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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 a man who sounded Irish trespassing on private property, and offering to carry out work. He had become abu- sive when asked to leave. The police attended, but the man had disappeared before they got there.


Maidstone Council had cleaned the road through Broomfield. It was one of the 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 consultation had been agreed for September 7 at the village hall. The annual safety report for


the sports field had been re- 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 thiswas 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 its activities.Itsaid there would be no shooting ac- tivities and the field would 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 garden scheme. It was decided to investigatewhether there was 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 it 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, that said it would investigate.


Traffic calming REPRESENTATIVES of Cox- heath Parish Council were to meet officials from KCC High- ways to discuss the parish council’s response to the stage 1 safety audit report and hope- fully to agree the basis for pub- lic consultation on the final amendments to the Heath Road traffic calming scheme. Community warden Jo Jewiss


Coxheath Council


was organising a second Bark in the Park fun day, following the success of last year’s event. The fun day will be held at Cox- heath Village Hall playing field on Saturday, September 14, from 11am to 4pm. Cllr Bill Milner was leading


an initiative to re-introduce NeighbourhoodWatch schemes in Coxheath and other local villages.


Councillors had met with the National Health Service man- agement to discuss ways of im- proving access to local health services in Coxheath. It was understood that the landowners of Linden Farm and Olders Field were drawing up outline planning applications for proposals to build on their land, including the provision of open space for public owner- ship in perpetuity. Members were investigating


the possibility of removing derelict cars from land next to footpaths in AmsburyWoods. The parish council was look-


ing into concerns raised by res- idents in Park Way over the condition of the highway and the resulting effects of vibration from traffic on their properties. In the absence of any public consultation, the councilwas to investigate the sudden appear- ance of double yellow lines out- side Heathside in Heath Road.


Advertising signs


East Farleigh Council


THERE had been one crime re- ported in East Farleigh during the last month – a theft from a


vehicle that was parked in St Helen’s Lane. The letters the council had


sent out regarding advertising signage around the village had raised issues which were dis- cussed. The council agreed that, for all fixtures of benefit to the village such as the Farmers’ Market, Yalding Farmers’ mar- ket and functions at the Old School Hall, signs could go up a week before and could be re- moved 24 hours after the event. The signs should look profes- sional and should not be placed on the triangle at the top of Sta- tion Hill. Signs for the village fete, or any other annual village event, could go up three weeks beforehand. It was agreed that signs ad- vertising a business could only be displayed during the hours when the business is open. Regarding the village car


park, Ralph Stevens had sug- gested using black planings to define the roadway so that the remaining whiter areas would be delineated as parking areas. His quote of £1,500 for this was accepted by the council. It was agreed that mar- shalling would have been re- quired on the first day of term to encourage and guide parents into using the car park. Coun- cillorswere prepared and avail- able to do this. A police presence/helpwas felt to be de- sirable and an explanatory note would be put on the school website and on Parentmail. It was felt that some signs would be required in the car park for a 5mph speed limit and possibly one clarifying liability. An opening ceremony was


due to be performed on Sep- tember 1 by Cllr Glyn Charlton. There would be a small barbe- cue/refreshments and all resi- dents/parents would be wel- come to attend.


Egerton Council Play area check


ED Smith had carried out work to the play area and would re- turn to fill in the gaps in the rubber matting surface. Wick- steed Playscapes was due to carry out the annual inspection. The parish plan committee


was to send out a questionnaire to determine local needs on housing. Because the older per- son’s housing project is small scale, it is a pilot project and the village needs to ascertain what type of housing is re- quired, whether it be properties for the elderly or sheltered housing with a warden. The Ashford Council ques- tionnaire would only ask peo- ple over 55, but the village parish plan committee intend to ask all villagers their thoughts. It may be that afford- able housing for all is needed, not just the elderly. The clerk was to report the


dreadful state of the surface of Bedlam Lane to KCC. Community Responders fundraising continued. The total was £10,00 so far, with £18,000 needed for the kits. Egerton friends had raised suf- ficient funds for the defibrilla- tor to be bought and installed outside the Millennnium Hall. Ray Giles had quoted £90 to


trim the tree on the Glebe to make it safe. This was agreed. Cllr Peter Rawlinson had been clearing foliage and cleaning signs so they were visible and had found a fire hydrant sign. Chairman Alison Richey would check the map so it could be placed in the correct position. The bench on the grass on


Elm Close had been vandalised and would be repaired. There had been a number of


thefts of fuel from parked cars in the village. Anyone who no- tices suspicious behaviour should contact the police. There had been complaints


about people parking on the grass and not in the car park. The clerkwas to contact the vil- lage school to request parents to park correctly. Two welcome packs had been delivered, one to Ragged Barn and one to Court View.


Centre fly-tipping THE written report from the community warden Stuart Ellesmere included issues of anti-social behaviour and fly tipping in the Foreman’s Centre. Mr Ellesmere continued to at- tend boxing club sessions and said policing visibility in the village remained a top priority. It was agreed to write to KCC


Headcorn Council


Cllr Jenny Whittle regarding the importance of having such an excellent and valuable commu- nity warden. This was an asset that was much needed in the village.


Councillors were reminded to review the recycling area for both cleanliness and usage since the new bin collections had started. Aresponse had been received


from Maidstone Council regard- ing parking bays in Forge Lane. The police had confirmed that they felt the implementation of the bays had not unduly af- fected vehicle movement as ve- hicles were parked there prior to the restrictions. It was felt no further action needed be taken. Following reports of anti-


social behaviour and intimida- tion to High Street traders, it was agreed to gauge the full ex- tent of the problem, to provide a form to all businesses for them to record any incidents for a month. This would then be col- lated and reported to a parish council meeting to decide any further action. It was also agreed to seek quotes and suit- able wording for additional


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