The monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place on
Thursday 3rd September at the Village Hall where 6 Councillors were
present and 5 members of the public.
Minutes
of the meeting held on 6th August 2015 – It was
proposed by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Masson that they be accepted as a
true record. All agreed.
Public
Time– Bus timetable public meeting - A
resident conveyed his thanks to Mr Quy for arranging the public meeting regarding
the changes to the Chalkwell bus timetable and reported that it had been well
attended. Mr Quy thanked the Parish Council for their support and Mr Apps for
chairing the meeting. Mr Quy also conveyed thanks to Ward Cllr Wright for his
contributions and for arranging for a representative from Chalkwell buses to
attend. Cllr Tucker thanked Mr Quy for putting together the meeting in such a
short space of time and advised that the Parish Council would like to assist in
any way they can as Mr Quy pursues the matter further. It was reported that
Chalkwell buses were unlikely to change the timetable now due to lack of profit
made on the previous timetable with many buses running almost empty. Cllr
Tucker reported that there is a petition in the Post Office if anyone would
like to sign it. At the bus timetable public meetng Ward
Cllr Baldock agreed to obtain a consensus from residents to approach Chalkwell
with. This could take up to six months to progress. Rubbish in the village – A resident asked if the Clerk had
received any response from the leaseholders of the flats in Forge Lane
regarding the rubbish outside of them. The Clerk reported that she had not
received a response but would continue to pursue this. Pot hole Wallbridge
Lane– A resident reported a large pothole in Wallbridge Lane. Cllr Tucker
advised that this had already been reported to KCC by the Parish Council and
that residents could report this themselves via the KCC website. Precept – A
resident requested that the Parish Council consider using the S137 budget for
tidying the village centre when calculating the next precept.
Correspondence – Bus Timetable Meeting – Further to the discussion in public
time, it was reported that three Councillors attended the public meeting which
had a very strong turnout and a lot of support. Cllr Tucker reported that Ward
Cllr Baldock will be carrying out a consensus from residents to approach
Chalkwell with. This could take up to six months to progress.KALC
Training events – The Clerk had received notification of upcoming training
events for the Parish Council.
Casual Vacancies – As no responses have been received
for the two vacancies for Parish Councillors it was agreed that a campaign
should commence in order to promote the positions in a more informative way with
regards to what the Parish Council do and the projects that are ongoing and
upcoming. It was suggested that a leaflet drop would be a good way forward for
this.
Planning – 15/506513/FULL – Tranquillity Otterham
Quay Lane – The
Council saw no reason to object to this application but requested that the
design addresses the two reasons for refusal to the previous application in
2013. It also raised concerns with regards to the impact on highways with the
access to the two dwellings on a fast and narrow road. 15/501109/REM – Four
Gun Field, Otterham Quay Lane – The Council had submitted an objection to
the revised application based on the comments made on the original application.
Other Planning Matters – APP/V2255/Z/3129078- Greens Motor Group Garage,
London Road Cllr Tucker reported that the Council had no further comments
to those made on the initial application with regards to this appeal. APP/2255Y/15/3067567-
Pond Farm, Newington – Cllr Tucker reported that the Clerk had written to
the Planning Inspectorate to reiterate our objections to this application.
Defibrillator – The Clerk advised that she had met
with the W.I and the owners of Snaffles and it had been agreed for the
defibrillator to be placed on the wall of Snaffles with the electricity supply
coming from the street light attached to the building. Cllr Arnold will liaise
with the electricity suppliers regarding this.
Recreation Ground - Cllr Denny reported that there are
loose fence posts on Chaffes Lane and some of the wire is becoming detached
from the posts. The Clerk will contact the contractors regarding this.
Paddock - Cllr Denny and the Clerk will
arrange for a notice to be placed on the Paddock gate with the Clerk’s contact
details. Cllr Tucker reported that the play area inspection report had been
received and that several high risk areas had been identified. In order to
resolve the issues, the rubber matting would need removing, which would result
in further issues and potentially the play equipment having to be removed
completely. A sub-committee was set up in order to speak with residents to
obtain their views as to whether the play equipment should be replaced. To
replace the equipment would cost a considerable amount of money which in turn
would unfortunately increase the precept.
Bus Shelter – Cllr Masson reported that he has
passed a site plan to the Clerk. The Clerk will forward this to Swale planning
in order to progress with the pre planning meeting.
Burial Ground and Churchyard – Cllr Rose
submitted the proposed changes to the Burial Ground rules and regulations to
the members and all agreed that the Council should proceed with these. The
Clerk will send the updated rules and regulations to all plot holders and
Funeral Directors. St Mary’s Church Clock – The Clerk is still awaiting
a date for the clock to be serviced. Burial Ground Gardener meeting The
Clerk reported that she and Cllr Rose had met with the gardener to discuss the
non-compliant graves and work has started on the graves of which relatives are
no longer contactable. Burial Ground steps update – The Clerk has
ordered a notice for the Burial Ground gate warning that the steps and pathway
are uneven.
Highways – Cllr Arnold reported that there are
now four faulty street lights and therefore he will contact the contractors to
get these repaired.
Other Matters not yet arising – December meeting –
It
was agreed that this should be moved back to the original date of 3rd
December following the cancellation of the Pantomime.
Please
note the full Minutes from the Meeting can be seen on the Upchurch Parish
Council website.
The next Parish Council Meeting will take place
on 1st October at 7:30pm in the Village Hall. Julia Cura, Clerk to the Parish Council.
Step up and show off your talents in this extravaganza of live entertainment by our very own, or simply come and enjoy watching the talent we have in our midst, interspersed with barn dancing. In Scotland they'd call it a Ceilidh.
Saturday 12th September 7:30pm - 11:00pm in the Village Hall.
Tickets now available: £6 adults £3 children
Bring your own drink and buffet type food to share. Proceeds to be split between St. Mary's Church, Upchurch and Kampala Children's Centre in Uganda. For tickets please contact Ralph on: 01634 375481 or Email: ralphliddell@talk21.com
The picture shows a face (on the right, facing towards your left with a long nose bridge) in the chancel of Newington parish church.
While graffiti on buildings is regarded as an eyesore and the work of vandals, historians are discovering graffiti dating from medieval times in many Swale churches - including Upchurch, Newington, Lower Halstow and Stockbury.
Their research is revealing that, in the days before spray paints, people would etch images and text into stone buildings.
This medieval graffiti seems generally to have been of a religious nature - figures and symbols - as memorials and thanks for prayers, though eager Victorian restorers managed to destroy many examples.
Graffiti has been found on pillars and walls in many of our local churches.
Historian Alan Anstee, a trustee of Fort Amherst, Chatham, and one of a small number of enthusiasts helping to survey the graffiti, will reveal some of his remarkable findings to Newington History Group on Thursday, September 10th, in the Methodist Hall, Church Lane, at 7:30pm.
The group meets on the second Thursday of each month for anyone interested in the history of the village and the surrounding area. Entry for guests is £3, with members free.
I would like to thank all those villagers from both Upchurch and Lower Halstow who attended the public meeting on the 26th of August at Upchurch Village Hall regarding proposed changes to the 327 Bus timetable.
Just to inform villagers that a petition to re-instate the 327 Bus timetable (the service will be reduced with effect from Tuesday the 1st of September) is available for signing at Upchurch Newsagents / Post Office.
View the new September 1st timetable on the Chalkwell website here ☞ www.chalkwell.co.uk
August is always the month when we don't have a Meeting - we have an informal get together instead, usually centred around FOOD! This year we held a "Posh Tea Party" in Karen and Dave Taylor's garden in Oak Lane, catered for by the Committee and very much enjoyed by 45 members and friends. It was a very hot day but with the help of three gazebos and the shade of their garage and various shrubs most of us managed to keep cool.
Our next meeting is on the 8th of September at 7:30pm in the Village Hall when the Speaker, Susan Hollings will give us "A taste of Medieval Cooking".
Speedwatch is a regulated scheme that we can operate but require volunteers to ensure we comply with regulations, without this help we are unable to operate it.
We have Sailing Charter Trips from Lower Halstow Dock
with space available on the following dates:
Lunch Cruise
Saturday 12th September
Monday 14th September Cream Tea Cruise
Tuesday 15th September Wednesday 16th September Fully Catered Day Tuesday 22nd September To book, Tel: 07875 503926 or Email: info@edithmaybargecharter.co.uk
Swale Community Safety Partnership are currently seeking the views of local residents on community safety issues within their area.
Tell us what matters to you? The Swale Community Safety Partnership brings together the police, councils and local authorities to more effectively and efficiently deal with crime & anti-social behaviour here in Swale.
Now here's where you come in. To help establish where you would like us to focus our efforts, we would like to know what is important to you. Whether you want more attention to be paid to anti-social behaviour, burglary or deliberate fires your voice should be heard.
Please complete our questionnaire by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6GKGVV3 to tell us what your top 3 priorities for us to tackle are or whether you think we are already doing a good job.
Your views are vital to help us to decide how to target our resources to make Swale a safer place. Paper copies can be requested by Email from: csu@swale.gov.uk or by calling: 01795 417336.
The deadline for responses is Friday 30th October 2015.
Between Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st of August a generator and 1500 litres of red diesel were stolen from an orchard near Spade Lane Coldstore, Spade Lane.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Earlier this month, in response to local resident’s concerns the Parish Council debated the speed of cars in our village and what we could do about it. The Parish Council have invested time and equipment in Speed-watch, and the truth is thatthe drivers speeding in the village more often than not live or work here, and sadly despite everyone’s efforts, they continue to speed through the village and local lanes.
Local drivers are often familiar with roads and complacent about the hazards, they forget they are driving a vehicle weighing about a ton at around two London bus lengths every second! They also forget or may not be aware that, car occupants and motorcyclists are twice as likely to be killed on a country road as an urban road; whilst cyclists are more than three times as likely.
Watch the video
The video may not be visible in our Email alert version of this post.
Speed kills, it is a simple fact and as drivers and road users it is important to understand stopping distances and how they increase with speed, knowing the relationship and being mindful of the consequences could save a child’s life.
If a child steps out from the front of a bus at the moment the front of your car is level with the rear of the bus at 30mph, you cannot stop your car in time, it is nothing to do with how good a driver you are, it is just physics! In fact the average driver won’t have reacted in the time available and not even started braking!
A pedestrian hit at 30mph (that’s the speed limit in our village) has a one in five chance of being killed.The likelihood of death rises significantly to a one in three chance if they are hit at 35mph!. Even slower speeds hide dangers; at 20mph with an attentive driver a car should stop in time to avoid a child running out three car-lengths in front. The same vehicle and driver travelling at 25mph would have only slowed to 18mph when it hit the child, that’s about the same impact as the child falling from a first floor window onto concrete.
Watch the video
The video may not be visible in our Email alert version of this post. If not you can watch it here: youtube.com
A vehicle’s braking distance depends on how fast it was travelling before the brakes were applied, and is proportional to the square of the initial speed. That means even small increases in speed mean significantly longer braking distances. Braking distances are much longer for larger and heavier vehicles, and in wet or icy conditions.
Technology such as anti-lock brakes and stability control are designed to enable greater control over the vehicle, not shorten stopping distances. There may be a very small reduction in braking distance with modern technology, but not enough to significantly affect the overall stopping distance.
A vehicle’s speed and the attentiveness of the driver determine stopping distances on any roads, however, in a village like ours other factors come into play, and can make speed significantly more dangerous. Often because there is less traffic, drivers feel a false sense of security on country roads, the reality, however, is that they are statistically the most dangerous for all types of road user, accounting for six in 10 fatal crashes.
Watch the video
The video may not be visible in our Email alert version of this post.
Country roads may sometimes appear empty, but they are full of unpredictable hazards. They are used by pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, slow farm vehicles, livestock and wild animals – all of which have a right to be there. They are often narrow with blind corners and bends, pot holes and debris, and no pavements or cycle paths. All these factors mean the 60mph limit on most country roads is usually far too high for safety, giving drivers insufficient time to react in an emergency, despite that country roads are plagued by fast drivers, many of who risk horrific crashes by speeding, taking bends too fast and silly overtaking.
You can help make our village and the surrounding country roads safer by always driving as though someone or something could be round every corner - that means staying well under speed limits, and slowing right down for bends, brows and other hazards, a little thought and a minute or two longer on your journey could save a life.
Drive safely out there!
The THINK! campaign is run by the Department For Transport and provides road safety information for road users. Their aim is to encourage safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads every year.
Newington Village Festival grows each year and is now one of the largest village festivals in Swale.
Please enable us to make the 2016 festival on Saturday, July 16, even better by completing our short survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/S/2LP7KJK
Dean Coles, chairman of the parish council's organising committee, said: "More than 2,000 people turned out and gave tremendous support to the festival this year. I want to thank everyone who attended and contributed, including all the performers and the hard-working committee and helpers.
"Now we would like your feedback to help us continue to improve and expand the festival."
The Festival Draw winners were: Lunch for 10 at T20 Cricket, Lashings X1 v Parliament X1: Rob Golding, The Bull, Newington
Champagne hot air balloon flight: Andrea Staniforth, Church Lane, Newington
Leeds Castle family pass: Mr Jones, St Matthews Close, Newington
Sittingbourne Greyhounds Race Night and Meal for six: Paula O'Leary, Downs Park, Herne Bay
Afternoon tea at Eastwell Manor, Ashford: Roy Sedge, The Harrow, Stockbury
The winners of the Festival Raffle were:
Royal Engineers Museum family annual pass: Sabina Lis, Thistle Road, Sittingbourne
Upchurch Golf Club pass: Mrs Beavis, London Road, Newington
Diggerland pass: Paul Greene, Church Lane, Newington
Mount Ephraim Gardens family day ticket: Cara Huish, Appleford Drive, Minster
Swallows Leisure Centre family swimming pass: Mrs Hextall, Brooks Close, Newington
Afternoon tea for two at the Thistle Hotel, Brands Hatch: Tracey Finlon, Iwade Way, Newington
Wallbridge Lane will be closed from9:00am on Monday the 24th of August, between the junctions of Oak Lane and Otterham Quay Lane to enable urgent cabling repairs to be carried out.
The alternative route is via Oak Lane and Horsham Lane.
A Public Meeting has been arranged for Wednesday the 26th of August at 7:00pm in Upchurch Village Hall to discuss and organise opposition to the proposed changes to the 327 Bus timetable which take effect on the 1st of September 2015.
All residents of Upchurch and Lower Halstow are most welcome.
The new September 1st timetable is already available on the Chalkwell website here ☞ www.chalkwell.co.uk
Between the 17th and 18th of August an orange 2008 model KTM 85SX XC 105 Schoolboy Motocross Bike was stolen from a domestic garage in The Street, Upchurch.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Andy and I moved to Upchurch with Mum and Dad in 1970. Apart from a short spell in Newington when they first got married, Andy has always lived in the village, originally in Church Farm Road, and then moved with Shirley to The Poles.
He is survived by Shirley, and his daughter Sarah. Born 14th June 1955, Andy played football for many local teams including Breach Rovers and the Men of Kent. Andy passed on Wednesday 12th August. His funeral will be held at 12:00pm on Friday 28th August at the Garden of England Crematorium, Bobbing (Map) and afterwards at Upchurch River Valley Golf Course. The family have decided on family flowers to T. Allen Funeral Directors, Twydall. 53 Twydall Green, ME8 6XJ and for donations to the British Heart Foundation (Website) All are welcome
Letters are currently circulating offering Council Tax Rebates. These are SCAMS. They are not associated with any of our District Councils or Kent County Council.
Do not respond to them. If you have a question or query about the charges then phone the number on your Council Tax Bill.
Friday 4th September - GAMES AFTERNOON at the Memorial Hall between 2:00pm and 4:00pm which includes Scrabble, Rummykub, Whist, Euchre and many more card and board games. We charge £1.50 for a cup of tea / coffee biscuits and a very warm welcome.
Saturday 26th September the Memorial Hall are Delighted to Introduce you to "GREEN ROCK RIVER BAND" with their lively "Songs with Harmonies" and their "Jazz fused Trombone and Banjo". The evening will start at 7:00pm to 7:30pm. Phone Kay on: 01795 844408, for your £9.00 ticket. See you there.
Notes for your Diaries:-
Saturday 10th October the Memorial Hall is holding a Quiz Night with tables of 6. Tickets are £5.00 each, which includes a ploughman's type supper. The time is 7:00pm for 7:30pm. There is a bottle of wine for each winning team member. Please bring your own beverages for the evening.
Saturday 21st November the Memorial Hall is holding Lower Halstow'sWinter Wonderland Market. We are supporting The PDSA animals Trust and Dream Flights for terminally ill Children. The Market opens at 10:00am with stalls including Cheeses, Cakes, Toys, and Indian Food. There will be displays every hour, for example a Sugar Craft display, and hopefully a Tai Chi display. The Market will be closing at 4:00pm with The Salvation Army Band playing carols for us all to join in with. A full itinerary will be in the next News Magazine.
