Hackington Council

ANNUAL REPORTS FOR PERIOD APRIL 2019 - MARCH 2020

NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman) – SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK CHAIRMAN’S REPORT The Parish Council has met as usual on 6 occasions during the year, plus additional precept budget meetings in December 2020, and reports regularly on a slightly revised set of key items which now include:

• Highways; • Footpaths and Tyler Hill Meadow Project; • Conservation; • KALC/NALC; • Information Technology; • Tyler Hill Memorial Hall; • Planning Matters. • Accounts/Financial The Council continues to have a good working relationship with City Council and has enjoyed very positive support throughout the year from Rob Thomas, Leader of the City Council and our Ward Councillors, Barbara Flack, Dan Smith and Alex Ricketts. We support key initiatives started by the City Council this year including a new Local Plan and Transport Strategy and Climate Emergency initiatives, particularly where they can improve both working and living conditions for our residents.

It has been a particularly busy year for the introduction of a new Chair, new Clerk (Paula Steeden) and one new Councillor (Jason Marshall) exposed to the real challenge of balancing this new role with a full-time career and growing young family. I would hope that at the end of this term of office, we may seek to encourage others to commit their time, albeit it unpaid as Councillors, to the work of the Council either as elected members or as part of further working groups to share the ever-increasing workload. The year has presented a continuation of the regular village concerns regarding traffic and highway matters but also highlighted the risks to our status of Conservation Area within the Local Plan statutory designations. We are committed to protecting that status going forward. Much work is needed here and a lack of awareness or appreciation of that designation by some residents is a key challenge. Societies and social gatherings such as Gardening Club, Lunch Club and the , Hackington, Tyler Hill Society (BHTHS) groups continue to be supported by a die-hard longstanding group of individuals. We simply hope that others living in the village may be encouraged to participate in many of the entertainment, fundraising and social gatherings held by these groups in order to secure a stronger ‘community led’ interest in the short term. 1

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NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman) – SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Working with the City: The Council has attended a significant number of meetings and workshops in the last 12 months held by the City Council who are now embarking on a new District wide Local Plan to set the scene for the development within the District. In light of increased pressure for housebuilding within the District, it remains to be seen if the Parish will face pressure to contribute towards this future growth. We have also been present at Council meetings intent on delivering a revitalised Rural Forum, largely driven by Barbara Flack, our Ward Councillor. Hopefully this will safeguard the interests of Parish Councils and allow a stronger understanding of how both parties work and move forward together. A brief summary of the various projects and challenges where Cllr Flack represents our interests are:

• Declaration of a Climate Emergency and the setting of Carbon Neutral Aims; • City Council control of relevant Housing Associations; • City Budget Shortfalls; • Car parking charges within the City; • Green waste charging; • City Council in-house provision for waste collection; • Local Plan and Transport Strategy; Crime: Criminal activity within the Parish remains at a very low level with a relatively small number of incidents taking place over the year. We receive regular support from our local PCSO Tom Daley and although attendance at Parish Council meetings may be sporadic, we are kept informed of Police activity within the District via regular contact and reports. Undoubtedly regional urban and rural crime is a significant strain on police resources at the present time and we must accept that local policing strategies may mean that we see less of this resource in light of our relatively low serious crime statistics. Highways: Following on from last years Parish Assembly, the Council created a small working group to lead on Highway matters, consisting of two Councillors and two residents in order to focus on the most highly profiled issue affecting the village. The group generated a Highways Improvement Plan (HIP) that is posted on the Parish Council website and includes the key priorities of volume of traffic, speeding and pedestrian safety. We have also met with Highways officers on two occasions to give voice to our concerns. This relationship is now well founded and we have their support where possible in making progress on our chosen goals. We have managed to secure a number of small ‘wins’ over the period but accept that the key items of a wider, safer footpath from Wood Hill to Canterbury Hill and further controls on speed are longer term goals that may require significant expenditure at a time of increased pressure on public spending. The Council intends to write to those householders that control land that would require a transfer of control/ownership in the coming months to gauge interest in supporting the initiative. One indicator of the challenge ahead is that Kent Highways, the purse holder for road improvement matters, have an annual budget of some £21.0k to be divided between 26 Parish Councils in the District and the City Council are still chasing a further £5m of cost savings within its budget over the short term. The key priority also remains for a safe crossing on Hackington Road, next to the Tyler’s Kiln public house, although we have been advised by Kent Highways that we simply do not have the necessary criteria for a totally public funded solution at this location. 2

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NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman)

SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK/ CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Parish Council Budget: The Parish Council remained prudent in its expenditure during the year and we approved a relatively small uplift in precept of £400 for the coming year, going from £6597 in 2019/20 to £6997 in 2020/21. The key challenge going forward is the planned withdrawal of our present Concurrent funding from the City Council, which largely goes to the Tyler Hill Memorial Hall for upkeep of the village field. Ongoing discussions with the City Council hope to limit the impact of this funding loss but the pressure on the public purse is clearly evident in the short to medium term at least. Estimated reserves are around £9000 per year, equivalent of one years’ budget – considered prudent by KALC and other . The major expenditure for the year was the notmal village grass cutting contract and the one off replacement of the speed indicator battery. For the coming year, the key cost will be the IT estimated £1100 costs associated with getting the Council in compliance with new legislation. Planning and Development: We have been consulted on a total of 13 planning applications, many of which were changes within an existing property. Of these, 8 have been granted by the City Council of which 3 were supported by the Parish with reservations on lack of details – a feature that continues to plague us as we are often not included within any consultation once a developer secures a consent but then wishes to include changes to the original permission. It is a simple fact that we feel aggrieved as to the continued lack of control or interest by the City Council Planning department regarding the continued loss of trees through development, consented or otherwise and we are pressing for a new stage of pre planning discussion with applicant’s/developers in order to offer our comments before plans are finalised and submitted to the Planning Authority (CCC). Footpaths: We must thank Ray Evison for his continued commitment to assessing and reporting on the status of the many longstanding footpaths that cross our Parish. Many of the 10km of footpaths remain in good condition although the atrocious February 2020 weather tested the entire system. It is hoped that a new bridge for Footpath CB37 in Great Hall Wood may be provided in due course. Within his report, Ray has identified issues with CB12 and CB13 near the Sarre Penn and may require input from Blean Parish Council in the first instance although ownership may be with either Mid Kent Water or the University. Kent Association for Local Councils (KALC): An exceptionally busy year is an understatement for KALC who continue to provide excellent support to the Parish Council on a range of issues covering health, policing, statutory responsibilities, training, welfare to name but a few. Parish Councillors have attended numerous meeting held by KALC in East Kent and we are supported by our Ward Councillor Barbara Flack who shows great understanding and experience in the role of Parish Councils and continues to represent us well at Area Committee meetings. This will be Ray’s last KALC report to the Parish Council as he stands down after his third and final year as Immediate Past Chairman. His knowledge and intimate understanding of the workings of this important ally cannot be underestimated and that will be sorely missed going forward. 3

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NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman) – SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Conservation and Environment: The Council continues to be concerned as to the lack of recognition by both householders, developers and the City Council of the Conservation Area status of the village. To that end, and due to the loss of more trees over the last 12 months, the Parish Council launched the 220 by 2020 Tree Project, hoping to recover the loss of established trees in recent times. This coincides with a UK national tree planting scheme and we have offered free trees, shrubs and hedge plants to all residents who responded to a village wide leaflet drop. Rather disappointingly, only around 10% of residents confirmed their interest from the letter drop carried out by Councillors at the project outset but we have now picked up the pace with around 100 trees planted at the present time. Given that our target date for completion of the project is 30 November 2020 (National Tree Day 2020), we appear to be back on track. We continue to promote the importance of the Conservation Areas status with the Planning Department at Canterbury City Council and have developed a number of initiatives to support our argument for continued status. However, it is very clear we are at odds with Planning Officers at the City Council in our understanding and attitude to the protection of woodland and specifically trees within the heart of the village. We are now working on a project to replace the existing village map outside the Memorial Hall with an interactive, more modern means of explaining the history of the Parish, it’s past and recent history and the many features that we should highlight to both residents and visitors to our village. A significant challenge continues regarding the impact of litter deposited within footways and hedgerows within the main road system surrounding the village. This visual impact is rarely resolved without the direct efforts of a small number of residents and the 2020 litter pick has been arranged by the BHTHS on Saturday 21 March and all are welcome!

Tyler Hill Meadow: Volunteers from the village have carried out maintenance work in the Meadow again this year and surveys of flowers and dormice have been undertaken. Irene Pellet has also kept a very valuable photographic record and we thank Irene for her invaluable contribution to the project. People are needed to carry our surveys of small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and it is hoped that someone with a knowledge of reptiles may have been found. Thanks are due to the Stour Valley Group who come regularly to cut and clear. The ground in the Meadow is very muddy and there are a lot of broken branches at the moment due to severe weather conditions this winter. More volunteers and visitors would be very welcome.

Conservation Status: This year there have been instances where a number of substantial trees have been cut down without prior approval from the City Council or recognition of the statutory protection afforded to trees within a Conservation Area. Indeed, several trees have also been removed after notice has been given, but with no consultation with Hackington Parish Council, the Parish Tree Warden or neighbouring residents. In nearly all cases they have been considered by City Council Planning Department to be of ‘no amenity.’ The Parish Council has had meetings with CCC Planning Department when Conservation Area Status has been discussed and made it clear that it values its Conservation Status and would like support from the Planning Department in maintaining its semi-rural environment. 4

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NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman) – SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Information Technology: Changes in legislation during 2019 has led to many public sector organisations, and in particular Parish Councils throughout the UK, to reconsider their governance in relation to information they hold and store and compliance with the latest changes in data protection. To that end, the Council intends to move away from the previous Kent County Council owned service provider on the grounds of poor customer service and cost. Fortunately, we now have our own internal expertise in relation to IT in the form of Councillor Jason Marshall who has reviewed our requirements and generated a recommendation to the Council for a new service provider at a reduced cost to the Council. We thank Jason for his timely intervention and look forward to developing further improvements in the way we communicate both internally and externally, following on from a very useful study by University of Kent course students who completed a survey and made recommendations on how we may improve stakeholder engagement at the grass roots level.

Tyler Hill Memorial Hall: The past year has seen good booking levels for the Hall albeit that a number of instances of vandalism occurred during the year that may require expenditure on security measures as well as a change to the way that hall hirers are reimbursed with their booking deposits. Clearly, the cancellation of the 2019 Bonfire event was disappointing after so much work by volunteers but the financial impact was reduced due to prudent purchasing and the ability to make returns on much of the non-food items. The Hall Committee has undertaken an extensive programme of internal decoration as well as tree maintenance around the field boundary and included the planting of a number of new trees along Summer Lane in support of the 220 by 2020 Project. Again, the continued need for a volunteer workforce in support of the Hall and its upkeep remains a key challenge in order to reduce the burden on the same volunteers each year.

Thanks: I would personally like to record my thanks to Paula for an incredible start to the role, giving more than we could ask for in terms of availability, effort and support to the Council and residents as a whole. To indicate the increasing workload of our Clerk we have found that during a ‘normal’ month we can expect to receive in excess of 600 e-mails a month (30 per working day) covering County and City matters, statutory consultees such as Police, Health Authorities and Highways, Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC) and basic exchanges between the Councillors themselves.

I would like to thank Lynne Evison for another year of free advice and support on anything to do with trees within the Parish and who offers us technical expertise when presenting our case on planning applications and Tree Preservation Orders (TPO).

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NIGEL CRONIN (Chairman) – SUMMARY OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S WORK CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Finally, I would also like to thank Rob Thomas, Leader of the City Council and our Blean Forest Ward Councillor, Barbara Flack for the level of their interest and continued support on matters of importance to our residents and look forward to seeing more of their involvement in our future. I also give my full support to Rob in trying to find a further £2 million in budget savings over the short term for his City Council budget – a task that could inevitably impact on the level and quality of services we receive as a Parish. We would do well to remind ourselves that the public purse – including the Parish Council - is under more pressure now than ever before.

This report condenses the key points made by all of the Councillors with key responsibilities as set out in my first paragraph. Their full Parish Assembly reports will be posted on the Parish website for those that wish to read a more detailed document.

N Cronin RAY EVISON (Councillor) – FOOTPATHS Report on Footpaths There are about 10 km of footpaths in the Parish, mainly to the east of the village of Tyler Hill. They were last surveyed in 1986. I have walked most but not quite all of the paths during the course of the year and apart from the early months of 2020 when there has been almost incessant rainfall they have been in a good condition. However, the recent heavy winds have brought down trees. The matters have been reported and they will be cleared in due course. There are new sturdy metal swing gates in places and the bridges are in an acceptable condition. We have been promised a new bridge for Footpath CB37 in Great Hall Wood, where a natural stream has until now been crossed using fallen timber.

The path which is of chief concern to the walkers of Hackington Parish (because it is part of a circular route to Blean Church and back) is in fact in Blean Parish. It has been mentioned before and should perhaps be mentioned to Blean P C again. It is the path beside the Sarre Penn stream CB12 from its junction with CB13 (which leads up to the University) to where it meets the Crab & Winkle railway embankment. The true line of the path is beside the stream but because of fallen trees (fallen over decades) its route has been forced out into the field by up to 25 meters in some places. The field has been fenced and the line of the path is now in the lowest part of field and almost permanently in deep water and mud. I think the responsibility for restoring the true path route lies with Mid Kent Water or the University of Kent but the responsibility for bringing it to their attention is with Blean P C.

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RAY EVISON (Councillor) – KALC AND CANTERBURY AREA COMMITTEE Report on KALC and Canterbury Area Committee KALC has had an exceptionally busy year and expanded its training programme to meet the requirements of new legislation and an adventurous Executive Committee. In response to an increase in membership and a greater Training need it has decided to trial an increase in its Training staff for two years.

The subject of Health and Well-being has grown in importance and has been adopted as a separate specialist sub-committee alongside, Highways & Transportation, Partnership working and Learning & Development. KALC Officers and the COE meet regularly with KCC, with Commissioner, with Kent Fire & Ambulance Service and Kent Highways pushing for policies debated and agreed at the AGM to be adopted. These same Offices now seek to meet all Kent MPs on a Lobbying day at Parliament and encourage Area Committees to invite their local MP to meet with them at one of their quarterly meetings. The Area Committee has a new Chairman, but also of importance is the fact that one of our Ward Councillors, Barbara Flack, who has great experience of the operation of Parish Councils,(something that has not always been evidenced in City Cllrs), has been appointed by the City Council to be chair of the Liaison Committee with the parishes in the District. I think this bodes well for the improvement of relations between the District and parishes.

In January 2020 I completed by third and final year as Immediate Past Chairman of KALC, so this will be my last report about KALC to the Annual Assembly.

Ray Evison

ANNIE COVER (Councillor) – TYLER HILL MEMORIAL HALL Unfortunately, during a booking in December damage was caused to the hall internally and pictures were ripped off the wall from the gent’s toilet, doors were damaged and the hall was left in a sorry state. Repairs are still ongoing and discussions are continuing with the hirers involved and their deposit has been retained. When the full cost of repairs is known the hirer will be advised and will be asked for the amount to be paid to the hall.

During our January meeting concerns were raised on this and also the possibility of external damage that might be caused to the hall such as vandalism. Having a CCTV system installed to the front and rear of the hall was discussed and quotes are being obtained for this to be installed.

Bookings are continuing to be good and it is proving to be a popular venue during the week for a variety of events including activities for children and other groups using the hall in addition to our own village clubs.

Externally the bonfire site has been now been cleared and the area raked over in readiness for the summer. Following an inspection of trees along the Summer Lane edge of the ground some had to be pruned. The large tree outside the front of the hall also has to be pruned. 7

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ANNIE COVER (Councillor) –

The tree surgeon will be able to do this as EDF carried out the necessary protection of the overhead cables on Monday 2nd March and work is now programmed to be done.

Following the pruning work on the trees the hall agreed to plant some of the young trees along the edge of Summer Lane to help achieve the 220 tree planting project and the saplings have now been planted by a group of volunteers in the village.

A hall working party was organised on Sunday 1st March for jobs that needed to be done both internally and externally at the hall. Fortunately, the weather was good for all who volunteered and it was a successful morning so a big thank you to everyone taking part keeping our hall good for our hirers and village residents

A. Cover

TRISH HULKS (Councillor) – 220 FOR 2020 PROJECT, TYLER HILLMEADOW Conservation of the pleasant semi-rural ambience of Hackington and Tyler Hill is important to most of the residents of the village and the Parish Council strives to ensure that we keep our environment green and clean.

220 for 2020 Project: 2020 has seen an international surge in movements to moderate the impact of climate change and improve the environment. Hackington Parish Council is aware that a large number of trees in the Parish have been cut down over the last few years and decided to play a part in improving our environment locally by encouraging residents to plant trees on their property and also by planting trees is areas where the public have some access.

To this end the Parish Council has launched its ‘220 for 2020’ project whereby more than 200 small trees and shrubs are available, free of charge, for Hackington residents. Every household received a letter outlining the scheme and inviting them to plant a tree. It is hoped that a new tree will be planted for each of the 220 households in the Parish by the end of 2020. These trees have been provided by the energy company OVO, and by the Parish Tree Warden. So far, more than 100 trees have been planted by local residents and several have recently been planted on the Memorial Hall Playing Field this month.

Tyler Hill Meadow: Volunteers from the village have carried out maintenance work in the Meadow again this year and surveys of flowers and dormice have been undertaken. Irene Pellet has also kept a very valuable photographic record. People are needed to carry our surveys of small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and it is hoped that someone with a knowledge of reptiles may have been found. Thanks are due to the Stour Valley Group who come regularly to cut and clear. The ground in the Meadow is very muddy and there are a lot of broken branches at the moment due to severe weather conditions this winter. More volunteers and visitors would be very welcome. 8

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TRISH HULKS (Councillor) – Litter, Conservation Status

Litter: Litter, particularly in the verges and hedgerows continues to be an unpleasant nuisance, in spite of notices on Calais Hill and Tyler Hill Road reminding people not to drop litter. Canterbury City Council will not remove litter from hedges and their operatives will not work on roads where the speed limit is more than 30mph. Thus, this task falls to residents. In the past a village ‘litter pick’ has been organised by the Memorial Hall Committee or the Blean Hackington and Tyler Hill Society once or twice a year but this has not been done during the past year. However, a ‘Litter-Pick’ will now be organised by BHTHS for Saturday 21 March and all residents are welcome to join in. Several individuals in the village do regularly pick up litter and they deserve our thanks.

Conservation Status: This year there have been at least instances where number of substantial trees have been cut down without prior approval from the City Council. Several trees have also been removed after notice has been given, but with no consultation with Hackington Parish Council, the Parish Tree Warden or neighbouring residents. In nearly all cases they have been considered by Planning Department to be of ‘no amenity.’ The Parish Council has had meetings with CCC Planning Department when Conservation Area Status has been discussed. The City Council is still reviewing Conservation Areas, but this is proceeding very slowly. Hackington Parish Council has made it clear that it values its Conservation Status and would like support from the Planning Department in maintaining its semi-rural environment. In particular, it was requested that more consideration should be given to preserving trees and hedges when approval is given for building work, also that there should be better consultation with Hackington Parish concerning tree removal and enforcement by the City Council when trees are cut down without approval or not replaced.

The Parish Council has prepared a letter, to be distributed in the next few weeks to all households, reminding residents that the whole of Tyler Hill village is a Conservation Area and requesting that they are mindful of this with respect to their gardens and preserving a green and pleasant environment.

T Hulks 9

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JASON MARSHALL (Councillor) – IT AND WEBSITE

Information & Communication Technology

This year, Hackington Parish Council has for the first time explicitly delegated responsibility for the Council’s ICT to a Councillor, and added this as a standing agenda item. This makes clear the council’s desire to improve the way that it communicates with residents through digital means. This responsibility was accepted by Cllr Marshall.

A review of the Council’s use of ICT was carried out by students from the University of Kent’s School of Computing. This review posed a range of initiatives that HPC could pursue to develop its use of ICT. The first of these initiatives was to improve the homepage of our website, making it easier for visitors to find the information they need. Throughout this forthcoming year the council intends to debate initiatives to further improve its use of ICT, such as the development of a digital newsletter, and the consideration of Social Media.

In addition to the minor changes to the homepage, the council is preparing to respond to legislation that has come into law. This requires the websites of publicly funded organisations, including Parish Councils, to meet standards for “digital accessibility”. This is to ensure that people have equal access to the information that we publish regardless of any disability. The deadline for compliance is 31st September 2020. In response to this legislation, Kent County Council announced that it would retire the kentparishes.gov.uk scheme that has provided Hackington Parish Council’s website for a number of years. This free service was assessed as not meeting the digital accessibility standards, and therefore could not continue beyond 31st September 2020 deadline for compliance.

Hackington parish Council is actively investigating options for a new website service provider, and will launch a brand new website by the 31st September 2020. This site will be compliant with the legislation, and be designed to enable better communication between Hackington’s Parish Council and residents.

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P STEEDEN (Clerk) – Accounts, Concurrent Funding, Precept, Planning

Accounts Report 2019/2020 Following the Internal Audit, the Annual Governance Statement and Annual Statement for year ending 31st March 2019 were approved and recorded by resolution by the Council (minute 16.3 and 16.4 respectively – 16th May 2019).

No Annual Return had to be sent to the External Auditors as Hackington Parish Council was exempt due to having transactions below £25,000.

Concurrent Funding received from CCC for the year 2019/2020 was £2,214.83 (of which, THHMC received £1431.63 for the upkeep of the recreation ground).

The remaining £783.20 was used towards the following - £1050 to Clarks Landscaping Services - for the grass cutting on Tyler Hill Green, St John’s Crescent application of weed killer, Grass cutting at Calais Hill, Weed killing the footpaths and £20 towards the upkeep of the Tyler Hill Meadow.

Precept The Precept received for 2019/2020 was £6,597.00. At the 18th December 2019 (item 5.2) meeting it was agreed to set the precept for 2020/2021 to £6997.00. An overall increase of £400.

Vat refund received for 2018/2019 was £154.38

Planning Report 2019/2020 There have been 13 planning applications. 8 Granted by CCC (with 3 of which supported with reservations) 4 Awaiting Decision 1 Withdrawn

TPO 2019/2020 There have been 15 TPO Applications – all Granted Plus 1 application Withdrawn

P Steeden

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ROBERT THOMAS (Councillor, Kent County Council)

It’s been sixteen months since I was elected in the by-election following the passing of John Simmonds. In that time, I think it’s fair to say there have been a number of big events locally, nationally and internationally. These being the election of a new Leader at KCC, preparing for Brexit, the election of a Prime Minister and new government, including this week’s eye- catching budget, and finally the recent floods and COVID19 challenges. On a personal level it’s been an important time for me to learn more of the nuances of how KCC operates and the services it provides as well as meeting all the people who deliver them. Looking back over the past year the challenges and achievements could be categorised into a number of key areas. Transport & Infrastructure • KCC Highways Improvement Plans – allowing Parish Councils to take some ownership of improvements needed in the parish (outside of routine maintenance issues). Residents should also use one.network website to receive updates on disruptions but the KCC website to report faults. • ‘Big Conversation’ on buses continues with pilot projects https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/travelling-around-kent/big-conversation. This also includes the ability to feedback reviews of all bus services. • 180k streetlights converted to LED to complete the project that started four years ago. https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/what-we-look-after/street-lights/led- street-lights • Broadband £2.5k voucher to support rural communities Kent County Council has made up to £2.8 million of additional funding available to ‘top-up’ the Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).It means homeowners, who apply as part of a group of two or more, can get broadband connection vouchers worth up to £2,500 instead of the standard £1,500 available elsewhere in the country. https://kccmediahub.net/new-voucher- scheme-helps-rural-communities-benefit-from-faster-broadband745 • We need to digest the national budget announcements to understand funding coming to KCC. However, it will be in addition to £60m allocated to a two year road maintenance plan for the county’s highways. This doubles investment into road maintenance, trebles footway maintenance and implementing a crash barrier upgrade programme on main roads. • Additionally, KCC have been highlighting to government the strategic and operational importance of Kent to the country not least of all in the potential challenges of Brexit. KCC has been gearing up for Brexit by planning for transport, businesses and residents. This includes government funding for infrastructure improvements such as the tunnel on the Thanet way and coordinating the approach to Operation Brock and the 10,000 HGVs in Kent each day. This work is coordinated with partners through the Kent Resilience Forum. https://kccmediahub.net/brexit-britain-leaving-the-european-union745 12

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ROBERT THOMAS (Councillor, Kent County Council) • Transport for the South East – KCC have been supporting TfSE as we collectively look to future clean and green transport. TfSE have been consulting on a strategy to 2030 which is looks to future carbon neutrality and will come back in 2021 with their action plan. They are not a statutory body, like Transport for London, but set out their reasons why they want to. “We want to formalise our role as the voice for strategic transport issues in the South East by becoming a statutory sub-national transport body (STB). Statutory status would give us the ability to directly influence the government’s decisions on transport issues and give us the tools we need to deliver our transport strategy.” • Annual Rail Summit held each year by KCC where they invite a number of key stakeholders including Network Rail, SouthEastern and Eurostar. This has provided helpful links in my role as Leader at Canterbury City Council to progress ideas at rail stations across the district which will be finalised later in the year. https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/strategies-and-policies/transport-and- highways-policies/rail-policies-in-kent/rail-summit

Education & young people • Ensuring there is the right capacity of educational provision at the right time is a delicate balancing act for the council. Wait too long and you’ve got existing schools bursting at the seams. Provide new schools too soon and you risk undermining the existing capacity. In terms of future provision there is a strategy outlining when next schools will be built or extended in the coming years. One of the most notable improvements that’s on its way is the £20m construction of the new Barton Court Academy Trust Free School which has recently been confirmed. https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=2324 • At February’s Council meeting which set the 2020/21 budget there was a timely amendment to allow for £500k detached youth work. There is an initiative being piloted by Canterbury City Council in the city centre and I’m working with the cabinet member at KCC to ensure that there is joined up thinking and rural provision too. • The county council holds a number of select committees and in the past year there’s been a Knife Crime select committee to examine what additional measures can be taken to support its prevention including measures taken by trading standards on the sales of knives for example. This is on the backdrop of KCC receiving £1.3m to tackle gangs and youth violence. The key aims for the Supporting Families Against Youth Crime project are: A. To reduce the risk of criminal exploitation for children and young people. B. To improve the wellbeing and resilience of vulnerable young people. C. To increase the quantity and quality of trusted relationships between young people and adults. D. To increase community resilience and responses to county lines. https://kccmediahub.net/kent-secures-1-3m-to-tackle-gangs-and-youth-violence745 13

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ROBERT THOMAS (Councillor, Kent County Council)

Environment • KCC is one of a number of councils to declare a climate emergency and has been setting out a number of policies to play its part. To give you a flavour of these they include the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy, Kent Biodiversity Strategy, Kent Plan Bee (pollinator strategy), plans to role out a heat network - a distribution system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source and delivers it to a number of domestic or non-domestic buildings. Heat networks currently provide 2% of the UK heat demand but is estimated to rise to 43% by 2050. Finally Kent has just agreed it’s five year plan which has a number of environmental improvements not least of all a commitment to plan a tree for every resident – so £1.5m in total! https://kccmediahub.net/kcc-plans-heat-network-as-part-of-plans-for-tackling-climate- change745 https://kccmediahub.net/kent-biodiversity-strategy-consultation-launches745 https://kccmediahub.net/pollinator-action-plan-to-improve-the-lives-of-bees-in-kent745 https://kccmediahub.net/kent-and-medway-energy-and-low-emissions-strategy745 https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s96083/Appendix%20A%205YP%20for%20Cabin et%20020320.pdf

Health and Wellbeing The council has a number of responsibilities for health and wellbeing such as adult social care, social services, community safety to name but a few. One of the recent updates in this area is the new Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Strategy. I’ve been staggered to learn of the statistics. For example, in 2017, Kent Police recorded 26,149 incidents of domestic abuse, making up 15% of all recorded crime and 38% of all violent crime. I think we’d all love to see those figures come down drastically. https://kccmediahub.net/consultation-on-kent- and-medway-domestic-abuse-strategy745

Other A few other areas which may be of interest include: KCC build new working relations with continental neighbours through a scheme known as the Straits Committee. https://kccmediahub.net/kcc-to-strengthen-and-build-relationship- with-europe745 “The Straits Committee intends to provide a place where people, business and communities can shape an agenda for working together on issues and opportunities facing the shared border area.” And “work together from the economy, transport and environmental issues, to young people and promoting the culture, heritage and attractiveness of coastal and local communities.” A new 3 year Library Strategy has been agreed. Kent has 99 libraries and none have been closed but some tweaks to the hours of operations have been made depending on the category of library it’s been given. 14

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Hackington Parish Council

ROBERT THOMAS (Councillor, Kent County Council) No Use Empty scheme, which brings about empty property back into use, has received £1m from the Growing Places Fund to assist with this work. Something which may also be of interest to local residents is that the KCC collection of parish registers are now online for the first time. https://kccmediahub.net/kccs-collection-of- parish-registers-goes-online-for-the-first-time745 Personal contribution I have been appointed as Chairman of the Affordable Housing Select Committee where we’ve agreed our terms of reference for the review. Those being looking at the definition of affordable housing, reviewing KCC’s current role in the delivery of affordable housing and additionally what more KCC could do. We’ve recently finished a number of hearing sessions with stakeholders both internally and externally including Kent Developers Group, Kent Home Choice, Shelter, Homes , Essex County Council and Shelter. A draft report is being prepared for the committee to agree its final recommendations but provisionally these include establishing a new Housing Growth Unit, examining policy for land disposal to examine if it could be used to build affordable housing, more formal arrangements with local planning authorities, such as Canterbury City Council, to ensure that a holistic view can be taken of planning schemes and that affordable housing isn’t whittled out of the process at the end due to viability issues. Finally looking at the possibilities of institutional investors or use of KCC’s pension fund to provide finance in the delivery of affordable housing schemes. Recommendations will need to be considered by KCC cabinet and Council in due course. Each year KCC councillors have a members grant to support community groups. This year I’ve supported a number of organisations but locally I’ve supported the Hackington Parish Council bench on the green and offered financial support for project 220 (a tree planted to representing each household). In the neighbouring villages £2k was awarded for the heritage museum expansion in Blean and match funding the graffiti mural coverup on the Thanet Way bridge at Radfall Road in Chestfield. If you know of a community group that needs some financial support (or otherwise) do get in touch. Looking ahead I’m sure there will be more accomplishments but I think “routine” and “normal” would be two words that would be music to most people’s ears than words like “unprecedented” and “uncommon” in the work that we do! Robert Thomas 15

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Hackington Parish Council

BARBARA FLACK (Ward Councillor) I am grateful to the prize council for the opportunity to write a report for the first 10 months of my tenure as your ward councillor. It has been a busy few month’s both within Canterbury City Council but also within the ward of Blean Forest and Tyler Hill. I have divided my report into two sections one concerning Canterbury City Council and the other concerning Ward matters. Canterbury City Council Over the last few months some of the key issues within the council have been the declaration of a Climate Emergency, the distressing news regarding the shortcomings of East Kent Housing and the difficulties around the extension of the Park and Ride. The latter have been at present on hold pending a decision with regard to the position and funding of the A2 slip and a Judicial Review. These matters coupled with the setting of a very difficult budget which had to see over £2 million in savings have proven challenging. The budget has meant an increase in parking charges and the introduction of a charge for green waste collection both of which are difficult for residents to accept. Most recently, the council have agreed to move their offices from Military Road to Wincheap. This will release vital land for housing, social, affordable and open market, contribute to the start of a regeneration programme in Wincheap and achieve a carbon neutral building of high standards for a forward thinking council. We have now completed our first cycle of meetings and have to look forward to another year of work in the following areas: ● Bringing our housing management back in-house ● Setting up the LATCo for our waste collection ● Finalising our Corporate Plan ● Progressing the Local Plan and Transport Strategy in preparation for it to be tested by the Planning Inspector. ● Moving forward with our work to be net carbon neutral by 2030 ● Agreeing a new park and ride contract whilst again working toward carbon neutral With my areas of responsibility, I have as Chair of the Rural Forum, addressed the area of improving the relationship between Parishes and District Council. We have held a Parish Seminar in November attended by 19 of the parishes of the district. We have moved further towards a Parish Charter/Handbook and work is being done on this at present. I also had conversations with officers which has resulted in all parishes being invited to accept the opportunity for early input into the Local Plan Review. Most recently, a workshop in February about the future of Concurrent Funding Function which gave parishes the opportunity to voice their views and concerns which have been feedback into the decision making process. As the Champion for Equality and Diversity, I have engaged with officers, various organisations representing many groups of people and individuals over the last few months. I have made representations on behalf of individuals, meet with the architects responsible for the refurbishment of the Kingsmead Leisure Centre and advised on such diverse things as the colour of nosing on the stairs of the Station Road West car park and appropriate colours for posters with regard to colour blindness. I meet regularly with the Disabled Advisory 16

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Hackington Parish Council

Panel and also question and/or support officers within the council on areas of equality and diversity. BARBARA FLACK (Ward Councillor) Hackington Parish Council As with my work in City Council my work with the parish has been equally varied. Barbara Flack

TOM DALEY – (Police Community Support Officer) – Tom Daley is Tyler Hill’s PSCO and keeps in regular touch, via visits and a monthly news sheets with the Parish Council Clerk. Incidents that have been reported on and investigated include: Abandoned cars, theft from cars, incident of attempted burglary. Door to door sales in the area. Egg throwing from moving cars and on the University of Kent. Cycle theft and cars with no MOT/Insurance. PCSO Daley additionally reported incidents involving youths and it is the intention in the near future to “stamp down on such incidents” and pay particular attention to public spaces, such as recreation grounds and woodlands. There has been an increase of rural crime and this is a constantly being monitored/investigated by the Rural Task Force. PCSO Daley hopes that the residents will have noticed his contact posters in the area and he will be putting up more in the coming months. Currently they are in Tyler Hill Village Hall, Costcutters in Blean and . Additionally, the Parish Clerk has his contact details. (Summary of PCSO year’s reports prepared by Chairman/Clerk)

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