Upchurch Parish Council Report - January 2019

Report of the Parish Council January 2019

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

Street Lights

The Parish Council wants to complete the upgrading of the street lights to LEDs as quickly as possible it will need to take out a loan, if the cost were to be added to the precept it would take several years to complete. It was agreed to pay for the project with an increase in Council Tax, the Council will use the money to repay a loan. There are the equivalent of 1003.54 Band D properties in the Parish and if the increase for a Band D property were to be £1.33 per month the loan would be repaid in five years, if the increase is £1.66 per month the loan can be repaid over four years. The lighting has a five-year guarantee so there would be no maintenance costs and as they will be LED lights there will be a saving on electricity costs. The aim is to upgrade all the lights at the same time and to replace the columns, where a light is mounted on a telegraph pole only the lamp will be replaced.  Councillors have received feedback from villagers that they are fed up with the lights not working and concern has been raised about the differing brightness of the lights. Residents have agreed the upgrade is a good idea.

Cllr Lewin said the increase will add £16 to £21 per annum per Band D property.

Planning

Ref: 18/505949/FULL Address: 15 Kent Terrace Upchurch Gillingham Kent ME8 8QP

Proposal: Demolition of existing end terrace house and erection of 2no. semi detached dwellings with rear parking.

Councillors considered the application and agreed that consideration should be given to residents’ concerns. Councillors also queried whether the drainage service vehicles will have sufficient space to manoeuvre.

Ref: 18/505468/FULL Address: The Orchard Holywell Lane Upchurch ME9 7HP

Proposal: Erection of a single storey dayroom building and single storey utility block (part retrospective).

Councillors considered the proposal and were concerned about the size given that it is for a dayroom. Councillors agreed unanimously to object to the application as the proposal is too large for the applicants’ requirements for a dayroom.

Ref: 18/505598/FULL Address: 38 Oak Lane Upchurch Sittingbourne Kent ME9 7AU

Proposal: Demolition of existing rear conservatory. Partial demolition of rear single storey projection to facilitate the erection of new single storey flat roof extension with roof light.

Councillors considered the application and supported the proposal.

Ref: 18/506062/FULL Address: Land West of Brown Jug 76 Horsham Lane Upchurch 

Proposal: Proposed residential development of 6 x 3 bed two storey houses and associated access to/from Horsham Lane.

Councillors considered the application and were concerned as to whether the development is in the right location as vehicles from the houses would have to go onto the road at a difficult point. The road is narrow and there are problems when two wide vehicles meet. The new footpath in front of the houses ends at the Brown Jug making it difficult for residents to walk safely to the village, this will increase the number of traffic movements. Concern was raised about the sustainability of the development. More information on access and egress to the proposal is needed due to the location of the development and the narrowness of the road. There is insufficient parking for visitors and residents.

Ref: 18/506381/FULL  Address: 15 Forge Lane Upchurch Sittingbourne Kent ME9 7AE

Proposal: Demolition of existing Conservatory. Erection of single storey rear extension with flat roof and lantern skylight. Alterations to fenestration including 2no. new conservation Velux roof lights to rear roof slope (Revision to 18/504810/FULL).

Councillors considered the application and agreed to support the proposal and request that consideration be given to any forthcoming comments.

Ref: 18/502771/FULL Address: Jack Russell Place Halstow Lane Upchurch  ME9 7AB

Prposal: Installation of a brick wall and gates to front entrance (part retrospective)

Swale Planning Officer recommended refusal of the proposal and the application was rejected by Swale Borough Council. The applicant lodged an appeal which has been dismissed.

Ref: 16/508521/FULL Address: Tranquility Otterham Quay Lane Upchurch Kent ME8 7UT

Proposal: Conversion of former storage building (originally built for agricultural purposes) into 1 No. 2 bed dwelling and 1 No. 3 bed dwelling with associated parking and amenity space.

The proposal was refused by Swale Borough Council and the applicant appealed against the decision, the appeal has been dismissed.

Allotment

There are still plots available in the Allotment Garden and anyone interested in having one should contact the Clerk.

Paddock and Recreation Ground 

The new play equipment has been installed in the Paddock and is being enjoyed by children.

Budget 2019-20

Councillors have agreed a precept of £50,177 which includes £17,959 as a special lighting project. This means the precept for a Band D property will be £50.00.

Christmas Lights

The Council has received superb feedback from residents regarding the new Christmas lights and tree lights which were bought from a grant given by Swale Borough Council. The Parish Council is extremely grateful to Mr and Mrs Osborne for the use of their electricity for all the Christmas lights. Councillors are also grateful to Mr Friend for his generous donation of a Christmas tree.

The Parish Council had negotiated for the Sittingbourne Christmas Lights sleigh round to visit Upchurch on 10^th December 2018 and Councillors volunteered to help with the event.  £275 was raised on the evening and the village has been invited to take part again this year.

  

Date of next meetings:

Full Council - Thursday 7^th February 2019 at 7:30pm in Upchurch Village Hall.

The Planning Committee and General Purposes Committee - Wednesday 20^th February 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: 01634 363906

Email: clerkupc@outlook.com

Website: www.upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk

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Church Porch Sale at St. Mary's

The Church Porch Sale returns on Saturday 12th January, and on the 2nd Saturday or every month at St. Mary's Church, Upchurch from 9:00am until 11:00am.

☕️ Refreshments
🍎 Seasonal Produce
🍰 Home Baked Goods
📚 Secondhand Books

Everybody welcome 😃

Mary Stone

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Upchurch Village Hall Improvement Project - Presentation

On Tuesday 5th February at 7:00pm the Village Hall Management Committee will present their ideas for the refurbishment of the Village Hall.

It is a three year project which they would like you to know about.

Please come along and see for yourself.

John Tutt

Upchurch Village Hall Management Committee

Website: www.upchurchvillagehall.weebly.com

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Swale Borough Council Environmental Grant Scheme - Open for Applications

Swale Borough Council is allocating £5,000 in grant funding to support community projects and organisations help deliver on environmental objectives.

The fund has come from littering and fly tipping Fixed Penalties, which we are re-investing in our neighbourhoods.

The maximum grant for any one project is £1000 and only one application can be submitted by an organisation in each financial year.

The grant scheme launches Monday 7th January, and runs until Thursday 28th February 2019.

Cllr Duncan Dewar-Whalley, cabinet member for finance and performance at Swale Borough Council says:

“We are very pleased to announce this grant scheme and encourage local organisations to apply. The money raised from people caught littering and fly tipping will be put to good use.”

Application forms and guidance notes can be found at: www.swale.gov.uk/environment-grants

Swale Borough Council

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Swale Borough Council - Parking Improvements Across Swale

Swale Borough Council is tackling inconsiderate and dangerous parking outside schools across Swale, as well as reducing CO2 emissions in enforcement patrols.

Over the two months of October and November, Civil Enforcement Officers have made 185 visits to schools and issued 39 Penalty Charge Notices to drivers parked dangerously and inconsiderately outside schools during drop off and pick times.

APCOA Civil Enforcement Officers working on behalf of Swale Borough Council are now 100% green in delivering the service across the Borough using bicycles and fully electric patrol vehicles in addition to existing foot patrols.

Vehicle patrols in total cover over 130,000 miles a year, meaning an average saving of over 29 tonnes of CO2.

Cllr Alan Horton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities at Swale Borough Council said:

“This is great news for people living in our borough - parking in restricted areas outside schools poses a risk to children, as well as being inconsiderate to local residents.

Good air quality is also a priority for the Council - making our parking enforcement teams 100% green shows we are doing our bit to reduce CO2 emissions in our area.

Tackling these two issues head on is essential if we want to improve our communities”.

For more news on local services, follow the council’s Twitter account or Facebook page.

For further information on air quality within the borough, visit: www.swale.gov.uk/air-quality

Swale Borough Council

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Attempted Burglary - Drakes Close, Upchurch

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 46/3833/19

Sometime on Sunday the 6th of January there was an attempted burglary in Drakes Close, 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.

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

Kent Community Messaging

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