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were roing. Itwas recommended that it was replaced with sleepers. CllrWarne asked if therewas any guarantee. The site manager asked for permission to spend £2,200 on the project if no guarantee option was available. Thiswas approved. Cllr Warne suggested signs be placedwarning of danger of the slope at the slide. Thiswas approved. The site manager asked for a village hall sign with a noticeboard at the entrance to the Lile Market Row area. The clerk and site manager would speak to the land owner and Highways to see if thiswas possible. Hall bookings Friday bookings had not taken off so itwas suggested that prices are brought in line with theweek rate rather thanweekend rate. The price differencewas £1.50 per hour and minimum bookingwas three hours. The suggestionwas agreed.


Oam


Blaise Farm Concerns about blasting and a potential application to increase the blast sizewere discussed. Residents experiencing problems should contact the planning officer at KCC,


jim.wooldridge@kent.gov.uk. The parish council would strongly object to any application to increase the size of the blasts. Speed device Cllr Hohler had agreed to fund a speed indicator device at thewestern village gateway andwas thanked for this. Enhancement scheme The work to the environmental enhancement scheme would start on May 30. The first stage, channelling, would take about 16weeks. Lorries Members heard about a campaign to force lorry drivers to use sat navs for lorries, which would indicate roads that were too narrow or which had low bridges, rather than car sat navs. BroadbandAnew cabinet had been installed in the village and when the fibre was connected it should improve broadband speeds for residents. Potholes Any problems on the road should be reported to www.kent.gov.uk/roads- and-travel/report-a-problem. Dates The annual parish meeting would be on April 4 and theOamSocietywas planning a jazz event in Cosgrave Field on June 18.


Ryarsh


School hall plan Ryarsh Primary School submied a planning application for the demolition of an air raid shelter and the construction of a brick and block hall with storage. Councillors did not think the amendments made changed their previous objections. Itwas agreed that the ceiling height should be lowered or the hall relocated. Councillors believe the shelter is of sentimental value and part of the heritage of the village and should be retained. Water leak Therewas a leak by the gravel bin below Moonfield whichwas running down the Street. The clerkwas asked to report this. Householdwaste Thewaste service collectionswere being reduced to half an hour only. The service is fully used in the village and in the summer residents have to queue to get to the lorry. The clerkwas asked to notify TMBC of its objections. Streetlights The light on Sandy Lanewas still on all day. The clerkwas asked to report this again.


Dog messAcomplaint had been received about dog mess in the gardens backing onto the recreation ground. Itwas noted there were ongoing problems on pavements and particularly in Old School Lane. However, councillors did not believe residents of the houses backing on to the recreation ground were to blame. Councillors had approached dogwalkers and parents of children playing football who had dogs with them. Itwas agreed to install another dog poo bin by the noticeboard. Trees Therewere a number of trees on the border of the brickworks site and Old School Lane. Redrow said they would not remove them but it looked as if theywere likely to fell them. The clerkwas asked to contact Redrow to establish their intentions. Play area Sovereign had said the new surface could be installed over the existing surface to save cost. Applications for funding should be made. Itwas agreed to go ahead with stage one of the work and apply for funding to help pay for this and the cost of stage two. Budget The councilwas losing £4,637 of funding from TMBC through the council tax support grant and scheme of financial arrangements to parish councils. Itwas agreed to raise the precept for 2017/18 by the exact amount of the funding lost – a precept request of £18,926. The council hopes to reduce this next year when the play area project is complete and the Brickworks site is more fully occupied.


Troiscliffe


Crime report Horse blankets had been stolen from a field in Church Road, Addington. County councillor report Cllr Sarah Hohler said a sign for the schoolwas being discussed with KCC Highways. HGVs cuing through the village continued to be a problem. Community spirit Cllr RichardWallis said members of local organisations and residents had met to discuss how to enhance community spirit in the village. There will be further meetings to discuss ideas. Grass cuing Members agreed to accept a quote of £3,785.94 from Four Seasons Gardens Ltd for grass-cuing and hedge- cuing in 2017/18. Budget Members felt an increase in the preceptwas necessary as TMBC had withdrawn the S136 grant and the council tax support grant. Itwas agreed that the precept for 2017/18 should be £16,500. Any shortfall would be met from reserves. BroadbandAresident has askedMPTom Tugendhat for help in geing improved broadband speeds in the village. Members agreed they would be happy to lobby for action to be taken. Trosley Court Residentswere planning to reconfigure the gates and provide a second gateway for people using the footpaths and bridleways.Asign would need to be moved. The residents believe they own the land that the sign, owned by the parish council, is on. The clerkwas asked to reply that the council does not have a problem with the sign being moved, but believes that the land is owned by the church. Residents should also check the proposal with the PROW officer. Faults reported The clerkwas to report that the pavement from Church Road to


Bramble Park needed clearing and that a signwas missing on Taylors Lane. The speed hump outside The Nurserywas disintegrating. Playground Four Seasons had completed the turf and levelling of the areas around the play equipment.The clerkwas asked to find out if Toc Bhogal could repair the playground gate. Allotment fencing Four Seasons had installed the chestnut fencing on the boundary with Darren’s Meadow.Aquote for an extra standpipewas being sought. Village hall fence The clerkwas asked to get quotes for the fencing between the hall and thewest car park. Cedar Bungalow Therewas concern about the change of status for the site at Cedar Bungalow whichwas put forward in the Call for Sites last year. The status had been changed to suitable and deliverable. Borough Cllr Ann Kemp suggested that the parish council raised its concerns with TMBC.


Wateringbury


Resignation The resignation of David Markswas announced and a leer of thanks would be sent to him on behalf of the council. Computer equipment The clerk preferred to use her own computer equipment and the use of iCloud would be investigated. Cllr Evans said he had pointed out that a laptop could be bought at a reasonable price and asked why this decision had not been taken. The chairman asked Cllr Evans if he wished to propose that the council should buy a computer. Cllr Evans proposed this, it was not seconded and not carried. Cllr Evans then said he resigned from the council and left the meeting. Play equipment Memberswere not happy with the play equipment inspections by RSS and asked that inquiries be made about other inspectors. GardensAn email from KCC stated that from 2017 it would reduce payment to the parish council covering maintenance of the crossroad gardens and the corner of Canon Lane from £355 to £60.93 per year. Itwas agreed that the council could not subsidise this and itwas agreed to hand these areas back to the county council. Bollard The problem of vehicles mounting the pavement to get round vehicleswaiting to turn right down Bow Roadwas discussed and the installation of a bollardwas suggested. Villagewarden John Ibbs said he did look at the play equipment regularly and if there was a problem it would be reported to the clerk. Dog foulingwas still a problem but had improved slightly. He asked that residents contact him if they saw anything untowards or came across a lot of lier. MichaelWilliams asked that the council consider seeking a volunteer lierwarden. John said the sports association organised lier picks with equipment supplied by TMBC. Road marking Itwas suggested by a member of the public that the council ask Kent Highways to look at some form of road marking showing vehicles where to wait before turning right down Bow Road. Fingerpost MrWilliams asked when the fingerpost at the crossroads would be refurbished. This would be followed up.


Malling March 2017 35


Parish Councils


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