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Local plan The chairman of the the parish council had made representations to the independent examiner of the Maidstone Local Plan during a session on housing development in larger villages. Picnic tables The parish councilwas to seek the views of residents on the possible siting of picnic tables on the Huntington Road village green and a lier bin on the area of open space in Hanover Road. Dangerous parking The parish councilwas to take up the question of dangerous parking near the school with the headteacher, following complaints by residents. Christmas tree Refurbishment of the electrical inspection pit next to Holy Trinity Church had taken place to improve the connections for the Christmas tree. Lier pick The possibility of recruiting volunteers to pick lier around the village on a regular basis would be discussed. Dog waste Maidstone Councilwas embarking on a programme of replacing some dogwaste bins with multi-purpose bins in the same locations. Lier bin The parish council would replace the lier bin in the brick bus shelter in Heath Road.


Langley


Community warden Dawn Riach Brown said she had been involved withwelfare checks and had helped with the issuance of posters regarding fly-tipping problems in Grasslands. Police report Five crimes had been reported in the month before the meeting. Community RehabilitationA leer had been receivedfrom the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation programme offering help in providing help with grounds maintenance and lier- picking etc. Itwas decided to contact them to follow this up. Play area The monthly inspection report from Maidstone Borough Councilwas noted, with the air skier being marked for urgent aention. The clerk had arranged for repair by Fresh Air Fitness at their earliest opportunity. Football posts The football club would be removing the new posts when not in use but had agreed to erect one of the old posts in another part of the playing field for general public use.


Loose


Ducks Communitywarden Liz Lova reported on the killing of ducks at Brooks Field pond and that the people using catapultswere unfortunately not traced. She also mentioned that installing CCTV may be a problem due to there being no street lighting. Borough Cllr Sue Grigg spoke about the incident and also about stones being thrown at pigeons. She had pursued the possibility of installing CCTV though KCC and Maidstone Council. Itwas understood that Loose Amenities Association supported the idea and would help with funding.Aresidentwas happy to have a camera on his house and would pay up to to 50% of the cost. Busbridge Road The erosion of the roadwas discussed and the maer of reflective bollards which had fallen down the bank


46 Maidstone Weald December 2016


due to there not being any road vergeo. FireAfire in Gordon Court and problems with fire services regarding no road name and accesswas reported. BushesAresident said overgrown bushes in Brooks Fieldwere affecting light in their property. This would be discussed by the environment commiee. Pavilion project The chairman thanked all councillors who took part in the public open day. Maers raised on the planswere in some cases vehemently challenged. Itwas agreed to withdraw the planning application and this decisionwas ratified. Terms of reference would be prepared for a new commiee to take the project forward. Resignations Cllr Irene Songhurstwas stepping down from the council. Shewas thanked for her sterling work and for taking on the challenging role of chairman to the LPC McAlpine Trust. Cllr Gordon Bernard also confirmed that he would be resigning from the parish council on March 31, 2017, as he would be moving out of the parish. The need to recruit new councillors and try a new approachwas discussed. Fete The fete had made more money than in previous years and there had been good feedback from the public. The dog showwas very popular. However, therewas uncertainty whether the events commiee would continue in view of the lack of people available to organise further events.


Marden


Police briefing Two crimes had been reported since the last meeting – both criminal damage.A CCTV camera had been installed in the Maynards. Warden’s report Communitywarden Mira Martinwas due to aend a meeting about youth services andwanted to push for more outreach workers in the village. Highways Details of the proposal for speed restrictions in Chainhurst had been passed on to residents. Two members of the public said that residentswere pleased that somethingwas being done, but itwas felt that some of the problem areaswere at either end of the hamlet and therefore not included in the proposal. Vehicles would speed up again once out of the limit therefore the speeding issue would be exacerbated on this stretch. Therewere a lot of dogwalkers, residents, farm traffic and additional traffic from the barn conversions at Reed Court Farm and ideally would like to see the proposed restriction moved to between the Chainhurst sign and 6 Reed Court Farm Coage. Councillors agreed to support the changes but expressed concern over the enforcement. The clerkwas asked to respond to Kent Highways recommending the amendment on the grounds of the larger density of properties to the north, being within the village sign, properties were on both sides of Hunton Road in this location and the envisaged danger of speeding traffic on the brow of the hill. If thiswent ahead, residents would be encouraged to train up for Speedwatch. Cockpit Following a phone conversation between Helen Grant MP andWilliam Cornall (MBC), a leer had been sent to the parish council stating that the Cockpit play area would remain in place in the medium term. MBC would also fund remedial work of £2,500. The clerkwas asked to write to thank Mrs Grant and MBC.


Stanley Farms Millwood had indicated agreement that the street names for the development would be wild flowers. Fingerpost The clerk would contact Kent Highways to repair the barrier at Howland Road junction before any work could be undertaken on the fingerpost and to ask whether Kent Highways would agree to erect temporary barriers or signage for both the Howland Road and High Street junction posts. Kent Men of Trees Unfortunately, Marden was not judged to be a winning village this year.


ChristmasA discussion took place whether to hold the Christmas drinks in a different location after the December parish council meeting. However, it was agreed to keep it as previous years and hold it at The Allens. New mower The new mower needed to be DVLA registered to take to the road.A payment of £55was agreed.A buyer had come forward for the old mower and itwas agreed to accept £700. Amenities commiee Changing rooms had been vandalised again but the CCTV was due to be installed the followingweek and the repairs would be done after this. Tree work at the playing field would be done next month. Cemetery fees and rules and regulations had been revised and Cllr Newton would reproduce them into a booklet. The roof repairs to the toilets had been done. BusesA resident had asked if the parish council could put pressure on Nu-Venture/ KCC for additional bus services to the village. Councillors noted the concerns and if the opportunity arose for extra services they would discuss in more detail.


Nelestead


KGV field Cllr Anita Van Hensbergen said that the King George V Field looked nice. Three councillors had met Mr Smith regarding the football goals and the continuing problem of footballs going into his garden. One optionwas to move the goals. Cllr Van Hensbergen proposed that the parish council meet Mr Smith halfway with the cost of moving the goals but this was not seconded. Itwas resolved to discuss this again in the next financial year. Highways The clerk had received three quotes for the removal of the trees along the Maidstone Road. These quotes varied and not all optionswere the same. The clerkwas asked to seek the quotes again, requesting them all to quote for the same thing which would be pollarding the ash tree and maple tree. Parking CllrWatson spoke on parking problems in Bishops Close.A meeting had been arranged with Maidstone Council but KCC had not been forthcoming. Itwas agreed to approach KCC Cllr Paulina Stockell. Stiles Cllr Jackie Benne had spoken with the public rights ofway office about the possible replacement of the stiles on the GreensandWay. Shewas told that stiles would only be replaced if they were damaged.


Staplehurst


Bell Lane hedgeA proposal to seek quotations for the cuing of a hedge at Bell Lanewas discussed. Cllr Peter Spearink said he would like to see the cuing of the


Parish Councils


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