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Marden Council Burglary report


A POLICE report said there had been three crimes since the last meeting. A man had been ar- rested after a burglary at a home. There had been another burglary and a theft, for which a man had been arrested. PCSO Gardiner had dealt with


a call about parking in Maid- stone Road. The community warden sent


in a report saying she was con- cerned over the lack of a road crossing patrol at the primary school. A road safety scheme was due to start during the win- ter months. The chairman read out a letter


about the temporary closure of Tovil tip. The clerk was to ask Maidstone Council whether the waste freighter would visit the village more often during this time. The problem of HGVs using


rural lanes was discussed. The current restriction had raised more concerns from both busi- nesses and residents. Members agreed to respond toKCCand re- iterate the pressure from busi- nesses, the points raised by members of the public and the impact of the restriction on the community. Copies of correspondence re- ceived from a resident about drainage around her property in Goudhurst Road were dis- tributed. These were noted and kept on file. An email had been received


from a resident regarding speed- ing traffic in Pattenden Lane. The clerk was asked to speak to PCSO Nicola Morris about Speedwatch. There had been an email about parking in Howland Road and the absence of a footpath. It was proposed that the email be for- warded to the next neighbour- hood plan meeting. The owners of the West End


Tavern had contacted the clerk asking for sandbags when flash flooding occurred. Thiswas sup- ported. Several residents had reported


that the large A frame outside the Unicorn pub was causing an obstruction. The Speedwatch equipment


had been damaged when it was last used. An invoice for the re- pair would be sent to the parish council.


Parking hazard CONCERNShad been expressed by residents about the danger created by parking on the south west side of Church Hill (A229). It was agreed to take the matter up with KCC and County Cllr Eric Hotson. Cllr Peter Spearink described continuing bus service issues on


Staplehurst Council


the number 5 route, particularly those affecting schoolchildren. Councillors agreed to escalate their concerns to the regulatory body and to KCC’s integrated transport team. Residents in the Five Oak Lane


area were experiencing problems with slurry on the road and it was not known what action the Environment Agency or KCC were taking. As the identity of the farmer (not of the immediate area) was known, it was agreed to make contact directly. Following invitations from Golding Homes and TaylorWim- pey to suggest street names, councillors agreed they wished to honour both the fallen of World War I and local people who had given long service to the community. Fitzgerald was suggested for Bell Lane and The Bartons, with Richard Skinner and Malcolm Davis for land south of Oliver Road. The caretaker had treated the repaired memorial seat at Church Hill. He had blocked the gap in the fence/hedge line at the north east corner of the Surren- den Field play area but his work had been removed after only a few days.


Councillors voted to join the


Kent County Playing Fields As- sociation at an annual cost of £20.


Requests had been received for


salt bins on Corner Farm and the ChestnutAvenue footpath. It was agreed that the list of potential sites should be reviewed. A discussion took place re- garding clarity of the status of the village centre contingency fund. Before the meeting, a resident said she remembered at the time of the purchase of the old school, the parish council retained a sum of around £10,000 in trust for the village centre as a contingency and hewished to see the arrange- ment continue. Another resident said she had researched archives andminutes and formed the view that the money currently held by the parish council was in trust and the parish council was a trustee. She described how the parish council had guaranteed the loan taken out by the Village Centre and funded the payments from a levy on the rates. The moneywas once held with other parish funds butwas now held in a sep- arate account. Court approval would be needed if funds were to be used for other purposes than those en- visaged by the trust arrangement. A resident asked whether the


parish council was considering any initiative to mark 2014 as the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I. he suggested pop- pies be located in the planters. After the meeting a resident advised that some names of the WorldWar I fallen would dupli- cate street names.


Swings damage


Sutton Valence Council


THE junior swings at the War Memorial field had holes on the frame and the handyman had been asked to look at it. The EDF meter needed to be replaced and it was agreed to in- stall a smart meter. Readings would automatically be sent to EDF so bills would be accurate with no estimates. Following complaints, the


clerk had asked the contractor to spray the play area for nettles. Aslat in the bench at The Har-


bour play area was split and warped and the handyman had been asked to have a look at it. The play surface had been set


alight by arsonists and the clerk had reported it as a crime. A request from Cllr Ian Robin-


son for a further Speedwatch site by Braemar garage was not al- lowed as it is a 60mph area and the scheme can only operate in areas up to 40mph. The Queens Head Odd Fellows


were again donating a Christmas tree for the Green. The clerk had applied for a


grant for the Tarmac repairs in the car park and on the church path. The allotment income was £937.50, if all received. Itwas re- solved not to increase the fees this year. Two parishioners would like to go on the waiting list for Bowhalls.


New councillors Yalding Council


JASON Bryant and Angela Seck- leman were co-opted onto Yald- ing Parish Council and they completed the necessary paper- work. Work to the surface at TheKin-


tons track is now complete, but the track was closed for a further two days for traffic calming to be installed. The maintenance contractor


had been asked to look at the weeds starting to come through at the war memorial again. The new plaque would be erected be- fore Remembrance Day. A speed counter had been in- stalled to check the speed of traf- fic entering Laddingford by the Old Chapel. KCC is monitoring this.


Medway Valley Countryside Partnership has repaired or re- placed benches on the Lees car park where portable barbecues have burnt into the wood. Signs will need to be erected. Cllr Ken Gough and Commu-


nity Payback have started cutting back the trees and other vegeta- tion at The Lees to make the area more open and less susceptible to illegal camping and other is- sues. A very big thank you goes out


to Bill Bird who has volunteered to bailiff the river banks on


parish council land. Since he has started, there is hardly any rubbish on the river banks. KCC Cllr Paulina Stockell re- ported that she was now chair- man of the highways cabinet committee and is vice chairman of the Joint Transport Board (JTB). Two teams from Community Payback joined the parish tidy up. Supervised by Cllr Gough, the first group continued with their work on The Lees and a second group, supervised by Andy Sanders, Jason Bryant, and the clerk, worked at The Tatt. A big thank you to all those resi- dents who participated in the clean-up. A site meeting had been held


to look at ways of improving the surface and parking issues at The Tatt. The appointed contractor for ground maintenance had ceased trading. It was agreed that a con- tractor who quoted last year would be asked to do the final cuts for this year. The cattle on The Fen were to


be taken to market when the weather changed. Residents had received a letter


about changes to Royal Mail de- livery services. The bicycles had been taken away and the post- men now had two vans and a trolley. The trolley was damaging the cobbles and the postmen were not happy with the changes. There were also some complaints from residents. It was agreed to write to the deliv- ery sector manager to express the council’s concerns. A discussion took place on


signs and banners that were re- quired around the parish. The Clerk was to get a quote from RBLI for all the signs for the next meeting. It was agreed to go ahead and purchase two move- able banners urging dog owners to “pick up your dog waste”. The grant application to The


Tree Council to plant fruit trees at The Fen to replace some of the dying trees was rejected. Med- way Valley Countryside Partner- ship (MVCP) would however like to push ahead with the proj- ect and had asked the council for financial support. The cost for 17 trees was £697 plus VAT and St Modwen had agreed to pay £175 of this cost. The Scout group had already agreed to help with the planting. It was agreed unani- mously to support the project. A quote of £565 was agreed to supply and fit a new power sup- ply unit in the High Street for the Christmas lights. There was a broken chime mechanism on the church clock and a quote of £429 had been re- ceived for repairs. The annual financial return


had been audited by Littlejohn, who had replaced The Audit Committee; they had no adverse comments or recommendations to make to YPC.


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