HORTON
KIRBY AND SOUTH DARENTH PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held on 4 April 2005 in
the Village Hall, South Darenth at 7.30 pm.
Present: Cllr P Bradley
(Chairman),
Cllrs A Burchmore, D Payne, G
Piller, M Powsey, D Snape, G Tripp,
R Valentine and I Wescombe
T Searles, District Councillor,
P McGarvey, District
Councillor
D Brazier, County
Councillor,
3 members of the public
In attendance: C Allart,
Parish Clerk
Declarations of Interest:
None
182 MINUTES OF THE LAST
MEETING
RESOLVED that the Minutes of
the meeting held on 7 March 2005 be approved and signed as a correct record.
Horses Washed in River
Darent
A resident brought along an
empty bottle of insecticidal horse shampoo found in Franks Lane. The bottle states that the product is harmful
to wildlife and should not be used near watercourses.
RESOLVED that the
Environment Agency be informed.
Security in Village Hall
Cllr Valentine reported that
he had received a report from the Police Crime Reduction Officer which would be
studied and recommendations put forward to the village hall committee.
Land at Rays Hill
The clerk reported that she
had received a reply from the owner of this farmland stating that it was not
being offered for sale. The owner
promised to inform the parish council when she did want to sell.
RESOLVED that the Minutes of
the Village Hall Advisory Committee held on 10 March 2005 be approved and
adopted.
185 100 YEAR WOOD MAINTENANCE
AND EXTENSION
Clerk’s Report
Members will be aware that
£500 has been allocated for buying trees and that locals were to be asked to
help plant them. It was suggested that
David Butt be asked for advice and he has come back with the proposition that
the existing wood is in such a poor shape that managing that should take
priority before planting more trees. He
says that unless the individual trees are cleared of undergrowth the area will
continue to develop as scrubland rather than wood.
The Woodland Trust is meant
to be managing the area but from these comments and my experience of contact
with them, they do not appear to have done anything in the way of
management. It might be time to pull out
of this association with the Trust.
Discussion
Members were concerned to
hear that the Woodland Trust had not been maintaining the Wood. They felt that the Trust should be asked why
they had not been looking after the wood, to come down and have a look at it
and advise on what action they would take to bring the trees back into good
shape. It was also suggested that the
Trust be asked how much they had allocated to spend on 100 Year Wood during the
past 10 years and how much had actually been spent.
RESOLVED that the clerk be
instructed to write to the Woodland Trust asking for answers to all the above
points.
186 MINUTES OF WORKS COMMITTEE
To receive the Minutes of
the first meeting of this Committee held on 21 March 2005 and agree any necessary action.
Grass Verge, The Street
SDC highways have allocated
money to install 12 – 15 posts at 2 and a half metre intervals round the
bend. The contractors recommended a 2
metre interval would be more effective at stopping vehicles getting through. As this Parish Council had already agreed to
spend £700 on protecting this verge, it was agreed to pay up to this amount on
providing posts to bring the total up to
20.
Play Area Entrances –
Disability Discrimination Act
The clerk reminded members
that the possible provision of tarmac paths to allow wheelchair access had been
considered because of the provisions of this Act. Cllr Wescombe told the parish council that a
judgement had to be made on the grounds of reasonableness. He suggested that certain charitable groups
could provide assessors to look at the situation and give advice and it was
agreed to follow this up.
East Hill Widening
A letter to KCC highways had
been written.
Shrubbery Road Play Area
SDC had been reminded that
they had agreed to take away the fencing and the spring animal.
Westminster Field Picnic
Area
Members were very concerned
about the structure built across the river by Sarah Ward on her land at the end
of the picnic area. There was a great
deal of rubbish accumulating against it which it was felt was illegal as well
as being unsightly and obstructing the flow.
A “dead hedge” which had
been constructed by the Environmental Task Force (without permission) was
considered to be ugly and needed to be removed.
RESOLVED that
1. a letter be written to Sarah
Ward asking her to deal with the rubbish that was collecting against her fence;
and
2. the task force be asked to
remove the dead hedge.
Clerk’s Report
From time to time it has
been suggested that security measures are needed to protect staff working on
their own in the parish office. There
are various ways of doing this
1
keeping the door locked and checking on the visitor before letting them
in
2
erecting a grille
3
having someone else in the office
4
having an alarm or flashing light
(1) would not work because often
visitors are strangers so how can you check them out before letting them in?
(2) would help in certain
circumstances but not all and would look ugly
(3) would not be practicable.
(4) would help only if someone
was passing at the time.
Having given this some
thought, I consider that the best way to satisfactorily give protection is to
combine (1) and (3). I would like to
make the suggestion that the office is closed at all times except perhaps one
morning a week when someone else could be in attendance.
The main reasons that people
come in is for
·
Rubbish sacks (could be supplied via a local shop/pub)
·
To book the hall (could be done via the telephone)
·
Pay for the hall (cheques could be posted through the letterbox)
·
Information or to report a complaint (can be done by phone)
There would be a lot less
disruption and I should be able to get more work done which would be an
advantage. To compensate for the lack of
service to the public, Members might want to include a Saturday morning
“surgery” once a month.
If members think this would
be acceptable, the details could be thought about over the next month and a
decision made in time for residents to be informed via the next
newsletter. There could be a trial
period of 3 months to see if it is workable.
Discussion
There was lengthy discussion
on whether staff safety was a problem or not and how it should be tackled.
It was felt that the 2
issues raised, that of taking steps to improve safety and whether the office
hours should be reduced, should be considered as separate matters.
It was suggested that office
opening could be reduced to 1 hour per morning but this was not agreed by a
majority. It was considered that during
term time when playgroup is in the building, there is no problem but that there
could be a roster of councillors in holiday times. It was agreed that a panic button could be
investigated.
To consider whether this
Council wishes to sponsor an arrangement at a cost of £30 to £40.
RESOLVED that a donation
under section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 of £40 be given to St Mary’s
Church for an arrangement for this occasion.
To receive a report from
Cllr Wescombe following his visit to the club and to consider whether any
action needs to be taken.
Discussion
Cllr Wescombe had not
actually visited the youth club but Cllr Valentine had had a detailed
conversation with Steve Hanks, KCC Youth Worker. In addition Carol Blendell and Tracey Hall
were at the meeting who were able to answer questions on various issues.
The youth club leaders said
that 90% of those that attend are from this parish but they would never turn
away anyone who behaves and joins in.
The current membership is mostly girls aged 11 – 12 years.
Whilst it might have been
true at one time, it would not be the case at the moment that any young person
would feel intimidated about joining the club.
The leaders said that they
thoroughly check the building before they leave.
To consider the request by
Cllr Tripp for SDC to provide an additional bin in Forge Lane.
During a recent village
clean up it was noticed that the path along the school boundary in Forge Lane
was the dirtiest part of the village.
During discussion it was agreed that another bin was unlikely to be
provided by SDC and that the school caretaker should be asked to clear the
litter from outside of the school fence as well as inside.
191 FLY TIPPING
To consider the request by
Cllr Wescombe that SDC should be lobbied to provide greater efforts against fly
tipping in view of Dartford Borough Council’s recent concerted efforts which
will mean that this northern part of Sevenoaks District will become a soft
target. Cllr Tripp also thinks that SDC
should be urged to instruct their refuse lorries to pick up rubbish in laybys
that is in sacks when they drive past.
Discussion
There was a great deal of
discussion on the subject of fly tipping and SDC’s reluctance sometimes to pick
it up.
RESOLVED that
·
our District Councillors be asked to make representations to the
council staff to get something done when locals have collected together rubbish
from hedgerows and deposited it in one location for collection; and
·
a letter be written to SDC requesting that they have joint talks with
neighbouring authorities to campaign to combat fly tipping.
192 PURCHASE OF HEATHSIDE LAND
Report
To consider whether to
proceed with negotiations to purchase the Heathside land and part of the car
park which has recently been offered to the parish council.
Whilst no firm figure has
been set, the indications are that the amount will be about 15% more than that
suggested as a valuation figure when the parish first became interested in it
in 1995. However, the purchase price is
not the only consideration since set up and maintenance costs as well as
staffing implications will have to be taken into account. The amount of parking area offered will also
be important since extra car parking is unlikely to be allowed because of Green
Belt regulations.
Discussion
Members were delighted to
hear of this offer for the Parish Council to buy the land. It was suggested that the amount of car
parking space available was not important since the land was intended for
recreational use by local people who should be able to walk to the facility.
RESOLVED that
·
the Parish Council agrees to proceed with negotiations to buy the
Heathside land; and
·
the Chairman and clerk be authorised to agree a price provided it does
not exceed that mentioned in the report (£30,000).
To consider whether this
Council has any objections to proposed Kent Highways waiting restrictions as
follows:
East Hill, north side, from
its junction with Paddock Close, south eastwards (ie up the hill) for a
distance of 15 metres and north westwards (ie down the hill) for a distance of
15 metres; and
Paddock Close, both sides,
from its junction with East Hill northwards for a distance of 15 metres.
Discussion
Members were concerned that
this would cause inconvenience to local residents who need to park in Paddock
Close. It was considered that there were
far worse corners in the parish.
RESOLVED that objections to
these proposals be lodged.
To consider what comments,
if any, need to be made on the following applications:
SE/05/00604/FUL
50 East Hill
Loft Conversion
The Parish Council has no
comments on this application.
SE/05/00710/FUL
13 Forge Lane
Single storey side
extension, loft conversion and alterations to rear parking area
The Parish Council has no
comments on this application.
New Highways Arrangements
Cllr McGarvey reported briefly
on the new arrangements for highways, the local office of which had moved to
Gravesend.
RESOLVED that the schedule
of accounts, as submitted, be approved and payments made accordingly.
Members were asked who would
be attending the next meting in Otford on 28 April.
Cllrs Payne, Valentine and
Wescombe would try to attend.
Reduction in Ticket Office
Opening Times at Farningham Road Station
Cllr Wescombe reported that
there were plans to reduce the opening hours to 3 and a half hours per
day. It was agreed to put this on the
next agenda for discussion and raise it at the Consortium meeting as it was a
proposal for a wider region than just our station.
Fence and Franks Bridge
It was reported that the
fence has been broken at Franks bridge, Franks Lane
The meeting ended at 9.40 pm
Chairman
Date