Parish Council Minutes for 3rd August 2009

Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 3rd August 2009 commencing at 8pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. R. Sykes.

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Cllrs. C. Stratton-Brown, P. Croft and. Cllr. Powell and Knock were absent.

PRESENT: Cllrs. R. Sykes (Chairman), A. Johnston, R. Dyton, D. Bennie, G. Marchant and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk).

2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST. None.

3. MINUTES of the Parish Council meeting held on 3rd August were approved with the amendment to next month's meeting from 10th to 14th September. Proposed and seconded by Cllrs. Bennie and Johnston. The minutes will be signed by the Chairman at the next meeting.

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6th July.

Cllr. Sykes returned a copy of the Partial Review of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East to the Clerk.

5. REPORTS

i.) Sevenoaks District Cllr. Cook reported on the Transport Strategy and noted that there were no buses from Leigh to Sevenoaks, which was disappointing. She also noted that it didn't make sense not to be able to reach Ebbsfleet Eurostar by public transport. Cllr. Cook regretted the recent negative publicity regarding the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks via the Chronicle and reported that the 25 year lease was expected to materialise. Results to a questionnaire distributed to 4,000 people in the district seem to be at odds with the Audit Commission; it is concluded that Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) do not score highly as perhaps people do not realise how many services it provides. Cllr Cook wished to remind parishioners that the Saturday freighter service is still available but for purchase, and observed the large amount of litter in the village particularly by the pump. It may be necessary for the Clerk to ask for more regular emptying. Philpots Road is due to be closed for a lengthy 10 days, and the Clerk was reminded to ask for an update from Kent Highway Services (KHS) about the replacement signs on the junction of this road with Scabharbour Road. Cllr. Cook lamented the lack of publicity about the recent police surgery. With regard to the church clock, it has been discovered that the beam for the weights has lowered so the weights will need to be shortened, which will increase the renovation and servicing costs currently underway.

Cllr. Dyton commented that improving the litter situation was about changing attitudes, especially of the young. Cllr. Sykes enquired about poor public transport to Pembury Hospital and whether it was worth the Parish Council writing to complain. This was agreed by Councillors and Cllr. Cook advised writing to the bus companies and SDC Chief Executive.

ii.) Police. PCSO Kingscott and PC Ingram sent their apologies; the Clerk read out PCSO Kingscott's report.

iii.) Open Session. Mrs Joyce agreed with the problem of litter in the village, and suggested that the school children should get involved as a way of educating the young. The Clerk observed that the Parish Council had funded some litter pickers for one of the classes who had requested them. Mrs Field asked if there was any new information about the discussions about a playground, to which the Clerk replied that a meeting had been arranged mid-September with the school and Kent County Council (KCC) to discuss whether Lealands Avenue was a viable option as well as The Green. The parish could not be surveyed on both of these locations unless they were available

6. PLANNING

i.) Planning applications:

SE/09/01391/FUL Little Moorden, Cinder Hill Lane, Leigh TN11 8HU. Erection of single storey side extension and roof extension over. The Parish Council had no objection to this application.

09/01642/WTPO Leigh Village Hall, High Street, Leigh. Works to 2 no. Yew Trees. The Parish Council supported this application.

ii.) Planning decisions by Sevenoaks District Council:

Grant of permission: SE/09/01080/FUL Engineers Cottage, High Street, Leigh TN11 8RN. Demolition of existing garage to facilitate the erection of a replacement garage.

Application withdrawn: Podium House, The Green, Leigh. Demolition of existing dwelling and garage. Construction of replacement dwelling and garage.

7. CURRENT ISSUES

i.) Speedwatch - The Clerk reported that PC Ingram had carried out a speed check on the Main Road on Tuesday 28th July at 11-00 till 11-30 am.

8. ENVIRONMENT

The Clerk reported that the bench in memory of Harry Lucas had been delivered ready to be installed by Peter Croft.

9. FOOTPATH WORKING PARTY.

No report.

10. PLAYGROUND

See 5.iii., Open Session.

11. VILLAGE HALLS

No report.

12. AGED PERSONS DWELLING

No report.

13. TRANSPORT

No report.

14. CORRESPONDENCE for information only had already been circulated.

Correspondence for Action up to 3rd August Action/Copy
Audit Commission querying further detail regarding variance between year ending 2008 and 2009 for payments. Clerk replied, copy to Cllr. Sykes
Member Highway Fund Pack which gives Parish Councils ability to bid for part of £25,000 for projects during 2009/10. May be capital money or revenue funding on highway projects.
KALC Parish News 29th July All councillors
GACC's response to the Gatwick noise action plan consultation submitted 3rd August.  They hope that councils respond, and make use of any of the points in their response, using own words.  Alternatively we may just like to write in to say that we agree with and support their response - if we do. The response has been sent early (the consultation does not close until 7 October) because they are asking the Department for Transport also to take action on Gatwick noise, and they attach a letter which has been sent to the Secretary of State for Transport. Clerk to write in support of GACC
SDC News Release: Free trees are available to individuals, schools and community groups across district as part of a Kent wide scheme that could see up to 40,000 planted across the county. Anyone who applies can select the number and type of trees, based on their landscape type. Trees are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis until the closing date for applications on 30 October 2009. The scheme has been made possible through sponsorship from Network Rail, KCC and the borough and district councils of Kent. The scheme is co-ordinated and delivered by the Countryside Management Partnerships. Clerk to apply and publicise via Parish magazine.
KHS notice of temporary road closure - Philpots Lane, Hildenborough, Tonbridge & Malling. KHS intend to resurface the carriageway and it will be necessary to temporarily close Philpots Lane, Hildenborough whilst these works are in progress. The temporary closure will be in operation from Monday 12th October 2009 for a period of 10 working days. The road will be reopened as soon as works are complete. Access will be available up to the point of closure or via a signed diversion route. The alternative route for the route described above is for westbound traffic via Watt's Cross Road, B245 London Road, Morley's Road, Scabharbour Road, Scabharbour Lane and for eastbound traffic via Coppings Road, Compasses Road, B2027 Penshurst Road, High Street, Hildenborough Road, Rings Hill.
Letter from Jonathan Cook to SDC informing them of obtaining a second opinion re. oak tree at Oak Lodge, and objecting to a playground on the Green.
Letter from Mr Rowley enclosing a copy of the Deed of Gift of The Green.

15. FINANCIAL MATTERS

The following cheques were approved for payment, proposed by Cllr Marchant and seconded by Cllr. Johnson.

3rd August
chq. no. List of Cheques Amount VAT
1009 Clerk's expenses £82.45 £0.00
1010 Clerk's salary £456.78 £0.00
1011 Clerk's pension (apr/may inc. to 18.2% emplyr contrib.) £141.27 £0.00
1012 BT Clerk's phone bill £52.29 £6.24
1013 BT Civil protection £11.41 £1.48
1014 Harry Lucas' bench on Green £1,247.75 £162.75
1015 B. Brooker: mowing £125.00 £0.00
Total: £2,116.95 £170.47

Clerks expenses (July)
mileage @ 58.7 pm £16.55
working from home allowance £35.00
stamps 1st & 2nd £16.56
Bottle of spirits/card for internal auditor £14.34
Total £82.45

16. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.

Cllr. Dyton stated that he would write to 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaigners regarding the litter issues in Leigh. The meeting closed at 9.20pm.

Signed.................................................

Chairman...................................................

Date.....................................................

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