Upchurch Parish Council Report - December 2012
The Parish Council met on Thursday 6th December 2012 in the Hall of Holywell Primary School where 8 Councillors were present and 5 members of the public.
Public Time –Internet Speeds – A resident asked for an update on this. Cllr Lewin reported that he had consulted Mr Catford and would be taking this forward. Blocked drain – A resident reported that a drain in The Poles was still blocked. Cllr Arnold reported that he had consulted Kent Highways regarding this and would request it be cleaned again. Rural Crime – A resident explained that this was happening all over the village. The Clerk will contact PCSO Cork to request if his presence in the village could be increased. Residents are reminded to report crime to the Police. The non-emergency number for Kent Police is 101. Dog waste – A resident reported that bags full of dog waste were being left in the bushes along footpaths. Parking issues in the centre of the Village – A resident raised concerns over parking on the bend of the junction with Church Farm Road/Chaffes Lane during school pick up times. It was suggested that wooden bollards on this bend could prevent this. Paddock Play equipment – Two residents reported that they had come along to the meeting to find out the Councils plan for the Paddock play area.
Administration - Co-option of one member – Members welcomed David Steward who had filled this vacancy.
Finance – KCC Member Community Engagement Grant Scheme 2012/13 – A grant of £6,120 for Paddock Play Equipment and re-pointing of church yard wall had been approved and the acceptance form submitted to Kent County Council. Members discussed ideas for the Paddock Project. It was hoped that a working group could be set up with Parish Councillors and residents to investigate this project further. A detailed plan and costing for the project was required and then ways to obtain grant funding could be explored. Cllr Tucker offered to contact the residents present at the meeting who had expressed an interest in the project and the Clerk will consult Mr Newbery. Members were asked to forward any ideas for the project to Cllr Tucker.
Paddock – Lease – The Clerk reported that an email had been received from Tim Simmons with several attachments. The correspondence attached indicated that the lease renewal was in progress and that questions had been raised with regards to the use of the Paddock as a car park.
Burial Ground and Churchyard – Trees overhanging pub garden, Churchyard wall and cables on outside of garage – It was suggested that a management programme was needed for this area. The Clerk will arrange the weed spraying of the churchyard wall as soon as possible. Cllr Lewin explained that he had asked a resident to carry out adult supervision whilst the three fundraising students carried out some tasks in the churchyard.
Environment – Christmas tree Festival at St Marys Church from 16th December 2012 – The Clerk reported that a Christmas tree would be decorated on behalf of the Council and the theme chosen was “A Sweetie Christmas Tree”. She thanked Cllr Apps and his wife Trudy for offering to arrange a real Christmas tree and providing the decorations. Please note that A.C. Goatham kindly donated the Tree.
Highways - Street light in The Poles – An email from a resident explaining that this light was causing light pollution onto their property. Cllr Arnold would continue to follow this up. Street Lights needing attention – Residents may wish to report any faulty street lights found in the village to Cllr Arnold: john.arnold@justclickmail.com and/or the Clerk: clerk@upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk
Upchurch Parish Council Report – January 2013
The Parish Council met on Thursday 3rd January 2013 in the Hall of Holywell Primary School where 8 Councillors were present and no members of the public.
Correspondence - Resignation of Village Cleaner – A letter had been received from Mr. Letchford. It is hoped to hold interviews for a replacement as soon as possible. If you are interested in applying for this position, please contact the Clerk. Further details on the vacancy can be found in this issue of the Gabriel.
Planning - SW/12/1511 Units Adj The Cottage, Otterham Quay Lane – Application for a new planning permission to replace exant planning permission SW/09/0642 for the erection of replacement building to provide two B1 (light industrial) units – No objections.
SW/12/1472 Hedgerows, Holywell Lane – Retrospective application for the change of use of land for the stationing of two mobile home for use by a gypsy family with associated utility room, 4 vehicle parking spaces and hardstanding –“We object strongly to yet another retrospective application where a traveller site is established before any application is made. The proliferation of travellers' sites in the Parish of Upchurch can no longer be tolerated and we insist that Swale BC take positive action against this and any further infringement of planning law”. It was suggested that members may wish to comment on the highway impact that this proposal would have on the narrow lane. The Clerk will forward an additional comment based on the impact of an additional entrance on this narrow busy lane. At certain times of the day, it was a relatively heavily used road with blind access. Therefore any access which had been built should be safe.
Local Needs Housing – A request from a resident asking for the result of the two sites. It was explained that although the tally of votes for each site was recorded, this was not formally counted or ratified. A decision was made by the Council not to publish this result if the majority votes were “no” to the proposed scheme. Members agreed that the response to this request should be “on the basis that the letter stated that should the majority vote be ‘no’ then the site count was not formally counted and therefore the figure was not published”.
Finance - Budget/Precept 2013/14 –It was agreed to calculate a 2% increase in the precept.
Recreation Ground - Tree planting for Jubilee Celebrations – It is hoped to plant two trees at the far end of the Recreation Ground opposite the Scout Hut to celebrate the Jubilee and the London Olympics.
Highways- Parking problems at junction of Horsham Lane/The Street – An email from resident raising concerns about parking at this junction. He explained that it created a dangerous bottleneck and a potential accident situation. A member explained that recently this junction was blocked by Lorries delivering to the Co-Op and the arrival of a bus. The Clerk will consult the Co-Op. Parking in Forge Lane – A letter from a resident asking the Council’s proposals to tackle the parking in this road associated with school pick up/drop off times. The Council will be looking into this further. Windmill Hill – water on the highway – A report from Cllr Lewin had been circulated which explained the current situation:
Contractors had cleared out this very shallow gulley. After it was emptied, the Kent Highways Services (KHS) engineer had found no evidence of any water ingress into the gulley except for a trickle of natural ground water at the bottom. He therefore recommended that the gulley be used as a chamber for catchment f water from which a pipe will then be laid down the hill to a gulley at the bottom. The guess estimate cost of this work would be around £25k which would need to be found from the KHS 2013/14 budget.
Cllr Lewin indicated that during cold spells, Highways would be able to spot grit this road. He confirmed that he had written to Cllr Keith Ferrin asking for his support to the funding of this scheme in 2013/14.
Next meetings – Thursday 7th February and 7th March 2013, held in the hall of Holywell Primary School starting at 7.30pm. Please contact the Clerk if you require further advice.
Claire Attaway, Parish Clerk, 33 Church Farm Road, Upchurch, Kent ME9 7AG.
Upchurch Parish Council
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