Upchurch Parish Council - New Village Caretaker Required

Due to the retirement of Cliff our Village Caretaker, Upchurch Parish Council is looking for somebody to take on this role, to work 3 hours per week.

If you are interested, please contact the Clerk for further information.

Telephone: 01634 363906

Email: clerkupc@outlook.com

Thank you

Wendy Licence

Clerk to Upchurch Parish Council

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Proposed Residential Development of 8 Dwellings in Oak Lane, Upchurch

The plans

Planning application: 19/503869/OUT has been submitted to Swale Borough Council, seeking outline planning permission for a development of 8 residential dwellings at land south of the allotments in Oak Lane, Upchurch. All matters are reserved for future consideration with the exception of access.

The site is currently greenfield land and access is proposed from Oak Lane, opposite the lay-by at Granny's Green.

Planning application summary

19/503869/OUT | Outline application for residential development of 8no. three and four bedroom dwellings with associated amenity, parking and infrastructure (Access being sought). | Land At Oak Lane, Upchurch, Kent, ME9 7AY.

The application can be viewed online at: https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=PVESZRTYK3E00

To make comments about this application, you should either submit them online at: https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications

By Email to: planningsupport@midkent.gov.uk

Or in writing to: Mid Kent Planning Support, Maidstone House, King Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6JQ.

The deadline to submit comments is Friday 23rd August 2019 - remember to quote the planning application number.

Upchurch Matters

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Jackie Brigden

Jackie Brigden.

I would like to announce the sad passing of my mum, Jackie Brigden who lived in Ham Green, Upchurch for over forty years. Many villagers will remember mum from her days working at Shoregate Nursery.

If anyone would like to come and pay their respects, Jackie's funeral service will be held at Vinters Park Crematorium, Maidstone on Thursday the 15th of August at 1:15pm and after in the Crown Pub, Upchurch.

Please send your flowers to John Weir Funeral Directors, 130-132 High Street, Rainham, Kent ME8 8AR.

Thank you from all the family.

Louise Brigden

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Traffic Speed Survey on Horsham Lane

Residents living near this stretch of Horsham Lane have previously expressed
concerns over speeding vehicles.

Data from the recent traffic speed survey carried out on Horsham Lane, Upchurch between Monday 22nd and Sunday 28th July (inclusive) is now available.

Survey equipment was placed in Horsham Lane near the Crosier Court junction where it recorded traffic speeds both East and Westbound, 24 hours a day for a full 7 days.

The raw data (available to download at the link here >> www.upchurchmatters.co.uk/traffic-speed-survey-on-horsham-lane.zip) is broken down into vehicle types and numbers by time of day.

Below is the Traffic Manager's explanation:

“Speed survey equipment was placed immediately west of the Crosier Court junction, as discussed. Traffic speeds were recorded 24 hours per day for a full seven days by means of pneumatic tube counters. One of the limitations of this type of equipment is that it can generate some anomalies, for example when two vehicles cross the tubes at the same time but in opposite directions. This can ‘confuse’ the equipment and record what appears to be an exceptionally high speed for a couple of vehicles. The number of instances of this is usually very low and, because average data is used, these anomalies do not distort the data. However, we need to flag this in case people interrogate the raw data and spot these high speeds.

The two measures that are used when looking at traffic speed are mean (average) speed and 85th percentile speed. The latter is the speed at which 85% of vehicles are travelling at or below.

The mean speeds recorded were 27.2 miles per hour (westbound, i.e. towards Rainham) and 25.9 mph (eastbound, i.e. towards the village centre).

The 85th percentile speeds recorded were 31.9 mph (westbound) and 31.0 mph (eastbound).

These speeds are what we would expect on a length of road where 30mph applies (speed limits should be set so that the mean speed of traffic is below the enforcement speed for that limit, which, for a 30mph limit would require a mean speed of 35 mph or less).”

The traffic speed survey was paid for through a grant made by Swale Ward Councillor, Alan Horton to Upchurch Parish Council from his Swale Borough Council Ward Members Grant allocation (last year) and was to help inform the current Parish Highways Improvement Plan Consultation which residents can still take part in until Tuesday 20th August 2019, details of which can be found at the link here >> http://bit.ly/2M0XwSv

Thank you to Councillor Alan Horton for sharing this information.

Upchurch Matters

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August News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

We are now rapidly heading towards mid-summer and the garden should be at its peak. Hopefully you are enjoying outdoor living and making the most of pleasant evenings and weekends. Keep up the maintenance and use a high potash (K) feed on everything that is budding, flowering or fruiting. I must admit I am struggling with the weeding and can always find something better to do instead. I also, still have some bare patches in the lawn that need re-seeding. Otherwise I am managing to follow my own advice.

Remember to pinch out the tops of climbing beans, runner beans and aubergines to encourage the plants to thicken up and produce more harvest. Also pinch out the tops of tomatoes and the side shoots so that all the energy is directed into producing fruit. Carrots and beetroot should be ready and maincrop can be lifted when the haulms yellow and wilt. If you want thick skins on your potatoes cut the haulms downs and leave for another 2 weeks before lifting. Store in hessian sacks or if you want to take the risk just leave them in the ground. I have been doing that for years now and other than minor slug damage have not suffered any adverse effects… yet!! Test sweetcorn by pressing the cobs with your thumbnail and look for a milky juice that indicates that they are ready for picking. Then either cook immediately or freeze as the sugar turns to starch very quickly and the flavour deteriorates. This is also when the caterpillars get to work on the brassica and Provado will deal with them as well, being an all round pesticide.

I mentioned last month that rhubarb should not be picked after the end of June which started a bit of discussion with people who stated that they quite happily pick theirs right through summer. Which made me wonder why you shouldn’t pick your rhubarb after June!!? There are lots of little “rules of thumb” in gardening which advise you on what to do without actually providing a reason. What I have found is that rhubarb likes cool wet conditions and thrives in relatively low temperatures and plenty of water which is why it gets going early in the year. As the weather turns hot and dry it stops growing which normally coincides with the start of July. When this happens it is best to let all the stems die down naturally as this strengthens the crown. However, if you keep it watered or we get a wet cool summer it will keep growing. I transplanted mine last November, when the plant is naturally dormant, to a low lying area of the garden which gathers rainwater and it has been the best ever. It is still throwing out fresh stems so I will take another pick and see if it continues to grow, if it does I will take another pick until it visibly stops growing. Then the time is right to let it die back.

We are into fruit harvest and you may well have already taken cherries and possibly plums although my Victorias are a few weeks away. Remember to prune plums before the winter as this can expose them to disease. Hopefully you thinned out apples and pears and have some large fruits developing. Cut back the fruited stems of summer raspberries after harvesting.

We are having a reasonable summer so far with some good days, although early June was a bit of a washout. Personally I am just happy that the lawn isn’t getting another bashing after last year, although that may still happen. Do make the most of it, I am planning on having lunch on the patio and organising a BBQ for next weekend. The Duchess spotted a clever little patio set with a fire built in to the centre of the table so we can all sit round the BBQ and keep warm while we eat. Then when the evening gets a little chilly light the chiminea to keep the party going before the ladies retire indoors. You can then politely join them or maybe the men can have a last beer outdoors while the embers burn down. Summer should be good fun!!

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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Upchurch Fifty Years Ago in August 1969 by David Wood

The annual village carnival which had taken place every year since 1952 became the main highlight of the month attracting visitors from far and wide.

As always the village marathon took place one week before the carnival. It started and finished in The Street with separate races for men, women, girls and boys, organised by Aubrey Smith from Oak Lane.

Former winner Bernard Sketchley from Chaffes Lane dominated the 1969 men’s marathon and won the Pepperill Challenge Shield for the second consecutive year, beating his brother-in- law John Gilbert, formerly of Drakes Close into second position. Rodney Jones from Lower Halstow came third. Jayne Batchelor from Forge Lane won the women’s marathon with June Manley from Wallbridge Lane second. Alan Webb from Drakes Close won the boy’s marathon and Brenda Clark won the girl’s event.

In the weeks leading up to the carnival residents from the village housing estates and roads prepared decorated floats for the carnival procession through the village which started on the recreation ground and incorporated Oak Lane, Horsham Lane, Church Farm Road, Forge Lane, Chaffes Lane and Wallbridge Lane.

Fifteen floats took part in the 1969 carnival procession. Three nominated village queens also participated on their own floats. Maureen Siggers appeared as Carnival Queen, Lorraine Manley as Miss Upchurch and Vivian Atkinson as May Queen.

After the procession a fete took place in The Paddock which included a dog show and the crowds were entertained with a dancing display by the Maids of Kent (children from Holywell School). Rich Boakes from Chaffes Lane provided recorded music on a loudspeaker system, The Women’s Institute served tea in a marquee, stalls sold a variety of goods and sideshows grabbed visitors’ attention.

Church Farm Road won the ‘Best Float’ competition for the second consecutive year with the Women’s Institute second. Carnival Committee chairman Rita Woodford told the East Kent Gazette, “The floats are better than ever this year. More work has gone into them.”

The 1969 carnival proved successful and well attended with £400 raised for the ‘Extension of the Village Hall Fund.’

Village clubs and organisations continued their monthly activities in August. The Women’s Institute held their monthly meeting at Lower Halstow where Mrs Duncan gave a talk about a horse drawn caravan journey from Somerset to Scotland. Meanwhile, Upchurch Cricket Club had a month of mixed results at their Poot Lane ground with some matches cancelled because of rain. The biggest disappointment turned out to be the abandonment of their annual all day match against Pegasus from Romford Essex on August Bank Holiday Monday. Upchurch managed to complete their innings scoring 188 with Ian Daniel from Oak Lane hitting 68 runs but rain finished the game. The Pegasus players then gathered in The Crown where they drank and loudly sang the night away, which they did every year after the match before returning to Romford.

The parish council had a busy month. They gave permission for the recreation ground to be mown for the carnival and reported that the old churchyard needed attention because of its terrible overgrown condition. As a solution they decided to look for volunteers to complete the job. They discussed stiles on the seawall as being a hazard for children and old people who found climbing over them difficult. They also discussed the growing problem of parking in the village centre and the racing of cars around the village causing a danger to pedestrians. Rubbish dumping raised concerns, so a proposal was made to display posters warning against it around the village.

The parish records for August recorded the cremation of Joan Barden from Forge Lane aged 46 and the baptisms of Cristine Goodson from Horsham Lane, Geoffrey Tyler from Otterham Quay, Philippa Thompson from Chaffes Lane and Jennifer Tassell from Huntingdon.

August proved to be an entertaining month for residents with the staging of the carnival and the opportunity for some housewives and teenagers to go fruit picking on local farms to earn some extra money.

About David

David Wood was born, raised and still lives in Upchurch today. He is able to write from personal experience about village life and the changes that have taken place over the years, making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and detailed historical study of the village.

David's book, ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters.

Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.

David Wood