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DownsMail In touch with your parish Any volunteers who would


Village Hall to reconsider the agreed increase in fees for the pitch and pavilion for the 2014 season. They also asked that fees be


paid monthly, similar to the football clubs, rather than prior to the season, and felt that the new fees would make Mere- worth playing field the most ex- pensive place in the area to play cricket. Cllr Philip Olden said the in-


crease was due to higher costs. It was agreed that delegated power be given to Cllrs Olden and Jenny Thorogood who would meet with the clerk to come to a solution over pitch fees and administration costs. The cricket club was planning


to undertake work on the square in September and it was con- firmed that a grant of £2,000 was still held by the parish council ready for use. The cricket club would pay £500 to be added to the grant held by the parish council, who would pay the in- voice, expected to be £2,500. Residents of Kent Street asked


if there was any feedback from the petition handed into Ton- bridge and Malling Council, ob- jecting to phase 3 of the Kings Hill development. There had been no information as yet. Res- idents felt strongly that the in- frastructure should be in place before any further development. Andrew Wells was co-opted


to fill the vacancy on the parish council.


Mereworth Primary School governor Sue Darbyshire re- ported the school had had a busy and successful year and had been on Ofsted’s list of the 100 most improved schools. Last year’s 11 plus results


were good, with 14 out of 28 passes.


Parking was still an issue at


the school. Letters went out to parents and police had patrolled school runs. The clerk reported that KCC


was to put in bunding on Seven Mile Lane/The Street verges to prevent dangerous parking. A resident had offered a wal-


nut tree which would be planted in the recreation area. It was agreed that he could install a plaque.


Motorbike scrambling was


again taking place in Mereworth Woods. The PCSO had been in- formed.


Nettlestead Council Drainage issue


THE clerk had contacted Richard Barling at Maidstone Council about drainage and there was nothing to report. Cllr Van Anita Hensbergen


was to inspect the state of foot- path KM 176 to see if KCC had cut back the growth. The chairman of the village hall committee had accepted an


42 Malling


invitation to speak at the parish council meeting and was hoping to attend in November. The recent fundraising event


at the village hall had been a great success. Cllr Van Hensbergen reported


that the King George V field had been cut recently and the churchyard looked extremely nice. Another two cuts were agreed as the grounds mainte- nance contractor had put for- ward this recommendation. No comment was made on a planning application for exten- sions, a conservatory and base- ment area at 1 Rectory Cottages, Maidstone Road, Nettlestead. Maidstone Council had ap- proved a lawful development certificate for an extension at 2 Rose Cottages, Maidstone Road, Nettlestead, and conservation area notification of intention to fell a conifer at 8 Phoenix Cot- tages, Maidstone Road, Water- ingbury.


Offham Council Shed thefts


THERE had been a couple of thefts from sheds in the village and residents were warned to keep sheds locked and possibly alarmed. Church Farm had taken a number of measures to reduce the effect of the number and noise of vehicles from the farm and was considering further ways to help alleviate problems for residents. The parish council agreed to


take part in the Kent Association of Local Councils’ community awards scheme to recognise res- idents who have made great contributions. The parish council adopted


the Freedom of Information Act and a complaints procedure. Any complaints about smells


from Blaise Farm should be ad- dressed to the Environment Agency on 0800 807 060 and NES directly on 01202 812300. Clare Innes should be copied in on clare.a.innes@gmail.com, so that the complaints log she maintains can be updated. The restoration project for the


pond on Comp Lane had begun. Volunteers had already cut back many of the overhanging trees. Anyone wishing to help should contact the parish clerk for in- formation. Adrian Marchant from Marchant Garden Services had worked free of charge and was thanked for his help, along with all the volunteers. The parish council was help-


ing to fund the restoration, but to ensure it doesn’t fall into dis- repair again, there needed to be ongoing maintenance. Laurence J Betts Ltd, Church Farm, was thanked for its generous contri- bution. Anyone who would like to make a donation towards on- going maintenance should con- tact the clerk.


like to join Speedwatch should contact the clerk.


Ryarsh Council Crime report


PCSO Laura Bullen reported three incidents in the previous month – theft of a van and tools fromWoodgate Road, theft from a caravan in Roughetts Road and aggravated burglary in London Road.


There had also been reports of vehicles causing a nuisance in the village hall car park in the evening. PCSO Bullen had passed a number of times while on late shifts but had not seen anything suspicious. She would continue to pay attention to the area during patrols. There were no objections to a planning application for a single storey side and rear extension at 4 Vale Cottages, Chapel Street. Arequest had been made for a


bus stop sign on London Road, similar to that installed in the village centre. Itwas agreed this would be a good way to make that area feel part of the village. A budget of up to £110 was ap- proved. It was reported that the morn-


ing bus (58) through Ryarsh was regularly late. The previous week it was only on time once in four days. The bus was due to leave at 7.22am but could be up to half an hour late. It is not a school bus but is used by chil- dren who can be late for school if the bus runs late. The clerk was asked to report this. Residents on Roughetts Road thanked the parish council for its response to the Brickworks planning application to extend the operating hours. The owner of Ryarsh Oast House had cut back the vegeta- tion from his property onto the footpath by Birling Road. He had also helped by cutting back some of the vegetation from the Stables. However, there was still vegetation from the Stables and an overgrown elder forcing pedestrians to walk in the road. The Stables had been sub-let. The clerk would pass this infor- mation to Kent Highways. The footpath from Brook


Farm to Church Road and be- yond on Roughetts Road was overgrown. Various household- ers had cut back vegetation but most of it was believed to be from Kent Highways land. Lorries continued to exit the Brickworks and use the junc- tion of Roughetts Road and Woodgate Road, having to turn around and sometimes getting stuck. Reports were still being made of lorries operating out of hours. The parish council had ordered a traffic survey to give an accurate picture of lorry movements and a report should be available at the next meeting. The concrete gas sign at the


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Four Wents junction had not been removed despite being re- ported andwas now in the high- way. The clerk would report it. The footpath from bridge to bridge at the back of the Brick- works site was overgrown and the banks were falling away into the motorway. The Public Rights ofWay officer visited some time ago and felt it was safe then, but the clerk would contact her again to re-assess. The annual audit for 2012/13


had been passed without any matters to draw to the attention of the council.


Car park contract THE policy and resources com- mittee agreed to recommend that a formal agreement be en- tered into between the town council and South EastWater to allow the company to use Brooklands Lake car park dur- ing office hours. It was hoped that this would relieve the pres- sure on parking around Rocfort Road and the High Street. It was agreed that some essen-


Snodland Council


tial maintenance work on Nevill Park Lake should be car- ried out by Medway Valley Fish- eries with support from Hadlow College. A contractor to carry out re- medial and refurbishmentwork at the cemetery was agreed. Four new litter bins would be ordered, two for the recreation ground and two for Potyns. The bins have a fire resistant mecha- nism and cost £280 each. At the full council meeting,


Helen Comber was thanked for setting up the new council web- site.


The council was advised that


SITA Trust had made a grant of over £6,000 towards some addi- tional play equipment at the recreation ground. The grant had been possible because of the work done by Parents Improving Play Areas in Snodland (PIPS) over the past 18 months when the group conducted surveys and asked local children and parents for their view on what was wanted. Work on this and the new bench was due to start soon.


Councillors were given a draft


copy of the proposed budget for 2014 and asked to consider this before the next policy meeting. The draft budget would increase council tax by around £2 per year and if councillors did not want this they would have to decide which areas of proposed expenditure should be left out. The meeting received a pres- entation from the project man- ager for the extension to the community centre. Tenders for the project had been considered and recommendations made to the council. The meeting agreed to appoint a contractor to carry out the work. It was expected


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