DownsMail In touch with your parish
Boughton Malherbe Council
Police surgeries
A POLICE report had been sent in by PCSO Alan Beech, who said there could be some changes to the police surgeries as a result of the deployment of rural mobile police stations. Incidents reported in thep-
arish were likely to result in a slight increase in patrols. Keith Anderson reported on Speedwatch, which had noted 218 road observations, resulting in 127 vehicles being added to the National Speed Database. Seven warning letters had been sent out to offending drivers. The speed indicator device
had not been moved back and was still liable to be hit. The gullies on Liverton Hill
had been cleared. Two areas had been choked with roots, andassoonastheywere cleared, the water on the road had dried up. The French drain lower down did not work, but work was slowly getting done. The hill was on KCC’s schedule for cleaning three times a year. A vehicle had pulled a branch on to the road at Liver- ton Hill. It was reported to KCC who sent out a manager in just over an hour. The branch was cleared the next day. Potholes in Woodcock Lane
had not yet been repaired, al- though some had been marked. There were many on Elmstone Lane. The verges had not been cut and water was running down the road. This should have been repaired over a year ago.
Overgrown hedges had been reported in Church Road going towards Boughton Malherbe. The hedges were the responsi- bility of the owner. The stile at the Lenham Road
end of the footpath between Lenham Road and Woodcock Lane had rotted and was dan- gerous. The telegraph pole opposite Stocks Cottage was leaning and could become a hazard to high- sided vehicles. It was agreed that a request be submitted for a salt bin in the layby opposite the Oaks in Church Road. There had been a meeting on
the emergency plan and it was decided it needed revising and cutting down in size. Chairman Ron Turner spoke
about community first respon- ders. He said the scheme would bring a defibrillator to the vil- lage. The cost of having a re- sponder was £1,300. A meeting was to take place regarding the neighbourhood plan. Itwas agreed that the plan should be made by the village for the village, with parish council support. It was not a parish council venture.
62 East
Bredhurst Council PCSO moves on
NO crimes were reported in Bredhurst during the previous month. As the PCSO is now a serving police officer, the vil- lage now has no PCSO. The annual playground in- spection had been completed. The surface under the aerial runway needed to be replaced and a quote had been received. There were a few low risk is- sues that needed to be ad- dressed. Kent Highways had agreed to
take responsibility for the street lights next to the build-outs, but the remaining old lights would have to be removed at the parish council’s expense. Highways would supply draw- ings of the location of the lights, and who was responsible for each, ready for the November meeting. After discussion, it was de-
cided to discuss with Kent Highways what it would rec- ommend regarding speed roundels. The repair to the allotment
gate and themaintenance of the notice boards were in hand. After a discussion on how a Facebook page could be useful, it was agreed that one would be set up. A response was received to
the enquiry about broadband speeds in rural areas. It was confirmed that Bredhurst should have faster broadband speed in 2015. The parish council had been notified of tree preservation or- ders on two properties in the village.
Regarding the police mobile contact point, it was felt that the van would be more visible if it was parked either in Hurst- wood Road or on the village green.
Plan consultation
Broomfield and Kingswood Council
AROUND 100 people attended a workshop and consultation event on the neighbourhood plan. There was a lot of useful input from the Designscape team and residents. Design- scape and members from the steering group were due tomeet with Michael Murphy, plan- ning officer at Maidstone Coun- cil, to outline the outcomes of the consultation. The clerk had forwarded a second letter to Ann Barnes, Kent Police Commissioner, as councillors had requested, in- cluding a timeline regarding anti-social behaviour experi- enced in Kingswood in the summer months. There had been no reply to date. KCC warden Dawn Riach- Brown said shewould be deliv- ering letters with the clerk
about overgrown hedges to en- sure that any elderly or vulner- able people get the help they may need. A group of residents ap- proached the clerk requesting the placing of a bin in the sports field with plastic bag in- serts that they would empty voluntarily. CllrWest proposed that the parish council pilots one bin adjacent to the Playdale and picnic area. This was unan- imously agreed. The latest Maidstone Council
safety report showed that the seat on the leg press had come adrift and needed replacing, as it was a finger trap. Councillors unanimously agreed that this should be ordered immediately. Cllr Baker expressed concern
at the loose rotten log step in the Playdale area. Councillors agreed that the replacement of all necessary items identified in the annual safety should go ahead as soon as possible. The clerk was requested to
write to the Scout group and Maidstone Mavericks to deter- mine whether they had investi- gated any funding potential for a pavilion/sports hall at the sports field. Councillors discussed recom- mended locations for the inter- active signs and the lorry signs and agreed that the clerk should contact KCC Cllr Jenny Whittle to finalise prices and organise a site visit by engi- neers.
Charlie Reynolds, transport engineer at KCC, advised that the street nameplate in Ashford Drive would be repaired. He re- quested any evidence of park- ing problems be forwarded to him pending a site visit. Councillors agreed that the viability of hiring a handyman for the parish would be dis- cussed as part of setting the pre- cept for 2014/15. Cllr Clark had received inter-
est for a garden club scheme within the parish. It was agreed there would be more informa- tion in the next village news and on the parish website to en- courage more participants. Ulcombe was considering supplying a limited transport service to Headcorn and re- quested Broomfield and Kingswood Parish Council par- ticipate in the project. Council- lors agreed that a service to Headcorn could prove useful as there was no such service cur- rently and would not under- mine the current bus service. A group of seven men were spotted acting suspiciously at Gravelly Bottom Lane.
Downswood Council Theft attempt
THERE had been an attempted theft
from The Spires
newsagent, but the goods were recovered. A car had been
scratched in the communal parking area outside Pennine Way, and some keys had been stolen in Murrain Drive. The vandalism at Mallards
Way was discussed. Cllr Simon Roberts confirmed that a waste bin and life buoys had been thrown into the lake along with a tree guard. There was exten- sive damage to the play area fencing. KCC Cllr Gary Cooke said be-
tween £1,000 and £1,250 had been set aside for Foxden play equipment. Funding had also been found for clearance of the pedestrianised Church Road. A date had been set for paint-
ing of Mallards play equipment by councillors. The 2013 Olympicnic had
been successful, but had not been as well attended as had been expected. It was agreed that the 2014 Olympicnic would be held on Saturday, July 19. It was unanimously agreed to
raise the clerk’s salary in line with new scales.
Plans for land
Hollingbourne Council
CLLR Mike Bedwell suggested an open meeting be held for res- idents to consider the impact of plans to develop land such as those under consideration by Gallaghers. There was concern that the implication of in- creased trafficwas not fully un- derstood. It was hoped that the discov-
ery of bronze age relics on the Downs would strengthen the case against further develop- ment in the area. Mr Attwood had offered to demonstrate the work he had undertaken removing conifer- ous trees and replacing them with deciduous indigenous va- rieties. The chairman accepted with
regret the resignation of Ursula Askew as a council member, due to personal reasons. The clerk reported on the
crime figures provided by PCSO Siobhan de Burca-Ousby. A person had been charged with criminal damage to prop- erty, and another with the as- sault of a constable during the execution of his duty. Someone had also been charged with words or behaviour causing alarm or distress. There had been a theft from a
shop at J8 of theM20.Windows had been damaged in Ashford Road and Eyhorne Street. The PCSO said there had
been reports of scams involving telephone calls where the caller claimed to be from the Metro- politan Police, involving hand- ing over money. A number of 4-5 inch nails
had been found dumped on or near the footpath where the
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