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35mph, and 17 over 40mph.Allwere first- time offences. Fete Roughly £1,300 profitwasmade for the benefit of the village. CllrAlanWhite congratulated the church on thework they had done cleaning up thewall on Station Hill.


Headcorn


ResignationMembers heard that Cllr AngelaD’Urso had resigned. The clerk would adviseMBC andwhen the vacancy was confirmed, the parish councilwould be seeking to co-opt a newcouncillor. Policemaers There had been an assault on householders in the early hours ofMonday, August 6. Kent Policewas investigating. The chair said there had been an aempted break-in at the store, but access had not been gained due to the newsecurity arrangements. The police had been informed. HammerstreamMBC had confirmed that someonewas living at the site,whichwas in breach of the injunction. The person had said theywould not leave the land until they were evicted.MBC had nowstarted the eviction process. SouthernWater Thework in Kings Road had started, and a small number of complaints had been received about inconvenience. DawkesMeadowThe clerkwas to follow up completion of thework promised – replacement of the footpath section of the PROW. The vehicular sectionwould be patched. Debrillator The installation on thewall of theHeart of KentHospice shop had been confirmed andwas due to start shortly. The chair said she had heard talk of a national database of defibrillators, as the ambulance service currentlywas not aware ofwhere theywere. The clerkwas asked to let the Kent service knowthe location of the Headcorn ones. Old SchoolNursery The Community Right to Bid application had been filedwithMBC. The chair stressed that KCC Cllr Shellina Prendergastwasworking hard to reach both a temporary and a long-termsolution. Highways The KentHighways Improvement Planwas discussed. The chair noted that, as the cost of speed surveyswas lower than anticipated, and Cllr Prendergast waswilling to fund one fromhermember’s grant, three surveyswould be sought – two on theA274 and one on LenhamRoad. The clerkwould circulate the planwhen it had been submied to KCCHighways. SoundWhistle notices The clerk had wrien noting concerns of the council about the fact that trainswere no longer sounding theirwhistleswhen approaching a footpath. However, a response said risk assessments confirmed thatwhistle noticeswere no longer necessary andwould not be replaced. S106 fundingAcouple of projectswere being pursued. Thesewere the purchase of equipment for themowing of grass areas and the dredging of SpiresAsh. Road closures Emails had been received expressing concern over the lack of co- ordination of roadworks resulting in road closures and traffic gridlock in the village. Themaerswould be addressed in the


Highways Improvement plan. Road repair Bovis had completed the repair on theA274 but it had notworked and the dip in the roadwasworse than before. The clerk had alertedHighways. Sunken drains Emails had been received about noise generatedwhenHGVs crossed sunken drain covers. Thiswould be included on the highways improvement plan. Speedwatch The clerk asked councillors if they could each find one person to volunteer. The group had fourmembers and newvolunteerswere vital to keep it going. Animalwaste The chair reported that the GreenWicket Sanctuary had been seen to be disposing of animalwaste inHeadcorn Parish bins. The clerk had spoken to the sanctuary and explained that they needed to have a commercialwaste collection. The maerwould be reported to environmental health teams.


Loose


Newmember The chairmanwelcomed Jane Butler to the parish council. Noise complaints There had been several complaints about noisewith regards to the Chequers and the Beer Barn.MBCwas aware of the situation andwasmonitoring complaints. PSCOMartin Chivers ismoving on to another departmentwithin the PCSOteam. He had enjoyed his timeworking in Loose. Hewill be replaced by Ross Russell. Police report Two vehicle-related tickets had been issued and a stolen carwas seized. Parking The inconsiderate parking at the start and end of the school daywas being tackled by naming and shaming the culprits, taking photos of inappropriate parking, reporting incidents on 101, and reminding parents via the newsleer not to park inappropriately. SMARTWILLact had joined forceswith the MaidstoneActionGroup for Infrastructure Change (MAGIC) to forma combined voice to LocalAuthorities,whilst suggesting solutions for infrastructure problems in Maidstone. SpeedwatchAt the last session, 528 cars were observed,with three being reported for driving in excess of 40mph. Newshed The planning application for the shed on Brooks Fieldwas approved. Ted Davis advised that the architect had been instructed to prepare the plans for building regulations. Village fete Themayor had aended Loose Fete,which featured vintage cars.Although the local Vets4Pets had changed ownership, the sponsorshipwould continue this year. Rehabilitationwork The clerk had received an email fromMaidstone Community Rehabilitation Company (Maidstone Probation) to see if the parish councilwould be interested in the Community Payback Service Scheme.


Marden


NewsleerAlibrary of photographs still needed to be put together and CllrNewton was asked to pass on any he thoughtwould be suitable to the clerk. Traffic lights The lights opposite the railway station had not beenworking. It had been


reported and the situationwas being monitored. StationApothole had appeared at the entrance to the station car park and trees were said to be obscuring the CCTV on the down platform. The clerkwould report this.


Staplehurst


FootpathKM312Members noted the deputy clerk’s report containing an update on the anticipated legal fees relating to the transfer of land to the parish council. Itwas agreed to increase the sumallowed for the parish council’s own legal fees from£600 to £1,000 to cover fees and disbursements. Grass-cuing Forestry First had agreed to take over the grass-cuing on the parish council’s land between Chestnut Street and High Street at the price charged by the previous contractor. Parish council surgeries The surgery heard that construction vehicles had damaged vehicles near Slaney Road.An issue of inconsiderate parking outsideHomeleigh and the school had been taken upwith the company and the PCSO.Hedges on Headcorn Road that needed cuing had been referred to residents and KCC. The issue of speeding and the possibility of a 20mph limit in the residential areawas raised and Speedwatchwas notified.A meetingwould be heldwith Kent Highways. The provision of a bin at Wimpey Fieldwas considered, aswere “Take lier home” signs. The disappearance of the bin fromthe junction of Thatcher Road and Bathurst Roadwas reported to Maidstone Borough Council. Therewas praise for the newpaving at the Parade. Surrenden Field The clerk and the caretaker had initiated some repairs and repainting at Surrenden Field. Street cleaning Themeeting heard that the street-cleaning servicewas being delivered efficiently, but itwas questionedwhether or not the parish council should be providing such a service. Itwas said to extend and enhance theMBC service, preventing dirt and fallen leaves fromentering the drains. However, itmeant parishionerswere paying twice for street cleaning, and therewere other priorities for parish council resources. Itwas resolved by amajority vote to terminate the contract. Neighbourhood Plan Itwas noted that the items nominated for consideration as community assetswere Bell Lane public conveniences and the defibrillator at the library. The parish council held a lease of the toilet premises until 2028 and the defibrillator did notmeet the criteria as a community asset. Station regeneration Themeeting heard that MBCwas looking to commission studies regarding the regeneration of the station area. Cllr Burnhamhadmet SouthEastern, who had advised that somemore immediate works had been proposed, including additional seating, newlier bins, and heritage gates at the eastern car park. Inconsiderate parking Cllr Symes said Headcorn Parish Council had installedA- boards in some locations to discourage inconsiderate parking,which had been positively received. The subject had been submied to Community Enhancement Group for discussion.


Maidstone Weald October 2018 37


Parish Councils


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