HORTON KIRBY AND SOUTH
DARENTH PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the ANNUAL MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held on 13 May 2003 in the Parish Room, Village Hall, South Darenth at 7.20 pm.
Present: Cllr P Bradley
(Chairman),
Cllrs A Burchmore, D
Payne, M Powsey, D Snape, G Tripp,
R Valentine and
I Wescombe
D Brazier, County
Councillor,
P McGarvey, District
Councillor (part of meeting)
T Searles, District
Councillor
5 members of the public
In attendance: C Allart,
Parish Clerk
Apologies for absence: Cllr
G Piller (holiday)
Declarations of Interest:
None
Councillors signed the declaration forms.
3 CHAIRMAN’S DECLARATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE
Cllr Bradley signed the declaration of acceptance of office of Chairman.
New Members were welcomed
and all Members signed or re-signed the Register of Interests forms. Various documents were given out including a new model standing orders document,
a list of “What Parish Councils Can Do” and, for new Members, a copy of the
Parish Council budget for 2003/4.
6 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
RESOLVED that the Minutes of
the meeting held on 24 April 2003 be approved and signed as a correct record.
There were two sessions of
discussion on this subject, one under matters arising from last meeting and a
second one at the end of the meeting when the new owner Mr Carter was at the
meeting. During the first session, a
local who had spoken to the owner reported that he wanted to build an equine
centre and house and there was talk about the covenant which Barry Morgan
thought could only be removed with the permission of those who have the benefit
of it not those who imposed it. It was
agreed to ask the District Solicitor about this.
Later on Mr Carter informed
the meeting that
·
he
wanted to build a house on the land;
·
the
land was within the building line;
·
he
had had all the restrictions on the land removed by the Land Registry; and
·
when
he started cutting down the trees on the land, he had done so because Mr Grove
of the District Solicitor’s department had told him he could do it.
Mr Carter stated that he had
not been told of all the planning restrictions before he bought the land but
that he still wanted to build on it and did not want to sell it back. He was informed that strong Green Belt
restrictions applied and Tony Searles told him that he would fight very hard to
make sure that he could not build on the land.
A report of the site meeting
on 4 May was summarised. It was
generally agreed that the residents of Bexley Cottages should have the 4 car
parking spaces that they lost on development but that the rest of the verge should
be protected. It was suggested that an
earth bund would be a more attractive solution and that KCC highways should be
asked for permission to provide 4 spaces at the southern end of the verge.
RESOLVED that enquiries be
made on costs of an earth bund and grasscrete blocks for the parking of 4 cars
on the apron of the bend.
Membership for 2003/4 was
agreed as follows:
Chairman and Vice Chairman
Cllrs Burchmore, Payne,
Valentine and Wescombe
Anita Cockrill, Hazel
Barrett
Chairman and Vice Chairman
Cllrs Piller, Valentine and
Wescombe
Fred Cook, Malcolm Dunn,
Audrey Gee, Brian Kinsey and Greta Reynolds
Chairman and Vice Chairman
Cllr Payne
Malcolm Dunn
Cllrs Burchmore and Powsey
with deputies Cllrs Valentine and Wescombe
Cllr Bradley
Cllr Tripp
Cllr Piller
The Parish Council meets on
the fourth Thursday each month except August when there will normally be no
meeting and December when the meeting will be on the third Thursday at 7 pm.
The Village Hall Advisory
Committee will meet bi-monthly (January, March, etc) on the second Thursday at
7 pm.
The Westminster Field Advisory Committee will meet bi-monthly
(February, April, etc) on the second Thursday at 7 pm.
The clerk reported that the
pattern of meetings as agreed made it impossible to arrange a fortnight’s holiday,
other than in August, without being away for one or other of the monthly
meetings. Members agreed that there was
no problem with either changing the date of an Advisory Committee meeting or
councillors taking the notes.
This small charity has funds
of only £219.85 and is for the “poor of Horton Kirby” which includes South
Darenth. Trustees need to be appointed
who could find a way to spend the money and wind up this charity.
RESOLVED that Cllrs Bradley
and Powsey be appointed as trustees to the Thomas Terry Charity.
Report
The clerk explained that
Members should not bring up items under any other business that needed
discussion and decision but should arrange with the clerk to put them on the
agenda at least a week before the meeting.
Report
A new mandate is needed to
allow for new signatories to be appointed to the Council’s accounts. “New party identification” forms have been
included for new councillors to complete.
The clerk reported that a
new form had not yet been received from the bank so this would have to be dealt
with at the next meeting.
RESOLVED that
1.
the
accounts as submitted be approved; and
2.
the
statement of assurance as completed on the annual return be approved.
Report
I am told there is a rat
problem on the allotments and I have been asked if the pest control
officer from Sevenoaks can be brought
in. I explained that, when I spoke to
him about a similar problem in Westminster Field, he said it would be very
expensive to cover the whole area and almost impossible to make it
successful. However, I said I would
put the matter to you.
Discussion
There was brief discussion
on this matter. It was generally thought
that rats were a natural consequence of allotments in a rural area and that
there was nothing the parish council could do.
15 “ MAKING IT HAPPEN” – THE SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
COMMUNITY PLAN CONFERENCE 5 JUNE 2003
Report
This conference is from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm and includes lunch. The chairman or a nominated representative has been invited. Who would like to attend? (The Community Plan document is available in the office if new Members want to look at it)
Cllr Wescombe agreed to
attend as this Council’s representative.
For new Members’ benefit, a
verbal report was given on what this consortium is about. There was a lengthy discussion on littering
and rubbish dumping in our lanes, the item that this council had put on the
agenda for discussion.
Report
SDC is holding another of
these forums on Friday 30 May starting at 2 pm. Does anyone want to go?
No one was able to attend.
SE/03/00799/FUL
Riseley Hall, Eglantine Lane
Alterations to Riding
Stables
The Parish Council objects in the strongest terms to this building.
This land is Green Belt
where strict policies of restraint apply. Whilst horse riding is an appropriate
activity in the Grren Belt it is noted that the erection of associated
buildings is restricted and should only be allowed when genuinely required for
the keeping of horses.. From even a
cursory glance at the style and materials of the building, it can be seen that
this is a bungalow, not a stables.
With, for instance, uPVC windows it is more of a domestic building than
one for horses.
Members of the Parish
Council are not aware of any horses on this land and would urge the planning
officer to make full investigations about how many horses are to be kept. Are they the householders own or are they
livery? Where is the grazing for these
horses? Has the applicant demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the Authority that the land is used for horses?
Why has the height been
increased from the “existing” building?
According to Appendix 3 of the Local Plan, the British Horse Society
recommends a height of between 2.7 and 3.4 m and the “existing” building, at
3.38 m is at the upper end of this scale.
The “proposed” building shows a maximum height of 4 m.
The application shows
existing buildings together with proposed plans. In fact this is not the case.
The buildings that were on the site, were at best derelict. This should be considered as a new
application.
This proposal, when taken
together with previous development of the land, would cumulatively add to the
built form to a degree that would be harmful to the character and appearance of
the area especially as this is not screened from the road.
Notice of Intention to Cut
Down, Prune, Reduce or Uproot Trees in a Conservation Area
The Old Vicarage, Horton
Road
To fell sycamore and walnut
trees.
The Parish Council objects
to this proposal which would alter the street scene. If the trees are under power lines, then they should be kept
trimmed.
The following decision
notices have been received:
The Stores, The Street
Change of Use from B1Office
to Single Dwelling House and Alterations to Front Elevation
GRANTED
SE/03/00354/FUL
Court Lodge Farm, Stack Road
Use of Part of Building for
Storage and Repair of Plant and Retention of Remainder of Building for
Agricultural Use
REFUSED
SE/03/00404/FUL
16 Rashleigh Way
First Floor Side Extension
GRANTED
SE/03/00678/FUL
Hillcroft, Dartford Road
Extension to Rear
REFUSED
Tony Searles reported that
he would be continuing to serve on the Planning Development Control Committee
of SDC.
In response to a question,
David Brazier agreed that he would take up the subject of speeding traffic
along the A225 between Farningham Road rail bridge and Kings garage roundabout
once again with KCC.
The
clerk suggested that, as there is a 6 week gap until the next meeting, it would
be helpful to hold an informal meeting at the end of May which would give new
councillors the chance to find out more about the workings of the council. It was agreed this would be held on 29 May.
The meeting ended at 8.59 pm.
Chairman
Date