DownsMail In touch with your parish


Broadband speed COUNTY Cllr JennyWhittle ad- vised that KCC was continuing to look into rural broadband fa- cilities that had not been im- proved, despite significant sums being spent byKCC and theGov- ernment. The clerk advised CllrWhittle


Broomfield and Kingswood Council


of the recent Maidstone Joint Parishes Group meeting regard- ing the Waterside Park pro- posal. Cllr Whittle stated that KCCwas opposed to the scheme and was happy to support Broomfield andKingswood’s ob- jection to the planning applica- tion.


PCSO Richard Kirby said a suspect had been arrested for some of the burglaries in the parish and had been remanded in custody. Crimes reported at Kingswood during the previousmonth were a burglary (non dwelling) in Upper Street; burglary in Bushy Grove (detected); attempted bur- glary, Lenham Road (detected); two burglaries, Gravelly Bottom Road (one detected); burglary, Copperfield Close. The PCSO was advised that complaints had been received about parking on footpaths, causing an obstruction in and aroundWildwood Close. Chris Wheal, volunteer fire


safety officer, and Steve Lewis, water service manager, gave a presentation on behalf of Kent Fire and Rescue Service. The clerk advised that borough


ward member Cllr Peter Parvin had responded to her letter re- garding Maidstone planning de- partment’s refusal to incorporate windfall sites in the Maidstone local plan and requesting his opinion on the queries that had been raised.He said he feltMBC planning had done everything correctly and that any challenge to this decision was likely to be costly and unlikely to succeed. However, he would support the parish council. Adonation of £200was agreed towards the cost of external Christmas lights at the village hall.


The parish service scheme funding arrangement had been amended and was ready for sig- nature. Councillors agreed to sign the agreement and ratify the decision at the nextmeeting. An estimate of £950 had been received for the cost of removing the Levercrest play equipment, rubber tiles and surrounding fencing at the sports field. An initial estimate for resurfacing the play areawas about £18,975. Several large mole holes had opened up in the field and were quite dangerous. The clerk had asked Phil Tweddell to fill them, which he had done. The next public consultation


54 East


on the neighbourhood plan would be on November 23. Phil Tweddell had announced


that he would be retiring at Christmas and would no longer be able to undertake odd jobs for the parish council.


Plans for wood REPRESENTATIVES from the Kent Woodland Employment Scheme gave a presentation on the organisation and its plans for the management of Horish Wood,shoulditbesuccessfulin gaining this contract. Chris Hume from Kent Fire


Detling Council


and Rescue Service gave a short presentation on rural fire safety and sought the support of the parish council in inspecting and identifying fire hydrants in the area. The parish council would


keep an eye on the hydrants within the parish on a regular basis. The clerk was asked to for- ward a copy of the map identify- ing the location of the fire hydrants to all present. The clerk had asked for a quo-


tation for the repair of cracks on the village sign and was await- ing receipt of this. KCC had launched Kent Freight Gateway


on


www.freightgateway.co.uk/kent which was intended to help HGV drivers and transport man- agers plan their routes in the county. It also provides a mech- anism for giving feedback on lor- ries that are in violation of local road regulations. See the Lorry Watch section on the Kent Freight Gateway website. Cllr Bowie reported on the re-


cent surgery. Concerns had been raised about the maintenance of the playing field and she asked whether this could be trimmed round the edges. It was agreed to liaise with the contractor and arrange a site meeting with Cllr Griffiths. Concerns were raised once


again regarding the problems with vehicles parking at the bot- tom of Hockers Lane. The clerk was asked towrite to county Cllr JennyWhittle about this. Cllr Clayton reported on a meeting he had attended at Stockbury regarding the unso- ciable activities in the Detling Aerodorome area. The financial statement was presented by the clerk and agreed by all present. The clerk reported on the


parish council banking arrange- ments and the advice given by the Kent Association of Local Councils in light of the current financial climate. She advised members to consider opening an account at a different bank to provide more flexibility. It was agreed that the clerk would look into opening an account at HSBC Bank. It was reported that great


crested newts had been found at HorishWood. The newt fencing at the woodland would be in place until the autumn. Members discussed a request


by the village hall management committee to have an access in- stalled to the Old School playing field from the hall. The proposal was agreed on condition that the access was gated for security rea- sons, that the VHMC financed the enhancements and main- tained the new pathway and only one ramp was installed to allow access from the village hall to the playing field. An approach by the DetlingK9 Society to use the playing field during the summer for dog train- ing was discussed. Concerms were raised that this would set a precedent as dogs were not al- lowed in the playing field. It was confirmed that the group would clean up after the dogs and it would only be used in dry weather. Members agreed for the use on a trial period of three months as long as the society sectioned off an area of the field to use. The benches at Harple Lane


and outside of the playing field were in need of repair and main- tenance. Cllr Clayton would ac- tion this. Areport was given on the 2013


open day in September. The 2014 parish council open day would be held on September 6 and the clerk was asked to con- firm the booking for the hall. It had previously been agreed


to host an evening social event for village organisations. This would be held on the evening of the parish council meeting on December 3 and the agenda would be shortened to enable the meeting to be concluded by 8pm.


Nominations were now being sought for the 2013Village of the Year and this would be on the next agenda for discussion. Members agreed that each household in Detling be given a packet of poppy seeds in 2014 to commemorateWorldWar One.


Downswood Council Park damage


INVESTIGATIONS into damage at the park were ongoing. There had been a burglary at a


home in Murrain Drive, and a light bar had been stolen from a vehicle in Rhodewood Close. Borough Cllr Gordon Newton


had asked planners to defer any decision on the development west of Bicknor Farm until next year, to establish whether the Grayling butterfly was present. Cllr Newton assured council-


lors that the horse chestnut tree behind the Orchard Spot pub would not have been felled un- less it was necessary. The clerk was to check when


salt spreaders were to be deliv- ered.


The open spaces committee wanted to plant 500 mixed bulbs on the grass verge betweenWill- ington Street and Foxden Drive bus stop. A budget of £100 for bulbs and seeds was proposed by Cllr Martin Weeks, which was agreed. The clerk was to contact Bearsted Parish Council to en- quirewhether it would consider an advisory sign to say Spot Lane was not suitable for HGVs. It appeared that most of the dogwood planted on Old Spot Lane had died. Rajen Kantaria offered to ask Caxtons for two or three mature holly bushes for the open spaces committee to plant. The clerk had met with Amanda Scott of Maidstone Council and Wicksteed Leisure to discuss new equipment for Foxden Drive. The borough council was hoping to match fund the finance allocated by the parish council for new equip- ment. The parish councilwould then have the choice of trying to source additional funding or ac- cepting Maidstone Council funding and starting the project as soon as possible. Cllr Weeks suggested that the project went ahead with MBC funding, and this was agreed. The project would be carried out in two phases. Motif suggestions for Christ-


mas lights were discussed. The clerk was to ask Gala Lights to start sourcing filament bulbs early in the new year so the best price was obtained. Cllr Roz Cheesman had bought glow sticks and Cllr Anne-Marie But- ler was to buy mulled wine and biscuits for the ceremony. Complaints had been received


via Facebook and telephone re- garding the Arriva bus service. The clerk had written to Arriva but had not received a response at the time of the meeting. A fol- low-up email was to be sent.


Accident reports RESIDENTS attended the meet- ing to report there had been two accidents near Ashbank Cot- tages in the last eight weeks. They informed members that Richard Emmett, KCC highways officer, had visited the site fol- lowing the accident and he had indicated that should another accident occur, then the bollards at the cottages would be re- moved as KCC was responsible for protecting lives, not property. The residents confirmed the bollards had now been replaced but raised concerns at the com- ments made by Kent Highways officers. County Cllr Gary Cooke said he would look into this mat- ter as the bollards were needed to protect life and property. A resident asked if anything


Leeds Council


could be done to slow the traffic down as speedwas a problem in that area of the village. It was


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