EAST FARLEIGH PARISH Annual Parish Meeting 2017
Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 25th April 2017 at the Old School Hall, Lower Road, East Farleigh at 7.30pm
Present: County Cllr Paulina Stockell, Cllr John Wilson (Chairman); Cllrs Peter Beasley, Glyn Charlton, David Hussein, Perry O’Callaghan, Lloyd Porter and Alan White (East Farleigh Parish Council); Sarah O’Callaghan (Parish Clerk) and approx 35 representatives of village institutions and the general public.
1. OPENING ADDRESS The meeting was opened by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr John Wilson, at 7.30 pm. He thanked all the people who do work in the village voluntarily and said that the issues facing residents are much the same as last year: lorries/traffic, speeding and litter.
2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Borough Councillors Richard Webb (prior engagement) and Brian Mortimer (illness), Paul Sapwell (Head East Farleigh Primary School) and Sarah Shearman (Pre-School)
3. RECORDING OF PROCEEDINGS No one present intended to film, photograph or record any items.
4. REPORT FROM POLICE REPRESENTATIVE No representative attended or submitted a report.
5. MINUTES The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 26th April 2016 were approved and signed as a true and correct record of the meeting.
6. MATTERS ARISING There were none.
7. COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT Copies had been circulated and County Cllr Paulina Stockell gave a digest of her report: a copy is attached.
8. BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS No reports had been submitted. Borough Cllr John Wilson reported that the Local Plan is currently very high on the Agenda and still awaiting the final go-ahead from the Inspector.
9. REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF EAST FARLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL A copy of this is attached.
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10. REPORTS FROM VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS AND REPRESENTATIVES The major points to emerge from verbal or written reports from village institutions were as follows:-
10.1 East Farleigh Pre-School No one was able to attend, but a short report is attached.
10.2 Sir John Franklyn Almshouses Trust Hilary Moon attended and read out the attached report.
10.3 East Farleigh Club No one attended and no report was sent
10.3 John Bunyan Leaver Charity Cllr Peter Beasley, trustee of the Charity, commented on the increasing popularity of TV gardening shows, which have made gardening appear easier than it is. Waiting lists for allotments are growing nationally, some stretching to five years. The JBLC allotments have five trustees, 25 tenants and 35 plots, all well maintained. Two new young tenants have joined recently. The Charity has made fewer charitable donations this year because maintenance work has been required.
10.4 Speedwatch Cllr Peter Beasley explained that Community Speedwatch is now working across county borders, supported by neighbourhood police and aiming to reduce death on the road and decrease speed, to improve quality of life. It has been operating since 2005, but volunteers are becoming harder to find. In East Farleigh, deployments are carried out once or twice a month.
10.5 East Farleigh Brownies Claire Easton read out her report: a copy is attached.
10.6 Church/East Farleigh Parochial Church Council No one attended or submitted a report.
10.7 West Farleigh Youth Football Club Paul Beck reported that the club is thriving: they have a friendly ethos, encouraging all to have a go, rather than focusing on winning or being competitive. He thanked the Parish Council for their donation and for maintaining the recreation field.
10.8 East Farleigh Primary School No one attended, but Paul Sapwell sent a report which is attached.
10.9 Farleighs WI The President, Diane Scott, attended and read out her report: attached.
10.10 Priory Close Residents Association No one attended or sent a report.
10.11 Farmers Markets Sue Morris read out the attached report.
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10.12 Gardening Club Sue Morris read out the attached report.
10.13 Old School Hall Mandy and Gary reported regular bookings all week, plus the pre-school and parties at weekends, some music events, quiz nights and even one funeral. There are 6 or 7 antique markets per year and the apologised for any inconvenience this may cause on the traffic/parking front. They thanked the Church and the Parish Council for their support and co-operation and the Fete Working Party for their donation to pay for the new chairs.
10.14 Fete Committee Adam Palmer read put the report attached.
10.15 Community Support Warden Adam McKinley read out the attached report.
11. PUBLIC FORUM No one wished to report anything.
12. NEXT ANNUAL PARISH MEETING The next Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Tuesday April 24th 2018, commencing at 7.30 pm in the Old School Hall, Lower Road, East Farleigh.
There being no further business, the meeting was closed by the Chairman at 8.27 pm.
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County Councillor Paulina Stockell Maidstone Rural West Mid-Year Review 2016/17
Dear resident
It has been my privilege to represent you at County Hall for over 15 years. Over the past four years Kent County Council has seen a further 20% reduction in its budget, from £1.1billion to £890 million and has a further £58m less for 2016/17. At the same time there has been a rising demand for our services, putting huge pressure on us to ensure that every penny we spend counts so that we can
continue to deliver good services which are value for money. Review Year Mid
Demand on services has predominately been in children and adult social care services. With an ageing population growing at 2% per year and a growth in school rolls, the council has raised council tax charges by 1.99% and added the 2% social care precept, giving us an extra £37.7m in tax receipts. But there still remains the challenge of finding a further £81m of savings.
KCC has responded to this challenge through efficiency drives and radically re-designing what we do by becoming a strategic commissioning organisation. By planning and designing our services well, ideally with the help and input from service users, KCC can now deliver services through a range of
providers across the public, private and voluntary sectors, alongside our own in-house services. We are also investing in quality preventative services to ensure that expensive interventions are avoided wherever possible and people are given the opportunity to have greater choice and independence, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for everyone. Members County
Over the past year:
• LED Street Lighting. As a result of a consultation on our Street Light Policy, KCC has agreed to an optimised all-night street lighting programme using new energy-efficient LED lights. • Operation Stack. Lorry parking has been an issue in Kent for a number of years. As a result the government has discussed plans to build a huge lorry park to end the gridlock caused by Operation Stack and the closure of parts of the M20 so lorries can queue during the cross- West Rural channel disruption. • Free wi-fi in all of Kent’s 99 libraries. This has been made possible after Kent County Council secured full funding from Arts Council England to complete the roll-out of free Wi-Fi across all library buildings in the county. tone • Lower Thames Crossing. Highways England is consulting on options for a Lower Thames Crossing; a new road crossing for the River Thames connecting Kent and Essex. It proposes a tunnel crossing under the Thames located east of Gravesend and Tilbury. A new crossing is needed to reduce the increasing congestion at the Dartford Crossing to unlock economic growth, supporting the development of homes and jobs in the region. 22013/2014 2010/11 Maids
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• Examples of support provided in Maidstone Rural West:
2015-16 has seen a variety of projects being supported by the Combined Members Grants on behalf of the residents of Maidstone Rural West including:
Deleted:
*New pics east farleigh WI Boiler and WI chairman
Teston Village Hall – Linton Cricket Club – Marden Memorial Hall – New Boiler - £472.00 Replacement Artificial Wicket New Cooker - £657.00 Surface - £2000.00
Issues and Projects already being addressed for 2016 – 17
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Communities Applicant Project Amount Nettlestead Parish Council KGV Field, Nettlestead £700.00
Hunton Cricket Club Towards the purchase of wicket covers £500.00
Salvation Army Parenting Skills Residential Weekend - £278.00 Time for Family The Farleighs W.I. Hall New boiler £2000.00
The Vicars Picnic, Yalding Vicars Picnic Music Festival £500.00
Marden in Bloom Marden in Bloom £500.00
Kenward Trust Youth Outreach £556.00
KM Charity Literacy Programme £760.00 Nettlestead Village Hall Hall refurbishment £2500.00
Kent Friendz To provide services for Specialist Level £278.00 Children & Young People
Yalding Parish Council Children’s Summer Play Scheme equipment £300.00 Dandelion Time, East Farleigh Farm equipment £1380.00
Collier Street Parish Magazine Collier Street Magazine £500 Teston Conservation Society New fencing £500
Highways Project Design and install advisory 20 mile per hour speed limit with school wig-wag Area signals and gateways. Amount Advisory 20 miles per hour speed limit and gateways. This is carried forward £2000.00 West Street, outside from and replaces. Hunton Primary School Collier street outside Investigate and install new pedestrian £2000.00 Primary School crossing.
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A26 Tonbridge Road, near Traffic calming feasibility study. £500.00 junction with Church Street.
B2010 Lower Road and its Design, consult and implement 40 miles junctions with Station Hill per hour speed limit following speed and The Green survey undertaken in 2015.
Chainhurst Advisory 20 miles per hour speed limit £5000.00 with school wig-wags.
Investigate and implement advisory 20 Vicarage Road, Yalding miles per hour speed limit and school wig-wags. £3000.00
£2000.00
New Pitch Covers for Hunton Wanderers Cricket Club.
Steve Jones from HWCC said “The club aims to increase the number of adult games / teams over the next two years and introduce a colts / youth section. With the increasing number of fixtures, mobile pitch covers are essential to maximise the number of games played / completed and ensure that the club are able to provide a high standard of on-field playing facilities”.
What services does Kent County Council provide?
Your council tax payment to Kent County Council funds over 300 services. Listed below are some of the services we provide:
• Home to school transport for 7,500 children to mainstream schools and 3,800 children with Special Educational Needs. • Care for nearly 1,500 Looked after Children in fostering and residential care. • A network of Children’s Centres, preventative work and more than 11,000 children a month avoiding the need for more expensive care. • Care for nearly 4,000 older people in their own homes. • Care for over 1,000 adults with Learning Disabilities through supported living arrangements. • Care for 5,500 elderly and vulnerable adults in residential homes. • Direct payments for nearly 4,000 elderly and vulnerable adults to make their own care arrangements. • 16.9m free journeys on public transport for elderly people on their bus passes. • Maintaining and managing a network with over 5,000 miles of road and 4,000 miles of
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pavement. • Disposing of and recycling 711,000 tonnes of domestic waste. • 99 libraries attracting 6.5m visits online and in person a year • Extra school places where our population is growing • 1.4m public enquiries through the Contact Centre.
In addition, as a member of The Kent Rural Board I have been pushing for the case for improved broadband in rural areas and I am pleased to report that KCC is investing in extending access to superfast broadband to the rural areas of Kent. Useful links:
Sign up to KCC’s new mailing list and receive the latest council news in your mailbox For more information visit: www.kent.gov.uk
Consultations - view all KCC consultations online at: http://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti
KCC Highways – report a problem on the road or pavement by visiting www.kent.gov.uk/highwayfaults
To view the latest news and releases from KCC visit KCC’s Media Hub at: https://kccmediahub.net/
Ask your County Councillor if you’d like to know more.
To find out more about Community Engagement in Maidstone log onto: www.kent.gov.uk/communityengagement and click onto Maidstone
Maidstone Rural West County Member
Paulina Stockell
Home address: Farthing Green Barn Farthing Green, New Barn Road Hawkenbury Staplehurst, Kent TN12 0EE Phone: 01622 842508 Email: [email protected]
Allison Allan Community Liaison Officer looks after the Maidstone County Councillors and the Members grants for the area
Contact her on: 03000 415770 or 07920526550
Email: [email protected]
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East Farleigh Parish Council Chairman’s Report 2017
This year has been a defining one as far as Parish Councils in Kent and particularly Maidstone have been concerned. There is currently debate and discussion on devolution of powers to local Authorities which will include those passed down to Parish Councils – watch this space!
The Maidstone Local Plan has moved on and is now waiting for the final decision from the Inspector, but its effects on traffic locally following the major housing developments in Hermitage Lane, Coxheath and elsewhere have been enormous. Your Parish Council, under the auspices of the Kent Association of Local Councils, has been fighting against this development or for the necessary infrastructure required to support it and will continue to do so.
We gave evidence at the appeal hearing for the development of 225 houses at Fant Farm which was successful in having the plan rejected by the Inspector.
The problems with the size, volume and speed of traffic in the village have continued and we have taken several routes to try and alleviate them: • A meeting was held with Helen Grant MP, Network Rail and KCC Highways to discuss possible solutions for improving the traffic flow on Farleigh Bridge. • KCC Highways were commissioned to produce a report on improvements to the junctions of Lower Road with the Green/ Lower Road and Station Hill along with traffic calming options for Lower Road. • DHA transport Consultants have been commissioned to produce a Strategy for East Farleigh Bridge to include physical barriers to prevent HGVs access, and the final report is about to be published to include costed solutions. • We continue to carry out speed checks via our Speedwatch initiative, but volunteers are still in short supply which impedes the frequency of theses checks. Please contact the Parish Clerk if you are able to help out.
We are aware that the strength of the Broadband signal in our area is very weak and we continue to press for delivery of the requisite fibre cabling which we are assured will be delivered ‘in the next few months’!
On a lighter note, the book ‘East Farleigh – A brief history’ by Cllr David Hussein was published and launched at a party attended by Ann Widdecombe, who wrote the foreword and signed copies on the night. Copies are still available through the Clerk at the nominal price of £2.50.
Parish Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month and all are welcome to come along and speak in the public session if they have any views they wish to share, and if you really want to be involved in the affairs of your village, we currently have two vacancies on the Council.
John Wilson April 2017
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EAST FARLEIGH PRE-SCHOOL
East Farleigh Pre-school is still going! We have a great team that work so well together and give the pre-school the excellent reputation it deserves.
2015/16 was a busy school year, we were full from Sept 15.
2016/17 is being more of a struggle, lower numbers, ever increasing costs and very limited KCC funding increases (pennies), if it continues like this our future is uncertain after 40+ years in the village.
Kind regards
Sarah Shearman Administrator
East Farleigh Pre-school Old School Hall Lower Road East Farleigh Maidstone Kent ME15 0JL Tel - 07586 439018 Email - [email protected]
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REPORT TO EAST FARLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
THE SIR JOHN FRANKLYN CHARITY FOR ALMSHOUSES CHARITY NO. 210899
ANNUAL REPORT – 2016 - 2017
Committee The committee members:-
Richard Yaxley - Chairman Debbie McCay - Trustee Treasurer Hilary Moon - Honorary Secretary Paul Khan - Trustee Building Maintenance Trevor Jones - Trustee Garden Maintenance
Introduction Yet again another year has passed since my last report.
The Spring has started early and for the keen gardeners of the almshouses it has been a great opportunity for them to make their plots and greenhouses ready for the season ahead and how lovely it all looks.
Previously I have reported the difficulties in recruiting new Trustees, however most recently Trevor Jones has settled in well and hopefully, the Committee as it stands, will endure for some time.
I must remind everyone of the sterling work the Committee does in supporting the charity and the residents.
Nowadays we all seem so busy with one thing or another, even if we are retired!! It is therefore heartening to know that there are people willing to give up their valuable time freely; a big “Thank You” is given to all the Committee members.
Trustee – Gardens As reported last year Trevor Jones’ first priority in his new post, was to sort out the front boundary. For those who know the cottages, it has clearly been transformed, with its new Ragstone wall and Yew hedging, it now looks very smart.
We now look forward to the rest of the lower part of the garden being landscaped, making it more manageable for ongoing upkeep.
Trustee – Building Maintenance As previously mentioned, these old cottages over 400 years old naturally require regular and expensive maintenance and this year has been no different.
Paul Khan has overseen the replacement of all of the hot water tanks, due partly to age but also the hard water we experience in this part of Kent.
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We have also, in an effort to stop unwanted cars/persons accessing the rear of the cottages, fitted a five bar gate to the side rear access.
No major projects are planned for next year however; I expect some work will be required on these fine old cottages.
Trustee – Treasurer Debbie McCay continues her sterling work as Treasurer, the Treasurer’s duties attract a high degree of responsibilities and can be rather tedious and time consuming, in producing quarterly finance statements and ensuring incoming and outgoing payments are made on time.
As we all know the Treasurer’s post in any Charity is the most difficult to fill so I am pleased that Debbie continues her vital role.
Honorary Secretary Hilary Moon continues to sort out all the administration, minutes the meetings and gets onto me when I have not done what I should have. Just as well maybe, let’s hope it continues!
Summary With the continued support of the Committee, we will continue our work for the Charity in maintaining the cottages and the gardens to ensure a pleasant environment for all the residents to live in.
On a final and sad note, I have to report the recent death of Cyril Gore who passed away shortly after celebrating his 86th Birthday. He lived at No. 4 for the last 21 years and was increasingly supported by his friends, neighbours and family and will be sadly missed by all.
I will remember him as a smiley, kind and well turned out gentleman.
Chairman Almshouses
R.F. YAXLEY
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Parish meeting 2017 1st East Farleigh Brownies Where to start? True to the Guiding essentials we have had a varied and balanced programme. The girls have worked hard towards a variety of badges and achievements, and Naomi, Julie and I have had an addition to our ranks - Jamie has joined us from Coxheath Senior Section, volunteering as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award. The leaders all have a week of evening training coming up in May, to keep us up to speed and share ideas. We'd like to thank the Parish Council for their recent donation. While we pride ourselves on our foraging skills, sometimes - however reluctantly - we have to dip into the Brownie purse and part with pennies for supplies, so this will be a huge help. We'd also like to thank the Farmers Market committee for their donation last year. This was spent on Hi Vis tabards to be used on walks etc, and on games equipment which has since been used many times, most memorably for the Brownie Disability Awareness Olympics last year. In the past year we have also raised £149 for the RNIB, via having a Dotty Promise and learning about visual impairments and Braille. We have adopted Bilbo the goat after visiting Buttercups Goat Sanctuary, to complete the Friend to Animals badge. The Brownies went to a national premier screening of Beauty and the Beast, organised by the Girlguiding association with Odeon cinemas and attended by over 26,000 girls from all sections from across the UK. We have created and cooked, planted and partied and much, much more. All of us of learning and growing a little along the way. After the success of the Queen's 90th Birthday Party last year, for which we were so grateful to everybody who contributed and to those who joined us, the girls have asked to do another community event. They suggested a bake sale, so we have decided to have an afternoon tea on Saturday 27th May. It would lovely if you could join us and spread the word. The rest of this summer is filled with the outdoors, discovering outdoor homes, hunting mini beasts, hopefully repeating the Condensed Camping experience, and ending the term with the Brownie Summer Picnic with fun and games for the girls and their families. Although the games can descend into barely organised chaos it's always a great way to end the summer, and breaks the ice for parents and ourselves. Lastly if any of you have or know anyone who has something they'd like to come and share with the Brownies, we welcome visitors for talks or demonstrations. We all thoroughly enjoy our time with the Brownies and although we say goodbye to the last of our daughters and our longest standing girl this summer, we are looking forward to many more years with the unit.
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The Farleighs Women’s Institute Our institute has enjoyed another successful year with a variety of monthly speakers to both entertain and inform members on subjects as diverse as Acting, the Police, Chelsea flower show, Marine Biology, Buttons and Women in motoring. The in house entertainment included a sports day with competitive silly games Whist Drives and the occasional game of Beatle. Together with an Annual show in October where members display their skills in art, craft, baking and gardening. Wish meetings (Which are open to all) have been very well supported and included an interesting talk on North Korea by Ray Davidson and really enjoyable demonstration Claire and her dog Pal on the work of Medical Detection Dogs. Fundraising for the refurbishment of our Hall has been our priority over the last year and in addition to the events we have put on in the hall we have been helped by generous donations from Kent County Council, East Farleigh Parish Council, East Farleigh Fete Committee and West Farleigh Parish Council, Together with new Toilets and Hand Basins kindly donated by MAP of East Farleigh. All this has enabled us to Deep Clean the Hall, decorate the Hall and Stage, Replace the old Boiler, Refurbish the Toilets, Install new Fire Doors and Install double glazed windows to the front of the Hall. Our next major projects are to tackle the Kitchen and the outside woodwork.
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“Fete de la Musique” Sat 24th June 2017 2 to 5pm
Last Year’s fete unfortunately suffered because of the rain that started half way through the event, just in time for the Falconry Flying display which bravely carried on through the drizzle. Unfortunate this meant that the fete committee made a small loss this year, but I pleased to be able to say that other village and charitable organisations reported that they had still managed to raise funds despite the weather. As ever we would like to thank the various organisations and people who have helped us, especially East Farleigh School for their support. In spite of 2016 not being a great financial success we did still donate to: • Kenward Trust as a thank you to them for providing catering support at the Fete • Maidstone Movers who have also provided us with help in previous year’s fetes. • Old School Hall to help purchase cloth to cover chairs for use in the hall as a thank you for the logistical help they have provided every year. • The WI to help with maintenance work required on their hall. • Dandelion Time, a local charity, towards gardening and other tools. We have also funded: • Planting daffodils bulbs around the village, which I hope will be added to next year. • Bird & Bat boxes for the churchyard • Refreshments for the Carols in the Churchyard evening and more lights for the Christmas tree. This year we are adding a musical theme to the fete, so if you know of any bands or musical acts that would be interested in performing then please let us know. As ever if you would like to help with the organisation or if you’d like to help on the day get in touch! Adam Palmer 07711 318714 [email protected] East Farleigh Village Fete Committee
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Hello my name is Adam McKinley; I cover Coxheath, Hunton, East Farleigh, West Farleigh and Linton. In East Farleigh this year and last year I have been working with 2 families cope with the effects of health and dementia whilst working with the local NHS and Social Services. East Farleigh has the difficulty of the bridge and in the new financial year would like to work more closely with the Parish Council on this issue and any meetings will happily come along and support. Also this year again fly tipping has been high down certain roads in East Farleigh and I would like to help tackle this and put some more signs around the village. Last month we had a lot of graffiti down Dean Street and also people throwing rubbish out of their cars and into peoples gardens.
I do cover a big patch and with social services and NHS referring us residents to see the visible presence may be less but I am still committed to doing my job to the best of my ability.
Anyone that doesn’t know me my role as a community warden is to act as a trusted friend working closely with Kent Police, Social Services, District and Borough Councils and other agencies to assist residents with a variety of quality of life issues ranging from neighbourhood disputes, antisocial behaviour, low level crime and to assist with any worries or concerns that residents may have. If we can’t solve a problem directly we will know the right person to put you in touch with. I am also working on application on phone to help other services like Police on Dementia and other health concerns when visiting residents.
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