Home Page
Welcome to the Leigh Parish Website.
The Leigh parish includes the villages of Leigh and Charcott,
and the areas of Moorden and Powdermills.
GLAXO SMITH KLINE SITE, POWDERMILLS
The Parish Council has been asked to submit comments on a consultation prepared by Sevenoaks District Council on their Draft Allocations and Development Management DPD (Development Plan Document). This document presents nine sites in the district where a different land use allocation is proposed to that previously identified in earlier consultations. One of these sites is the Glaxo Smith Kline site in Powdermills, and the proposed new use is residential with limited retained employment. The Parish Council has met with officers at SDC and with District Cllr Alison Cook to consider what impact such a change of use would have on the parish. Members are concerned that a large number of new houses would have a hugely detrimental impact on the infrastructure: roads, schools, doctors, utilities. The Parish Council would prefer to see a mixed use for the site. We are in the process of consulting Kent County Council Highways and are in discussions with our County Cllr Peter Lake. The Parish Council will be considering the matter further and agreeing a response to the consultation at our next meeting on Monday 14th May - 8pm in the Small Village Hall. All members of the public are welcome to come along.
TO THE REAR OF GARDEN COTTAGES (HOLLOW TREES DRIVE), LEIGH
*NEWSFLASH* Planning application received 12.05.12 under reference SE/12/01055/FUL - see Planning page.
Hillreed Homes and Barton Willmore Planning Consultants held a public exhibition of their proposed new development scheme on land to the rear of Garden Cottages on Wednesday 11th April. It was well attended, and we were able to view the proposal and discuss the procedure with their representatives. Members of the Parish Council were also available, and residents were able to make suggestions which, we were told, will be taken into consideration. You can see the proposed development scheme here.
The Parish Council is expecting a planning application to be submitted soon, so keep an eye on this website. Please be warned that the application may be called Hollow Trees Drive.
BULK REFUSE FREIGHTER
The bulk refuse freighter will visit again on 30th June and 1st December, stopping at The Green from 12.45 to 13.30.
RURAL BROADBAND
Sevenoaks District Council is putting together a bid with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for a grant from the £20 million Defra fund to improve broadband in rural areas. If successful, this will improve broadband in the parishes of Leigh, Chiddingstone, Penshurst, Hever and Cowden, plus Speldhurst and Bidborough in the Tunbridge Wells borough. Broadband in these areas was found to be insufficient for residents and businesses and unlikely to get any significant private investment or BDUK funding. Sevenoaks District Council is putting together an expression of interest, as part of the bidding process, and a steering group has been formed. Leigh Parish Cllr Rob Swallow is a member of this steering group and is representing Leigh and our neighbouring parishes.
For this bid to succeed it is imperative that people 'Vote for Better Broadband' on the Kent County Council website (www.kent.gov.uk/broadband). It is very simple and takes less than a minute. Please take a moment to vote, it will benefit us all!
If you work from home, or you run a business in the area and are struggling with poor broadband speed, please contact the Clerk or Cllr Rob Swallow as we need to demonstrate that businesses would benefit from improved broadband.
For more information, please contact the Clerk.