Parish Council Minutes for 4th February 2008Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 4th February 2008 commencing at 8.00 pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. C. Stratton-Brown. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Cllr. Bennie, District Councillor A. Cook. PRESENT: Cllrs. C. Stratton-Brown (Chairman), R. Sykes (V.Chairman), R. Dyton, J. Knock, G. Marchant, A. Johnston, H. Powell, P. Croft and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk). IN ATTENDANCE: County Cllr. P. Lake, Mr & Mrs Graham Eade, S.C. Peter Lowe. 2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST. None. 3. MINUTES of the Parish Council meeting held on 7th January were approved after the date was corrected, proposed by Cllr. Johnston. The Parish Council were informed that Mick Vanns died last week after a long illness. He ran the cubs with his wife Sharon during the 1990's and was totally dedicated to the scout movement for all of his life. Councillors applauded Mick's commitment and contribution to village life. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 7th January. Millennium seat. It was agreed that Cllr. Croft will place the seat on the site of the bench that was recently destroyed by a car accident. The Clerk was asked to find out costs for a new bench, and to write to the solicitors department at Kent Police to obtain details of the driver responsible. 5. REPORTS i.) Sevenoaks District Cllr. Cook. Cllr. Cook was absent and there was no report. ii.) Kent County Cllr. Peter Lake informed the meeting that the council tax levels were likely to increase by around 3.9%. Cllr. Lake claimed that this would be lower if Kent County Council (KCC) had more financial help from Central Government to pay for asylum seekers. Cllr Lake reported that he has a £10k community grant for worthy causes and this year has given around £3k to Leigh via new flooring for the scout hut and cricket club. He will hope to do the same again next year. Another opportunity lies with the Capital Project, and Cllr. Lake is keen to hear of ideas for funding, although this cannot be spent on the school. The Clerk informed Cllr. Lake and Council that the footway linking Home Farm to the footpath into the village at Gibbs Field come to a halt due to a land ownership issue. This is despite the efforts made by Cllr. Lake and the Clerk with Kent Highway Services (KHS) to ensure that this area had been checked before work began. iii.) SC Graham Eade Graham was sincerely thanked for his dedicated and professional service to Leigh Parish for the last 13 years and was presented with a framed photograph of his official visit to Downing Street, and with flowers for Mrs Brenda Eade. We wish Graham a happy and fulfilling retirement. Graham said that his time as a Special Constable had been a pleasurable one, and that he will still continue to be involved in village life. Council welcomed Graham's successor, SC Peter Lowe who has transferred from Paddock Wood. iv.) Open Session. No members of the public were present. 6. PLANNING i.) Planning applications: SE/08/00246/FUL Fleur De Lis Public House, High Street, Leigh, Tonbridge Kent TN11 8RL. Erection of timber and lead canopy to front patio. Object. The proposal would spoil the appearance of a listed building which is in a conservation area. The previous application SE/07/01986/FUL was treated as withdrawn (19TH August 2007), and not approved as stated on this application. Council noted that It would be less objectionable to erect something at the rear of the property, accessed through the dining area. ii.) Notice of work to trees in a conservation area: 08/00065/WTPO Oak Lodge, Powdermill Lane, Leigh - crown lift 3 oak trees and thin 1 oak tree. Support.
iii.) Planning decisions: SE/07/03199/LBCALT & 3198/FUL. 8, The Square, High Street, Leigh - erection of single storey rear extension. iv.) Planning application withdrawn: SE/07/03673/FUL & 03670/FUL. 2 Engineers Cottages, High Street, Leigh - construction of new wall and fence to front and side boundaries. Proposed new porch and entrance plus external alterations. v.) Planning appeal decision: APP/G2245/A/07/2055601/WF (SE/07/00184/FUL) South View,The Green, Leigh - extension of existing detached garage. Alteration of existing vehicular access. Appeal allowed. vi.) General planning news: The Clerk read out Sevenoaks District Council's (SDC) letter, submitted to KCC, objecting to the single storey extension planning application made by Leigh Primary School. The Clerk updated Council with the response from SDC to recent works at Yew Tree Bungalow, which is currently under appeal over refusal of planning permission for re-positioning and rebuilding. The work appears to be under permitted development rights, and is not connected to the appeal. 7. CURRENT ISSUES i.) Speedwatch - no report, other than a second request for volunteers was placed in the February issue of the Parish magazine, giving David Hutchens as the contact. ii.) Interactive speed sign at Gibbs Field. - The clerk circulated a letter from Alan Pottinger of KHS with revised proposals for the positioning of the interactive and speed limit signs. Councillors agreed to accept these revised proposal as a considerable improvement, which satisfies the Parish Council's request that the signs be located at an earlier point than first proposed. It would perhaps have been preferable to have the signs on the other side of the road, but councillors were relieved that a suitable and safe compromise had been reached after such lengthy negotiations. Clerk to respond. 8. ENVIRONMENT i.) Footpath Working Committee. The Clerk has asked for volunteers for this Committee in the February issue of the Parish Magazine which had only just been published. SDC Open Spaces Study Parish/Town Consultation: The Chairman and Cllr. Knock and District Cllr. Alison Cook have reviewed this report. Observations are that the report for indoor sports has omitted the Village Halls for badminton, and there is no mention of table tennis. With regard to allotments, it was noted that as those owned by the Morely Trust are almost full, the Parish Council should enable the old allotments to be in use. The benefits of cycleways and footpaths have been missed. Cllr. Johnston reported on the poor state of the footpath from Gibbs Field to Powdermill Lane. It was extremely muddy underfoot and would need upgrading for prams. Clerk will contact KHS and SDC to discuss responsibility. The Clerk enquired about the history of the footpath proposals at Whitepost Farm, Chiddingstone Causeway, as she has received a request to revive the proposal. Councillors believed this failed due to insurance problems. Clerk to investigate. Cllr. Croft asked whether it was feasible if the waste ground by Gibbs Field could be provided with a bench by the Parish Council if residents cleared the area. Cllrs. Johnson and Sykes replied that as it is not Parish Council land, it would be appropriate for West Kent Housing to be approached. Cllr. Knock informed Council that there would be a request from the Cricket Club for allowing nets on the Green, and the Clerk was asked to put this on the agenda for next month once the application had been received. A general discussion took place about the adequacy of the Club's insurance. Clerk to contact the Club. 9. PLAYGROUND Cllr. Powell has drafted a report for the Playground Committee which needs to be proofed before distributing. After some discussion it was agreed that the Parish Council will need to evaluate the report before deciding whether it wishes to progress to recommending a proposal for a playground in the village. The Clerk will seek advice from Kent Association of Local Councils as to the correct procedure.
10. VILLAGE HALLS No report. Cllr. Knock reported that the Hall was pleasantly warm, and a great venue for the recent Burns Night. 11. AGED PERSONS DWELLING Cllr. Johnston reported that Peter Fullbrook will look at the dripping overflow problem at number 2. 12. TRANSPORT Cllr. Knock read out a letter from John Bigny of the Edenbridge and District Rail Travellers' Association (E&DRTA), stating that as of December 2008 the Redhill-Tonbridge line will transfer from the Southeastern Franchise to the South Central Franchise operated by Southern. Their proposals remove direct trains from the Tonbridge line to both Gatwick Airport and London Bridge, and reduces the train service between Tonbridge and Redhill to 1 train per hour. Cllrs. agreed that we have had a better service than ever before, but as from December 08 it will be a retrograde step. It was agreed that the Clerk should write letters of complaint to Southern Rail, copying Sir John Stanley MP, Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, Tonbridge Rail Users Association and E&DRTA. The Clerk was reminded that she needs to contact the bus company for a replacement timetable. 13. YOUTH FORUM No report 14. CORRESPONDENCE for information received up to 30th January was previously circulated.
15. FINANCIAL MATTERS i.) to consider request by Leigh Cricket Club for grant towards installation of showers and fuse box in the Pavilion. After assessing the Club's accounts and estimates, all councillors agreed to grant £500 towards costs. ii.) to consider request by Leigh Village Halls for contribution towards 2008 annual insurance premium. In previous years the Parish Council has paid this in full, less the contribution from British Legion. Cllr. Johnston declared an interest so withdrew from discussion. All remaining were in favour of repeating this arrangement. iii.) to consider request by Leigh Primary School for contribution towards refurbishment of a classroom. Cllr. Knock as a Governor abstained from discussion. After reviewing the accounts, Councillors agreed to grant £1,000 requesting that the Clerk ask to see costs when they become available. The following cheques were approved for payment, proposed by Cllrs. Powell and Johnston.
16. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION. The Chairman reported on the meeting with the Doctors' Surgery with regard to alternative premises. The Village Hall will be adequate for the short term, but will be too expensive otherwise. Meeting closed at 10.30pm. Signed..................................... Chairman Date........................................
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