Sewage smell


lingering on A MEMBER of the public re- ported that sewage could still be smelt around flats in Hugh- enden Reach, following flood- ing caused by broken pumps earlier in the year. She said residents had re- ceived letters from owners Town and Country Housing asking them not to put certain items down the sink or toilet, but the smell remained. The issue is being dealt with


by Southern Water and Town and Country Housing Associa- tion. The council said it would write to Southern Water and advised residents to appoint a spokesperson to talk to the water company and owners on their behalf.


County support New KCC Cllr Brian Clark in- troduced himself to councillors and members of the public and said he had about £10,000 Members’ Grant and £25,000 Highways Grant. Cllr Clark said he preferred to support actual projects rather than just giving groups general funding and added that he in- tended to take a Highways offi- cer on a tour of the area to show him all the potholes and other damage that needed repairing.


Tree felling MEMBERS said that if Maid- stone Council’s tree officer was happy to support a planning application to fell nine trees in the Loose Valley Conservation Area and cut back others, then Tovil parish council would also support the application. However, if it was decided to


plant replacement trees they wished to be consulted on the species.


Annex delay THE amended planning appli- cation at Bydews Farm Cottage to convert an outbuilding to an annex ancillary to the main property could not be dis- cussed as the amended details had not yet been distributed to the various consultees.


Bid to save land for wildlife


VALLEY Conservation Society (VCS) gave a presentation to the parish council about land known as Little Switzerland, which it hopes to purchase, and asked the parish council for its support.


Secretary David Fleck de- scribed it as an ambitious proj- ect, but said Maidstone Lions Club had already agreed to do- nate £25,000. The overgrown site at Cave Hill is currently home to ponds and meadow areas and the plan would be to make it into a wildlife haven with improved human access to the adjacent nature reserve. Chairman Cllr Reverend Christopher Morgan-Jones asked whether VCS would be willing to share land ownership with the parish council if it paid for part of the land. Mr Fleck


Bryn Cornwell of Valley Conservation Society in Little Switzerland


said he would need to consult members but could not see why not. VCS is currently applying for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The landowner is asking for £60,000 for the plot. Cllr Clive English said it sounded like an exciting project


Concern over layby landscaping WHITE lines have been painted at the junction of Farleigh Hill and Bur- ial Ground Lane, to create a right-hand filter lane for vehicles wishing to turn into the household waste recycling site. Theworkwas carried out following a request from the parish council


after councillors spoke to Tovil residents. The idea was to ease con- gestion in the area caused by large volumes of traffic queuing to get into the tip. Councillors had hoped the work would take place as early as January or February, but the lineswere only painted towards the end of June.


Councillors were not happy, however, with landscaping around the


nearby Farleigh Hill layby. Cllrs Mortimer, Charlton andMorgan-Jones felt thebank around thelaybywastoo high,meaning thelaybywasnot visible from the road. Cllr Charlton said: “They need to get rid of the bank and allow park-


ing all the way down.” Cllr Morgan-Jones suggested the parish council wrote to Kent High-


way Services expressing its dissatisfaction. Since the parish council meeting the height of the bank has been re- duced and visibility has improved.


Councillor resigns CLLR Clare Bush has resigned due to ill health. Cllr Morgan- Jones said Cllr Bush was sad to leave the council.


Footbridge lights LIGHTS on Tovil Footbridge are now working but waterwas still collecting inside them, the parish councilmeeting heard.


Environmental issues raised BOTH parish and borough councillors had spoken to Maidstone Council’s environmental enforcement team about rubbish around a business in Church Road. An alarm frequently sounded at the business too. A resident


said occupants of the new properties above the betting shop were behaving in an anti-social way by littering and keeping their wheelie bins on the pavement rather than on the property.


THIS PAGE IS EDITED BY TOVIL PARISH COUNCIL


CLERK: Alison Chew, Parish Office, Rear of Tovil Working Men's Club, Tovil Hill, Tovil, ME15 6QJ TEL/FAX: 01622 675628 EMAIL: tovilparishcouncil@btopenworld.com


18 Town To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


but the parish council would need more details before mak- ing a decision about whether to support it. Councillors decided to discuss the project at its Au- gust meeting when they would know exactly howmuchmoney was in the reserves.


Flooded road


still not fixed CLLR Derek Mortimer de- scribed the saga of the repair to the road surface at the top of Forest Hill as being like the ten- nis atWimbledon –with differ- ent organisations passing the blame“from onesideofthe court to another”. He said the road, which sunk


due to flooding earlier in the year, had not been resurfaced in June as promised because KCC now believed it was South East Water’s responsibility. The repair has now been promised by Kent Highways on July 12.


Plan ‘overkill’ CLLR Clive English said a plan- ning application by Kent Fire and Rescue Service was “overkill” as councillors decide to oppose it. Theplanistoextendacar


park by 40 spaces, improve pedestrian walkways and in- stall 6m high lighting columns and bin storage areas. Cllr Barry Beardwell said: “I


think it’s totally out of order. The site is creeping further and further into the countryside.”


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