Notice Board

Thursday, 9 January 2020

Upchurch Parish Council Report - January 2020

Report of the Parish Council January 2020

Cllr Tyrone Ripley (Chairman), Cllr John Arnold (Vice-Chairman), Cllr Pam Denny, Cllr Alan Horton, Cllr Gerry Lewin, Cllr Peter Masson, Cllr Janet Marshall, Cllr Gary Rosewell and Cllr Neil Sheppard. Clerk Mrs Wendy Licence.

Paddock and Recreation Ground

The annual inspection of the play equipment has been completed.

Tikspac stations have been installed at the Recreation Ground and they contain bags for dog waste which must be put in a litter bin or taken home and put in the wheelie bin. Dog fouling continues to be a problem in the village and it is hoped that this will help alleviate the situation.

Dog fouling can lead to an increased risk and toxocara canis can pass from dog waste to humans as Toxocariasis through contaminated sand or soil, and children are at particular risk.

The Parish Council asks all dog owners to be responsible and clean up after their dogs.

Planning

i. Ref: 19/505292/FULL Address: 116 Oak Lane Upchurch Kent ME9 7AY

Proposal: Chalet Bungalow new rear extension to enlarge existing living room with new bedroom created (bedroom 3) within the roof structure, new front porch and detached garage. (Resubmission to 19/503318/FULL).

Councillors considered the application and had no objections to the proposal.

ii. Ref: 19/505938/OUT Address: Land At Gore Farm Chaffes Lane Upchurch Kent ME9 7BE

Proposal: Outline application for the erection of 2no. dwellings (Access and Layout being sought).

Councillors considered the application and were concerned that the proposal was contrary to planning policy; it is outside the built environment; it does not replace an existing building; it uses agricultural land and does not pass the test for Rural Exception Sites.

It was agreed unanimously to object to the proposal.

iii. Ref: 19/506151/SUB Address: Breach Farm Breach Lane Upchurch ME9 7PE

Proposal: Submission of details pursuant to Condition 2 (details of materials), Condition 3 (sustainable construction techniques), Condition 5 (landscaping details), Condition 9 (nesting bird boxes) and Condition 10 (ecological enhancement plan), of application 18/503039/FULL.

Councillors considered the submission of details and had no objections.

iv. Ref: 19/505263/FULL Address: Kaynes Farm Breach Lane Lower Halstow Kent ME9 7PA

Proposal: Retrospective application for siting of a portacabin for residential use in association with existing smallholding and equine facilities.

The Parish Council had objected to the application and the applicant has challenged some of the Council’s objections. Following a site visit with the applicant, the Council has agreed to continue to object to the proposal and a further response has been submitted.

VE Day 75^thAnniversary 8^thMay 2020

A committee has been formed and the preparations are ongoing for the event to celebrate the 75^thanniversary of VE Day. The Council has booked the Village Hall for the event.

Father Christmas 2020

The Parish Council had secured the Santa Sleigh for 2019. The Council decided it will arrange its own event for 2020 and has booked the Village Hall for 20^thDecember 2020 from 2pm and a professional Father Christmas and two elves have been booked for the event.

This is a precis of Council business, full minutes of all meetings can be found on the website when ratified.

Date of next meetings:

Full Council - Thursday 6^thFebruary 2020 at 7:30pm in Upchurch Village Hall.

The Planning Committee and General Purposes Committee - Wednesday 19^thFebruary at 7:30pm in the Committee Room of the Village Hall.

All residents are welcome to attend the meetings and there is a time for members of the public to comment, raise concerns or ask questions.

Wendy Licence - Clerk to the Parish Council

Tel: 01622 739324

Email: clerkupc@outlook.com

Website: www.upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk

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Tools Stolen From Vehicle - Newington

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 6/4408/20

Between Friday the 3rd and Monday the 6th of January, tools were stolen from a van belonging to Chord Engineering, while it was parked in Merton Drive, Newington.

If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.

For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk

Kent Community Messaging

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Picture Medway Exhibition

Talented young people in Medway have created photographic work as part of the Picture Medway Project.

Teenagers from across the area have taken the time to capture their perspective of Medway and what the area means to them.

A public exhibition of their work will be held:

Between Saturday 14th December and Saturday 11th January at Gillingham Library

Between Thursday 16th January and Wednesday 19th February at Medway Archives Centre
Between Saturday 22th February and Saturday 21st March at University of Kent
Between Saturday 28th March and Saturday 25th April at Strood Library

FREE to attend - No need to book

More information at >> www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/505/picture_medway_exhibition

Upchurch Matters

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Wednesday, 8 January 2020

Jim Harman 1936 - 2020

Jim Harman sadly passed away on Sunday 5th January 2020. Jim lived with his wife Ann in the village for over 50 years and was well known by many after years of serving the local community.

He was a founder member of the One O’clock club. A group of villagers who used to meet at the Brown Jug and later The Crown at 1 O’ Clock on a Sunday. This group raised significant money for the village over many years and ran the annual Upchurch Fireworks display in The Paddock.

Jim was probably known most for his work in the Scouts as Akela and in later years as Group Scout Leader , Chairman and Caretaker of the Scout Hut. He was instrumental with several others in helping to secure funds for the current Scout Hut and was actively involved in the construction. He was a regular fundraiser for the Scouts and co-ordinated the monthly waste paper collection in the village. He was also a key figure in securing Upchurch Fireworks for the Scouts when the One O’ Clock club could no longer run the event.

Jim was often involved in the organisation of village events from Remembrance Sunday to Upchurch Carnival and was a founder member of the Upchurch Twinning Group. He would regularly support other good causes in the village. He was a long serving member of The Parish Council, caretaker of Holywell School and Governor and PTA chairman of Highsted School in Sittingbourne.

Parkinson’s and Leukaemia curtailed Jim’s activities in the community in later years but he and Ann celebrated 58 years of marriage last year. He loved the village he lived in and spent much of his life working to make it a better place for all of us.

Jim had three children Jonathan, Clare and Rachel, 8 Grandchildren and 2 Great Grandchildren.

The Family will announce funeral arrangements in due course.

Jim suffered from Parkinson’s disease and Leukaemia both of which have no cure. Significant work is ongoing in both fields to find a cure and enhance the lives of those suffering. If you would care to leave a tribute to Jim and donate to one of the chosen charities, please visit the just giving page below.

www.justgiving.com/team/RememberJimHarman

Thank you

Mike Powell

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Swale Borough Council - Spirit of Sittingbourne Development Agreement Ending Early

Swale Borough Council and The Spirit of Sittingbourne have agreed to bring their partnership to a close upon successful completion of the Leisure quarter in the Town Centre next year.

The works were delivered as part of a wider two-phase agreement with the Spirit of Sittingbourne in 2012.

The ending of the agreement means that plans to develop high rise housing on three sites will now not proceed. These had been assigned to Spirit under the development agreement and will now be returned to the council.

The end of the development agreement will also mean that the second phase of the development will not go ahead. This was based around a new civic centre, with residential development at the council’s existing home Swale House.

Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of the council, said:

“I appreciate the way Spirit has engaged with us since the administration changed in May.

They understood in a constructive way that we did not wish to proceed to phase 2 of the development and that we wished to determine the future of the car park sites that were allocated to Spirit in the Development Agreement made by our predecessors.

In the meantime, we look forward to the completion of the rest of phase 1. This is a major investment in a town that has been starved of investment for decades and the coalition is determined that it should prove to be an asset to all the people of Swale.”

The retail park, delivered as part of phase 1, was opened fully let in 2018, and the multi-storey car park is now partially operational whilst works to build the hotel, cinema and restaurants are being completed.

The hotel is scheduled to be operational in the next few months, and the cinema should be handed over to The Light shortly afterwards. The internal works for the cinema are expected to take five months, during which time the signed-up restaurants – Nandos, Lounges, Pizza Express and Creams – will be preparing to open.

Richard Upton of U+I, one of the partners in the Spirit of Sittingbourne, said:

“We are obviously very disappointed not to be able to move ahead with Phase 2 of the scheme, but completely understand the Council’s wish to think again about their development strategy for the remaining sites.

We are very proud of the work we have done in Sittingbourne to date and we look forward very much to complete the Leisure Quarter which will make a significant positive impact on life in the centre of this great town.”

Huw Evans, from Quinn Estates, also part of the Spirit of Sittingbourne said:

“The delivery of the Leisure Quarter in Sittingbourne Town Centre has been a pivotal part of the process of transforming Sittingbourne into a welcoming, destination.

We are naturally disappointed at Swale Borough Council’s decision and understand their reconsideration of phase two; we look forward to being able to work positively with them on future projects.”

Swale Borough Council
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