downsmail.co.uk Continued from page 32


position, so thiswould bemonitored. Cllr Greenhead said hewould like a sleeper down the side to tidy it up. Christmas lightsAfter considering quotes fromAylesford Electrical andGala Lighting, itwas agreed to accept the four-year option fromAylesford Electrical at a cost of £10,693.88. The council agreed to try to have the hall cleared away on the day of the Christmas ceremony by 6pm. Olympicnic Itwas agreed that itwas inevitable that theOlympicnicwould clash with other events in July, so itwas decided to hold the event between 11amand 2pmon Saturday, July 21 . Centenary Itwas agreed to book the community centre for an event tomark the centenary of the end ofWWI, between 6pm and 8pmon Sunday,November 11. Cllr Finchamwas to start by obtaining quotes for a permanent beacon to stand in the top section of the community centre,with an official agreementwith theDownswood CommunityAssociation (DCA) to be sought before anyworks start.Abudget of £1,000 was agreed for a beacon and £200 for refreshments. Suggestions for the evening include personal stories, poems and photos, anArmy bugler, refreshments and the rector had asked to be involvedwith any prayers. The clerk enquired about the possibility of the hall hire costs beingwaived by theDCA. Mr Evere� agreed to discuss thema�erwith theDCAcommi�ee. DCAlatestApplications to fund the additional storage area at the hall had been made to five groups. Therewas no news as yet in the search for a group to fill the slot at the hall that is available for hire. Footpathwarden The RamblersAssociation hadmade a request for a footpathwarden or a ramblers parish footpath observer. Leaflets on thiswere distributed to councillors for consideration.


Harrietsham


Grass cu�ingAresident askedwhy the Booth and Baldwin grant for cu�ing the outside of the field had been stopped but the church still received their grant. Theywere told that the church submi�ed a grant application each year, but the grass cu�ing on the Booth field had been removed from the amenity contracts.As the contractswere paid forwith publicmoney, itwas agreed that thiswork could not continue, but the Trustwaswelcome to submit a grant application formlater in the year. Fly-tipping Cllr Powell reported on fly- tipping and li�er issues along theA20 betweenHarrietshamand Leeds Castle. MBC had spokenwith KentHighways about the need for a clear-up, but thiswould require the road to be down to a single lane during thework for safety reasons. Fence query Cllr J Sams askedwhowas responsible for a fence betweenWillow Close and the Indian restaurant as there had been complaints about it. The clerk had been in discussionswith PersimmonHomes as the trees along the boundary had damaged the fence, but after receiving no response, she had emailed to say that shewould have to advise the owner of the fence to seek legal


34 Maidstone East May 2018


advice. Persimmon had then responded to say the treeswould be dealtwith immediately, and once thiswork had been completed, the clerk checkedwith the owner of the restaurant,whowas happy with thework, but did notmention the need to rectify the damage to the fence. Cllr Sams said thiswas a civilma�er but that she could talk to PersimmonHomes. Highways issues Cllr Sams said potholes had been reported to KentHighways. The ones outside the church inMarley Road had notmet the criteria for intervention, and the clerk had challenged KCC,whichwas due to send someone out to reassess them. The culvert at the bo�omof StedeHillwas blocked, aswere the drains, and these had been reported. The newaccess inWest Street was being investigated by the Enforcement teamand the clerk had chased themon this as the 28 days for the landowner to submit a retrospective planning application had passed. TheA20 improvements consultation had closed and the reportwas awaited,with hopes thatworkwould start inAugust. Cllr Dean reported that the pavement in Church Roadwas damaged. Cllr Sams offered to report this. Footpath Cllr T Sams said a consultation le�erwas to be sent out to residents asking for comments on the plan for a footpath in Church Road. Funding had been set aside for the project,whichwill also include the upgrading of street lighting. The consultationwas due to run betweenApril 3 andMay 1 and copies of the le�erwould be left in the doctor’s surgery and the Post Office. Speedwatch Cllr T Samswas to speakwith CllrGriffiths as the old Speedwatch equipment needed to be photographed so that it can be ascertainedwhether it is viable to be used in the newscheme. Data Protection The clerk gave an update on theGeneralData Protection Regulations (GDPR)which comes into place onMay 25. The councilwill need aData Protection Officer andwould have to pay for this service,with some companies charging £1,000. If this role is needed, Satswana,who ran the training session the clerk had a�ended, should be employed for £150. Tommy statue CllrDean asked that the council purchase a silhoue�e to be installed in thewarmemorial garden during the Armistice 2018 period. It stands 6ft tall, weighs 11kg, is constructed from lightweight aluminiumandwill cost £750. Therewas a discussion overwhether to install it in the garden or the village green, and itwas agreed to purchase the statue, with the location to be determined.


Hollingbourne


Woodcut FarmThe owner ofWoodcut Farmhad complained that the Parish Council hadwastedmoney after agreeing to give the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) £1,000 after their legal challenge against the development fell through. Cllr Ardley said the council and themajority of the village opposed the development. Flooding The chairman said that the snowy weather had affectedmany rural roads, includingGreenway Court Road,which had


suffered fromflooding since Christmas time, particularly close to the railway bridge. The clerkwas to contact Kent Highways. Fete drinks Two of the village’s pubswere unable to help provide a drinks bar at the village fete on June 9,with one inn still to respond to the council’s invitation. Cllr Ardley suggested that the council contact other breweries and in themeantime the clerkwas to find out about obtaining a drinks licence for the day. Crime CllrsGarten, Cobbe� andGray had metwith Police and Crime Commissioner Ma�hewSco� to discuss local policing issues, including the future costs of Operation Stack.Around 120 local famers hadmet to discuss the problems as they believed policewere not effective enough to dealwith rural crime.Mr Sco� said the 200 officers he planned to recruitmight help the situation. There is no central government funding available forOperation Stack until a £3mthreshold had been reached,which would equate to 233 days ofOperation Stack being implemented. Police are trying to negotiate to lower the threshold.Mr Sco� also said PSCOswould a�end parish councilmeetings at least every three months. Bowls club Cllr Cobbe� had received a le�er fromHollingbourne ShortMat Bowls Club looking for a grant contribution of £600 towards teamshirts and fleeces. The council said they could notmake a contribution as there are various sports clubs in the village and itwas felt that if they funded this one theywould also have to fund the others. Artificial grass The clerkwas continuing to obtain quotes for the artificial grass to be laid at the Cardwell Pavilion in linewith the request fromthe pre-school. VillageHallOwners EIGroup PLC had confirmed there is a rolling lease on the hall and that a newleasemight be drawn up over the next yearwhichwould be for up to five yearswith a requested but not agreed 12-month notice period at the end. Concern was expressed about the security of the tenure of the hall. If a newhall is required, CllrsWard andGarten both felt that a sports grantmay be available if itwas a large enough building to accommodate different sports facilities, and it could then become a sustainable community village. CllrArdley suggested combining itwith the Cardwell Pavilion and involving the cricket club and the school in its usage. Traffic lights County councillor Shellina Prendergast said therewas not enough money to provide part-time traffic lights at theGreatDanes roundabout. The ongoing problems inHollingbournewere due to congestion on theA249. But due to a lack of crash data for the roundabout, itwas not a high priority for KCC. Bin replaced Cllr PatrikGarten had chased upwhy thewaste bin at the end of Station Approachwhich had been removed after being damaged inOctober 2017 had not been replaced, and the bin had been renewed. Trees lostAdevelopment for 12 houses betweenGodfreyHouse and Claygate had been approved, and a rowof trees on the Eyhorne Street side had been removed. The


Parish Councils


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48