downsmail.co.uk Boughton Monchelsea
Crime report PCSO Richard Kirby reported that there had been five incidents of the, one of burglary and three incidents of criminal damage. Eight of these incidentswere in southward and one in northward. Warden’s reportWarden Liz Lova said that residents in northward had been experiencing motorbike nuisance on a short stretch of footpath next to 9 Firmin Avenue. Itwas agreed that the clerk should contact Kent Highways about this with a request for motorbike access to be prevented. Furfield Park Cllr KirstieWilliams spoke about the management contract between Furfield Park homeowners andOM Property Management. Residents pay between £300 and £500 per year for external maintenancework. CllrWilliams said she and Cllr Michelle Slater had aended a meeting between homeowners and OM. Residentswere unhappy with what they saidwas a poor level of service. OMhad threatened legal action regarding non-payment of fees, despite no aempts byOMto resolve the problems. Some residents appeared to have negotiated discounted fees due to the issues, and it was felt that itwas unfair to apply this to some and not others. Some residents said they had been charged for electricity to outside lighting that did not exist. Peter Thomas, of OM, said the issueswould be discussed at director level and a leer sent to residents within twoweeks. Fee accountswere on hold and no further legal action leerswould be sent out, and the issue of discounted rateswas under discussion. Lighting had been shown on a drawing of the development and therefore mistakenly charged to some residents, but had now been credited to the accounts. It was noted that OM’swork had been sub- standard – grass had not been cut regularly, dead trees and plantswere not replaced and there was an air of untidiness. Several residents had CCJs against them due to OM’s legal action. Play area Kompan had been selected as the preferred supplier forwork on the Church Street play area. Following consultation with residents the design had been changed slightly. The clerk said that although the village hall and recreation ground commieewere contributing £25,000 to the cost of the work, this money was locked in a bond andwould not be available until June 2015. CllrWilliams proposed that the parish council pay this sum from its own funds pending reimbursement in 2015. Thiswas agreed. Langley ParkAnumber of ideas for street nameswere suggested, such asWorldWar I bale names, diamond jubilee related names and names of apple varieties.Avote was taken and it was agreed that apple names should be put forward as the parish council’s suggestion. Following the meeting itwas noted that apple names had been used extensively in the Maidstone area, so it was agreed to put forward the surnames of parishioners who lost their lives inWorldWar I. Thiswas accepted by developers. Village hall The village hall commiee had not agreed to renaming the village hall Boughton Monchelsea village memorial hall.
Radios The parish council had been given
handheld radios for use in emergencies. It was agreed that Cllr Munford should buy a secure cabinet for the storage of the radios and other items. Parkwood Farm reservoir Cllr Peter Herrin saidwater levelswere now back to normal. He said £10-15,000would probably need to be spent to prevent seepage through the damwalls – hewas obtaining quotes for thiswork. He said the Environment Agency should be helping with funding for this type ofwork. Lier pick Karen Filmer had said she would be standing down as lier pick co- ordinator and members thanked her for herwork. Cllr Sara Evans agreed to take over the role. War Memorial Cllr Bill Brown reported that itwould cost about £2,000 for a resin memorial plaque with ragstone surround. Cllr Doug Smith said he had obtained a competitive quote for a bronze plaque.A decisionwas deferred until the next meeting.
Broomsfield and
Kingswood New councillor Patrik Garten was co- opted to the vacancy on the parish council. Stepping down Borough Cllr Peter Parvin announced his intention to step down at the next election in May 2015 and reported there were already three candidates intending to contest the Leedsward. Fete The clerk advised that the village hall did not require a donation but would be pleased to receive the £34 made from the competition to guess the sweets in the jar. Planning Residents continued to report to the clerk the concerns over Maidstone Council’s handling of complaints lodged about breach of building regulations and out-of-hours service. Cllr Parvin had agreed to make further enquiries. The clerk had received further updates regarding the changes to the planning system at Maidstone Council and the difficulties that had been experienced. Itwas hoped that all teething problems had now been resolved. ApplicationAre-submission of MA/13/1536, erection of two detached six- bedroom houses and ancillary building, had been received by Maidstone Council but it appeared that the parish councilwas not invited to make a consultation. The clerkwas asked to contact the the planning officer concerned and request the opportunity to comment on the application. Sports field The annual safety inspection had been received and there were several areas that required a
ention.Aquote had been received from Playdale for the remedialwork for £1,690.76 plus VAT, of which £480 plus VATwas installation costs. Councillors discussed thework required and asked the clerk to obtain a re-quote for replacement posts, ropes and sanding work. Therewere several low risk areas of concern at the Levercrest play area. Councillors discussed and asked the clerk to ask for a re-quote for the removal of the equipment, rubber tiles and fencing. Bin The price of the bin agreed for purchase at the last meeting had increased by £120. Councillors agreed to an alternative supplier. Rubbish Cllr Mike Lovell had expressed concern over the increased volume of rubbish he has had to deal with at the
sports field. The clerkwas asked to make enquiries about additionalwaste bins to be supplied to Cllr Lovell and/or thewaste removal service. Handyman Mark Reynolds had carried out many of the minor repairs requested at the sports field. Itwas resolved that the clerk should deal with the minor details of maintenance in the parish without the need towait for the monthly council meeting. Pensioners outing The pensioners’ outing to the Bluebell Railwaywas fraught with difficulties this year due to the coach breaking down short of its destination. The vast majority of peoplewere able to catch local public transport to East Grinstead where they were able to meet the train at the halfway point and still enjoy their cream teas. While the clerk had received one leer of thanks, the pointwas made once again that itwas felt a member of the parish council should aend. Itwas agreed to return deposits to those who had to cancel their participation, due to health reasons. Website Councillors agreed to a request from IT services at KCC to use the parish website as an example for other parish sites.
Facebook Itwas decided not to include a Facebook page on thewebsite as there would be no control of items included. Training Itwas agreed to host a councillor training evening at the village hall on October 20. Other parish councils had expressed an interest. Path Despite all the personal statements completed by local people who had used a path from Lenham Road towards Ulcombe, the public rights ofway officer found there was not enough evidence to require it to be included on the definitive map. Cllr Garten would review the decision and recommend whether the parish council should appeal. MilestoneAleer had been received from the Milestone Society asking if the parish councilwould like to become involved in restoring a milestone in the parish. Crop spraying The clerk received a phone call from farmer Guy Eckersley aer reports to the parish council of crop spraying that had been carried out on Leeds Castle farmland that had affected people and gardens that backed onto the land. The farmerwould be writing to the council in due course. Well blessing The roadsidewell at Broomfieldwas in its annual finery for St Margaret’s patronal festival. Songswere led with gusto at thewell and the church by the Rev Nigel Fry and the children, many of whom had brought their own flower baskets which they had made that morning, joined in. Thankswent to Peter Roberts for the guitar accompaniment and especially to Derek Hadlow for his vision of the outbreak ofWorldWar I, also to the Poultons for helping with the flowers and with a lovely field of “poppies in Picardy”.
Chart Suon
Mobile home plan An application had been submied to Maidstone Council for the siting of a mobile home and a touring caravan along with a toilet block, stables and a septic tank on land east of Green Lane. The parish council recommended that the application be refused for several reasons. The applicationwas said to be incomplete as it did not
46 Maidstone South April 2014 37
Parish Councils
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