News | Sponsored parish council Boxley ParishMail


CHAIRMAN: BobHinderCLERK: Pauline BowderyASSTCLERK:Melanie Fooks ParishOffice, BeechenHall,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


Objections over Lords Wood plans for homes


BOXLEY Parish Council has for- mally objected to the planning ap- plication to change the approved 89 dwellings plus a bio-mass to 115 dwellings at the Gleaming- wood Drive site in LordsWood. A previous planning application


for 89 houses on the site was ap- proved at appeal after the parish council, local residents and Maid- stone and Medway councils ob- jected. Chairman Cllr Bob Hinder said:


“The 2015 planning inspector deci- sion gave much weight to the sus-


Parish gearing up for full data


protectionaudit THE parish office is gearing up to audit its records – both paper and electronic – data security and poli- cies and procedures to ensure it is compliant with the change in the data protection regulations inMay. The newGeneralData Protection


Regulations are more stringent than the present regulations and require companies, local authori- ties and not-for-profit organisa- tions to be more active in identifying why they gather and retain personal data. All organisations will have to


have a privacy statement attached to any document that requests or uses personal information so that the public understandwhy it is re- quested, how it will be used and for how long the organisation will retain the information. Parish clerk Pauline Bowdery


said: “Wewill also use the audit to work outwhat can be scanned and archived.” Boxley Parish Council currently


has a document retention policy and itwill need to expand on this. It is anticipated that a two-day


shut down of the office may be needed to undertake thework.


24 Maidstone East March 2018


tainability of the site because of the bio-mass and coppicing of the local woodland; he was also influenced by the fact thatMaidstone Borough Council did not have an identified five-year housing allocation or a local plan – but all that has now changed.” While the applicant argues that


there is a principle of development for the site the parish council is ar- guing that the site should be viewed as greenfield. The parish council has been in contact with Kent County Council


Highways about the problems al- ready being experienced in the area and is asking that it objects. The chairman added: “It is par-


ticularly insulting that the appli- cant states there has been community involvement by a leaflet drop, but then states ‘this leaflet consultation was not to in- vite comments on the scheme it- self…”. A copy of the parish council’s 20


reasons for objections and other statements is available on its web- site.


Play tower a welcome addition


MAIDSTONE Borough Council has agreed that the recently-refur- bished play area at Grovewood Drive North will be extended to ac- commodate the erection of an ad- ditional piece of equipment for slightly older children. Borough and parish councillor


Wendy Hinder said: “I think every- onewouldwelcome the newtower.” Cllr Hinder and the parish council


were originally disappointed with the age range of the new equip- ment and both were pleased with the proposed addition. Also at the parish council’s Janu-


arymeeting, CllrHinder gave an up- date on the plans for the Franklin Drive play area. The council has agreed to take


over the site fromMBC, but CllrHin- der is still waiting for the arrange- ments to be confirmed. Meanwhile, she has spoken with


CllrWendy Hinder and local resi- dentMalcolmBarber at a local play area


Gallagher’s, which has agreed to fully fund the refurbishment works, including a new safety surface. “It’s still in MBC’s hands,” she


said. “We can’t be left in limbo –we need this play area; we have the funding and Gallagher’s are to do all of the work on the equipment.”


STEMschool: public inquiry THE parish council is waiting for exact details of the public inquiry into the appeal against non-determination by Maidstone Borough Council on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathe- matics) school proposed for land off New Cut Road, Grove Green. A public appeal is being organised for the week commencingMay


21. The exact times and location have not yet been finalised but repre- sentative of the parish councilwill attend thewhole inquiry,with up- dates posted via its community alert systemand website. The parish council welcomes any support fromthe public.


Pond farewell


CLLR Maureen Waller and the parish clerk are hoping the reoc- curring pond problem under the M20 on Boarley Lane has been re- solved. Drainage issues caused by a


‘sticky switch’ on a pump meant that drainage from the M20 regu- larly flooded the dip in the road, forcing cars onto the footway. In early February, the pumping


unitwas visited a number of times and Highways England may now have finally replaced the faulty piece of equipment. Cllr Waller said: “For years, we


have been naggingHighways Eng- land to do something permanent, rather than just temporary fixes. Early in the New Year nobody could get through as the deep flood water stretched completely across the road and footways.” The situation of Highways Eng-


landmaintaining a pump to get the run-off into the main drains has meant that whenever flooding oc- curred the clerk wasted valuable time convincing the HE helpline that it was not a county council drainage problem.


Hospital site AT itsmeeting on February 5, Box- ley Parish Council’s environment committee expressed disappoint- ment that an application had been made to amend the original condi- tion 37 of the KIMS Hospital site, which stipulated that its B1 use had to be related tomedical facilities. The removal will allow non-


medical offices and research facili- ties to be located onto the site. Cllr Wendy Hinder said: “The


original concept of a specialised medical site is beingwatered down, but nomaterial planning reasons to object could be identified.”


Warren work THE volunteer group is to con- tinue itswork on the SSSI at Boxley Warren, despite the sad loss of SteveWright. The Old Chalk New Downs Lot-


tery Funding includes BoxleyWar- ren and this will fund landscape improvements and work. To vol- unteer contact the parish office.


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Maidstone East March 2018 25


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