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 Merry hell at


heath churn RESIDENTS of Shepherds Gate Drive raisedmerry hellwhen they spottedwork being undertaken on WeaveringHeath. Cllr Bob Hinder went to MBC


Chief Executive Alison Broom when he discovered a company was inspecting the area as a sewer needs to be laid acrossWeavering Heath to connect the proposed school to sewers in Shepherd’s GateDrive. Cllrs Bob and Wendy Hinder


arranged an emergency meeting on site with residents and have also taken the issue upwithMBC. They said: “This is a sensitive


issue with residents objecting to the proposed site for the schools and also questioning whether Weavering Heath is under threat so some common sense should have been used and we should have beenwarned”. Local authorities cannot stop


utility companies accessing and testing its land as a refusal just means the company applies for a licence under other legislation. School sewage would be pumped up toWeaveringHeathwith grav- ity taking it into the system. Parish CllrAnne Brindle added:


“It’s not just a case of reseed- ing...damage has been done to a sensitive chalk grassland, we hate to think what will happen if the sewer is actually installed”. Cllr Wendy Hinder has had it


confirmed that therewill be no de- velopment atWeaveringHeath.


Roomrental


PARISH councillors agreed to amendtheirmeetingdates to allow the new Acorn Room at Beechen Hall to be rented out to raise in- come. Parish councilmeetingswill nowtake place onMondays.


CAB donation


THEparishcouncil recently agreed a £200 donation toMaidstoneCiti- zens’ Advice Bureau, said the fi- nance chairman Cllr IvorDavies.


18 Maidstone East April 2019 Litter pickers’success


DURING a recent litter pick The Friends of Weavering Heath and Woodlands collected 34 bags of rubbish, a shopping trolley, two shopping baskets, awooden chest of drawers, wood, pipes, coal scut- tle and three car wheel covers. The volunteer group, which is fi-


nancially supported by the parish council, has now been formally recognised byMaidstone Borough Council and a meeting with offi-


cers has identified numerous maintenance and improvements tasks for the group. Chairman Keith Clark said: “It is


great to be putting something back into the community, even if it is just picking litter, and nowper- mission has been received to im- prove paths,maintain hedges etc, we are now implementing the management plan and residents will really start to see changes.”


Planned schools ‘not in the area of need’


THE parish council has again strongly objected to the pro- posed schools site near the M20 at junction seven. The plans for primary and spe-


cial schools at Popes Field was originally to be accessed from Bearsted Road, a suggestion strongly opposed by Boxley Parish Council. In an amendment to its plan-


ning application, developers and the Department for Education now hope to put the access through the Kent Medical Cam- pus site. Plans for pedestrian ac- cess from Bearsted Road have also been dropped. Despite the climbdowns,mem- bers are still unsure the site is


right for the area or in the most suitable position. These concerns have been


echoed by other parish councils and borough council representa- tives. Chairman Bob Hinder said:


“No matter how you look at it, this site is unsustainable and can only be reached by private vehi- cle. “Changes to the entrance intro-


duced a significant increase in the distance to be walked from Bearsted and the South of Grove Green, so that reduced the amount of children walking but the applicant then raised the num- ber of people sharing cars from 37% to 62%. How they suddenly


got this figure nobody knows.” The latest,


just published,


Maidstone primary school prefer- ence figures for entry into pri- mary school for Sept 2019 appear to indicate that there is sufficient capacity in other areas to absorb the predicated increase, and that the need is not specifically in the North EducationArea. Cllr Hinder added: “It is clear


that studentswill be driven to this site fromareas quite far away and will be by-passing schools that have vacancies. “New schools need to be built


in the community where there is a need, and so should be in the areas identified for develop- ment”.


Homes plan


THE land owner atGibraltar Farm in HamLane has again submitted a planning application for 450 homes on land north of the parish boundarywithMedway Council. Planning permission was re-


ceived after a public inquiry, but another access is nowproposed. The parish council is again ob-


jecting to the planning application due to impact oninfrastructure and unsustainability of the site. ChairmanBobHinder said: “The


complete supporting infrastruc- ture, doctors, schools, highways etc. is beyond current capacity and introducing an additional 450 dwellings is justmadness”.


Newcrossing


THE parish council has been in- formed of problems with the new zebra crossing onNewCut Road. Complaints have been received


that the crossing is too close to the roundabout and that cars are not stopping. The parish council is raising the issuewith KCC.


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