News | Sponsored parish council Boxley Parish Mail
CHAIRMAN: Ivor Davies CLERK: Pauline BowderyASST 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 fromthe parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website Where is our stolen Bambi?
PARISH councillors have launched an appeal for the return of a deer sculpture which was stolen from a nature reserve.
The wooden artwork quickly be-
came a popular landmark after being installed at Boxley Warren Local Nature Reserve on Pilgrims Way in June. The deerwas part of a larger artwork interpreting the ne- olithic history of the area. The proj- ect also included a bench and a carved hunter. The deer was much loved by
walkers and volunteers, but it dis- appeared in the Christmas period after thieves used a chainsaw to cut through the wooden base. Now Boxley Parish Council has
asked for help in tracking down the sculpture, which it suspects may be in a local home or garden.Wanted posters have been distributed and people have been asked to share the appeal online. Cllr Tony Harwood, chairman of
New PCSO
THE parish council is looking for- ward to welcoming Megan Day in her new role as PCSO for Boxley, Detling and Thurnham. Once she is able to work on her
own after completing a nine-week period of shadowing a senior col- league, she will be releasing her contact details to community or- ganisations and representatives. In the meantime, information can
be passed on to her through the parish office.
Scouts backed KENT Scouts, who are applying for lottery funding for improve- ments to their site at Grange Lane, Sandling have asked for a letter of endorsement from the parish coun- cil.
Members welcomed this oppor-
tunity to express support for the or- ganisation and acknowledge the work the Scouts are doing in the community.
Next meeting
MEMBERS of the public are wel- come to attend meetings of the parish council. The next full council meeting will be at Weavering Vil- lage Hall, Weavering Street at 7.30pm on Monday, March 2.
18 Maidstone East February 2015
the reserve’s management commit- tee said: “There have been so many positive things achieved at this lovely downland site and it is a real shame that this thoughtless action has caused so much local upset, es- pecially for the many children who regularly visit BoxleyWarren.” The site was transformed from a flytipping and car-dumping hotspot to an internationally signif- icant wildlife haven with the help of grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local organisations. Itwas declared a local nature reserve by Maidstone Council in 2007. Work included the restoration of
chalk grassland, propagation of rare native trees and shrubs and the re- introduction of woodland manage- ment. New ponds have been dug and natural artworks introduced.
But the committee has recently
been looking at ways of improving security after the entrance gates were damaged in road accidents and there have been complaints of off-road bikers illegally riding through the reserve and intimidat- ing volunteers. Boxley Parish Council said:
“More than a decade of hard work by volunteers and a range of local organisations have been soured by the theft and other recent acts of mindless vandalism within the re- serve.”
Anyone who knows where the sculpture is should contact Kent Po- lice, with crime reference number YY/552/15, or return the sculpture to the parish office at Beechen Hall, Wildfell Close, Walderslade. No questions asked.
Small rise in precept set
THE council has reluctantly agreed to a small rise in its pre- cept charge on residents, equat- ing to an average increase for each household of £1 per year . Last year the residents of Box-
ley paid an average of £25.94 cal- culated on band D properties – one of the lowest in the borough. Parish councillors agreed the budget for 2015/16 with a precept of £100,931, including local coun- cil tax support of £2,450. This sets the total precept at its 2013/14 level for a third year, but the parish has to make up for a re- duction in the local tax support
grant which Maidstone Council passes on from central govern- ment, and a shortfall of £6,000 in funding received from the bor- ough.
Chairman Ivor Davies said:
“This small increase is regretted but in the face of increasing costs and if we are to maintain, or bet- ter, the standards of service that our residents now expect, the council decided thiswas unfortu- nately necessary.” The parish council will be pub- lishing its budget on its website so that residents can see exactly how the money is spent.
Deep clean for Lidsing Road
A DEEP cleanse of a heavily-littered stretch of Lidsing Road will take place during proposed improvements around the entrance to Pilgrims Way at BoxleyWarren. Cllr Tony Harwood said the roadside had “a line of rubbish upon rub-
bish”. Recent problems including security and anti-social behaviour at the
local nature reserve were discussed at ameeting of its management committee attended by representatives of KCC, Maidstone and Boxley councils, police and other stakeholders and partners. Cllr Harwood said a number of improvements would include amore ro-
bust gate to replace the temporary one and that matters were now “moving apace”. He added: “This is a testament to the stakeholders.”
Power boost NEED extra support during a power cut? Customers of UK Power Networks who are depend- ent on medical equipment, chroni- cally ill, have a disability, are elderly or who have young babies can register with UK Power Net- works and will receive: A number that they can call 24/7 if they have a power cut Text message or phone updates Awelcome booklet Extra support from the British Red Cross during an emergency.
Going online THE parish council has agreed to set up internet banking. Following research by the parish’s finance and general pur- poses committee, a small group of councillors was appointed to work with the parish clerk to set up the parish’s general and Beechen Hall accounts online with the Unity Trust Bank.
Wildlife help CHAIRMAN Ivor Davies has no- tified members that he will be meeting the cost of kestrel boxes and insect houses at Dove Hill al- lotments and Beechen Hall from his Civic Allowance.
downsmail.co.uk
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