News | Sponsored parish council Boxley Parish Mail
CHAIRMAN: Ivor Davies CLERK: Pauline Bowdery ASST CLERK: Melanie Fooks Parish Office, Beechen Hall,Wildfell Close,Walderslade, ME5 9RU
Tel: 01634 861237 email:
clerk@boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Website:
www.boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained fromthe parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website Shopping village fears voiced
BOXLEY Parish Council is concerned that the poor design of the shopping village planned at Newnham Court could result in it looking like a prison.
Although the council had no problems with the design of the three larger units – Waitrose, Debenhams and Nottcutts – coun- cillors strongly objected to the in- clusion and design of the smaller shops next to Bearsted Road and the spine road, saying: “These units will be built on a steep bank and thus will be very prominent from Weavering Heath and other areas of Grove Green and Vinters Park. “The solid single roofline and
lack of relief to break the monotony of the metal cladding makes the de- velopment look like a prison.” In a detailed response to Maid-
Flooding and
pothole THE parish council was encourag- ing residents to report flooding and potholes to KCC, via its website at
www.kent.gov.uk/roads_and_trans port.aspx or on 03000 418181. KCC now has a policy of only in-
tervening when potholes are 50mm deep and only jets drains when complaints are received. Members consider that it is vital
to report flooding as it could indi- cate wholly or partly-blocked drains and gullies, which can cause major problems.
Boxley Abbey THE parish council raised concerns about the effect on the country lanes around Boarley Lane, San- dling, if Maidstone Council ap- proved plans for a wedding and function venue at Boxley Abbey. Councillors did not wish to object
to the proposed change of use of part of the barn. However, they ex- pressed concern about access and egress to the site and the additional traffic.
Car park pod PARISH councillors raised no ob- jection to a proposed dry cleaning, key cutting, shoe andwatch repairs pod within the Tesco car park in Grove Green.
18 Maidstone East February 2014 Rubbish left at recycling bins
RESIDENTS and the parish council have been complaining about rubbish left behind by people visiting the recycling bins near Tesco in Grove Green. Since the removal of the waste paper skip, bags of paper and cardboard have
been left there along with other general rubbish. Maidstone Council’s response is that without further information onwhen the additional dumping takes place there is little that can be done. The parish council has requested that a camera be installed to try to identify the culprits. Parish councillors and the new PCSO will be monitoring the area.
Paper-free planning concern
MAIDSTONE Council says it intends to no longer send paper copies of planning applications to parish councils. This means that residents and parish councils will only be able to
access plans via the internet. Boxley Parish Council has strongly objected because thiswould vir-
tually exclude from the planning process anyone without a computer or with only limited IT skills, unless the parish office or a friend prints out a paper copy. The clerk reported that it had taken 20 minutes to download just one document from Maidstone Council’s planningwebsite. Members also expressed concern that the borough council was presuming or ex- pecting councils to have internet access at all planning meetings, which is difficult in Boxley’s case because the venue moved around the parish. It was felt that consideration of applications would become even more time-consuming than it was already.
stone Council, the parish council asked for part of the application to be refused and reported to the bor- ough’s planning committee, argu- ing that by allowing such units, Maidstone Council would effec- tively be encouraging small retail away from the town centre, which was contrary to its current and de- veloping local plans. It noted that 17 units were pro-
posed instead of the current seven. “The fact that Section 106 funding for the town centre is being re- quested, presumably to mitigate the impact, shows Maidstone Council has recognised the problem, but
rather than require a payment it should fight to attract and retain shops,” said the parish council. Councillors also expressed con-
cerns about local highway infra- structure and suggested Section 106 funding for improvements, includ- ing the Grove Green roundabout. Should the application be ap-
proved, the parish council sug- gested conditions including restricted delivery times to avoid peak traffic, and Maidstone Coun- cil approval of the “no poaching” document pledged by developer Land Securities to ensure that no retailer relocates from the town
centre to the new site. The council’s full response can be
read on the parishwebsite. The proposal is with Maidstone Council. Land Securities is now producing a regular newsletter that can be viewed at
www.support-
newnhamcourt.co.uk. This will carry up-to-date infor- mation and the website also in- cludes maps and images of the proposed development. The parish council has requested
that if the development goes ahead there is a dedicated contact line for comments and complaints during the construction period.
Precept set to stay the same
THE council has agreed to freeze the parish precept. Last year the residents of Boxley
paid an average of £25.94, calcu- lated on band D properties. Chairman Ivor Davies said: “Res-
idents may see no or a little change in the precept they paid last year. It is difficult to be accurate, as the sums include how properties are registered at the time the charge is set.
“The parish council will soon be publishing its budget on the coun- cil’s website, so residents can see exactly where the money is going.”
New PCSO THE parish council has welcomed a new PCSO, Quentin Car- rington-Moss. Residents can contact him via the 101 tele- phone number or they can email him at
56596@kent.pnn.police.uk. War tributes
THE parish council would wel- come any ideas from parishioners on how it could commemorate the centenary of the start of World War I.
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