HORTON
KIRBY AND SOUTH DARENTH PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the MEETING of
the PARISH COUNCIL held on 2 August,
2004 in the Village Hall, South
Darenth at 7 pm.
Present: Cllr P
Bradley (Chairman),
Cllrs A Burchmore, D Payne, G Piller, M Powsey, D Snape, G Tripp,
T Searles, District
Councillor,
P McGarvey, District Councillor
1 member of the
press
In
attendance: C Allart, Parish Clerk
Apologies for
absence: None
Declarations of
Interest: None
RESOLVED that the
Minutes of the meeting held on 5 July
2004 be approved and signed as a correct record.
Police Community
Support Officer
The clerk
reported that interviews had taken place that week and training of the PCSO
would start in October.
Police Meeting
Members were
informed that the public meeting had been arranged for Monday 9 August and
invited to attend.
Traffic Island
Franks Lane – Appeal Decision
Tony Searles, Philip McGarvey and Ian Wescombe reported details of the Public Hearing that had beenheld on 13 July.
The Inspector’s decision to dismiss the Appeal had already been
received. It was noted that the
Inspector acknowledged that Mr Carter was a gypsy but that his circumstances
and needs were not so special as to warrant an overriding of Green Belt
requirements. This was welcomed but it
was felt this was unlikely to be the end of the matter.
RESOLVED that the
parish council’s thanks to Cllrs McGarvey,
Searles and Wescombe for
representing the local community so well at the Hearing be recorded.
RESOLVED that
1. the Minutes of the Village Hall Advisory Committee held on 8 July 2004 be approved and adopted; and
2. The Pre-School
manager be asked to pay in full by 8
August.
Report
Enclosed are
copies of estimates for the tree work in these 2 locations. Please note that Gina Hughes did not quote
for the Lower Paddock as she told us that Seeboard
would come and cut 2 metres round the wires and that most of the other work
could be done by volunteers.
Discussion
Members
considered the various proposals and noted the differences in approach.
RESOLVED that
1.
the work to the willow and the dead silver birch in
Westminster Field be carried out by Down
To Earth during the Summer in the sum of £672;
2.
the work suggested by Down To Earth in the Lower
Paddock be accepted as a basis for an application to KCC local boards community
grants scheme; and
3.
a small committee be appointed to recommend the
other details needed to complete the improvements to this area as part of the
same grant application.
48 ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995 – AIR QUALITY REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT
Report
SDC is consulting
on its Updating and Screening Assessment and would like comments before 6
August. They have sent the 35 page
document (including lots of photos) on cd. Sevenoaks Council is still seeking ideas
on how to reduce air pollution in the
District for inclusion in the Action Plan they are developing. Received for information.
Report
The clerk
reported that the maroons used to date have now been moved into a higher
explosive category and cannot be sold to the public anymore! Bracknell’s Fireworks suggest replacing this
with a Large Salute Rocket. However,
this produces 5 reports rather than the one.
Would this be suitable? Is this
perhaps an opportunity to replace the fireworks with some other way of
measuring the Silence?
Discussion
There were
various suggested alternatives to the rockets including a cornet or other
musical instrument, a church bell or a recording of a bang. There was general agreement that a rocket was
the most appropriate thing to enable the event to be heard throughout the
parish and further investigations would be made.
Members were
informed of steps being taken by Crockenhill Parish
Council to empower councillors to take action in an emergency should
unauthorised persons set up camp on parish council owned land.
Members thought
it a good idea to adopt a similar Action Plan in consultation with our own beat
officer but it was important to agree an order of working so that all
councillors knew if and when they were required to do something.
RESOLVED that
2. authority be delegated
to each parish councillor to apply to the Court to obtain any necessary Order
to remove illegal encampments from Parish Council land and to conduct
discussions with whomever necessary to procure their removal.
SE/04/01746/LBCALT
Relocate 2 Sash
Windows at Rear. Form Opening from
Kitchen to Dining Room. Form Opening for
French Doors to Terrace
The Parish
Council has no objections to this application.
SE/04/01923/FUL
Construction of a
pitched roof over rear extension
The Parish
Council has no objections to this application.
SE/04/01926/FUL
Erection of new 2
storey 3 bedroom house
The Parish
Council objects most strongly to this proposal.
It will form a cramped development in a spacious part of the Horton
Kirby Conservation Area and will spoil the openness and setting of the existing
houses. It will tend to give a terraced
effect that will spoil the street scene.
The Parish
Council also has serious concerns about building on the flood plain of the
River Darent which is known to flood in this
area. It considers that no further
“soft” areas should be built upon in order to help reduce the risk of flooding.
Reduce limbs of
lime tree overhanging garden
The Parish
Council is concerned that the proposed works will cause a lopsided effect to
this tree and wonder whether an overall pollarding would be preferable.
Dumped Rubbish
Cllr McGarvey reported on incidents of rubbish dumping in School Lane and action taken by him and locals to try and get SDC to prosecute those involved. He reported that unfortunately Sevenoaks don’t seem to have the will to do anything about it and quoted Richard Wilson who stated in an email that having an address amongst fly tipping is no evidence of who fly tipped. To get a successful prosecution concrete evidence is required of who actually dumped the waste.
RESOLVED that the
schedule of accounts be approved and payments made accordingly.
Event to Welcome
New Vicar
The clerk
reported that 6 invitations to the concert on 21 August had been allocated to
the Parish Council. Alan and Margaret Burchmore, Dorothy Snape, Gill
and Maurice Tripp and Carol Allart would attend.
The meeting ended
at 8.15 pm
Chairman
6 September 2004