Safety measures COUNTY Cllr Sarah Hohler re- ported that KCC Highways were considering a range of road safety improvements for Trot- tiscliffe Road for which she had earmarked some funding. PCSO Laura Bullen said there


DownsMail In touch with your parish Addington Council


hadbeena theft of golf items from a vehicle at the golf club. There was an attempted break- in at a garage in Reeds Lane, Trottiscliffe and in Offham and Stansted there had been two thefts of heating oil. The PCSO had requested that Addington was included as a venue for the mobile police sta- tion which would mean surger- ies every fortnight. Members discussed possible locations for this, including outside Miline on London Road, the car park at the village hall and outside the Angel Inn. Members resolved to start a


trial Speedwatch scheme with equipment loaned temporarily by Knockholt Parish Council. Several members of the public objected to the planning appli- cation for demolition of a de- tached house at Blackmans, Trottiscliffe Road, Addington, and erection of three detached homes. These included concern about over-development of the site. The council resolved to ob- ject to the application and ex- pressed disappointment that there had also been a significant culling of trees on this plot. Members discussed the ongo-


ing problem of transporters off- loading directly on to the A20 near BigMotoringWorld.Itwas resolved the clerk should apply to KCC for offloading restric- tions on this stretch and the parish council would pay for the require consultation and in- stallation. The clerk reported that KCC


was delaying the cutting of some verges on the A20 to en- courage wildlife. These verges would be cut shortly. It was noted that since the fly- tipping notices had gone up in Provenders lay-by there had been no further incidents.


Aylesford Council In memoriam


DONATIONS totalling £625 had been sent to the British Heart Foundation in memory of the late parish clerk Andrew Flindell from colleagues and as- sociates of the parish council. The chairman thanked all for their contributions. Members congratulated Cllr


Lloyd Green and his wife on the birth of their son. The PCSOs had requested suggestions for sites for a mobile police unit that the public can visit to discuss any matters of concern. Aylesford community centre/parish council car park,


Blue Bell Hill Village Hall car park and Eccles Walnut Tree layby were suggested. Aylesford Rugby Club had confirmed their acceptance of the council’s offer to fund a de- fibrillator and were working on the logistics. Borough Cllr Roger Dalton re- ported that the evening 155 bus trial had been completed suc- cessfully and the service will now run self-sufficiently with- out funding from KCC. There will be a review of all bus serv- ices by KCC in April 2014 when there will be a public transport review. Nearer that time, Tracey Crouch MP and County Cllr Peter Homewood would be lob- bied about the continuation of the 155 evening service. Borough Cllr Dave Davis had chaired a successful meeting about flooding issues in the Ec- cles and Burham area. KCC en- gineers were now working on a permanent solution for Mack- enders Lane, although regular drain cleaning was now taking place.


Drainage works in the Hawkes Road area had now been completed and a pro- gramme set in place to ensure gullies are cleared every two years. If this proves not to be sufficient, a request would be made to increase the schedule of clearance. Cllr Davis said most of the flooding problems had been caused by a history of cost cut- ting for drainage maintenance which was only now being ad- dressed. KCC engineer Andy Padgham


had been on annual leave, but on his return, Cllr Davis would be pursuing the outstanding matters of speed counts for the Hill Farm bend and new guid- ance and markings for the Pil- grimsWay dual carriageway. Forrests Funfair had can-


celled its visit due to vehicle breakdown. There had been a reasonable response to the advert for the parish clerk vacancy. It was confirmed to the mem-


ber of the public present that the parish council had reiter- ated its strong objection to the proposed natural burial ground at Blue Bell Hill to Tonbridge andMalling Council and would continue to do so.


Birling Council Crime report


PCSO Laura Bullen reported there had been a spate of shed break-ins particularly in the Fairseat and Stansted areas, and a ride-on mower and chainsaw had been stolen from Ryarsh. An arrest had been made but it was not yet known whether the individual was responsible for all the break-ins. A very noisy party at a prop- erty in Snodland Road had kept


residents in Birling and Ryarsh awake all night, resulting in the police receiving six calls be- tween 11.30pm on Saturday and 6am on Sunday. Unfortu- nately all officers in the area were busy and no-one had been available to attend. PCSO Bullen was trying to contact the householder. The property is owned by Bir-


ling Estate and Cllr Guy Nevill said they hadwritten to the ten- ants to say they were in breach of their tenancy agreement and would write to them next year ahead of the birthday to ensure the situation did recur. The salt bin in Stangate Road


had been replaced. Following the community art project, the picture was now being stored in Cllr David Hop- per’s stables, but a permanent home was needed. Sandbagging the bank of the


ditch in Birling Road had been completed. The men at work signs and cones had been re- moved from the motorway bridge. The work had not been completed as a telegraph pole needed to be removed before the final railing post could be installed and the verges needed to be levelled. No dates had been given for this work. The chairman said the war memorial might benefit from professional cleaning and/or some restoration to the engrav- ing. It was agreed any required works should be undertaken to have thememorial in good con- dition for the forthcoming cen- tenary of the First World War. The clerk would obtain advice and quotes. Cllr Hopper advised that a res-


ident had asked him whether anything could be done about children causing a disturbance outside the village hall in the evenings. He wouldmonitor this.


Police issues


East Peckham Council


PCSO Toni Matthews drew at- tention to the ongoing policing of village hotpsots, predictive policing and the mobile police stationswhich would hopefully be coming to East Peckham in the near future. The expenditure on adminis- tration for 2012/13 had included the insurance costs for the Ju- bilee Hall which when excluded from the final total, resulted in a net budget underspend. Following the resignation of


Mrs Eddie Kemsley, there was a casual vacancy. The borough council would advise whether it would be filled by co-option or election. The village signs had been in- stalled and many compliments received. The invoice from Her- itage Finger Post Signs for the balance of £1,699.50 had been received. Itwas resolved that in


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


view of the fact that the parish council had paid £100 exclud- ing VAT for grounds work to be carried out so that the signs could be installed, this figure be deducted from the outstanding amount. An application had been sub- mitted to Tonbridge and Malling Council as the organis- ing body for community pay- back work cleaning village signs, vegetation clearance and litter clearing. The Jubilee Hall and playing


fields had regular users for 68% of available time. Following the closure of the EP Club there had been an increase in booking en- quiries. The Tuesday morning Tai Chi Club had closed because ofalackofnumbers andthe Tuesday morning Zumba class had closed for the summer months. However a new regular user had booked to hold a Mon- day evening Zumba class. Following the closure of the


EP Club, the only other venue in the village able to hold licens- able activities was the village hall. Enquiries were beingmade with Tonbridge and Malling Council regarding the viability of the parish council making the Jubilee Hall available for licens- able activities. Regarding street snooker,


Play Innovation had provided at no cost to the parish council a set of discs to replace those which had been vandalised. The company would attend a site meeting shortly to ascertain what remedial action could be done to level the playing sur- face and had suggested a work- shop to rejuvenate interest in the concept. A match funding application would be submitted for a com- munity defibrillator. The Street Singers would be performing at Holy Trinity Church on September 7 with proceeds split between the church and the twinning associ- ation. On September 15, a fun day


was being held in Chereng and East Peckham residents had been invited to stay for the whole weekend. Subject to de- mand, the twinning association would book a coach. Overnight accommodation would be with families in Chereng.


Hadlow Council Gypsy policies


WITH regards to recent applica- tions in respect of gypsies and travellers, there was a link via the Tonbridge and Malling Council website which incorpo- rated relevant government poli- cies.


The appeal for a traveller site


in Cemetery Lane would be at- tended by a council representa- tive to reinforce the view that the application should be de- clined, due to the pro-P30


Malling 23


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40