Parish Council Minutes for 7th January 2008Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 7TH February 2008 commencing at 8.00 pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. R. Sykes. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllrs. C. Stratton-Brown, P. Croft, A. Johnston, H. Powell. PRESENT: Cllrs. R. Sykes (V.Chairman), R. Dyton, J. Knock, D. Bennie, G. Marchant, and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk). IN ATTENDANCE: County Cllr. P. Lake, District Cllr. A. Cook and members of the public. 2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST. None. 3. MINUTES of the Parish Council meeting held on 3rd December were approved after the following amendments: Shoe House is the property referred to under Matters Arising, Cllr. Knock advises that David Bennie should consider the insurance issues for when he uses the Green, and Mr. Chris Rowley has requested a copy of the letter from the Parish Council to KCC with regard to the playground that was sent a few years ago. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 3rd December. Millennium seat. Cllr. Marchant and Cllr. Croft propose that this seat will be better suited to replace the old bench near the War Memorial. Councillors agreed. Yew Tree Bungalow: appeal over refusal of planning permission for re-positioning and rebuilding. Cllr. Marchant reported that the neighbours have written to Sevenoaks District Council informing them that work has begun on an extension to the existing building. Cllr. Marchant asked for District Cllr Cook's help in obtaining a swift response to the neighbours' letters. Sevenoaks District Council's Open Spaces Report. The Clerk had received a copy of the consultation document as a follow up to the SDC presentation in October - see under Envronment. APD. The Clerk informed Council that she had spoken with Peter Fullbrook with regard to work on the bungalows, and he was not able to commit to full days at a time for at least another few weeks. 5. REPORTS i.) Sevenoaks District Cllr. Mrs Alison Cook informed the meeting that vandalism to the public conveniences has cost around £5,000 which is money that could have been better spent elsewhere. Cllr. Cook expressed that she is very supportive of the footway due to start this week from Home Farm to Gibbs Field, and reminded the Parish Council that her survey to residents also supported the initiative. She highlighted again the condition of the pavement on Powdermill Lane between the properties Hawthorn and Beeches, and the Clerk promised to enter this on the KHS spreadsheet of repairs. ii.) Kent County Cllr. Peter Lake informed the meeting that the council tax levels were bound to increase, although hopefully not as steep as in the past. This was in part due to the burden placed on Kent County Council (KCC) by Central Government to pay for asylum seekers. Kent Highways (KHS) have been unresponsive on the issue of the interactive speed sign at Gibbs Field, and the appalling repairs opposite Laundry Cottages is still a cause of complaint he is pursuing. Cllr. Lake reported that he had received a letter from the Chairman of the Governors of Leigh School, Beverley Docherty, regarding the funding formula review. Potentially they could lose £37k from their KCC grant this year were it not for the minimum funding guarantee which is in place until 2010. Cllr. Lake has written to the KCC leader Paul Carter copying this letter, and will also contact Sir John Stanley MP. All small schools are affected as the formula depends on the size of buildings/grounds, and they will need to plan ahead. Cllr. Knock noted that the short term picture was alright due to the guarantee, but longer term (2010) the situation looked dangerous. Special Educational Needs money is moving into a central 'pot' instead of to individual schools, and there is a 'premises rationalisation' where financial resources are based on the floor area calculation. Cllr. Lake stated that he would be more supportive of the footway from Home Farm to Gibbs Field if there were proper connections to the village, as he feels the diversion to the footpath to the south of the Green is unlikely to be used by some. He also expressed concern over issues of drainage, land ownership and the effect on the drive entrance of Upper Kennards. Cllr Marchant expressed disappointment over the fact that plans had not been received by the Parish Council yet, with which all councillors agreed, and Cllr. Sykes added that the scheme had jumped from A to Z , but although the scheme may not be value for money, at least parishioners are getting what they want for the village. Cllr. Lake updated Council regarding the bridge strengthening at Penshurst, which will take place around the two week Easter school holiday from 4th-18th April. District Cllr. Cook asked whether under the bridge on Lower Green will be resurfaced. The Clerk and residents have received letters informing them that it would be in the next few weeks. Cllr. Cook asked Cllr. Lake if she could be officially informed of this sort of work in the future. Cllr. Marchant raised the issue of increased flooding under this bridge, and the Clerk will raise the matter with KHS. iii.)SC Graham Eade as not present at the meeting, and is due to retire from duty on 8th January. iv.) Open Session. Mr and Mrs Ackrill enquired as new residents for a summary on the proposal for a playground on the Green. Cllr. Knock outlined the origins of the idea, which was reopened by the Parish Plan whereby a number of residents asked for a playground in the village. The Parish Council obtained legal advice as to whether this could be situated on the Green, which stated that it was legal as long as it didn't interfere with the enjoyment of others and there was no permanent fencing. A committee was then formed to investigate suppliers and location etc., and we are waiting for this report which is due soon. Cllr. Knock stressed that the Parish Council feel that it is essential that there should be a public meeting of the parishioners, which is provisionally scheduled for March/April of this year. There is likely to be strong opposition to this proposal, for reasons such as harming the appearance and enjoyment of the Green and fearing the vandalism that it would attract. 6. PLANNING i.) Planning applications: SE/07/TEMP/0026 Leigh School. Construciton of single storey extension and improvements to access for DDA. Support. SE/07/03579/FUL Southwood Scabharbour Road, Hildenborough, Tonbridge. Erection of 20m x 40m Menage. No objection. SE/0703767/FUL Ardullie, Penshurst Road, Leigh. Single storey side extension. No objection. SE/07/0/FUL 2, Engineers Cottages, High Street, Leigh. Proposed new porch and entrance plus external alterations The Parish Council were concerned about the proposed new entrance which will imbalance the appearance of the 2 attached cottages, which is especially important in a conservation area, as would the addition of an extremely high fence and wall. ii) Planning decisions: SE/07/03286/KCCRG3 - Leigh Primary School, The Green, Leigh - construction of single storey conservatory - granted by KCC, no objection from SDC. SE/07/03156/FUL 1 Old Orchard, Charcott - change from single dwelling house to part residential/cattery, erection of 8 double walk in style cat pens and an isolation unit within garden - refusal. 7. CURRENT ISSUES i.) Speedwatch - no report, other than a request for volunteers was placed in the January issue of the Parish magazine, giving David Hutchens as the contact. ii.) Interactive speed sign at Gibbs Field. There is no report, although it is hoped that the new footway from Home Farm to Gibbs Field will provide a positive outcome. 8. ENVIRONMENT i.) Footpath Working Committee. The Clerk will ask for volunteers for this Committee in the next issue of the Parish Magazine. Trees on the Green: The Clerk reported that Down to Earth provisionally had booked the work to be carried out at the end of the month into early February, and she was awaiting the necessary SDC permission. SDC Open Spaces Study Parish/Town Consultation: The Clerk has received documents following on from the workshops in October where the initial findings of the study were discussed. The Study will inform future planning policies contained within the Local Development Framework. The checking of the number and primary purpose of the identified open spaces and comments on typology and indoor sports assessment is required to be returned by 22nd February. Cllr. Knock took the consultation away to check and will return to the Clerk. 9. PLAYGROUND Cllr. Dyton stated that although he had attended a meeting concerning the playground, he had not yet seen a report, but would be able to update councillors at the next meeting should Cllr. Powell not be able to attend. 10. VILLAGE HALLS No report. 11. AGED PERSONS DWELLING It was suggested that the Clerk contact Cllr. Johston in the first instance with regard to a dripping overflow at number 2. 12. TRANSPORT Cllr. Knock stated that as of next year the local line is likely to be reduced to an hourly service, as it was a few years ago. He also reported that the bus shelter opposite the Green needs a new timetable as the previous one has been burnt. The Clerk will contact the bus company for a replacement. 13. YOUTH FORUM Cllr. Bennie wondered about the wisdom of having the playbus as it doesn't have it own equipment and it was an extra 2 sometime troublesome hours to collect it. He instead suggested a gazebo as a focal point, and will look into prices and report back. 14. CORRESPONDENCE for information received up to 3rd January was previously circulated.
15. FINANCIAL MATTERS i.) to consider request by Leigh Cricket Club for grant towards installation of showers in the Pavilion. Councillors requested that the Clerk ask for a set of accounts be provided in order that the request could be discussed. ii.) At last month's meeting Cllr. Sykes distributed a draft budget proposal for 2008/9, of which the main points were outlined. These included keeping the precept at the same level as last year at £17,500, which will include extras such as work to trees on the Green, work to the APDs and administration costs from the Clerk. This was proposed by Cllr. Sykes and seconded by Cllr. Knock. The Clerk will respond accordingly to SDC. Tonbridge Volunteer Centre - Cllr. Sykes had evaluated their Annual report along with request for donation to help run services for elderly or housebound people (13 regular users live in Leigh) and proposed that a donation of £50 was awarded, which was seconded by Cllr. Knock and agreed by all present. Kent Air Ambulance Trust have asked for a donation which councillors felt worth of considering as although it wasn't a local organisation, it could be vital for local people at some point. Cllr. Knock proposed a donation of £50 which was seconded by Cllr. Sykes. The Clerk reported that Down to Earth have quoted £350 for work to the lime and oak trees in the Old Burial Ground. Cllr. Knock proposed acceptance, seconded by Cllr. Marchant. The following cheques were approved for payment.
16. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION. Cllr. Knock noted that a cyclist crashed due to a dip in the road opposite the Village Halls, and Cllr. Marchant noted the frequency of accidents by the Compasses. The Clerk will report to Kent Highway Services. The Meeting closed at 10.00pm. Signed..................................... Chairman Date........................................
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