Parish Council Minutes for 6th July 2009Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 6th July 2009 commencing at 8pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. C. Stratton-Brown. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Cllrs. P. Croft and J. Knock. Cllrs. Powell and G. Marchant were absent. PRESENT: Cllrs. C. Stratton-Brown (Chairman), R. Sykes, A. Johnston, R. Dyton, D. Bennie and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk). 2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST. None. 3. MINUTES of the Parish Council meeting held on 1st June were approved with the addition from Cllr. Sykes that he would be meeting with Simon Kidd of Kent County Council Landscape Services later, and not earlier in the week. Proposed and seconded by Cllrs. Dyton and Johnston. The minutes will be signed by the Chairman at the next meeting. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 1st June. i.) Grass cutting by West Kent Association (WKHA) - The Clerk reported that the contractor has moved to a monthly cut and are now collecting the grass and are sweeping the hard surfaces every time the grass is cut. They have had to change the equipment used and have also changed some of the personnel and as a consequence together with the numerous bank holidays in April and May and some wet weather, are almost two weeks behind programme. They are working to make this time up and are confident they will do so shortly. ii.) Repair, service and renovation of Church clock - this is proceeding while the scaffolding is in place for the tower renovation, with the Church donating half the cost to the Parish Council. iii.) Planning applications for Podium House and Rear of Garden Cottages - The Clerk confirmed that she had submitted objections to Sevenoaks District Council (SDC). iv.) Section 106 Agreement with regard to the affordable housing at Charcott. The Clerk had not received a formal response from SDC with regard to the wording of the agreement. WKHA have responded as follows: 'The S106 does state paragraph 3.1.6 that "West Kent will use all reasonable endeavours to prioritise nominees from either the Parish of Leigh or Chiddingstone (as the case may be) in order to achieve equality of allocation of the dwellings between nominees of the two said Parishes." This is legalese to indicate equal shares but no lawyer will ever sign anything that requires anything other than "reasonable endeavours". Obviously if nobody came forward as eligible from one of the parishes we could not leave a house just standing empty. I have spoken to Sevenoaks lawyers regarding perpetuity and they have referred me to the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act of 1964 (?) which states that in law perpetuity is anything between a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 80 years. v.) Kent Air Ambulance Trust Textile Bank Initiative - Although it is not known the origin of the Salvation Army textile bank in Leigh, SDC advised the Clerk that their banks had operated for some time without any problems.
5. REPORTS i.) Sevenoaks District Cllr. Cook sent her apologies. ii.) Kent County Cllr. Peter Lake reported that he has £10,000 for worthy causes, and £25,000 for Kent Highway (KHS) matters eg. slow and illuminated signs. In response to a question from Cllr. Dyton, Cllr. Lake replied that the interactive sign at Home Farm was in addition to this. Cllr. Lake referred to the appalling work carried out by the new contractor for verge cutting, and asked for any complaints received by Leigh. With regard to Lealands Avenue as a possible site for a playground, Cllr. Lake has made enquiries and the view expressed is that there should be no objective unless it impacts unnecessarily on the school who also use this site. If further enquiries prove positive, Cllr. Lake would be keen to contribute to a playground should the Parish Council decide upon this site as an option. Cllr. Lake reported that the outstanding items listed for Leigh for KHS are a disabled/pushchair kerb ramp in the High Street, a speed limit for Moorden Lane/Station Hill, and extending the footway from Knotley Hall. The Chairman asked Cllr. Lake to look into the feasibility of the last item. Cllr. Lake reported that there was still an impasse on the completion of the Home Farm footway. iii.) Police. PCSO Kingscott and PC Ingram sent their apologies. iv.) Open Session. The Clerk handed correspondence received from the gas, electricity, telecommunications and water authorities to Mrs Joyce Field in response to her request for information as to the whereabouts of service media under The Green. The shelter at Leigh station has been vandalised and the transport police had been informed. There was some discussion as to the sense of installing glass instead of alternative material such as polycarbonate. Ms Cook was concerned about the Parish Council's brief to the consultant with regard to a playground in the village, stating that it was too short and possibly self-determining. The Clerk as author of the brief replied that it was intentionally short and without prejudice, to enable the consultant to have as an open mind as possible. The consultant, recommended by SDC, was experienced in the area of playgrounds as there would be little value in a report from one who was not. The Clerk was asked by Mr Rowley for a copy of the consultant's report which had recently been completed, and the Clerk promised to send a copy. There was concern expressed by some residents that a 200 year old oak tree overlooking The Green at Oak Lodge has been granted permission by SDC to be felled. The residents felt that a second opinion should be sought to try and save such a mature tree, which forms an important backdrop to The Green, and were willing to fund this. The Clerk had spoken with Les Jones at SDC who replied that the decision was based on a comprehensive report by Bartlett Tree Experts and cannot be rescinded. The tree was categorised as 'high risk' and it has been stipulated that an oak has to be planted in its place. The residents are entitled to gain a second opinion in the meantime with the owner's permission. 6. PLANNING i.) Planning applications: SE/09/00733/FUL. 3 Coppings Brook Cottages, Coppings Road, Leigh TN11 8PP. Erection of single storey porch with toilet. The Parish Council do not favour extensions to the front of a property (as in line with the LDF SPD adopted May 2009) particularly in cases where it would be the only one in a line or terrace. It does recognise however that this is a single storey and would protrude only slightly. SE/09/01334/FUL Wickhurst Brook, Coppings Road, Leigh. Erection of two storey side extension and new window to downstairs dining room. Demolition of two garages and outbuildings and erection of new single garage. The Parish Council supported this application. The Parish Council had no objection to the following applications: SE/09/01402/LBCALT Little Moorden, Chiddingstone Causeway, Leigh TN11 8JP. Erection of single storey side extension and roof extension over. SE/09/01218/FUL. Land east of Hale Oak Farm, Hale Oak Road, Weald. Erection of two field shelters for bad weather protection for sheep/horse/cattle. SE/09/01237/FUL The Cottage, Southwood, Scabharbour Road, Hildenborough. Two storey rear extension. ii.) Planning decisions by Sevenoaks District Council: Grant of permission: SE/09/00873/FUL 9 Wyndham Avenue, Leigh, TN11 8RB. Conversion of garage to family room. SE/07/00962/FUL Land East of Charcott Green Cottages, Charcott, Tonbridge. Provision of 4 no.2 bedroom houses for rent in perpetuity in conjunction with WKHA. As amplified by additional Great Crested Newt and Reptile survey. Notification of appeal venue APP/G2245/A/09/2103763/NWF Barchester Healthcare Ltd: The Hollybush Indoor Bowls Centre, Hollybush Close, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 3UX on 8th September, at 10am. 7. CURRENT ISSUES i.) Speedwatch - The Clerk confirmed that she has written a letter of thanks to David Hutchins and the volounteers for their considerable efforts and will send a letter of thanks to Bidborough Parish Council for their permission to borrow the speedwatch device over the past year. The Clerk and Cllr. Johnston reported that whilst David and volunteers have been happy to give their time but they strongly feel that to continue as they are with no more permanent solutions is futile for the long term. The Clerk was asked to contact PC Ball for feedback on the data so far, and also to make enquiries with KHS with regard to having another look at ideas for traffic calming. ii.) Charcott 106 Agreement see 4. iv.) 8. ENVIRONMENT Peter Croft reported that he will mend the broken seat by the oak tree on The Green, and that he will also take delivery of the bench in memory of Harry Lucas on the weekend of 16/17th July. He will install this on a concrete base on The Green. The Chairman updated the Parish Council on Peter's ploughing of the land in front of the Vicarage, which had been damaged from the caravan. The land has been greatly improved as a result. There are some overhanging trees to the north of the drive to the Church, outside Park House, and a poplar that should be checked for safety. The Clerk will enquire. 9. FOOTPATH WORKING PARTY. The Chairman reported that this will be revitalised in the autumn. 10. PLAYGROUND The priority was for the Parish Council to ascertain from KCC as to whether Lealands Avenue can be properly considered as an option for location of a playground. County Cllr. Lake put the Clerk into contact with the Capital Strategy Unit at KCC who have been positive and are going to arrange a meeting with all relevant parties in September. Meanwhile, the Clerk intends to give Councillors a copy of a parish questionnaire so that they can approve it ready for circulation. She advised that representatives of those who oppose a playground on the locations to be considered should be asked for their opinion on the questionnaire before printing. 11. VILLAGE HALLS No report. 12. AGED PERSONS DWELLING No report. 13. TRANSPORT No report. 14. CORRESPONDENCE for information only had already been circulated.
15. FINANCIAL MATTERS A cheque for £300 has been received from Shayler's Fun Fair. The Clerk has requested in the Parish Magazine for feedback about parishioners opinions and experiences of the fair. The Clerk read out the two estimates for the new noticeboard outside the school, and Councillors voted to accept the slightly cheaper quote from Graham Fuller. The internal auditor Colin Stevens made mention of the fact that the VAT claim had not been made by the Clerk as soon as the year ended. She confirmed that the 2007/8 refund had been credited. The Clerk was asked to purchase a suitable gift for the auditor to thank him for his voluntary services. The following cheques were approved for payment, proposed by Cllr Bennie and seconded by Cllr. Dyton.
17. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION. The Chairman apologised that he would be absent from the next meeting, on 3rd August. The Clerk said that although she would officially be on holiday, she would attend and minute the meeting. Due to a clash with a prominent Church event, Councillors voted to move the date of the September meeting from 3rd September to 10th September. The meeting closed at 9.45pm. Signed................................................. Chairman................................................... Date.....................................................
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