Parish Council Minutes for 1st October 2007LEIGH PARISH COUNCILMinutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 1st October 2007 commencing at 8.00 pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. C. Stratton-Brown. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllr. H. Powell, District Cllr A. Cook, P.C. Ingram. PRESENT: Cllrs. R. Sykes, P. Croft, A. Johnson, R. Dyton, J. Knock, C. Stratton-Brown, D. Bennie, G. Marchant, and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk). IN ATTENDANCE: County Cllr. P. Lake, S.P.C. Graham Eade, P.C. James Ball, Mr. D. Hutchins. 2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST. None. 3. MINUTES of the Parish Council meeting held on 3rd September were approved. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 3rd September. Charcot Aerodrome footpath. This has now received its 2nd and last cut of the year. The Clerk contacted the previous Clerk concerning the 'enhanced status' of this footpath, and was told that unfortunately despite pressure KCC have always refused to do more than 2 cuts per year regardless of status. Grass in front of the Pavilion. Cllr. Marchant will investigate once the verge is repaired next month. Broken Seat on Green. Cllr. Croft has repaired this seat. Movement of the Millennium Seat. The Clerk will reply to the School Governors that the Council has decided to move the seat to outside of the Vicarage. Cllr. Croft to arrange. British Rail timetable in front of Village Hall. The Clerk advised that this is now up to date, and the nettles/brambles have also been cut. 5. REPORTS i.) District Cllr. Mrs Alison Cook was not present but her report was read out by the Clerk. Updating on issues raised in her September report, Cllr. Cook reported that the hedge at The Forstall has been cut although to a poor standard, and the road sign at the entrance to Garden Cottages has been ordered but not yet replaced. In addition the uneven surface on Hildenborough Road near Laundry Cottages has still not been attended to, nor the pavement in Powdermill Lane between Hawthorns and The Beeches. Andy Bracey of SDC Highways has carried out a site visit regarding parking round The Green and will meet with the Parish Council to progress matters. Cllr. Cook also reported on a letter from KCC Highways regarding proposals for a footway between Home Park Close and the village, for which she intends to draft a questionnaire with the Parish Council's support. Sevenoaks District Council has been awarded 3 accolades: voted the 5th best Local Authority to work for; Robin Hales was voted as one of the top 3 CEO's; and a special award as the best in the whole country for 'going the extra mile to support the local community and protect our environment'. Finally a Parking Enforcement Sub-Committee is being established with particular reference to rural related parking issues, with Parish Councils invited to respond to a questionnaire. ii.) County Cllr. Peter Lake reported that the state of the road by Laundry Cottages will be fixed within the next 10 days. He has requested that one of the road signs be replaced as it has fallen down. iii.) SPC Graham Eade had nothing specific to report, other than a couple of incidents dealt with by PC Ingram. iv.) Open Session. No members of the public raised any questions. 6. PLANNING i.) Planning applications: SE/07/02689/FUL - Upper Kennards, Hildenborough Road, Leigh - alterations. extension, reconstruction of out-building. SE/07/02756/FUL - Priory Oast House, Scabharbour Road, Hildenborough - demolish kitchen extension and construct new kitchen/family room and minor alterations to doors and windows. No objections to both. SE/07/02636/FUL - Land Adjacent Barnetts Mead, Powder Mill Lane, Leigh - proposed conversion of existing barn to residential use. The Parish Council believes this development to be inappropriate both in terms of location, and for this structure to be converted into a residential dwelling. Concerns were also expressed with regard to access to the road. ii) Planning decisions: SE/07/02140/FUL & SE/07/02143/LBCALT - Forge House, Charcott TN11 8LG - demolition of existing redundant workshop and lean-to link. Construction of dining area and music guest room; Both permissions granted. SE/07/02195/FUL - Shoe House, Leigh - Erection of new walls, piers and gates to front driveway, erection of close-boarded fencing to the perimeter grounds. Permission granted subject to: i.) submittance and approval of a scheme detailing maintenance and management of the boundary hedging, including details of additional planting where necessary and protection to the hedge during the course of construction. ii.) If within 3 years from completion any of the boundary hedging dies, is removed or becomes seriously damaged or diseased then it shall be replaced or repaired with hedging of the same specification. The Parish Council expressed regret that its objections to this application were not completely accepted, and the Clerk will write a letter of complaint to Sevenoaks District Council. 7. CURRENT ISSUES i.) West Kent Housing/Rural Housing Trust - Gibbs Field - nothing to report ii.) Community Speedwatch. A report explaining this scheme had been previously circulated to Councillors by the Clerk. PC James Ball, the police officer with responsibility for Speedwatch, gave a demonstration of the recommended Speed Indication Device (SID). This equipment accurately records the speed of passing cars, and communicates the speeds reached via its large electronic display board. It has a set speed limit of 10% tolerance, to be used during the day in dry weather. A warning letter from the police will be generated after 2 speeding offences in Kent, and prosecution can be started after 3 letters. Sites need to be assessed and approved by the police, and peripheries such as warning triangles need to be purchased in addition to the equipment itself, which is in the region of £2,000. The existing speed gun, purchased by the Council a few years ago and in need of recalibrating at a cost of £125, mayl record the biggest object moving away, e.g. a lorry, instead of a car approaching, and so may give a false reading. Also volunteers do not have to be holding the SID, and consequently feel less threatening. The SID is portable and much cheaper compared to a fixed interactive speed sign. PC Ball explained that other Parish Councils have managed to obtain local authority grants towards the cost and/or have shared with up to another 4 councils. Cllr. Marchant asked PC Ball what we should do with our existing speed gun. David Hutchins, a parishioner from Home Farm, said that it was unreasonable to ask Parish Councils to swallow the cost of the existing gun if it is no longer recommended. If the community is providing the policing of speed, then the Home Office or Police should provide the equipment. Although the Chairman and Council were in agreement with these comments, it was felt that realistically they had to accept that the existing speed gun was no longer viable and decide a way forward. Cllr. Johnson asked whether there would be enough volunteers in addition to David Hutchins and his neighbour. The Clerk will include a request for volunteers in the Parish magazine, and contact other Parish Councils to ask whether they wished to share equipment. Once this had been established, sites could be assessed. iii.) Proposed footway between Home Farm Close and Village. KCC Highways are considering this proposal and Cllr. Knock proposed that the Parish Council should circulate a questionnaire to both Gibbs Field and Home Farm to establish how many are walking to the village and how many more would use a footway should one be provided. There is the concern that a footway ending at Gibbs Field may result in pedestrians continuing along the road instead of using the footpath leading from Gibbs Field to The Green. Cllr. Dyton stated that it would make sense for any footpath to incorporate a cycle path. The Clerk will contact District Cllr. Cook to work together on a questionnaire. iv.) Gibbs Field Interactive Speed Sign - Cllrs. noted the interim replies from Alan Pottinger of KCC Highways explaining his reasons for not re-siting the proposed location of the speed sign, and informing the Parish Council that resolution of this matter will be considered further. As this response did not seem particularly positive, it was agreed that the Clerk should request from KCC a copy of the regulations involved in their decision and take the case to the MP Sir John Stanley. The Clerk will include this and the Speedwatch information in the Parish Magazine. v.) Penshurst Road Traffic Calming - in response to a request from a parishioner regarding the excessive speed along this road, it was decided that due to the nature of this site and spacing of speed limit signs etc, it was more suited to and would benefit more from a Speedwatch presence rather than a fixed deterrent such as another interactive sign, which would be difficult to obtain from Highways anyway. The Clerk will reply to Bryan Fitzgerald of KCC Highways. 8. ENVIRONMENT i.) Cycle paths: Cllr. Dyton spoke with the South East Regional Coordinator of Sustrans who could help with funding for future cycleway projects. He is particularly keen to find a way to safely cycle from Leigh to Hildenborough Station as this route along the road is dangerous and not encouraging for potential cyclists. ii.) Proposed parking restrictions on The Green: The Parish Council evaluated the proposals suggested by Sevenoaks District Council. It was felt that although lines were unsightly, dangerous and inconsiderate parking needed to be addressed. The biggest danger was on the bend of Powdermill Lane. The Clerk will reply to SDC and request that we rely on the white lines for the first 45ft. from the Hildenborough Road/Powdermill Lane junction, and then have yellow lines on the north side to protect the bend, and on the south side for as shorter distance as necessary for safety's sake. Mowing of the Green. Cllr. Knock spoke with KCC Landscape Services, and reserved the same service for next year. The Green is in good condition. KCC will requote with updated prices. 9. PLAYGROUND The Parish Council is awaiting an advisory report which it will consider before holding a public meeting in the spring should it wish to proceed. 10. VILLAGE HALLS Cllr. Johnson advised that both bills had been paid for the work carried out. 11. AGED PERSONS DWELLING Cllr. Johnson advised that Mr Fullbrook would be carrying out the work as his next job. 12. TRANSPORT. Cllr. Knock handed notes to the Clerk for her to write to two rail companies with regard to future train services. 13. YOUTH FORUM Cllr. Bennie has taken the test to drive the Play Bus, although there were problems with the vehicle on the first week. Unfortunately there are no games but Cllr. Bennie can cope using his other resources. However there are only a few weeks left before it will be too dark unless premises can be used, otherwise it is worth breaking until spring. Volunteers are also needed to help Cllr Bennie on Wednesdays between 5-7pm. The Parish Council were asked if it could pay for the Hall cost - this was agreed. The Clerk advised Cllr. Bennie of the Youth Opportunities Grant, of which he already had a copy.
14. CORRESPONDENCE for information received up to 1st October was previously circulated. Correspondence for Action:
15. FINANCIAL MATTERS i.) request from Leigh Youth Forum for £50 renewal for membership to Kent Youth: Accepted. ii.) request from Historical Society for funds for Powdermill Project: included on the agenda due to Clerk's error. iii.) to consider quotes from Bartletts & Down To Earth for tree work on The Green: Although he Clerk has now received quotes, there are some inconsistencies that need clarifying. One quote includes an extra tree (work added later after the first company had already visited), and Cllrs. would also like a resistograph test carried out. Clerk to arrange. Payment of cheques listed below were approved.
16. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION. None. Meeting closed at 10.50pm. Signed..................................... Chairman Date........................................
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