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Staplehurst Council Hedges trimmed


DownsMail In touch with your parish Cllr Larry Johnson said while


THE clerk said the caretaker had trimmed hedges and col- lected litter. Cllr Paul Butcher asked that the caretaker record where large amounts of alcohol- related litter was found. Councillors agreed to use the parish council stall at the fete to provide information about local services and subjects such as Maidstone Council’s land call and neighbourhood plan devel- opments. Cllr TomBurnham of- fered to source photographs. The parish office would draw up a rota and councillors were asked to volunteer to man the stall.


Councillors agreed to accept a quotation of £460 from Epic En- gineering for repair of the Ju- bilee Gates. Members noted KCC’s propos-


als about reduced lighting hours. Cllr Butcher asked about the possibility of upgrading the parish council’s Headcorn Road lights to KCC adoptable stan- dard, which would facilitate consideration of the speed limit. Cllr John Perry thanked resi-


dent Dave Staunton-Lambert for his speech on the supermarket plans at Maidstone Council’s planning committee meeting. He said he had no news of Tesco’s further intentions. Cllr Butcher asked for volun-


teers for Uprockin’ 2013 from councillors, friends and fami- lies.Anyoneabletohelpwas asked to contact the parish of- fice. It was agreed that a letter


shouldbesenttothe owners of the Parade about the condition of the area behind the shops, copying it for information to ward borough councillors and Maidstone Council’s environ- mental enforcement team.


Road repairs


West Farleigh Council


CLLR Geoff Martin said he and Cllr Bryan Merritt had met Richard Dixon at Teston Lane to discuss issues with the road surface. The water run-off had been investigated, using cam- eras, and the drain had been jet- ted, which appeared to have rectified some of the problems encounted. The road would not be resurfaced until the water run-off was completely re- solved. Cllr Helen Swan said there seemed to be a pool of water close to Teston Bridge. CllrMer- ritt said the drain may need to be diverted. Cllr Bruce Scott said a large amount of workwas being com- pleted around the parish. The Smiths Hill work could not start until the road surfacing was completed.


the highway repairs were good, the contractor working on the kerb was poor. Cllr GeoffMartin added that kerb stones had been left on the verge and a pile of rubble was found in the road. The area had been cleared by Cllrs Martin and Merritt, along with Richard Dixon and John Jefferies, and pictures were shown to all councillors of the mess. County Cllr Paulina Stockell said this needed to be discussed with John Burr. Cllr Scott said a resident had suggested work on the footpath by The Tickled Trout was un- necessary. He said he had re- ceived letters from other residents who thanked the parish council for pushing for the work to be completed. Cllr Stockell said she had re- ceived a call from the same res- ident regarding issues along the Lower Road asking for a lower speed limit and the possibility of a roundabout at the junction of Teston Lane and Lower Road. This had been investigated his- torically but the project would be very costly and Kent High- ways was unsure a roundabout was necessary. Cllr Martin said this had been discussed with Richard Dixon and it was sug- gested that the priority could be changed at the junction. High- ways was to look into this. Cllr Julie King said there had


been further flytipping in the lay-by on Lower Road,and asked how many reports had been made to Maidstone Coun- cilonthisissueoverthe year. The clerk offered to discuss this with the environmental team at Maidstone Council. Cllr King had attended a Speedwatch training session and said the scheme was about raising awareness rather than enforcement. Cllr Chris Stockwell said the


play equipment had now been installed, but a sign was re- quired to ensure that parents were responsible for their chil- dren at all times. The Good Intent wanted to


use the green for an event. This was agreed, and the clerk was to speak to the organiser about in- surance. Cllr Stockwell had been look-


ing into gateway signs, which seemed to have slowed down traffic in other areas. Cllr Mar- tin said these had been investi- gated in the past, but were found to be very expensive. Cllr Martin said he had re- ceived a phone call from an irate resident who was upset to find that Cllr Martin was out at work, and not there to take his call. It was decided to put a piece on the website explaining that the role of parish council- lor was voluntary, and no ex- penses were claimed for fuel and other costs.


The chairman expressed his concern at the lack of police presence in the village. Cllr Merritt said he was concerned that some 'crimes' were recorded as 'incidents,' thus massaging the actual crime fig- ures. Cllr Stockell said that the PCSOs were generally in evi- dence and attending any local crime 'hot spots.' Twelve parishioners attended


the annual parish meeting, when borough Cllr Brian Mor- timer spoke about his time as mayor and various planning is- sues, including Tutsham Farm. Bev Hards said that last year's firework display had been very good but might be brought for- ward this year in order to ac- commodate a fair.


Yalding Council Lighting work


DUE to illness and weather, work had not yet been carried out on lighting at the junction of Benover Road and Town bridge. It was agreed to put the emer-


gency plan on to the KCC tem- plate. The template had been forwarded to the chairman for consideration. Speedwatch volunteers had


been asked to share out the tasks currently carried out by Cllr Michael Stewart. The chairman had spoken


with the Parochial Church Council secretary regarding the arrangements for Remembrance Day. Cllr Andy Sanders reported


that there was now a commu- nity engagement officer for the rail partnership and showed councillors a leaflet, which would be put on the website. DerekHudson had been asked


to prepare a schedule of works for the lock-up. The chairman was to obtain a quote to replace the door. KCC had again refused to con-


sider any changes to the bus routes, but had provided details of grants for a community serv- ice, which had been circulated. There were numerous problems associated with such a service, and it was felt that the original request should be pursued fur- ther. County Cllr Paulina Stock- ell said she might be able to provide a top-up grant for a community service. The rubbish around the sluice


at Darman Lock had been cleared. Maidstone Council would look at the graffiti on the bridge. The location for the storage container at The Kintons had been agreed. It was resolved to get a quote for a container, to in- clude transport and installation. Short-term storage facilities had become available for £37 per month. It was agreed to take this up until a container could be arranged. It was felt that work needed to


be done to the track urgently. The ambulance service had said it would not be able to get an in- jured person from the Kintons via the track. The football club had a contactwho might be able to supply materials, and one of the players had said he might be able to provide volunteers. It was suggested that Gallaghers should be asked for 25 cubic metres of road stone. Once total costs were known, the diocese would be asked for financial support. A site meeting had been held


to look at the path from the back entrance of the school to The Kintons, with a view to im- proving it for parents going to the school. The cost was esti- mated at £5,000. It was agreed to do this once the track had been repaired. The meeting heard it would


cost about £45 to install broad- band at the village hall.It would be used to support coun- cil meetings when information was needed from the internet, and could enable computer courses to be held there. It was suggested that the parish coun- cil paid half and the pre-school be asked to pay half. A new phone would need to be bought that enabled some calls to be barred. This was agreed. The chairman answered Laddingford residents’ ques- tions on the weight restriction and said Laddingfordwas never intended to be included in the scheme, but the council was committed to getting them in- cluded. KCC had assured that traffic surveys would be under- taken on this and other routes, and if there was an increase in HGV traffic these routes would be included in the scheme. The sign at the Lees Road junction had been removed and there was no evidence of heavy usage by HGVs anywhere along the route The chairman had spoken to


Terry Shead at Brookside re- garding the cattle on The Fen. He had Sussex cows, and did not sell his cattle but put them out to graze. Cllr Sanders sug- gested a farm at Sissinghurst. Maidstone Council had asked


the parish council to take over the management of Yalding re- cycling site. There would be no cost for the provision and emp- tying of the banks, but the parish council would be re- sponsible for keeping the area clean. It was agreed that the parish did not want to take on this responsibility. It was agreed to accept a quote


of £60 to change the chains on the baby swings at The Kintons. In order to prepare for a po- tential loss of grant at the playscheme, it was agreed to put up the charges to £5 per day per child, with a sibling dis- count to £4 per day.


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