The monthly Meeting of the Parish Council took place on
Thursday 4th June at the Village Hall where 5 Councillors were
present and 3 members of the public.
Minutes
of the meeting held on 14th May 2015 – There
were no amendments to the minutes and it was proposed by Cllr Rose and seconded
by Cllr Denny that they be accepted as a true record. All agreed.
Public
Time– Village Centre – A resident
raised concerns regarding the untidiness of the Village Centre with regards to
overgrown grass and rubbish outside of the Co-op. It was agreed that the Clerk
contact KCC to request that the grass be cut and also that she contact the
Co-op to request that they address the issues with litter. Planning - A
resident enquired as to what the Parish Councils response would be to the
Horsham Lane Garage application. Cllr Tucker advised that the Council had
submitted their response in time for the 28th May deadline and had
objected strongly to the application. Concerns were also raised with regards to
the Jubilee Fields application and the fact that the contractors had given
residents the impression that Swale Planning were backing the application at a
recent event laid on by Clarendon’s. Cllr Tucker responded that the Parish Council
had also been given that impression and that the Clerk had therefore contracted
Swale Planning and was awaiting a response and that any information received
will be uploaded to the Parish Council website. Burial Ground– A
resident enquired as to what Phase 2 is in the Council’s recent Burial Ground
update. Cllr Tucker advised that Phase 2 will be the Clerk contacting the plot
owners whose graves are currently unkempt and non-compliant in order to start
the process of tidying the Burial Ground.
Declarations of Interest – Cllr Lewin declared a Disclosable
Pecuniary Interest in the Defibrillator.
Correspondence – Planting in Upchurch – Following a letter received by the
Clerk from a resident regarding the lack of flowers in and around Upchurch the
Clerk reported that she had discussed the situation with both KCC and SBC both
of which were willing to help. It was agreed that further discussion was needed
with regards to ownership of certain areas of land and whether residents and
the School may want to be involved with planting. Parking at Village Fete
- A resident had contacted the Clerk regarding concerns with parking on the
Recreation Ground during the Village Fete. The Clerk had responded to the
resident to assure them that as in previous years the parking would be very
well supervised.
Planning – 15/503300/FULL – 2 Horsham Lane,
Upchurch – The Council
strongly objected to this application due to the fact that no consideration had
been given to the conditions on the previous application, parking is limited,
the use of black stained boarding would be out of character with the
surrounding area and there is no evidence of input from the Conservation
Officer or Kent Heritage. 15/503784/FULL – Gore Pumping Station – As
this application is to improve the quality of water in Upchurch the Council
could see no reason to object to this application as long as during
construction heavy vehicular access is mindful of potential impact on the busy
A2.
Other
Planning Matters – 15/501944/FULL- Jubilee Fields– Cllr Arnold is to draft a letter for
the Clerk to send to Southern Water with regards to the impact on the already
unreliable sewage system in and around the Village that an application of this
size will have. 15/500247/FULL – Greenacres, Holywell Lane - Cllr Lewin
reported that the Greenacres application will go before Swale Planning
Committee on 11th June 2015.
Finance – A discussion took place regarding
the claiming of basic allowances and expenses for Councillors. It was agreed
that the Councillors could claim out of office expenses such as travel costs.
As the Council had not had an election it was agreed that the allocation of the
election money from last year’s precept should be further discussed at the next
Council meeting.
Defibrillator – The Clerk advised that she had
received a cheque from the W.I in order to purchase a defibrillator for
Upchurch. The W.I are donating this as their 100 year celebration. Cllr Tucker
reported that the W.I were still looking into appropriate sites for the
defibrillator to be placed and would be continuing to raise funds in order to
donate to the Council towards the maintenance of the defibrillator and
electricity costs.
Bus Shelter – Cllr Tucker reported that Cllr
Masson has made excellent progress with the Bus Shelter proposal and has met
with the Conservation Officer in order to obtain quotes for the appropriate
type of shelter for the Village and the site that it should be placed. The
Clerk has submitted a pre-planning meeting request with Swale Planning and Cllr
Masson has contacted Cllr Mike Baldock with regards to a possible grant toward
the shelter. There will be a pre-planning meeting arranged with residents to
discuss the proposal in the future.
APM 2016 – The date was set for 21st
April 2016.
Casual Vacancies – The Council currently has two casual
vacancies which the Clerk has advertised on the Parish noticeboards.
Recreation
Ground –
Support Posts – Cllr Denny reported that two support posts near the new
fence had been damaged and would be removed.
Paddock – Play Equipment - Cllr Arnold
advised that the new parts had been fitted to the play equipment. The Clerk reported that the Annual Inspection
of the play equipment would take place in July.
Burial Ground and Churchyard – Cllr Tucker reported that during a recent meeting with the
Churchwardens concerns had been raised regarding the erosion of the wall and
fence joining the Churchyard and the Village Hall. The Churchwardens had also
reported that the ashes plots in the Churchyard were still under discussion with
the Diocese and due to the size of the quotes received to place a pathway
through the Churchyard it had been decided that the most uneven parts would be
addressed first at less or no cost. St Mary’s Church Clock – The Clerk
reported that the Annual service is due in August and will be arranged in order
that Cllr Masson can be present.
Highways – Cllr Arnold reported that five
street lights had been repaired. Road Markings – Cllr Tucker asked that
Cllr Arnold contact Highways to request that the hedges be cut back on Windmill
Hill before new road markings were applied. Cllr Arnold reported that he had
still not received a date for the closure of Windmill Hill for repairs. Parking
outside School – Cllr Lewin reported that the Enforcement Officers are looking
into the parking situation outside of the school.
Other Matters not yet arising – Burial Ground – Cllr Tucker
reported that following a meeting at the Burial Ground a resident had suggested
that a charitable fund be set up in order to assist with the maintenance over
the coming years. Cllr Tucker advised that this would be considered for the
future. Horsham Garage – Cllr Lewin reported that the Enforcement
Officers are having difficulty contacting the garage owners.
There will be no monthly meeting in July. The next meeting will take place on 6th August 2015 at 7:30pm in the Village Hall.
Please note the full Minutes from the Meeting can be seen on the Upchurch Parish Council website.
Julia Cura, Clerk to the Parish Council.
Tel: 01634 363906
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