&C Fencing, East Sussex,


Wartime bomb alert at cafe


called the police, who evacuated the café and surrounding proper- ties and cordoned off the street to traffic and pedestrians. A Royal Logistic Corps bomb disposal team arrived from Shoreham


some hours later and, having noticed the vessel was leaking, de- cided it should be moved away from the built-up area. The road was re-opened to traffic and householders were allowed back into their properties. The vintage shell finally left the Maidstone area some 12 hours later, using specialist removal equipment.


Crumps Lane/Headcorn Road. The large potholes at the bridge on Chegworth Road had now been repaired, along with extensive resurfacing work in the area. Repairs to the road surface onWindmill Hill andWater Lane had been carried out. The drainage problems at


Water Lane would be looked at during the current financial year. Repairs to the damaged verges at Streetfield and Hill Farm, Lenham Road, following the recent roadworks on Ul- combe Hill, had been chased up. Kent Highways had re- placed only the 30mph num- bers on the road surface on Ulcombe Hill, but not the buff Tarmac patch, which would be followed up. Large potholes at the entrance


to Chegworth Court and the mul- tiple potholes between Jubilee Corner and the Headcorn Road parish boundary would be re- ported, along with the overgrown hedge at the Eastwood Road and Headcorn Road junction. Concerns relating to the clear demarcation of footpath KH318HB, where it joinedWind- mill Hill, had been referred to the landowner and resolved. KCC was consulting on plans


for part-night lighting and the parish council supported the option that lights should be turned off in residential areas between midnight and 5.30am. In Ulcombe, this would affect Chestnut Close and the school crossing light. Application packs for the


KCC Local Member Grant Schemes for 2013/14 were now available, and the grants were open to all voluntary groups.


Post office plan FRED Ferrier has applied to convert the former post office at 62 West Street, Harrietsham into a residential building. The 15th century timber framed building became a post office from the 1960s until 2008. A supporting statement said: “It is a natural progression to return this part of the build- ing to domestic accommoda- tion, which can easily be done without any alterations to the fabric of the building.” Maidstone Council will de- termine the application.


Speedwatch sites ALL Speedwatch sites in Box- ley parish plus a new one at Beechen Bank Road have been cleared for safety. The equipment can now be


used and volunteers will be welcomed. Training will be given. If you are interested in helping to monitor the speed of vehicles, please contact the parish office on 01634 861237.


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