HORTON KIRBY AND SOUTH DARENTH PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held on 18 September 2002 in the Parish Room, Village Hall, South Darenth at 7 pm.
Present: Clr P Bradley
(Chairman),
Clrs A Burchmore, M
Busfield , M Cockrill, E Hughes, D
Payne
D Snape and G Tripp
T Searles, District Councillor,
2 members of the public
PC Laidlow
In attendance: C Allart,
Parish Clerk
Apologies for absence:
Clr H Goody (work commitments)
Declarations of Interest:
None
RESOLVED that the Minutes of
the meetings held on 17 July, 21 August and 4 September 2002 be approved and
signed as correct records.
Sevenoaks Community Plan
The clerk reported that no
councillors had returned a response form so no reply had been made to Sevenoaks
District Council.
Book-Keeper Appointment
The clerk asked what rate of
pay would be agreed for this new post.
It was agreed to advertise it as an “excellent rate of pay” and the
actual amount would be agreed with the successful applicant.
56 MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE
HALL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
RESOLVED that the Minutes of
the Village Hall Advisory Committee held on 11 September be approved and
adopted.
A copy of 2 articles and a
government booklet recently published on this subject were enclosed for each
councillor for information.
PC Laidlow said that,
following many broken windows in the Primary School, technical equipment had
been set up to catch the culprits. He
commented on his involvement in getting the youth club restarted in the village
hall on certain Wednesday evenings.
Agenda items for the next
meeting on 21 October at Shoreham are needed by 21 September.
Members had no items to add
to the agenda. The Chairman and the
clerk would attend.
59 RACE EQUALITY
Report
I have received several
books from the Commission For Racial Equality giving details of the
requirements of Parish Councils’ general duty under the Race Relations
Act. A copy of the general duty chapter
from one of them is enclosed. Members
agreed to pass a suitable resolution at the next meeting.
60 BOUNDARY COMMISSION – KCC
PERIODIC REVIEW
Report
A similar process to that
carried out in the Sevenoaks District Council area is now taking place within
the boundaries of Kent and suggestions are being sought. The review will look at the number of
councillors in each electoral division, the boundaries and names of divisions
and parish electoral arrangements. For
information. Tony Searles reported that
it is likely that the Darent Valley Ward will alter slightly to accommodate
changes within Swanley.
61 STREET LIGHTING
1
General
A request has been received for the light outside 45 School Lane to be converted to all night lighting. The reason for the request, from the residents of 45 and 46, is to discourage crime and the Parish Council has to take into account the effects on crime and disorder on all its decisions.
There are reports that say
that lighting reduces crime but reports also show that crimes take place as
much during the day as they do at night.
Recently the environmental centre next to the village hall has had a lot
of lights installed round the building that are on all night. It will be interesting to see if this has an
effect on reducing crime.
A paragraph in the latest
draft of the Design Statement says:
“…time controlled lighting should be encourages for both street lighting
and household security lights whilst preserving the village atmosphere of no all
night lighting.”
The Parish Council receives
many requests for all night lighting and these have been considered
individually. Perhaps it is time to
formulate a policy on street lighting so that the matter can be dealt with once
and for all.
RESOLVED that as a matter of policy and in order to retain the rural atmosphere, no lights that are currently on part night will be converted to all night lighting except under very exceptional circumstances.
2
Saxon
Place
Report
A letter has been
received from Seeboard telling us that
about 2 years ago Sevenoaks District Council paid a contractor to convert our
lights in Saxon Place to all night lighting.
This is the first I’ve known about this. Sevenoaks District Council will pay for the reconversion to part
night if this is what is wanted.
Discussion
There was considerable
discussion on whether the lights should be left on all night or changed
back. It was agreed that the residents
should be informed individually that
the Parish Council would be changing the lighting back to part night (ie off at
midnight and on again at 5 am) unless a majority of residents requested
otherwise.
The Top Paddock continues to
be a dumping ground (beds, wardrobe, signs, cones, grass cuttings, etc are the
latest items). A quote to carry all the
rubbish off to the tip has been requested.
RESOLVED that that a quote
in the sum of £150 be accepted for the removal of all rubbish from the Top
Paddock.
63 HORTON KIRBY PUBLIC
CONVENIENCES
Report
In good time for budgetting
purposes, the parish council must decide if it is going to pay to keep the
services open in Westminster Field.
Richard Wilson, Sevenoaks’ Head of Direct Services has offered to meet
with us to spell out the financial implications
Discussion
The general view on this
subject was that the toilets were necessary for the many visitors to the field
and that the parish council had no choice but to take on responsibility for
them.
RESOLVED that the public
toilets in Westminster Field remain open from 1 April 2002 with the expenses
being met by this parish council.
Report
Members were asked to
confirm if they will be attending the lunch and tour (which will be in the afternoon) with Clr Ron Bailey and one
or two officers and Members of Sevenoaks District Council. An itinerary of where to visit was needed.
Six members were able to
attend and a suggested route was:
Westminster Field, Saxon
Place, Franks Lane, A225, Station Road junction, Holmesdale Road, Shops and
Jolly Millers, and East Hill.
Report
Complaints have been
received that this new kerb restricts access to the field and makes it more
difficult to negotiate round people standing on the bridge. According to the planning officer, it has
been built in accordance with the plans and it is on land owned by the
developer. Do Members have any
particular concerns? It was possibly
put there to slow traffic down as it certainly does do that.
Councillors had no comments
to make at present but would monitor any problems.
66 PLANNING
Feedback Questionnaire
In response to a Sevenoaks
District Council questionnaire to see if our reactions to its services have
changed over the past 12 months, it was agreed that we were “fairly satisfied”
with the work of the planning department at the moment.
The following notice of
appeal has been received:
SE/01/01930
Riseley Hall, Eglantine Lane
Mr D Noyes has appealed
against Sevenoaks District Council’s enforcement notice to reduce the height of
the walls and gates. The appeal will be
dealt with by means of written representations. Previous comments will be passed on to the inspector so there is
no need to send views unless they need to be amended or added to.
Members wished to have a
reply to the question previously asked – has permission ever been granted for
this new access onto the property?
The monthly update on the
budget was available (as attached) and the Chairman reported on various
figures.
RESOLVED that the schedule
of accounts, as submitted, be approved and payments made accordingly.
Coaches in Franks Lane
Dorothy Snape commented on
the number of coaches and large vehicles using Franks Lane, causing problems to
other traffic and damaging the bridge.
The Highways Authority should be
asked to provide a sign stating that the road is unsuitable for large vehicles.
The meeting ended at 8.55
pm.
Chairman