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Sponsored parish council | News 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 from the parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website
Verge could be reserve
A VERGE on the outskirts of Box- ley village could become a roadside nature reserve. Parish councillors have backed a suggestion from Kent Wildlife Trust that the roadside along Box- ley Road and over the rail tunnel should be so designated. The verge supports chalk grassland species including wild orchids and the trust recommends it should not be cut during the summer, to allow plants to flower and set seed. Kent Highway Services and CTRL are being consulted. If the designation is agreed, posts
and signs could be erected this autumn. Cllr Tony Harwood has volunteered to act aswarden.
Hidden signs THEMilestone Society(
www.mile-
stonesociety.co.uk) has asked parish councils to help identify his- toric milestones such as the one in Sandling. The society aims to conserve and protect milestones and waymark- ers and would appreciate help in tracing them. The Sandling mile- stone stands on what was once the main road between Rochester (five miles away) and Maidstone (two miles) and gives the distance to each town. The parish council is asking resi-
dents to report any milestones or waymarkers in or near the parish to the parish office. These could be hidden in hedgerows or overgrown verges. Photographs and a descrip- tionwould be helpful.
Growing fears CONCERN has been raised about overgrown vegetation in the parish which is considered to be much worse than at the same time in many previous years, doubtless be- cause of the mild winter and early spring. Cllr Wendy Hinder has asked Maidstone Council if any addi- tionalwork is planned for the over- grown shrub borders. A reply is awaited.
Environment committee mem-
bers have agreed to identify areas they feel are not being adequately maintained for a report to be con- sidered at their next meeting.
20 Maidstone East July 2014
Walkers’ history lesson on tour of theWarren
MORE than 50 people enjoyed a theatrical tour of Boxley Warren when they joined the final event in thework to protect and enhance the site. The Lottery Heritage-funded
tour of the woods and downland, now cared for by volunteers, was accompanied by characters from the past who brought alive the his- tory of the area with songs, poems and tales. This part of the Kent Downs and Pilgrims Way has an intricate past going back to the earliest times. A new chapter has now been added with interpretation boards, a spe- cially-created viewpoint and a ded- icated volunteer group to keep areas cleared to encourage the great diversity of plants and wildlife to be found locally. If you are interested in volun- teering to help preserve this her-
Walkers learn about the history of BoxleyWarren
itage, please contact the Friends of Boxley Warren on their Facebook page or contact the parish office.
Planning documents moved to the website
MAIDSTONE Borough Council is to stop supplying paper plans to parishes. All plans will now be solely accessible on the MBC website and responses will similarly have to be made electronically. Chairman of the parish coun-
cil Ivor Davies said: “Residents with no computer or slow broadband will be at a severe disadvantage, but the general move on to the internet is a fact of modern life and there are sub- stantial cost savings to Maid- stone Council and thus to us.” To ensure its residents are not excluded from democratic con- sultation, the parish council is making a computer available to
view plans and respond to con- sultations. Residents with lim- ited computer skills will be assisted by office staff and also helped to find free computer courses if required. Some minor details have yet
to be worked out, but any inter- ested resident is welcome to book an appointment to use the computer. While it may be possible to
help someone who just happens to be passing, such notice will ensure everything is ready. Please note the computer may not be used for any other per- sonal business, privacy cannot be guaranteed and there will be time restrictions on use.
Neighbourhood development plan THE deadline for comments on the neighbourhood development plan has been put back to July 20. For more information, see the website and last month’s Downs Mail or
www.downsmail.co.uk.
Did you miss it?
Boxley Parish Council is now on Face- book, which it uses to alert residents of events and other issues that af- fect the parish
Night lighting
STREET lights on many residential roads in the parish will shortly be turned off between midnight and 5.30am on a semi-permanent basis. As this may make properties harder to find, anyone who has to ring for an ambulance between these times is recommended to turn on all internal and external house lights so that the crew can recog- nise the house they need.
Parish precept OBSERVANT residents will have noticed that, although the parish council agreed to maintain the 2014/15 precept at the same level as last year, the tax demand shows a 6% reduction. This was due to an administrative error and may result in a larger precept requirement next year.
Parking issues
BOLLARDS to prevent inconsider- ate parking on verges near San- dling Village Hall may not now be needed as the problem appears to have ceased. The area will continue to be monitored.
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