Parish Councils
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The Cut Cllr Carr outlined two possible options for The Cut, between Dunn Street Road and Forge Lane. One was a traffic regulation order which would make the road one way, the other was a stopping up order, which would close the road except for access. It was agreed to consult residents in the road and publicise the options, asking for comments. Playing field No decision could be made about the renewal of the lease as the council was still waiting for plans from Savills about concerns they raised about access to the field, boundaries and the church shop. The clerk reported that the parish council had spent more than £15,500 on the field in the last five years. Play area A hall hirer asked why the parish council had asked for the gate from the toddlers’ play area to be removed and for screening to be erected behind the hall. She was advised that these issues had been raised by Savills and not the council, and that she should speak to the village hall committee about her concerns. Gateway sign The Area of Ooutstanding Natural Beauty sign had been damaged in an accident. The person responsible had been contacted in order to claim on their insurance. Drain clearance A resident was thanked for providing machinery to clear the culvert in The Street. The culvert on the other side belonged to KCC, which was planning to clear it. Grass cutting It was agreed that it was not viable for the parish council to manage this work. It was agreed to monitor the contractor’s work and contact KCC if any issues were evident.
Broomfield and Kingswood
Parish handyman The clerk introduced Bill Spours who is handyman for Sutton Valence and East Sutton and was recommended by their clerk. He provided a copy of his public liability insurance but was asked if he could increase the cover to £5m. Councillors agreed to ask Mr Spours to take on the work. Borough report The clerk had contacted borough ward Cllr Fort following an announcement by MBC that it is making changes to the planning application process, whereby paper copies will not be provided from March. Cllr Fort reported residents’ concerns after a number of traffic issues in Broomfield and Kingswood when Leeds road is closed and drivers are using alternatives rather than sitting in static traffic. The Planning Inspector, when reviewing the Local Plan, didn’t think there would be funding in the short term for a Leeds/Langley relief road but the proposed development to the south and east of Maidstone could still go ahead. Cllr Fort has been in discussion with KCC, the highways authority and County Cllr Gary Cooke, who is championing a relief road, was happy to arrange a meeting with the parishes affected to update them. Councillors confirmed that they would like to send a representative to this meeting. Junction 8 The planning application for warehousing had been appealed. Cllr Fort had previously objected to this application and would continue to do so
as the appeal process progressed. Fly-tipping There had been a marked increase in fly-tipping in the area. It could be reported via MBC’s website. However, anyone who experienced delays was urged to let Cllr Fort know and she would take it up. Policing PCSO John Boyd was introduced to councillors and welcomed as the new PCSO for the area, following the resignation of PCSO Tom Maybank. Reported crimes included: Gravelly Bottom Rd, theft of statue from front garden; Charlesford Avenue, damage to vehicle. There was also a road accident in Pitt Road, a stray dog was found down Chegworth Road; two reports of nuisance youths knocking over bins and a report of nuisance youths firing catapults. NeighbourhoodWatch had received reports of youths with catapults causing criminal damage which was reported to the police on 101. Kent Police advised people to ring 999 if there were further sightings of persons with catapults, which are considered to be deadly weapons. Parking There had been a lot of complaints of vehicles parking on footpaths, parking on junctions, especially around the school and parking across dropped kerbs. PCSO Boyd advised he would leaflet vehicles that he considered could be causing obstructions and liaise with the school. Finances It was agreed to ask Lionel Robbins to carry out the internal audit for 2017. Councillors agreed to apply for a credit card facility in line with financial regulations for the clerk’s use as necessary. There would be a limit of £500. Budget MBC had confirmed the parish’s precept application of £55,500 and advised that the Band D Council tax for this parish for 2017/18 would be £78.03 Following lobbying of MBC after the reduction in the parish service scheme for 2017/18, an increase of £500 had been agreed. Lenham Road Councillors confirmed the decision of the parish council in 2015 that it did not support the implementation of a speed restriction along the Lenham Road toWents crossroads, but that alternate road traffic calming measures should be considered. Emergency road closures Susan Laporte, district manager, KCC Highways, had said she would welcome the opportunity to attend a parish meeting to discuss options to prevent traffic chaos when local roads had to be closed. Councillors asked the clerk to arrange a date with Ms Laporte. Road gritting Following changes after an optimisation exercise carried out by KCC Highways, Kingswood would not be automatically gritted as it was now classed as a secondary route. However, should there be a snow emergency or the likelihood of ice, the roads would be gritted.
Neighbourhood Plan The clerk had previously circulated correspondence from DWF regarding an insurance claim. The solicitor had advised that the claim was unlikely to succeed. Councillors concluded that it would not be in the interest of the parish and agreed unanimously to not pursue the claim any further. The clerk would notify DWF. Pre-school premises Cllr Friend advised
councillors that due to the government policy of increasing childcare funding for working parents, there was a need for the pre-school to be able to offer whole days of childcare. The village hall could not supply the needed availability as it would be to the detriment of other clubs and societies, therefore they would need to look for alternative premises. Councillors suggested that the pre-school should approach the village hall committee and/or the Scout group, and the council would offer support if needed. Dog fouling The clerk was receiving an increased number of complaints from residents in Kingswood about dog fouling on the footpaths around the village. She had contacted both MBC and KCC. MBC had put up posters and would be returning to carry out stencilling of the pavements. The clerk would include another article in the parish news. Both subjects were bought to the attention of PCSO Boyd Dog waste Despite requests, the co- mingle bins that were due to replace the dog waste bins had not been installed. There was a noticeable increase in dog fouling in the sports field. The shopkeeper had told the clerk that he was having to remove his bins from outside the shop as people were dumping dog waste in and around them. Sports field StevenWaring would be asked to continue to maintain the sports field. In addition, it was agreed that he should increase the ratio of fertiliser, as suggested, to maintain the quality of the grass due to the increased use being experienced. StevenWaring was also to be asked to ask for the annual maintenance of the hedge to be included on the maintenance schedule for 2017/18 and to cut the grass verges around the village as per his quotes. Cllr Friend told councillors that during the recent half-term break the sports field was very busy. Parish office provision The clerk had written to the village hall committee as requested at the November meeting but had never received an acknowledgement. Subsequent enquiries had revealed that the village hall would not be able to allow the parish council to add to the village hall buildings as it is governed by the Charities Commission and this would be against regulations Resignation Cllr Darling informed councillors of his resignation due to family commitments. It was agreed that vice-chairman Tina Clark would take over the chair until the annual parish meeting in May. Cllr Davies agreed to take over the weekly inspections of the sports field until then.
Detling
Resignation Cllr Kennard spoke about the resignation of parish councillor and chairman Mark Housden and thanked him for his work. She asked for nominations for the role of chairman and offered to take his role until the annual meeting in May 2017. Cllr Bowie was then elected chairman. Trees Cllr Evernden had inspected the site in the Old School Playing Field and three trees had been taken down but to date no trees had been planted to replace them. The nearby yew tree had 54
Maidstone East April 2017 43
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