MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING OF held on Tuesday 9th May 2017 at Lydden Village Hall

1. PRESENT: Parish Clerk: Mrs Glynis Farthing. Parish Councillors: Chair Mr. H. Hubbard, Vice-Chair: Mr. R. Sewell, Mr. R. Andrews, Mrs J. Woodward, Mr. R Winn, Mr. P. Bowley, Cllr. Geoff Lymer

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Mr. C. Bryant, Mr. M. Abbott, Mrs. L. Thomas-Friend, Mr. N. Brinicombe, Mr. P. Holt, Mr. R. Haynes, Cllr. M. Rose

2. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: Mr. R. Newsam, Mrs. Anne -Elise Newman, Ms Kate Taylor, Mr. Robin Fisher, Ms. Julie La Roche, Mr. R. Newsam, Mrs Tara Casey, Mr. Paul Snook

3. WELCOME ADDRESS FROM CHAIRMAN Cllr Hubbard welcomed everyone.

Cllr. Hubbard expressed his pleasure that he is working with such a good team and for the support of an excellent Vice-chair. He also keeps in close telephone contact with the Clerk on important matters and expressed his thanks to her. Warmly thanked both District and County Councillors. Church 100 Club – a great bonus and thanks due for the monies raised which support both the Church and Village Hall. Flower boxes in the village – Cllr. Hubbard expressed his thanks to Mr. Snook for all his hard work in making the village colourful throughout the year.

4. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING Minutes from 10/05/16. Proposed Cllr. Bowley, seconded Mr. Newsam. Resolved: That the Minutes of 10.05.2016 be accepted and signed by the Chairman

5. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES Pictures received from the Warwick family last year, these have yet to find a permanent home and Cllr. Hubbard is keen that these are available for everyone to enjoy.

6. REPORTS

• VILLAGE HALL In the absence of Mrs Howes, Cllr. Hubbard provided a report of Village Hall activities. At the most recent meeting some new members were recruited to the committee and it is hope that new blood will bring fresh ideas and initiatives. Some repair work is required to the fabric of the building. The bookings are satisfactory and the hall is generally well used, but more are always welcome. Sharon Taylor is to work alongside Georgina Howes with the bookings for the hall – this may be a transition period.

Cllr. Dick Hubbard

• LYDDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

1 Lydden Primary School has grown in numbers over the last few years and we presently have a very healthy cohort number. We have 4 classes, with split year groups in each class. The classes this year have been named after famous authors to inspire the children to read. The children have learnt more about the chosen author and read many of their famous stories. The school is slowly adding resources to the small but well used library and we are thankful to a local volunteer who comes in to organise the library and lend books to the children on a variety of topics. We are looking to add resources to this provision to ensure children are exposed to a range of rich texts. The school building is adequate, as we make good use of the mobile building and the computer suite, which has been converted into a classroom. Computing is accessible across the curriculum as we have invested in increasing numbers of iPads and laptops. It will be interesting to see how the development next to the school has an impact on pupil numbers in the future. Pentland homes have been into school to discuss the construction to ensure they are minimising disruption as much as possible during building works. The development will involve digging up part of the school field to lay piping over the summer holidays and although they will not level the school field for a nice football pitch, we are told they will make good any disturbed ground. The school hall is a building we would like to replace. It is old and in need of modernisation. This is an expensive building to have replaced and KCC have opted to carry out repairs to this building at present. They will install a suspended ceiling, new electrical lighting and decorate and repair some of the exterior. The school greatly benefits from its close links to the community. We are thankful to the Parish Council for allowing us to have an allotment plot and you may have seen us in the parish magazine asking for support. We are looking to have 5 families involved, each responsible for a small plot within our allotment. The families would be responsible for their ‘patch’ but would also keep anything which is harvested. We would like these families to allow the school access to the plot to measure growth, look at growing conditions, composting etc… the learning potential is endless. In the final term of school, the Year 6 children will be taking part in the John Muir award. The John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme focused on wild places. It supports people to connect with, enjoy and care for nature, landscape, and the natural environment - wild places. This award is adaptable and for part of this award the children will be designing and creating the allotment before we hand it over to the volunteers. We were also privileged to have benefitted from a £50 donation from the Lydden Coffee morning group to support us with the on-going plans for outdoor development. In the final week of this term, the school will be having an Art week. We will be working with the SmART project to develop a mural for the front entrance of the school. We will also be supporting the Dover SmART project to develop artwork which will be used on hoarding outside construction for the western docks revival. We also have a number of children who will be working with Dover Christ Church Academy’s art department, who have kindly invited us up to their school to learn some different techniques. School sport is becoming more of a strength and the school is regularly competing against other schools across the district. We have taken a team to: football, swimming, cricket, rugby, athletics and mutli- skills, squash, hockey, cross country, basketball and may others over the year. With huge success in squash where the Lydden team made it to the School Games competition to represent Dover schools. We now offer music lessons for individuals on a range of instruments and our entire Year 4 cohort have learnt to play the Ukele this year. Academically the school achieved well last year, with 72% of children achieving the expected standard compared to 53% nationally and 58% in Kent.

2 As you can see the school is a thriving and extremely busy place. We feel we are striving to continually achieve more for our children and appreciate the support for the school locally. We would like to invite the parish council to the school summer fete on Wednesday 19th July 2-4pm.

Neil Brinicombe (Head Teacher)

• TOTS TO TEENS – no report provided

• PCSO – no report provided

• KCC •Customer services - Good performance was maintained for call answering and caller satisfaction, with call volumes continuing to decrease. Complaints responded to in timescale was just below target. •Economic Development & Communities – Jobs secured from the Regional Growth Fund continues to increase, close to target. Properties returned to use through "No Use Empty" remains above target. Library usage levels are relatively stable. Economic indicators remain positive. •Environment and Transport - Pothole repairs on time were above target, and timeliness for routine repairs improved to just below target. Recycling of waste and diversion from landfill were ahead of target. Greenhouse gas emissions reduced, although behind target. •Education and Young People – Continued improvement for Ofsted inspection results for schools and Early Years settings. The new measure for Young people who are NEET is slightly off target. Outcomes achieved for Early Help cases and step down from specialist children’s services both improved but are behind target, while pupil exclusions and new entrants to the youth justice system both achieved target. •Specialist Children Services – Permanent staff social workers remained stable, slightly below target. Case file audits good or outstanding was ahead of target. Children returning to child protection plan reduced and was close to target range. For children in care, adoption timeliness, stability of placement and use of in house fostering were all above target. A new indicator for care leavers has been added to the report. •Adult Social Care – Contacts resolved at first point of contact increased ahead of target. Clients referred to enablement showed further decline and was significantly off target. Clients still independent after enablement however remained above target. Clients with Telecare continue and admissions to residential and nursing care both improved but are behind target. Delayed discharges from hospital where KCC is responsible improved and met target. •Public health - Health Check completions showed further improvement and was close to target. Access to GUM services remained ahead of target. Health visiting fell further and was significantly off target. Successful drug and alcohol treatment was slightly down, but close to target. • Central Government has allocated £26 million over the next three years to pay towards the additional high costs that Adult Social Care is costing the County. This is to help those adults who are either, diabetic, morbidly obese, suffer mental illness, to include Alzheimers and Dementia or have permanent physical disabilities. I state these issues for many believe, incorrectly, it is confined to just being elderly. • A great dent was made in the KCC's budget for Children's Services due to the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children presenting at Dover, where there were costs for medical exams, housing, clothing, education. Central Government has assured KCC it will pay £1 million back into KCC's budget to help address the financial imbalance. • I have arranged for another pothole repair and white line refresh in the Dover West Ward, so we should be seeing the results of that over the next few weeks.

3 • I have requested the Police and Crime Commissioner take a firmer stance in dealing with foreign registered HGV drivers who believe they can just park anywhere within the Ward, then leaving litter and human excrement our verges. I have been assured offending HGV drivers will be dealt with and their HGVs will be either impounded or wheel clamped until the fines and clamp release fees have been paid.

Cllr. Geoff Lymer KCC

• DDC I am happy to report for the last annual period that is has once again been a pleasure to both serve and to further represent the Lydden Parish as your elected District Councillor for both the Lydden & parishes for Council (DDC) This year has been very productive with my regular DDC published updates and reports online including the Twitter account @Lydden&TempleE and in your local newsletters. I am happy to continue to push for better broadband, potholes and road safety, environmental services, tackle fly tipping and fly parking and personally thank all residents for working with myself to help raise issues important to you all in the Village Parish. I must also thank the vital support of various DDC services for resolving many of your local DDC issues. I have been in direct contact with many residents over smaller personal issues of concern and will continue to engage and help protect the overall wider wellbeing of the village, with a particular strong focus on planning applications or environmental issues that do not benefit the village or surrounding areas. I am happy to report many cases of cleaning the village environment and removing fly tipped criminal abuse and having road and bus signage restored on many areas, with much thanks to DDC services. We have all seen much progess in Dover during the period with ongoing DDC inward investment and I very much look forward to the continuing regeneration of the Town Centre and St. James retail project alongside the Western docks revival. I will assure all residents I will keep a focus on the A2 extensions plans going forward and possible impacts for Lydden and the surrounding areas. Finally, I have made sure during the last year that all parish residents have received my email, mobile phone and skype address clearly distributed. Any Parish resident can also request a home/business visit if needed or FaceTime/Whatsapp video call myself directly over any DDC matters of concern. Thank you to all Lydden residents and many thanks to the Lydden Parish Council for your ongoing support during the last year.

DDC Councillor Mark Rose

• ST MARY THE VIRGIN CHURCH Farewell to Father Paul It is with a mixture of sadness and admiration that I must report that Father Paul will retire this summer. His last service at Lydden will be on Sunday 16th July at 9am and his last service in the benefice will be on Sunday 23rd at Temple Ewell at 10:30am. I would encourage you to attend and wish Father Paul and Hilary all the best for their retirement. Father Paul has served the parishes of Temple Ewell and Lydden faithfully for 26 years, he has been an important part of many families significant times such as christenings, weddings and funerals. He has also been a great pastoral support to many. We shall miss him terribly but wish him every happiness for the years ahead! We shall be planning how to manage our Sunday services until a new Priest is appointed and I will ensure to keep the Parish Council informed of any decisions. Finances 4 We owe a great deal of gratitude to our treasurer Carol Spink. As a result of her dedication and skill she enabled us to access grants which meant that we could carry out the essential work required on the church roof. We are very thankful to Lydden Parish Council for the grant they contributed to this project which ensures that this very important part of our community remains viable. We continue to rely on regular churchgoers and much appreciated donations. We would especially like to thank Lydden 100 Club whose regular fundraising is much appreciated. Dewi Thomas-Friend, Tim Dougal and Tom Kent ensure that this very worthwhile village organisation continues to have impact within the village. Without their support our beautiful village church would not survive. Community events We are very happy for local groups to use the church as a community resource to hold exhibitions etc. This year we held a theatre production for the first time and the church was packed. Links with the primary school have been strengthened and Father Paul attends assemblies in school regularly. We will continue to donate Bibles to the school leavers as a gift from the church. Congregation Our average number worshipping on a Sunday tends to be between 10-20 people. Our services are traditional and spiritually uplifting. All of us appreciate the fellowship and support as well as an important spiritual dimension. We celebrated the confirmation of Ffion Thomas-Friend in November with the , it was a wonderful service attended by both Lydden and Temple Ewell congregations. Garden of Remembrance We have planted a border of box hedge around the perimeter of the Garden of Remembrance to ensure it is a defined area – so far the rabbits have left it alone although we have had some interest from the moles! We appreciate the support of Jim King in managing the grass in the churchyard. My thanks finally to all the faithful volunteers who work so hard to maintain the beauty and spiritual nature of our village church. As villagers you may not feel the need to worship every week but many will have and will want to access the building for baptisms, weddings and funerals. This would not be possible without the goodwill and hard work of these people. Our regular Sunday congregation continues to be a faithful group of people who serve the Church well. We have a faithful group of volunteers who ensure that the church is cleaned on a weekly basis, fresh flower arrangements and an organist. We hope that as we move forward without Father Paul we will continue to provide a sanctuary of worship in this very busy world! Liz Thomas-Friend Churchwarden

• THE LIVING WELL CHURCH Living Well Church are based at Graceworks House on the Port Zone (the former Dover Harbour Board Club) The last year has been another busy one for us with growth in all the activities we run. Of particular significance was an Alpha course that ran from October 2016 – February 2017. This is a course which gives people the opportunity to meet and develop friendships, while exploring their opinions and questions regarding the Christian faith. The course was attended by over eighty guests, with many good friendships formed. Furthermore, we had very encouraging feedback from participants that they had found Alpha helpful in their own spiritual journey, having a positive impact on their lives. Following this success, we hope to run more Alpha courses in the future, so watch this space…. When the time comes we will putting the word out to Dover, Lydden, Whitfield and the other surrounding villages via the Lydden News and other such outlets. Our Sunday morning services now average over 150 people each week (including children) and have grown every year since we moved to Whitfield in 2008. At times we have over 200 people, which is 5 wonderful to see. We have a great children’s work, which the children really love, led by Jayne and Noel Beamish, so families are extremely welcome indeed. Indeed, we desire to make our church somewhere for the local community to come and feel loved, whether they be 1 or 100! Our heart is for Living Well to be a church that is a safe and friendly place and inclusive; for all age groups and all types of people - everyone is welcome. Our purpose is to help people find faith in Jesus and a life of purpose and hope. To achieve this we want to be an outward facing church not an inward focused church. During the week we run the following activities to serve the community: Tiny Toes - Tuesday and Friday mornings at 10.00am This is a thriving parent and toddler group - be warned - it’s noisy!! Silver Lunches - Thursdays bi-weekly at 12.45am This is a subsidised lunch for the retired and those aged 55+. A hearty meal and good company. Coffee morning - Wednesday mornings at 10.30am Coffee and cakes and good conversation

As a church we also support the following Christian initiatives in the Dover area. Foodbank - short term emergency food for people in dire circumstances Soup Kitchen - daily feeding of the homeless in Dover Street Pastors - late night patrols when the pubs/club turn out to help create a safe environment in town Baby Basics - emergency supplies for new mothers who are in difficult circumstances, including moses basket, nappies, baby clothes etc Lydden Although the church is no longer based in Lydden, the community is still very important to us. As well as many church members still living in Lydden, there are also two Lifegroups running in the village: • @46 Stonehall on Monday evenings (7.30-9pm) Ask Chris or Yvonne Bryant for details (01304 827997 or email [email protected])

• @40 Road on Tuesday evenings (fortnightly, 7.30-9pm) Ask Ruth or Jim King for details (01304 823290) The lifegroups are open to all for people to meet, sharing food, friendship and life-in-general. We also often talk about a topic from the bible and pray. People are always welcome to come and try it out. We really want to emphasise that we are keen to be a church that is part of the community (Lydden, Whitfield and the Dover are in general), you don’t need to be a member or attend on a Sunday to be part of the activities we run. Everyone is welcome! If there is a way the church can be more involved in the community then we would be happy to hear about it – please don’t hesitate to get in touch! Thank you, Pastor Marcus Abbott

• ALLOTMENTS There have been no real problems with the allotments this year apart from the usual moles, pigeons and slugs but thankfully no rabbits. There has been a goat in a nearby field but it has not strayed into the allotments. No major vandalism or thefts to report. A new tap has been fitted thanks to Chris Woodward. There have been some minor incidents of fly-tipping. It is good to see some new allotment holders coming forward – particularly the school. Mr Newsam asked that people remove their rubbish and belongings if vacating a plot as it causes problems for the next tenants if it is left behind. Mr. Ray Newsam.

• PARISH CLERK 6 Another year has gone by and Lydden continues to grow and prosper. At our Annual Parish Council meeting in April 2016, Mr. Hubbard was re-elected as Chairman and Mr Sewell as Vice-Chairman. I continue to be grateful for their support and guidance, both are invaluable assets and between them have a wealth of knowledge related to the history of Lydden. Last year I reported on the development of the Hope site which is now almost complete with all homes occupied and one waiting to be built. The next big development, which has been in the ‘pipeline’ for a number of years now is the site behind the Lydden surgery – formerly known as the ‘Chunnel Site’. This land is in the process of being acquired by Pentland Homes with planning permission for a number of residential dwellings. The Parish Council have worked with the developers to ensure that the new homes are sympathetic and sensitively designed to the enhance the space where they will be situated. The site is currently being cleared ready for building works to commence. Planning permission was granted for the erection of a mobile phone mast on the Chunnel Site on Canterbury Road – hopefully this will eventually improve the poor mobile service in the Lydden area. The two new ‘Kissing Gates’ mentioned in last year’s report have now been installed and provide easy access for people walking the Jubilee footpath. Our thanks are due to KCC for their help with this remedial work. I’m pleased to report that the churchyard wall is still ‘in-tact’ and there have been no incidents of collisions with it this year. The most noticeable activity in the village this year has been the extensive repair work carried out on the village pond. After many years of concern regarding the efficiency of this ‘soak-away’ work was undertaken by KCC to completely renovate and repair the pond – it now does the job for which it was intended, though this winter has seen a much-diminished rainfall and it has never been full. Cllr. Peter Bowley has installed a duck house to encourage wild-life to use the pond. The perimeter fence has been improved and a grant obtained from KCC to install a safety bollard to prevent damage from HGV’s trying to negotiate a ‘manoeuvre' around it – this will be in-situ very soon. The Parish Council are grateful to KCC for their endeavours and in particular to Cllr Lymer for his quiet negotiations on our behalf. I’m sure you’ll agree that this area now looks much better. Keep a look out for the new village sign which is soon to be erected beside the pond. To commemorate the work and commitment of the late Cllr. John Seath a bench has been installed on the Canterbury Road bearing a small plaque. This was funded from a grant from the County Cllr’s members fund grant. The Parish Council were made aware of the problems which were besetting the church of St Mary the Virgin Lydden with regard to the costs of roof repairs. It was agreed unanimously agreed, that as a vitally important part of the fabric and history of the community, the Parish Council would make a financial contribution towards the repairs. This was warmly received by the Church community. Towards the end of the financial year the Parish Council applied for a further Members Fund Grant to resurface the village hall car park and provide graduated foot access to the upper grassed area. I’m happy to report that this was successful and the work will be undertaken during the 2017/18 financial year. This is a much- needed improvement and will provide a more even and safer car parking surface. Hopefully, as a result, the bookings to the village hall will increase. More controversially, the Parish Council have been working with KCC to deliver improved Broadband services to the village. We are aware of the difficulties experienced by many residents – the new fibre- optic cables and box are due to be installed this summer and work completed by late summer/early autumn. This is much welcomed. Towards the end of the year a group of Lydden residents began a small coffee morning in the Village Hall. This has proved hugely popular and grows every month. Thanks are due to Mrs Newman and her helpers for taking this initiative.

7 The allotments continue to be popular with all being rented. The rent has been maintained at £30 per year. Jim King and his son James, with the additional help of Phil Seath have continued to maintain the green areas around the village and the village is looking neat and tidy. Thanks to Paul Snook for his continued efforts with the planters spread around the village, they bring welcome colour to the village. The Parish Council is grateful to both the District and County Councillors for their support and advice throughout the year. The support and input of the parish residents is welcomed, it would be lovely to meet and welcome more of you at the regular meetings throughout the year. Minutes, agendas, financial transactions are all available on the website, which has been updated and the Lydden Newsletter gives a brief overview of monthly activities and concerns.

Financial Report The year started with a balance of £22,763 and finished with a balance of £39,132. This amount includes the recent grant received for work to the village hall car park Our 2015/20016 audit was successfully under taken; the accounts were passed and submitted to the external auditor. These were approved with no issues raised. The 2016/2017 internal audit, took place on 8th May 2017. The completed accounts will be put up for acceptance and approval at the May meeting of the Parish Council. Monthly bank reconciliations continue to be available for review on the parish website. A list of all expenditure for the year is also published for inspection. In line with the considerations raised in the financial report of 2016 the precept was increased by a small amount to take account of both current and future expenditure. The Parish Council continues to recognize the need for recreational facilities for children. We continue to look into the possibility of a playground for the Parish and hope to find a suitable and available site to develop.

Glynis Farthing

DATE OF NEXT MEETING Date to be agreed and published on the Parish website.

This meeting closed at 8.40pm

CHAIRMAN

______DATE

8