downsmail.co.uk BoughtonMalherbe
Cash donation The council had been given £100,000 byQuinn Estates Ltd. It is part of a section 106 agreement for theGraftyGreen Garden Centre Redevelopment site. Originally, £50,000was to be used towards bringing fibre-optic broadband to the village, butwhen itwas discovered BT Openreachwere already bringing that to the area, thewhole amount has nowgone to the council. Grit Bin The council decided towait for the KCC decision regarding their application for a grit bin on BoughtonHill before purchasing one directly. Traffic survey Furthermeetingswith Pla�s Heath and KCCHighwayswould be carried out before the council decidedwhether to commission a traffic study. Highways and footwaysAmeetingwas scheduledwith KCCHighways to discuss issues including LivertonHill, ditches, gullies and potholes andHGV signage. TheMeadows Councillors agreed in principle that theywould contribute to the cost of a barristerwith neighbouring parishes, subject to further information about cost and quality. Signpost Interest fromthe PostOffice to place a sign on the village greenwas noted, andwould be supported subject to proposals coming forward and it not being a�ached to the village sign.
Broomfield&Kingswood
Councillor co-option Therewere no requests for an election afterMike Lovell's resignation.MichaelDarling declared an interest in being co-opted to the council. The necessary paperworkwas completed and CllrDarlingwaswelcomed and invited to join themeeting. VillageHallNothing further had been received fromKCCwith regard to newroad markings and/or a zebra crossing outside the village hall. Sports FieldMembers of the sports field commi�ee recommended the installation of aMulti-UseGamesArea (MUGA),which was approved by
councillors.Match funding to £10,000was agreed at aHeritage, Culture and Leisure Commi�eemeeting inOctober, butMBCwould not advicewhen thiswould be available for application. Community Centre Itwas agreed to forma commi�eewith delegated responsibility to discuss issues such as the pre-school extension and parish council office.
Detling
Hockers LaneAresident raised concerns about vehicles parking at the bo�omof Hockers Lanewhichwas causing an obstruction to two-way traffic. Itwas agreed to raise the issuewith Cllr Shellina Prendergast to see if she could assist. Resignation CllrGeoff Cosgrove had resigned fromthe council as he hadmoved fromthe parish. The clerk had placed the first notice on the parish noticeboard as per the statutory requirements. Car parking Itwas reported that the PCSO was due to enforce the illegal parking in the bus stop in The Street. HorishWood The clerk had circulated details of the KentWoodland Employment
30 Maidstone East January 2018
Scheme contract and themanagement plan. Itwas agreed that an informalmeeting be arrangedwith KWES atHorishWood to discuss thework. Playing field The chairman confirmed that planning permissionwas not required to have play equipment installed at theOld School Playing field, so the council could nowseek quotations for the newequipment. Cllr Zammitwas to progress this and liaise with the clerk regarding the quotations. Environment Cllr Bowie said that during a planning sitemeeting the level of smoke pollutionwas noticeable, and she suggested that the parish councilmaywish to consider installing its own environmentalmonitoring equipment. Itwas suggested that this be installed in January 2018 for a six-month period, so the chairmanwas to seek the cost of this. Restricted access Cllr Bowie said that evidence needed to be collated to establish whether the enforcement of the restricted access through the village had been a success. Cllr Clayton felt there had been an effect on the traffic. Itwas agreed that the signagewould still need to be reviewed at some point,which Cllr Bowie saidwould cost in the region of £500. Cllr Clayton also suggested an electronic sign be considered towarn drivers of their speed. Grass cu�ing CllrHowells had a�ended the KCCHighways seminar and reported that the urban grass cu�ing schedulewould be reduced fromeight cuts a year to six. Drains CllrHowells also reported that road side drain clearancewould be prioritised to Aroads and key routes. Itwas reported that drains in the villagewere blocked by vegetation,which the clerkwas to report to KCC. Maintenance Tony Taylor updated councillors on hismaintenancework. The village sign needed painting and hewould undertake this,while itwas also reported that Jade’s Crossing needed sweeping of fallen leaves. The clerkwas to report that to KentHighways. Fly tipping Cllr Zammit said therewas a problemwith fly tipping in all parishes and suggested that the parish council consider a prevention plan. Therewould be a cost to this. CllrHowells spoke about the County Eye scheme,which has an app that can allowfly tipping to be reported. Cllr Zammit agreed to promote thiswithin the parish, while itwas also suggested that CCTV be put in hotspot areas and thiswould be raisedwith borough councillorNick de Winggondene. Community shop Cllr Finn informed members that the Community Shopwill not be at theOld School for legal reasons. The steering commi�eewere considering options for the location of a container andwere looking at the verge outside the village hall andwould liaisewith KCC about this. Cllr Zammit suggested that the council consider a longer-termoption for the shop and placing a container in the corner of theOld School Playing Field could be an option. Christmas dinner The Village Seniors’ ChristmasDinnerwas postponed until 2018. The chairman stated that the village hall would be booked in advance to allowthe date to be publicised and invitations to be sent out. Church funds The council agreed to pay £1,100 to the church to help themcomplete the next stage of their environmental enhancements.
Downswood CatmemorialAmemorial to a stray cat that
'gave people a lot of pleasure' in KingsAcre will be removed by the resident. NoticeboardsAmaintenance programme was to be discussed for the existing boards and suggestions for a replacement Foxden Drive boardwas also discussed. Right ofWayAquotation to carry outwork on the steps at the Public Right ofWay had been received fromPaulWaring for £706. The council unanimously agreed to accept this and, against the advice of the clerk, it was decided not to seek further authorisation fromPROWorMBC. Socialmedia CllrWeeks said itwould be desirable to have a policy for socialmedia. One provided by Loose PCwill be used as a template and CllrsWeeks,Greenhead and Fairhurstwould forma commi�ee to agree a policy. DCAupdateAnewnurserywere understood to be considering using the centre. The noise problemseemed to have been resolved. CllrWeekswas to prepare an inventory of all parish council equipment stored in the shed.
Harrietsham
InjunctionAresident asked about clearance work on the PilgrimsWay. The clerk explained that a large area ofwoodland had been cleared,with a stop notice on the site being ignored.MBC had therefore obtained aHigh Court
Injunction.Work had stopped, but since then a planning application had beenmade for a four-bed chalet bungalow. Cllr Sams stated the area is in theAONB and the application had been called in to the Planning Commi�ee, and the clerk urged as many residents as possible to comment on the application. Glebe Field The bench on the field had been vandalized and the amenitymanager had asked that councillors approve its replacement. The clerk had looked into recyclable plastic benches that look like wood as itwould be lowmaintenance, but that the suppliers had suggested the parish council find a local company to fit it. Itwas decided that the contractorwho does the work in the field in the newfinancial year be asked to provide a quote, and itwas agreed that the council purchase a replacement bench ahead of this. Bulb planting CllrDean reported that Harrietshamin Bloomhave planted 1,000 tulip bulbs on theA20 by TheHollies development and thanked themfor their hardwork. Newbins Cllr Sams reported that replacement bins have been installed in the village but added that the ones on the village green are still
outstanding.One is to be moved down byHarrietshamSchool and the others need repainting.Apost had also not been removed byQuestedWay, so Cllr Samswould chase the outstanding items. Summer club Itwas noted that only 40 per cent of the childrenwho a�ended the summer fun club in 2017 either lived in Harrietshamor a�endedHarrietsham School, so CllrDean queriedwhy the council are funding 100 per cent of the grant
requested.After a discussion, itwas proposed and agreed that the council pay the full £500 grant in the newfinancial year. Other grants £200was awarded to the organisers of theHarrietshamBig Lunch,
Parish Councils
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