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barrier tape and hi-vis jackets). The council would then agree on a site for the box. Draft budget Itwas agreed to unanimously approve this with a few alterations. The clerk would calculate the precept required. Car park The clerkwas to contact the contractor TripleMand ask it to assess the situation regarding the movement of the stones/surface. The clerk would also contact Ashridge Trees as the 235 hedging plants hadn’t been taken and two oak trees had died. Bridge working party The group had been monitoring damage to the bridge and violations of the width restriction, andwas working with DHA Transport to findways of preventing inappropriate use. There had been recent damage to the bridge on the Barming side that the clerkwas asked to report to Kent Highway Services. Speed reduction Maidstone Cllr Paulina Stockell agreed to chase up the revised plans for speed reduction measures in the centre of the village and Lower Road and the white lines at the end of Forge Lane where it joins Dean Street, which needed moving further out. Recording meetings Legislation had been passed which allowed the filming, recording, blogging and tweeting of parish council meetings. Itwas agreed to adopt Maidstone Council’s protocol and to display this at all parish council meetings.
Headcorn
Village protest More than 150 residents and parish councillorswent to Maidstone Town Hall to present a petition with more than 500 signatures against the housing developments in the village. Speeding petition Residents, with the help of Cllr Bridget Dungey, raised a petition seeking a reduction in the speed limit from 50mph on the A274 between Mill Bank and Headcorn Business Park. Residentswere concerned that the growing number of incidents on this road would increase with the darker evenings and winter weather. The petition was presented to the Joint Transportation Board. Night lightingA trial of part night lighting was being carried out in Chaplin Drive. The feedback questionnaire would be sent to residents in early December. Emergency plan The council said it would be keen to hear from qualified first-aiders and chain saw operatives aswell as 4x4 owners who would be willing to be called on in an emergency. Anyone interested should email Cllr Lyn Selby on
lyn@selbyside.co.uk.
Hunton
Police report PCSO Alan Hunter was unable to aend the meeting but reported a garden shed burglary and the theft of solar panels.
Neighbourhoodwatch The group had had an unconfirmed report of a gas cylinder stolen from the football club and sightings of a naked male cyclist. Village hall footpath Cllr SteveWyles had updated the maintenance contract specification for the hedge and verges to include recommendations made at the last meeting. Itwas agreed to specify that a roadside cut should be made twice a year rather than once. The clerkwas to send the
46 Maidstone South December 2014
specification to contractors to seek a quote. Cllr David Heaton said the realistic cost of a strimmer to carry out interim maintenance work would be £400. Itwas agreed to budget £400. West Street County Cllr Paulina Stockell had signed off the purchase of further marker posts for the verge alongside the recreation field but no further update had been obtained despite requests to KCC. Bus stop KCC had been contacted regarding the bus stop at the junction of East Street andWest Street. An engineer had visited and concluded that itwas in the safest location but an area of hard standing would be created. Member said the bus stopwas at the beginning of a curve and childrenwalked around the front of the bus, which cars travelled around. They said a beer location would be the green opposite, which already had a bus shelter. A site meetingwas requested. SpeedWatch The teamwas beginning to get a fairly comprehensive view of driving paerns alongWest Street which showed that speedingwas more prevalent on weekdays at rush hour. Early indications showed that SpeedWatch might be beginning to have an impact. King George V playing field The drain had been put in the car park and resurfacingwas due to be carried out. The parish council agreed to fund it from its car park fund. The new signagewas also due to be erected. Play area No actionwas required on the monthly report and the annual report showed all low risk/monitoring required. The area had been strimmed and the trees overhanging the trim trail and near the football pitch had been cut back. Village hall Repairswere not quite finished. The pre-school had funding from KCC to replace the flooring in the toilet and hallway whichwas due to be done along with the work to the kitchen. The boiler needed repairing. The Hunton Gardening Group and pre-school parentswere to carry out some work outside and the hedges would be cut. Cricket pavilion The partnership funding in cash and in kind had been confirmed and three tenders had been received for the building work. The lowestwas from Passmores at £40,000. The groundworks were likely to cost £10,000-12,000 and invitations to quote had been sent out. Community orchard Hunton Engineering had fied an outside tap to assist in watering the wild flowers. School parking Cllr Heatonwas disappointed in the low number of parents using the car park and footpath to drop children off at school. Itwas agreed that the head should be contacted to arrange a meeting to discuss parking and other issues.
Langley
Community warden Dawn Riach-Brown said the footpath opposite “Sunshine”was overgrown and smelled unpleasant. It had been reported to Kent Highway Services. The CCTV had been removed from Heath Road as there had been no problems. LightingA resident in Grasslands expressed disappointment that the streetlights were being switched off overnight. Police report PCSO Pete Gardner reported
three crimes: two thefts from vehicles in Horseshoes Lane and the theft of a mobile phone. Antisocial behaviour had been very low. PCSO Gardner asked residents to report any suspicious vehicles. PCSO Richard Kirby had moved on from Langley. PCSO Gardner would stand in until PCSO RyanWaring could take up the role.
Ulcombe Road Itwas though a corner of Ulcombe Road crossroads had been damaged by gas workers.A lamp or street signwas bent and the grass vergewas now mud and needed turfing.
Loose
IT After a presentation from Maxine Hornby of Microshade VSM, itwas agreed that a one month free trial should be taken up and then for the maer to be re-visited. Neighbourhood planA report from the steering group requested £4,000 towards the next stage of the plan. The group felt it waswell supported by members of the public but cost, highlighted by other parishes, could be between £20,000 and £30,000 and the group hadn’t enough funds to take the plan to its conclusion. The request would be looked at during the council’s budget process. Crime report Thefts at the Leonard Gould site and the allotmentswere mentioned. Details of crimes reported during the monthwere read out by the chairman. Thesewere thefts at theWalnut Tree pub and in Carmans Close; criminal damage at Old Loose Hill; non-payment for fuel at the Shell garage. Itwas felt that up-to-date information should be made available by the PCSO whowas not in aendance. Dogs The monthly report from Loose Dog Walkers groupwas received. Group members acknowledged that the problem of people not picking up after their dogs had got worse at the King George V Playing Field. The group numbers had dwindled and members would try to drum up some help and enthusiasm and put a plan into place. SouthernWaterA report from Southern Water was circulated. Itwas strongly felt that affected residents should not have to put up with constant problems with the overflow of raw sewage from the Loose pumping station. Itwas also felt that SouthernWater should pay for a carbon filter to reduce the odours further, in view of the close proximity to Brickfield Coage, and that the company should make further investments at the plant. Phone box The clerk explained about the adoption of the red phone box on the village green which took place in 2008, although the phone equipment was not removed at the time. Loose Parish Council was alerted inAugust after a report of BT puing a notice up that the kiosk would be removed. It now appeared the adoption processwas not complete in 2008 as Maidstone Council did not confirm adoption by the parish council. The clerk had contacted BT and Maidstone Council and would keep members informed. Deputy clerk An advert for the new deputy clerk positionwas agreed.
Marden
Police report There had been three thefts from vehicles.A call had been received
Parish Councils
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