downsmail.co.uk Boughton Monchelsea
Police report PCSO Richard Kirby reported that the crime figures for the last two months included two burglaries, three incidents of criminal damage and one the. Cllr Stephen Munford asked why the figures did not include northward. PCSO Kirby said the police used different boundaries, but he would include northward in future. Cllr Munford also asked for figures for the same period last year, for comparison. North ward County Cllr Gary Cooke had agreed to give the parish council £500 for northward. Cllr Leon Date suggested that the parish councilmatch this to give a total grant of £1,000. Thiswas agreed. Cllr Datewas to contact the chairman of northward residents’ association to discuss how it should be spent. Alier pick co-ordinatorwas required for northward and Cllr Whybrowwas to bring this up with the residents’ association. Cllr Date said Kent Highways was looking into a problem of overgrown vegetation along a footpath in Furfield Chase. Spring bulbs The clerk said the WI had planted almost 400 bulbs on the village green to mark its 80th anniversary. The clerk had thanked the group on the parish’s behalf. WWI centenary Cllr Bill Brown had investigated the provision of a newwar memorial in the parish. Cllr Jonathan Gershon said schoolswould be marking the centenary and the parish council could perhaps link with this. Parish services scheme Itwas agreed that the funding agreement should be signed and returned to Maidstone Council. Farm shop plan The parish council wished to see an application for a farm shop at Loddington Farm, Loddington Lane, refused in its current form as sight lines for drivers emerging on to Heath Roadwere inadequate, and the plans showed a footpath on the south side of Heath Road which did not exist. Itwas also noted that consideration should be given to the proximity of the existing bus stop to the farm shop entrance. Planning issues Itwas agreed that the clerk should report the following alleged planning breaches to Maidstone Council: the construction of barns at East Hall Hill; and a mobile home in the back garden of Meadowside in Heath Road. Allotments Cllr Colin Bracking had produced a dra allotment guide and tabled it for members’ consideration. Cllr Doug Smith agreed to print off copies of the finished document. Itwas noted therewere two vacant full plots and two vacant half plots, which the clerkwould allocate to those on thewaiting list. Village hall Cllr Angela Whybrow noted that the village hall commiee had bought new chairs for the hall and a hearing loop had been installed. PACT Cllr Date said the police had carried out some speed checks on Heath Road. He added that the recent mobile police contact point visits had not been well aended. Business register Cllr Gershon proposed that the parish council employs the services ofweb designer Esferico to set up a business register on thewebsite. He anticipated that the cost would be up to £300 plus VAT. Thiswas seconded by Cllr Whybrow and agreed by all members. Parkwood Farm Cllr Peter Herrin said the reservoirworkwas now complete, but the remote monitoring systemwas not yet in place towarn of an impending need to operate the sluice. Cllr Herrin said Cllrs Brown, Gershon andWilliams had yet to
26 Maidstone South January 2014
receive training on how to open the sluice, but thiswould be arranged. Hewould also be meeting the contractor, Steadline, regarding the final account. Sign damaged Cllr Herrin said the cast iron sign for Bolescrew Hillwas lying in the road and thewall to which it had been aached was in a state of repair and needed to be rebuilt. The clerk was to contact the owner to ask them for it to be repaired. Emergency plan Cllr Brown said the parish council’s emergency response planwas to be used as a template by other parishes. Hewas thanked for his hardwork on this. Postal rounds Cllr Sara Evans asked that the council contacted Royal Mail to express concern at the plan to re-schedule postal rounds in the post code areas ME17 and ME18. These could see mail arriving as late as 4pm in Boughton Monchelsea, whichwould hit households and local businesses. Neighbourhood plan Cllr Doug Smith said there had been a poor response to the questionnaires and the deadline had been extended.
Chart Suon
Police report PCSO Richard Kirby said no crimes had been reported for the month. Community warden Liz Lovat spoke about marking valuable items, her electrical safety booklet, scams and keeping warm in the winter. Lilypie parking Members noted that although they wished the business to be successful, the parking issues were causing tensions with villagers. Cllr Peter Forknall agreed to speak to the owner and the clerk was asked to write to Golding Homes to enquire about classifying the parking bays at AmberWay and Crossways for elderly residents only. Village clean-up It was agreed that the next village clean-up would be on March 29, meeting at the village hall at 10am. Noticeboards Members agreed to acceptMr Short’s quote of £425 to carry out repairs and maintenance to the parish noticeboards. Speed tables Borough Cllr Stephen Munford had investigated the speed tables and asked Cllr Forknall to providemembers with the details. Three speed tables would be needed at a cost of about £4,000 each. The majority of the costs would have to be borne by the council and the remainder could be sought by way of a grant from county Cllr Eric Hotson. It was agreed the cost was prohibitive. Village shop The on-off situation with the bookkeeper was ongoing and a new bookkeeper was still required. Karen was no longer on the shop commiee as she had moved away. The shop cabin at Teston had been looked at with a view to geing something similar for the Shop on the Green. The shop commiee agreed a move to the west side of the green could be considered when renewal of planning permission was sought. Football pavilion Cllr StevenWaring had received a complaint from a football team about the state the pavilion had been le in by one of the other teams. ClllrWaring also reported a couple of broken brackets on the guering of the pavilion. Village green Members considered a request from a 13-year-old resident to use the village green for a charity event. The request was agreed, but the clerk was asked to advise that the green would only be suitable for used betweenMay and September due to the weather. The clerk was also asked to find out
which charities would benefit from the event. Coxheath
Opposition Coxheath Parish Council was resisting an aempt byMaidstone Council to re-classify Coxheath as a rural service centre. Heath Road Early indications were that residents of Coxheath were backing a revised traffic calming scheme for Heath Road, which was the subject of a public consultation in November
2013.Ameeting was due to be held with KCC Highways officials, aer which it was hoped that changes would be implemented during the first half of 2014. Budget The parish council agreed a budget for 2014/15, amounting to £70,500. The intention was to maintain the current level of service as far as possible. In principle, the annual precept would increase to £59,000, equivalent to an average rise of £2.47 per household per annum. Neighbourhood plan The public consultation on the Coxheath neighbourhood plan ended on December 20, following the six exhibitions held at the primary school and village hall during November. Co-opted Cllr Denise Taghdissian was co- opted on to the parish council. Salt bin The parish council has arranged for a new salt/grit bin to be installed in Aspian Drive and asked Kent County Council to deposit a one tonne salt/grit bag in the public car park inWesterhill Road. Refurbishment The parish council was to give an annual grant of £5,600 to Coxheath Village Hall in support of further refurbishment projects. Lines error Kent County Council admied that the double yellow lines outside Heathside in Heath Road were installed in error and were unenforceable. They had now been removed. Bus shelter The parish council was taking action to repair the roof of the bus shelter next to the primary school playing field in Heath Road.
East Farleigh
Crime report Neither the PCSOs nor PC were able to aend the parish councilmeeting, but two crimes were reported for the month: the the of some logs from Stocke Lane and of gas boles from Heath Road. BudgetAfinal decision on the budget for 2014/15 was deferred until the new year. Car park The parish council discussed which route to take tomeet the conditions of the £9,000 grant received from KCC’s 2013/14 small community capital projects fund: to obtain permission from the planning officer to alter the conditions of the planning application to allow a Tarmac surface or to use the grass paving surface specified in the conditions of the planning application. The council agreed to pursue the laer option, as the cost is much the same as the Tarmac surface, if not cheaper when drainage and marking costs were added in. The council was investigating ways of funding this final surfacing. Speedwatch The Speedwatch day on November 21 was abandoned because the foul weathermade it dangerous, but it was hoped to try again in the new year. Right to bid The parish council noted the acknowledgement from Maidstone Council of its receipt of community right to bid forms for The Old School Hall and The Bull public house. The decision was due aer DownsMail went to press.
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