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Tax rise ‘a small price for residents to pay’
BEARSTED Council has almost £200,000 in reserves – but residents will be asked to pay more for their services in the coming year.
The Villager Cricket hopes
ASPIRING young cricketers could be encouraged to join Bearsted Cricket Club, with the creation of a practice wicket on the Green. The club wants to create a 30- metre strip near the pavilion, with artificial turf and netted, to allow year-round cricket practice. The plans were outlined to the council, along with proposals to ex- tend and improve the pavilion. The council said there was no point reaching a decision on either matter until the views of the bor- ough council and the conservation officer were known.
War tribute
THE War Memorial in Bearsted is to have a spring clean in time for the WWI centenary commemora- tions in August.
Local stonemason Gordon New- ton has been contracted to clean the memorial and spray it with lichen deterrent, so that it is in pristine condition for both the August and November services of remem- brance.
Festive lunch
SOME 67 elderly people in Bearsted enjoyed a Christmas meal provided by the local police and parish council.
The council donated £250 to help with the event. Numerous shops helped out with food and drink, and ladies of the WI and men from Holy Cross Mens’ Group helped with service and clearing up.
Library help
VOLUNTEERS are needed to help with the home library service. Those involved are required to
deliver – and collect – books, CDs, DVDs and large print books to the elderly and housebound in the vil- lage. If you have a few hours a week to spare and have transport, please all 03000 41 31 31 for further information.
The parish council voted to in-
crease the parish precept, which is added to the council tax bill, by 5.1% in 2014/15 – an extra £1.32 a year on an average Band D house- hold. This increase is the first for some years and is to keep pace with rising costs. Cllr Richard Ash, the parish council chairman, told members there were about 24 “general” fees that had to be paid each year by the council, aswell as a number of proj- ects to be funded on top. These in- cluded replacing play equipment on the Green, which would come out of the reserves, if grant funding was not available. The council was enjoying a sur-
plus, partly because it had not been paying the salary for a clerk for sev- eral months, and Cllr Michael Stark reminded members the council had been reprimanded not so long ago for having a mere £85,000 in re- serves – a figure considered to be “too low”. Cllr Tim Licence proposed keep-
ing the precept at its present level, but was told this would mean the council would be £2,205 worse off. Both Maidstone and Kent seem likely to increase their share by 1.99%. Cllr Licence said:“We could dip into resources and still have plenty.” Cllr Bernard Carine said it was better to increase the precept grad-
ually, rather than in one large leap, and proposed an increase of 2.5% – 65p a year for the average Band D household – which would keep funding at its current level. He said: “Ifwe do not increase it now, there will be a leap in the future.” But Cllr Graham Farrow said: “There is no point losing money compared with last year, as things are going to cost more.” He pro- posed the 5.1% increase, which would mean band D householders paying £27.12 a year towards parish services. CllrAsh said: “The reality is that it
is going to cost each household very little more in real terms. It’s only £1.32 a year for bandDhomes.”
Bid to preserve meadow’s trees
THE parish council has requested Maidstone Council to investigate getting preservation orders on trees in Lilk Meadow.
The area, which is subject to flooding but is also the subject of a planning application for new housing, lost 12 trees during the Christmas floods. Members agreed that the remaining trees were of amenity value to the local community.
The parish council has requested both Cllr Mike Cuming and Val Springett to attend Maidstone Coun- cil’s planning committee as “visiting members” when the applications for Roundwell Park and Waterside Park come up – and to speak out against them. The parish council is opposed to any development at J8 of the M20 and is now liaising with Leeds, Holling- bourne and Thurnham parishes, the Joint Parishes Group, Leeds Castle, Hugh Robertson MP and KCC in
Wine stolen
JUST four crimes were reported in Bearsted during December. Several bottles of wine were stolen from the shop at a petrol station on Ashford Road and a car parked on Tydeman Road was scratched along the side. Magnetic signs were found to be missing from a company vehicle parked on Ragstone Road, but it was not known where the vehicle was when the signs were taken. Two suspects were arrested after the theft of cash from a charity tin at the church.
This page is sponsored and edited by:
Bearsted Parish Council
www.bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk
24 Maidstone East February 2014
fighting the case against Waterside Park. Cllr Dennis Spooner has written to Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone and the Weald, to declare her support for Waterside Park as in breach of parliamentary protocol, as it lies outside her constituency.
Cash for chips MAKE the batter matter – and raise
funds for the Spinal Injuries Associa- tion (SIA).
Bearsted residents are being asked to step up to the plate by par- ticipating in the Great British Fish and Chip Supper on Friday, May 16. The charity, which this year cele- brates its 40th anniversary, hopes to double the sum raised last year and bring in £25,000. SIA will provide a fundraising pack including recipes and invita- tions. The aim is to hold a supper at home, at work in a community cen- tre. Call 0845 0714350 or email
fundraising@siafishandchips.co.uk.
New clerk
THE parish council has appointed a new clerk, Michelle Rumble. Mrs Rumble, who has worked with Aylesford and Nettlestead parish councils and lives in Bearsted, takes up her post at the beginning of March.
Vice chairman Dennis Spooner told members: “This was the most time-consuming, meticulous and objective, competence-based re- cruitment exercise we have ever undertaken.”
The council made the appoint- ment with the human resources department at Maidstone Council.
Council Office: Madginford Hall, Bearsted Telephone: E-Mail:
01622 630165 Chairman:
clerk@bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk Richard Ash
MEETINGS HELD SECOND TUESDAY OFMONTH (7.30PM) AND THE PUBLIC IS VERY WELCOME
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