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Broomfield and Kingswood Council Vacant seats


THE parish council heard from Maidstone Council that it could fill by co-option the vacancies created by the resignations of Mike Evans and Peter Corfield. Mike Lovell had indicated his interest in becoming a parish councillor and had attended three previous meetings. He was proposed, seconded and welcomed to the council. PCSO Richard Kirby was un-


able to attend but sent in a crime report. There was no re- ported crime in Kingswood, but there was a theft from a vehicle and an attempted burglary in Sutton Valence, a theft and a burglary in Leeds, and a theft in Ulcombe. There had been several re-


ports of an Irish-sounding man trespassing on private prop- erty, and offering to carry out work. He had become abusive when asked to leave. The police had attended, but the man dis- appeared before they got there. Maidstone Council had been


out to clean the road through Broomfield.Itwas oneofthe most persistently littered stretches in the parish between Leeds Castle’s Broomfield Road entrance and the village itself. Regarding the neighbourhood


plan, the grant from DCLG of £7,000 had been approved and £6,300 had been received. A grant of £750 had also been re- ceived from the county council- lors’members fund.Designscape was looking into site options. A date for the first parish consulta- tion had been agreed for Sep- tember 7 at the village hall. The annual safety report for


the sports field hadbeenre- ceived and identified several pieces of wood that needed re- placing in the Playdale area. These were covered by war- ranty but the cost of installation was not. Playdale had quoted £480. It was agreed that this was not an immediate requirement and would be discussed again at the end of the year. KMCF Spearhead had for- warded a copy of its insurance certificate regarding the use of the field for their activities.It said therewould be no shooting activities and the fieldwould be used for basic keep fit, includ- ing use of the adult exercise equipment. Councillors agreed it should be allowed occasional use of the field, as long as it ad- vised the dates in advance. Cllr Michael O’Neill said the


goal nets needed attention. The clerk was to contact Cllr Paul Beaney. Cllr Christina Clark had in- vestigated the National Garden Scheme and found that volun- teers would visit locations on request to advise on setting up a


54 East


garden scheme. It was decided to investigate whether therewas interest in the parish for a gar- dening club. A resident had spoken to Cllr


Terry Baker about verbal abuse by a lorry driver towards her daughter in Broomfield Road. Cllr Peter Page was there at the time, and had contacted the lorry driver’s company, who had said the driver was em- ployed by an agency and had let him go.


Residents had told the clerk


that repairs to the sewers in GBR had not been carried out on July 1, as planned. The clerk had spoken to Southern Water, who had said it would investi- gate.


A249 restriction COUNTY Cllr Jenny Whittle re- ported on the proposed closure of the top junction restricting access into the village from the A249 which would be subject to a traffic regulation order. Kent Highways had suggested this be piloted for 18 months. She con- firmed she was currently seek- ing costs for the project. Aresident objected to the pro-


Detling Council


posal and questioned the deci- sion made at the public meeting. It was reiterated that the decision had not been made as it was still due to go out to consultation. Cllr Whittle said she was looking into the flooding at the junctions of the A249 and was due to hold a site meeting with highways officers. The clerk would report to


Kent Highways that the verges along the A249 were overgrown and the hedges along the bend in Hockers Lane needed atten- tion.


Concerns were raised regard-


ing the condition of Church Lane and the work undertaken by contractors. Cllr Whittle would look into this. A resident spoke regarding


the proposed yellow lines for the bottom of Hockers Lane. Cllr Whittle said this was being looked into again and she was considering visiting the busi- ness in question to try to solve this problem. Members agreed the accounts


and annual returns which would be forwarded to the external auditor. The draft contract for the management of Horish Wood was with Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partnership. The mobility gate was still being progressed with CTRL and this seemed to be taking a long time. It was therefore agreed that the parish council should purchase one for about £275. The Detling Village Hall Management Committee was seeking a new treasurer follow- ing the resignation of its


current treasurer. Members agreed that parish surgeries would be held from 10am to noon in the Old School building on the last Saturday of each month for a six-month trial period.


Downswood Council Birds targeted


YOUTHS in the area had been using catapults to fire at birds in trees and this had been re- ported to the police. A member of the public said


the parish council did not sell itself as it should, as it does so much good work. He had spotted three “over-


sized lorries” in Downswood in the last fortnight. Cllr Gary Cooke said the lorry restriction signs to protect Downswood were in hand, but the one for Spot Lane was not in his division. Cllr Cooke agreed that his original offer to fund picnic ta- bles at Foxden Drive could be combined with other funding to provide a slide for the play area. Total funding would be between £750 and £1,000. MPE would be receiving £350 for new goal posts. It was resolved to accept the


quote from Steven Waring at a cost of £25 to £30 per visit for watering the recently planted trees. Plants on the roundabout would be watered as part of the maintenance agreement that was already in place. The footpath close to the church was very overgrown. It was suggested that this could be a project for the Green Finger Group.


Regarding the Christmas lights, replacement sockets and timers for new columns were still re- quired from KCC. It was agreed to buy replacement bulbs from Gala Lights at a cost of 25p each. The open spaces committee would decide whether addi- tional motifs would be hired. The replacement oak tree was


doing well. A group of volunteers was to Friends of


form the


Downswood and would under- take projects such as painting, work in the River Len, bat boxes and footpath clearance.


Fete success


Hollingbourne Council


THE chairman, Cllr Mike Bed- well congratulated those who had worked so hard to make the fete a success and enjoyed by at- tendees from England and France. Special thanks went to Mr Moray Dennett who had con- tributed more than 60 hours of voluntary work in preparing the grounds for the day and who was still working in the evening to return loaned tables. Cllr Bedwell said it was dis- appointing to see a scoping


opinion application for another industrial type scheme on the same site as the defeated KIG scheme inWoodcut Farm, espe- cially in light of the recent ap- plication from DHA Planning in a nearby location. Twinning developments were beginning, with a golf tourna- ment having taken place in Templeuve. A claret jug was given by Martial Chaussy of The Dirty Habit pub. Tom Regan gave a brief report on the event. The French golfers hope to visit Hollingbourne inOctober and it was hoped the tournament would take place twice a year. A question and answer ses-


sion took place with DHA Plan- ning regarding the proposed Waterside Park development. The clerk asked for clarifica-


tion regarding the withdrawal of recycling facilities at the end of Station Road. It was agreed to object to the loss as well as on behalf of the charities, simply because the sites would not be kept clean. Kent Fire and Rescue Service


had asked residents to notify them if fire hydrants were over- grown or obstructed. The clerk drew attention to


the Kenward Trust, a charity based in Kent and Sussex, which is offering volunteers a chance to participate in their garden enterprise plant nursery in Yalding. Contact Diane Jen- ner on 01622 816087. County Cllr JennyWhittle was submitting an application to in- stall a weight limit sign on the Bourne Bridge. Cllr Dr Susan Bauer asked if


the council would pay for some- one to clear the excess vegeta- tion around the British Gas site at the end of Eyhorne Street. This was not supported as it was felt to set a precedent and utility companies should be pressurised into maintaining their sites in keeping with the village. Dr Bauerwould contact. It was noted that the pave-


ments and footways were in a poor state of repair. Further re-seeding/surfacing


at the LanceMemorial Field en- trance was planned for Septem- ber.


An application fee for the in- stallation of an additional no- tice board near the church was awaited and a replacement board was required by the school.


Langley Council Lights off


REGARDING KCC’s consulta- tion on street lighting, all the lights in Langley had been iden- tified to be switched off in the early part of the morning. Con- sultation had closed and it was too late to ask for Grasslands to be excluded. Phone calls and emails had been received about the path-


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