ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH OF BOXLEY
Boxley Parish Council chairman’s report for the year 2013/14
I opened last year’s report by saying that it had not been an easy 12 months. Little has changed, but without the excitement of a royal visit, we have been less in the public eye. The old adage of the swan serenely cruising over the water while paddling like … comes to mind as the workload never seems to lessen. But what exactly has the parish council been doing?
The council’s environment committee, chaired by Wendy Hinder, successfully opposed a number of applications in the interest of local residents; in other cases our suggestions for mitigating adjustments were taken into account by MBC. However the new National Planning Development Framework, with its underlying presumption in favour of development, augurs badly for the future. But be assured, your parish council, which is strictly non-political, will continue to argue loudly and strongly whenever and wherever there is just cause.
This leads me naturally into MBC’s draft borough-wide Local Plan, which has received much criticism in the media and from KCC. They and we are all agreed that it sets too high a figure for the borough’s population in 2030, demands an unsustainable housing provision given the existing deficiencies in infrastructure and looks to green- field development when brown-field sites still exist in the urban area. Your parish council was thoroughly involved in MBC’s long-running public consultation exercise and, with members sitting on the Maidstone area committee of the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC), the parish council was party to that body’s vociferous and well-argued opposition. While the number of proposed development sites in the parish is not great, the knock-on effect on already congested thoroughfares such as New Cut Road, on local schools and on health and social services would be great. We shall continue to fight our, or rather your, corner. In parallel with this, we have done preparatory work for a possible neighbourhood plan for the parish; more of this anon.
At the same time the office has continued to deal with a flow of issues
ranging from local and national consultations to mundane matters such as maintenance of highway verges, ensuring that litter and dog-waste bins are emptied and salt bins re-filled (not that the latter was an onerous chore this past winter). Even though residents are now encouraged to report potholes, failed street-lamps and fallen trees direct to KCC Highways on their excellent interactive map, the office still becomes involved.
On the financial side, I am pleased to say I do not have to repeat last year’s doom and gloom. By careful management of our resources, your council ended the financial year within budget and has set a zero increase in the parish precept for 2014/15. At a time when everyone’s purse, including the council’s, is under pressure, I know this will be welcome news.
In the course of the year, we gave much- appreciated financial support to the Vinters Valley Nature Reserve, the Walderslade Woodlands Group and the newly-formed Friends of Boxley Warren, all of whom are doing excellent work in maintaining much-loved areas of Kent’s natural heritage on our doorsteps. We also contributed to the cost of a new local walks leaflet produced by Kent Wildlife Trust and the provision of a live video link to a kestrels’ nest (“kestrelcam” - not yet in use). We also opened a Community Chest to fund or part-fund suitable initiatives by local groups and organisations. Regrettably, despite publicity, the response to date has been poor.
The estates committee, chaired by Vic Davies, has responsibility for, among other things, the Weavering Diamond Jubilee Orchard and the purchase of land for much-needed allotments. Anyone who has visited the orchard recently must have been delighted by the spectacular amount of apple blossom. It promises a bumper crop in the autumn. Meanwhile this little piece of newly-created old Weavering, unexpectedly found just around the corner from Tesco, gives much enjoyment to residents.
The Dove Hill allotments (taking their name from the adjoining MBC-owned
woodland off Sandy Lane) are also proving a great success. Immense thanks are due to Bob Hinder, chair of the three-person working group, Pauline Bowdery and John Brooks, a local resident who has just received the first KALC Community Award in the parish. This time last year all we had was a steep hill-top sheep pasture accessed through a field gate and a vision stretching 80 years into the future. Now we have a good approach road, a rabbit- and vandal-proof fence, piped water and a compostable toilet. This would not have been possible without the help of the Royal Engineers and the Queen’s Own Gurkha Engineers who constructed the high-quality access road in partnership with us. It is impossible to say just how grateful we are to them, and also to the St Paul’s Scout Group, which allowed its nearby compound to be used for storage purposes.
The fortunes of Beechen Hall continue to improve although the pattern of bookings has noticeably changed in the face of the adverse financial climate. It remains a popular venue for all sorts of activities. This is the result of successful marketing by our assistant clerk, Melanie Fooks, and the dedicated work of the caretaker, Maggie Smith, and her assistants.
In conclusion, I have pleasure in welcoming aboard our (fairly) new councillor, Dennis Hollands (but there is now another vacancy in the South ward) and in thanking my vice- chairman Pat Brooks, committee chairmen and vice-chairmen and all other councillors for the tremendous help and support I have received throughout this busy year. Paul Dengate, with his IT expertise always readily given, deserves a special mention here. But it is for the parish clerk, Pauline Bowdery, and her staff that I reserve my special thanks: they do so much working for the better Boxley in which we all wish to live.
Ivor Davies. Chairman 12 May 2014
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