Parish Council Minutes for 4th January 2010Minutes of the monthly Parish Council meeting held in the Small Hall, High Street, Leigh, Monday 4th January 2010 commencing at 8pm under the chairmanship of Cllr. Stratton-Brown. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Cllrs. J. Knock, Marchant, Powell and Bennie. PRESENT: Cllrs. C. Stratton-Brown (Chairman), R. Sykes, A. Johnston, R. Dyton, P. Croft and Mrs. J. Butler (Clerk). 2. DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST None. 3. MINUTES of the monthly Parish Council meeting held on 7th December were approved, proposed and seconded by Cllrs. Sykes and Johnston. This and last month's minutes were signed by the Chairman. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 7th December. None. 5. REPORTS i.) Police. There was no report from the police, and the Clerk was asked to request their presence at least to a quarter of the monthly meetings. ii.) District Councillor Alison Cook sent her apologies. iii.) Kent County Councillor Peter Lake reported on the recent extreme weather and noted that the new way of salting roads by Kent Highway Services (KHS) has failed. As a result of the weather, there is now also a desperate need to fill the numerous potholes. In response to a question from the Chairman, Cllr. Lake said it may be possible for him to obtain for Leigh a salt bin to use, especially for Pauls Hill which was dangerously icy. Cllr. Lake reported that of the three applications submitted to the Members Fund, the interactive speed sign at the west end of the High Street/Penshurst Road had been approved. The cycleway link was being investigated by Rights of Way and falls under their remit, and is ongoing. The continued footpath from Lower Green past the Fleur to the High Street was not successful as there is not room. The Chairman requested to meet with those who made this decision, and Cllr. Lake said that he would arranged a meeting between himself, the Chairman, and Steven Noad of KHS. With regard to the footway from Home Farm to Gibbs Field, at a recent meeting of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board it was resolved to withdraw the reserved funding for completion as the prolonged period without any sign of progress of the land ownership issues was not an efficient use of public money that could be used on other projects. This also has implications for the signage situation. £18,265 had been spent on the first part of the footpath, and a further £64,000 would have been needed for completion. The Chairman requested that Greenview Avenue is need for resurfacing, and although the Clerk had been told it would be some time before it was a priority, he would be grateful if Cllr. Lake could make further enquiries. Cllr Lake said that he hoped Council Tax would not be increased, but that Kent County Council (KCC) had lost various grants from central government and savings would have to be made. 770 members of KCC would leave next year, not all due to 'natural wastage'. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Lake for all his efforts on behalf of Leigh Parish, and also expressed his appreciation for the very useful commuter bus, the contract for which he hoped was secure when it comes up for renewal. iv.) Open Session. Mr Rowley expressed thanks for the mending of the bench by the oak tree. As outlined in a recent email to the Clerk, Mrs Fields offered the expertise of a market researcher to help the Parish Council draw up a questionnaire for the playground issue. She also requested to receive a copy of the questionnaire before final circulation. 6. PLAYGROUND The Clerk circulated copies of the draft questionnaire, and asked Councillors for their comments within ten days, after which she would pass on to the School Chair of Governors, Beverley Docherty. Subject to their schedule and approval, hopefully after another ten days the questionnaire would then be forwarded to a small number of representatives from the wider community for comments. The Clerk would ensure that those Councillors not at the meeting would receive copies via email or hand delivery as appropriate. 7. PLANNING i.) Planning applications: SE/09/02780/FUL. Home Farm House, Hildenborough Road, Leigh TN11 8JA. Single storey rear extension including replacement of existing pitched plain tiled roof with flat roof and alterations to existing structure. SE/09/02687/LBCALT. 8 Home Farm Close, Leigh TN11 8SB. Insertion of new window to front elevation through modern timber panelling. These applications had previously been considered and not objected to by the Planning Committee as responses were due to be submitted during the Christmas holidays. SE/09/02835/FUL. Old Powdermills, Powdermill Lane, Leigh TN11 9AN. Alterations to existing drum store. Councillors had no objection. Works to Trees in a Conservation Area: SE/09/02925/WTCA. Pump house, High Street, Leigh. Works to three yew trees. Councillors had no objection. Appeal SE/09/01237/FUL The Cottage, Southwood, Scabharbour Road, Leigh. Two storey rear extension. The Parish Council's response of no objection remains the same. The Clerk read out the response from Alan Byrne, Historic Areas and Planning Advisor, English Heritage South East Region to Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) concerning the planning application for the rebuilding of Podium House, The Green: "Our specialist staff have considered the information received and we do not wish to offer any comments on this occasion. The application(S) should be determined in accordance with national and local policy guidance, and on the basis of your specialist conservation advice." ii.) Planning decisions by Sevenoaks District Council: None received. The Chairman observed that in the SDC's Strategic Housing and Land Assessment 2009, the available land behind Garden Cottages had included the land last used as allotments but part of the cottage gardens and a strip of land belonging to KCC which meant it would achieve the minimum area for inclusion in the SDC Land Assessment 2009. It was important that when the Core Strategy is adopted, Leigh Village Design Statement is updated accordingly to take into account new policy. A copy of the Planning Meeting minutes of 16th November 2009 which contained amendments agreed upon on 7th December, were signed by the Chairman. 8. CURRENT ISSUES i.) Speedwatch No report. ii.) Neighbourhood Watch. No response yet to requests for volunteers via the Parish Magazine and shop. iii.) PlayPlace. The Clerk had received no new information over the Christmas period. 9. ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS Peter Croft confirmed that he had pruned the old burial ground area as requested. 10. VILLAGE HALLS No report 11. AGED PERSONS DWELLING As Cllr. Marchant was absent, the Clerk will deliver to him the copy of the 2006 maintenance survey on the APDs. The Clerk had written to the residents and requested that they arrange to pay the rent monthly by standing order from 1st March. 12. TRANSPORT No report 13. CORRESPONDENCE for information only had already been circulated.
14. FINANCIAL MATTERS i. The cheques below were approved, and the direct debit mandate for future APD British Gas payments were authorised. ii. KCC Landscape Services quotation of £1,571.27 for care and maintenance of The Green 2010. It was agreed to accept the estimate, a KCC perform well, and although the estimate is an increase on last year's cost, the actual cost would be less as it was usually not necessary to do everything listed on the estimate. iii. to decide the precept requirement for 2010/2011. Following on from Cllr. Sykes budget proposals at last month's meeting, it was agreed to keep the precept at the same level as last year, at £18,500. Proposed by Cllrs. Johnston and Croft.
Clerks expenses (December)
15. ANY FURTHER MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION The Clerk reported that a letter of thanks from the Treasurer of the short mat bowls club had been received, thanking the Parish Council for their donation. Cllr. Sykes reported that Trevor Cormack was happy for the Parish Council to replace the chestnut on the Green with a beech tree via the Kent Men of the Tree Award. The meeting closed at 9.35pm. Signed................................................. Chairman................................................... Date.....................................................
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