PARISH COUNCIL

Clerk to the Council: The Homestead, Mrs Mary Shaw. Appledore, Ashford, Telephone: 01233 758 298 . Email: [email protected] TN26 2AJ.

Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on the 13th June 2018 in Bethersden Village Hall at 1930hrs.

PRESENT Councillors: K Brannan, I Anderson, P Buss, K Cordrey, J Crannis, S Dacre, K Mitchell R Orchard and C Tearle (Locum Parish Clerk).

IN ATTENDANCE Cllr. A Pickering (ABC) and 16 members of the public.

Public questions and comments. Please refer to Appendix A.

117/2018 Apologies Cllr A Boyd, PCSO Richards and PCSO Jones.

118/2018 Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on the 9th May 2018 It was resolved to approve and sign them.

119/2018 Declarations of Interest Cllr I Anderson declared an OSI on item 123/2018 (b); planning application -18/00730.

120/2018 Finance

a) It was resolved to note and approve the balances and payments.

Balances as at 1st June 2018 £ Lloyds Bank - George Field Account 60,899.16 Lloyds Bank – Treasurer`s Account 95,501.53 Co-op Account 39.69

INCOME Bank Interest 2.50 Tennis Club – Floodlights 716.00 Parish Council Invoice Refund 125.00

EXPENDITURE M Shaw – Parish Clerk (May 2018) 923.23 C Tearle – Locum Clerk (May 2018) 996.00 C Tearle – Expenses (May 2018) 177.65 KCC – Village Gateways 1,753.68 KALC – Crime Prevention Course (7/12/18) 72.00 KALC – GDPR Workshop (05/02/18) 36.00 KALC - Planning Conference (16/03/18) 72.00 David Cook – Street Cleaning 78.30 Hallet & Co (George Field & Site of Village Hall Advise) 129.00 Southern Electric – Recreation Ground 600.54 Countrywide (April) 284.07 Countrywide (April) 216.30 Countrywide (May) 284.07 Countrywide (May) 216.30 Countrywide (June) 284.30 Countrywide (June) 216.30 Business Stream (Scottish Water) 110.86 *Safe.co.uk – Council Safe in the Church 1,586.40 *Besthost – Cllr Specific Email Accounts 194.00

*Invoice already paid

b) To approve the Asset Register for 2017/18, and to note that in the future we will need to list the ownership of the Recreation Ground, the George Field and the Parish Council tent which has a value of £500.00.

c) To note the Internal Auditors Report for 2017/18.

d) Financial Regulations Scheme It was resolved to move funds from the Treasurer`s Account in Lloyds Bank to the Co-op Bank to ensure that the total held by the combined accounts did not exceed £85K.

e) Bethersden Cricket Club i) It was resolved to pay the invoice for the mowing of the cricket outfield this summer at an estimated cost of £900.00 + VAT. ii) The Council agreed to support a grant application from the cricket club to ABC for assistance to complete the renovations it stated last year.

f) Financial Software Package The Council resolved to purchase the Rialtas Suite Alpha Financial Management System from RBS Rialtas.

121/2018 General Data Protection Regulations a) Following last month`s Council Meeting the Council have now agreed to purchase and have programmed the following: Laptop PC Dell Vostro 15 laptop with i5 processor,8Gb RAM and 256Gb HDD External Back UP HDD Seagate Expansion STEA2000400 – hard drive – 2TB Software Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016

b) To note that Satswana Ltd have now been appointed for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018.

122/2018 Clerk`s Report a) Members wished to apologize to the former Locum Parish Clerk for any mis-understanding that may have arisen as a result of her email to the Council Chairman in which she wrote that she has “deleted or shredded everything she had left in her possession”. Also for any mis- understanding that may have arisen for the fact that no insurance claim was made for the Parish Clerk`s illness or two updates made to the Register of Members Interest held by ABC. b) Contact has been made with KCC Highways about the lay-by in Mill Rd. We await confirmation about the time and date of a meeting. Cllr S Dacre requested that she be copied to any correspondence. c) Arrangements are now in hand for the delivery of the safe to the church that the Council ordered last year. d) At the request of the George Grove residents the Chairman and the Locum Parish Clerk had a meeting to discuss the way forward to resolve the boundary issue between the George Field and there properties. The residents at the meeting will now discuss this with other residents and come back to us. When this is done a worked up set of proposals will be put forward to the Council. e) At very short notice (1hr), the Borough Councillor also met with us and the same George Grove residents to discuss the attenuation tank. He has suggested a way forward to assist him in getting everybody out of the impasse. This is in the process of being formulated. f) Following complaints to the Council about the state of the vegetation along the footpath between the school and the A28, this has been reported to KCC Highways as this is a KCC footpath.

123/2018 Planning a) To consider the following applications

18/00690/AS-Etchenden Farm, Park Lane, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 2DP Remove ceiling to rafter level in kitchen and insert 2No. cast iron roof lights between rafters. Remove wall between dining room and living room and insertion of support post. Reinstatement of original fireplace. It was resolved to support this application.

18/00677/AS-Land at , Ashford, . Variation of conditions 1, 3, & 4 of planning permission reference 17/013334/AS. Condition 1: “within 18 months of the date of this permission…” Condition 3: “The soft landscaping hereby approved shall be implemented within 12 months of the date of approval of condition 1, unless an alternative timetable has been previously agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority”. Condition 4: “Within 18 months of the date of this permission a landscape management and maintenance strategy shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority and the development shall thereafter be maintained in accordance with the approved details.” This application was noted.

18/00690/AS-Etchenden Farm, Park Lane, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 3DP Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Area) Act 1990 (as amended). Application for Listed Building Consent. Remove ceiling to rafter level in kitchen and insert 2No. cast iron roof lights between rafters. Remove wall between dining room and living room and insertion of support post. Reinstatement of original fireplace. It was resolved to support this application.

18/00576/AS-Land between Charter Hall and Weathercock, Road, Smarden. Reserved matters application relating to the details of appearance landscaping, layout and scale pursuant to outline planning permission granted under 16/00045/AS (Proposed outline application for up to 50 residential units with all matters reserved except for access). This application was noted.

18/00618/AS-1 Buffalo Cottages, Bethersden Rd, Smarden, Ashford, TN27 8QX Erection of a part single/part two storey rear extension. This application was noted.

18/00727/AS-Cherry Trees, Norton, Lane, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 3AL New building to enclose dog kennels and attached concrete area for runs. It was resolved to support this application.

18/00730/AS-Lakes on land NE of Longs Corner Farm, Bull Lane, Bethersden. Change of use from pasture to create a new fishing lake and facilities to include parking. It was resolved to support this application.

18/00733/AS-Land adjacent The Barn, Chilmington Green Lane, Great Chart, TN23 3DP Erection of 8 detached dwellings and creation of vehicular and pedestrian access together with associated infrastructure. This application was noted.

b) Decided Planning Applications

Withdrawn by the Applicant

17/01666/AS-Little Hegg Hill, Smarden, Bell Rd, Smarden, Ashford, TN27 NX Proposed widening of existing vehicular access & proposed new boundary fence.

Approved

17/01871/AMND/AS- Inwood, Brissenden Green Lane, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 3BJ Revision to structural changes on planning permission reference 17/01871/AS for the proposed two storey side and rear extension and single storey lean–to side elevation following part demolition of side and rear sections of existing dwelling.

Prior approval not required

17/01287/AS-Agricultural Buildings at Etchden Barn, Etchden Rd, Bethersden. Prior approval for change of use from agricultural barn and land within its curtilage to one dwelling house and associated operational development.

Refused

18/00479/AS-Island Farm, Ashford Rd, Bethersden, Ashford, TN26 3BQ Prior approval for the change of use of one agricultural building and land within its curtilage to one residential building and associated operational development.

124/2018 Bethersden Tennis Club Lease Members studied the draft proposals for a new 21 year lease as a result of a meeting between the Council Chairman, the Locum Parish Clerk and representatives of the Tennis Club. These were agreed to, and the Clerk was asked to request that the Council`s solicitor to draw up a formal document making sure that all insurance arrangements were made clear.

125/2018 Highways and Byways It was noted that the Council had just agreed to pay KCC Highways for the installation of the Village Gateways and that we need to look into the feasibility of a crossing on the A28 in the village. Traffic Regulation Order – 7.5 Tonne Weight Limit It was resolved to go ahead with a public consultation process which would be conducted and paid for by the Parish Council as highlighted in minute number 110/2018.

126/2018 Street Cleaner It was noted that the current person has resigned. It was agreed to maintain this position and advertise the post with a suitable job description locally. The Clerk was to liase with Cllr J Crannis on this.

127/2018 Councillor Specific Email Accounts These have now been registered and instructions have been sent to Members on how to set them up. All should be operational shortly.

128/2018 Neighbourhood Plan Update The Clerk updated Members on the current position, with papers being prepared by ABC and the BNP Steering Committee by the 20th June 2018.

129/2018 Items for the next Agenda and of Interest a) To review the new bus timetables. b) To deal with Planning Enforcement Appeal re: planning application 17/00256.

130/2018 Date of the Next Meeting This will be on Wednesday 11th July 2018 in Bethersden Village Hall at 1930hrs.

Appendix A Cllr A Pickering (ABC) There were some drainage problems on the A28 at Pottens Farm and Lucy Holloway (ABC) has written confirming the problems at the site and suggested that these tobe taken up with the Environment Agency. There are 3 Planning Enforcement Appeals with reference to planning application 17/00256. The Planning Inspectorate will require responses from all by the 16th July 2018. The Bethersden, High Halden, area now has 60% of all travellers sites in the county. On one site there is now an Enforcement Order and because this Order was ignored, it has become a criminal action and thus it was due in the High Court on the 14th June 2018. This site is in Marten`s Lane on the boundary between Bethersden and High Halden. Consultations are now taking place about the future use of the William Harvey, Kent and Canterbury and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals with regard to a hyperacute unit and 24/7 accident and emergency care. ABC as a Council were awarded the runners up position for efficiency in Kent and also they have the lowest Community Charge in the County.

PCSO`s Richards and Jones (Written Report) Crime has continued to remain low in Bethersden and surrounding areas with few incidents being reported. We would like to remind all residents to stay vigilant and report anything suspicious via the non-emergency number 101 or if you do witness a crime in progress then please do call 999. I would also like to draw your attention to the online crime reporting system on the Kent Police website. This gives members of the public the ability to report crime online rather than by phone which some may find easier, faster and more convenient.  Go to www.kent.police.uk/report  You can report a crime, incident or non-injury collision in minutes.  Receive your confirmation email and reference number immediately.

Full in depth crime statistics are freely available by visiting www.police.uk

Since your last parish meeting we have had a joint operation with the traffic attendants from , and some speed checks outside the school on Friday 11th May afternoon. With us giving words of advice to parent on their parking around and about the school and on the junctions, we will continue to monitor the situation.

Some speed checks have been carried out in the nearby villages this month, with drivers receiving speeding tickets or warning letters when over the limit, we have had some help from a traffic officer which is a great help, we will continue to be out and about doing checks when we can, in surrounding areas, and I am aware from specking to some residents you are having a few issues through the village, which we will try and address, and feedback our finding at the next meeting.

I would make residents aware that as a community you can set up your own Speed Watch Group, all details can be found on the Kent Community Speed watch website, have just set up a new group to tackle issues in their area. If you need any more information please let us know.

If there are any other issues you feel we need to know, please do not hesitate to contact us.