DownsMail In touch with your parish
way along Horseshoes Lane. Cllr Eric Hotson and KCC had been contacted and the work should be done in seven days. Phone calls had been received regarding a house in the parish that had moved its fence and al- legedly encroached on land be- longing to an empty house. The clerk informed parishioners this was not a parish council matter. A letter had gone to parish- ioners in Turgis Close and the clerk had ascertained that the land that the parish wanted to plant on did belong to KCC. The clerk had initiated discussions with KCC regarding the possi- bility of planting. One response requested that the parish did not plant crab apples because of the mess of the fallen fruit. The petition on the speed
limit reduction to 30mph on the A274 hadbeenplacedinthe doctors’ surgery and would be taken to the farmers’ market. Permission had been obtained to place it in the post office and farm shops in Sutton Valence.
Car park barrier Leeds Council
THE new car park barrier had been installed at the church car park. It was noted that the recycling
bins were full and empty bottles had been left on the ground. Users were reminded that if the bins were full, bottles should be taken to another recycling sta- tion, the nearest being on the station approach at Holling- bourne. A potential Speedwatch cam-
paign was being considered. Police reported there had
been two burglaries at locations other than dwellings. It was hoped to make some cosmetic improvements to the inside of the pavilion at the playing fields to make it more user friendly. A schedule of works was being drafted and quotes were being obtained. A new football team would be playing next season.
The new website wasupand running and the parish council would encourage all residents to use it. People can sign up to the newsletter or make com- ments on the forum page. The parish spent £6,400 on
street lighting last year and it looked as if this would continue to grow as the lightingwas anti- quated. This month a reported three lights were out and these cost about £200 each to replace. It was anticipated the parish
will lose funding next year from MBC and will have to look at ways of reducing street lighting costs. Many parishes were con- sidering turning lights off at given times. Before any deci- sion was made, the parish coun- cil would consult residents.
Otham Council Stall at fete
THE Rev Steve Hughes said he was very pleased the parish council had a stall at the fete. The event was very successful, raising nearly £3,000. The parish council collected
the names of 68 families, mainly Otham, Downswood and Bearsted residents, and it was planned to email them with details of a walk around the vil- lage to raise awareness/support concerning future develop- ments.
County Cllr Gary Cooke re- ported that significantwork had been carried out on roads in Otham and they were now look- ing much better. Additional signs to restrict
use byHGVs would be going up in Downswood at the request of the parish council and would also benefit Otham. The work at Gable Cottage
was now complete. The chair- man and clerk had met with Kent Highways to discuss the road closure and drainage prob- lem at Primrose Cottage (caused by carriageway patching). The chairman was investigating whether the proposal to divert water from the road to the boundary of the Primrose Cot-
tage field would be acceptable to the owner. The drain outside Wardes
was still blocked and the clerk would repeat the request for it to be cleared. Residents had complained
about the burning of inappro- priate waste on farmland around Holly Farm Road. The clerk would check the situation re- garding previous complaints. Smiths Gore had not re- sponded to the request to clear waste
from Titchfield
Close/Gore Court Road foot- path. Cllr Bonner confirmed it was still a mess. Suggestions to buy a strim-
mer and cut undergrowth on footpaths were discussed. It was agreed this would prove very difficult due to health and safety laws. Cllr Middleton reported that
the problem with human excre- ment and toilet paper being left close to the footpaths had in- creased. It was noted that further trees appeared to have been num- bered in East Wood and this would be monitored.
Ulcombe Council Police surgery
CRIME figures for June showed one theft. A request would be made for the next police sur- gery to be held on a Saturday so that more people could attend. Kent Police had started a new scheme in East Kent with six mobile contact points which would be operated inWest Kent in due course. A large number of people had attended the extraordinary meeting in June, concerned about an application for a screening opinion as towhether an environmental impact as- sessment (EIA) would be re- quired for the development of a 157-acre solar farm at Great Tong, Headcorn (south of Stick- fast Lane to Ulcombe Road near Tilden). Maidstone Council had decided that no EIA was re- quired.
In view of the large scale and potential environmental sensi- tivity of the proposal,itwas agreed that all the parish coun- cils covering areas affected by the proposal should have been formally consulted and will in future also be included in any further consultation events held by the applicant’s agent. Contrary to the agent’s pro-
posal, it was not possible to take construction lorries larger than 7.5 tonnes through Chegworth Road and a comprehensive con- struction traffic management plan would be needed. The parish council would question MBC’s decision that an EIAwas not required in view of the scant information relating to the ecol- ogy and the nature of the devel- opment provided in the report for the request for a screening opinion, and because the pro- posed development was of such a large scale. At the full council meeting, it
was agreed that, in light of the current proliferation of similar proposals across the borough, a policy for solar farms should be adopted by MBC. The parish council could agree a policy which it would invite MBC to adopt.
Maidstone Council’s opposi-
tion leader Fran Wilson had asked parish councils to supply information regarding valued open spaces so that these could be protected by planning poli- cies. The parish council was compiling a list. The problem of speeding in villages had been raised at the July police forum. The police would look further at how to support parishes in tackling this. Speeding in the village had also been discussed with County Cllr Jenny Whittle and Kent Highways engineers. The notice regarding a possi-
ble parish minibus service would be repeated to give more time for residents to note their interest.
Rob beats The Wall and raises £1,900 for charities
AN ULCOMBE man has com- pleted a 69-mile ultra marathon within his target time of 16 hours in memory of his grandfather and stepbrother. Rob South (26) said The Wall, a mixed terrain route along Hadrian’s Wall was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done” but he was pleased to have raised £1,900 for two causes close to his heart. Rob, a project manager at the
BBC, said: “It was very tough. When we got to mile 56 we were so tired we hadn’t worked out the check points properly and thought it was mile 62. To add another six miles on at that point was very demoralising. “We finished at 11pm and went straight back to the hotel but although I was really tired my knees hurt so much I couldn’t sleep. It was a very long day but it went really well and every-
Rob
South, left, and pal Scott Medd at the start of The Wall
onewho sponsored uswas great.” Torrential rain was forecast for
the entire 16 hours but in the end it only rained briefly. But Rob’s running partner Scott Medd sus- tained a ligament injury to his foot around mile 28, which Rob said affected the pair’s time. He continued: “He did unbe- lievably well to finish, he was in so much pain. It just means
I’ll have to take it on again next year to beat
my time.” Rob, a former Maidstone Grammar School pupil, was ranked
163rd out of 515 runners. The sponsorship money will be split be- tween Kent Air Ambulance in memory of stepbrother Chris Sim, from Sandway near Lenham, who died aged 20 in October 2006 in a motorbike crash on the A20, and Macmillan Cancer Support on behalf of Rob’s grandfather DennisMorton, who died last summer.
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