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Grant Ward Cllr Sue Grigg had given the council a grant of £250 for the volunteer scheme set up to help vulnerable people during the Covid-19 pandemic. Community warden Liz Lovatt was continuing to work with vulnerable residents but was working from home. She said there had been an increase in scams since the COVID-19 outbreak. Website The new website was live. Cllr Muir asked councillors to look at the website and advise him of any necessary amendments. Shed project The Agreement to Lease and Heads of Terms were discussed and sent to the solicitors. Cllr Gibbons was looking at the details in the response. Post office The owners of Loose Post Office had been assured that it would not be closed. It had been measured up for new equipment and a local contractor had been employed to work on the refurbishment. Playground Cllr Gibbons and the RFO were carrying out checks for the foreseeable future. A trip hazard had been identified by the gate. A resident, Meurig Jones, had covered the hazard with soil until it could be resolved. Finance The full record of accounts was received and noted by the council. Cllr Gibbons said the parish council would be making a claim with the insurance company over the loss from Pavilion hire cancellations.


Marden


Open spaces The clerk and deputy clerk had met for a walk around the village before the meeting. The caretakers’ to-do list had been updated and would be sent out to both once finalised. Football club Mafrden Minors FC had contacted MPC regarding playing this coming season, with under 14s and Sunday teams playing at Marden. Fees for Under 14s were discussed, and it was proposed that £40 would be charged. MMFC were also investigating funding streams for the changing facilities. Amenities issues The deputy clerk was to obtain a quote regarding Legionnaires disease at changing rooms and public toilets. Reports of antisocial behaviour at the play area had been received and the clerk was arranging to meet PCSO Nicola Morris to view the CCTV footage. Public toilets The clerk was asked to contact Brenchley Parish Council regarding risk assessments for opening the toilets. Southons Field Cllr Tippen provided an update of what had been proposed: S106 expenditure: four new benches at a cost of £1,860, which would match those already purchased for the play area; two new litter bins at a cost of £813.96. It was agreed to apply for the money. Capital, Southons Field: two additional picnic benches (circular and wheelchair accessible) and a two-bay swing to add to the existing play trail. Quotes for these and surfacing were being obtained. A quote for an additional


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sign had been obtained at a cost of £145. This was approved. Capital, cemetery: three quotes had been looked at for an aluminium notice board, and the quote of £1,068.98 was accepted. Highways Improvement Plan The updated document had been circulated. Cllr Tippen had spoken to Kent Highways and it was most probable that only one or two schemes would be delivered each year. Cllr Tippen wanted to ensure that everything had been included and that the priorities were correct, and proposed a further meeting to discuss the priorities. Coronavirus guidance Members reviewed any changes to guidance received prior to the meeting. It was agreed to buy four more social distancing signs to use outside the library once it had reopened. Community Payback The team was not currently undertaking any work but when they could return, they would finish jobs which had been running before lockdown.


Staplehurst


Doorbell It was agreed to install a Nest video doorbell at the parish office, at a cost of £229, with an annual subscription of £50. The Village Centre trustees had agreed to the doorbell, and offered a goodwill gesture of £30 towards the cost. Councillor Riordan had volunteered to install the system.


Charitable donations It was agreed that all donations as listed in the deputy clerk’s report dated June 1, 2020, would remain in place.


Community Payback Members approved the return of Community Payback to undertake work for the parish council. Safety plans would be put in place, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic once a start date had been established. Village planters It was agreed to approve the renewal of the contract from Choice Support Growing Concern for maintenance of the village planters. Sainsbury’s A letter had been sent by the parish council to a Sainsbury’s representative, which covered questions and comments about amendments to the store plans and connected highway issues. Footpath names The footpath name of Ashdown’s Path (Station Road to Corner Farm Road) was approved. Councillors suggested adding a plaque to explain the reasons behind the name. The footpath name of Doutrepont’s Weg (Green Hill to Lodge Road) was approved, ‘weg’ being Flemish and Dutch for ‘way’, to honour the nationality of the pilot the footpath would be named after. Councillors suggested that the plaque should include the Belgian air force roundel. The agreed names are to be submitted to MBC for consideration. Greener Staplehurst Group It was agreed to approve the planting of one tree donated by a resident and two horse chestnut trees grown by the children of another resident at the Wimpy Field Nature Reserve. Advice on the positioning of the new trees would be obtained from Medway Valley Countryside Partnership. Hedge saplings


would be planted at the youth centre site. This had been agreed by the club trustees. Toilets Cllr Forward praised the successful management of Bell Lane public toilets. These facilities were one of the very few which had been kept open for use during the Coronavirus pandemic. Thanks were expressed to Paxman Services. Cllr Perry congratulated Cllr Riordan on his organisation and supervision of the work carried out at the Jubilee Field. Police report A total of six crimes had been reported. The police surgeries would be recommencing outside in the library car park on June 27. Family Fireworks The event would be cancelled this year to prevent potential pecuniary losses, due to the unstable environment at present, particularly as preparations and the purchase of fireworks typically begins in May/June.


Sutton Valence


Car park A quote had been requested for a solar light trial. An email had been received from a parishioner regarding a barrier at the residents’ car park. It was decided that a barrier that folded down was not an answer and would pose a safety risk in the dark. The chairman would reply to the email. Tennis A grant of £10,000 had been received from the government. This would be paid to the tennis club. Bench A member of the public had asked that a bench be positioned near The Swan Public House or Church Farm at Ulcombe. It was agreed that Church Farm might be the better proposal as there was not anything in the vicinity of The Swan. Allotments The clerk and Cllr Ward met with a parishioner who was prepared to take on the culling of rabbits on Bowhalls allotments. This was approved and it was agreed that public liability insurance be seen, and a risk assessment put in place before this commences. Toilets The clerk was asked to obtain a quote for a deep clean in preparation for the re-opening of the toilets.


West Farleigh


Finance The clerk said the internal audit report had been circulated along with the documents to be approved. The report had only highlighted one item that would require attention. This was that the parish council currently only had two signatories. It had been hoped that the matter would have been resolved at the May elections, but these had been postponed due to the Covid-19 situation. It was noted that the clerk could carry out bank transfers to pay invoices if required. Credit card The clerk said the purchase of a domain name for the new website had to be arranged by credit card. The Co- operative Bank had confirmed that the parish council could apply for a charge card, with a £2 monthly charge. It was agreed to apply for the charge card, with a £1,000 credit limit.


Parish Councils


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