AND SOUTH PARISH COUNCIL

MINUTES of the ANNUAL PARISH MEETING of the PARISH COUNCIL held on 1st June 2015 in the Village Hall, South Darenth at 7.30 pm

Present: Cllr D Mitchell (Chairman) Cllrs I Blackamore, T Moyle, C Page, J Stewart, M Stead, P Rushbrook, and C Wilson

P McGarvey, District Councillor and Chairman of SDC R Gough, County Councillor PCSO Dylan Crawford PCSO Sarah Douse

13 members of the Public

In attendance: H Rohard, Parish Clerk

1 WELCOME FROM CHAIRMAN Cllr Mitchell welcomed everyone to the meeting and explaining that this is a chance to celebrate all that is good in the Parish and celebrate residents and other volunteers hard work in making the Parish a place where people can take pride in their community and their surroundings. A number of local organisations had been invited to take part and report on their year and plans for the future.

2 REPORTS St Mary’s the Virgin Church of Ann Williams explained that whilst there may be a small number of worshippers the church has found that the people of the parish are very supportive. A number of events have been enjoyed: Lent Course, Womens Day of Prayer, Sunrise Service, Monthly messy Church which had a recent Fire Service visit, weekly tea and cake drop in to provide a place for people to meet and chat. Looking later on in the year there will be the continued efforts for the Electrical Appeal, a Flower Festival in September with the theme of Weddings, a service for families of those brought up in the South Darenth Homes for Boys, Remembrance Service, and the installation of the restored West Window. Ann invited everyone to come along to the St Mary’s Fete in June held at Court Lodge and reiterated thanks to the wider community for all their help and support.

Local History Society Terry Moyle reported that the LHS has now been running for 20 years and whilst it has 50 members and average of 40 will be at their bi-monthly meetings. Local speakers are always welcome and looking forward to welcoming Rod Shelton who has written ‘Darent; the history and stories of a River and its communities’. Terry warmly invited everyone to try a Local History Society evening. Local History books and pamphlets are available in the Parish Office to buy.

Darent River Preservation Society Malcolm Dunn told how the Society was formed in 1985 when there were great concerns about the state of the river following drought and water extraction by the Thames Water pumping station in Horton Kirby. He had brought along a display of photos showing the dry river bed in those years.

Recently underground ‘reservoirs’ have been drilled to utilise a technique called aquifier storage and recovery (ASR) where surplus water can be pumped to and stored ready for drier times when water supplies are then pumped back again. This has been a huge operation but has been conducted with very little disruption to the villages.

Malcolm said the river is now fully restored and is the best it has ever been in terms of wild life and water quality.

DRiPS are in the process of opposing the EU recommendations to remove weirs along the river; these structures help keep any diseased or non-native species contained and serve a purpose.

Royal British Legion Christine Page reported on the many activities enjoyed by the RBL members including a talk by Audrey Whitmore aged 98 about the 1920’s, a HASARA Panto and a number of professional speakers.

Last November the branch raised £21,000 for the Poppy Appeal. This year the organiser will be Kenny Wilkinson. St Mary’s Church hosts the RBL Remembrance Service which was taken by David Bartlett who honours branch members by wearing the RBL scarf for the service. Remembrance Day at 11am at the Village Hall was well attended by villagers plus 160 children from Horton Kirby School who were beautifully behaved. Refreshments were served after the service in the Jubilee Hall to everyone.

£8500 have been given to the RBL Benevolent Fund, however the upkeep of the hall is down to the local Branch. The pre-school which was running there has closed and advertising to hire the hall has increased.

In celebration of VE Day members enjoyed a cream tea and a publicity team from head office was sent to interview members.

The Plant Sale was well supported and stall at St George’s day both raising £600 for the charity. A fundraising fashion show will be held in June.

With the members getting on in years Christine is hoping that younger people will come to carry on the Legion’s work in this Parish. There are 67 members and the combined ages are 4456 years!! There are 17 who are aged 80+ years, 8 over 90 years and the rest are youngsters between 55 and 79 years.

South Darenth Football Club Mick Burroughs explained how the club has been steadily building and now has 80 youngsters involved in football across Heathside and Westminster Field. It is a positive environment for them to be in and keeps them occupied.

More people have been helping the committee and the club has been working well with the Parish Council. The coaches are hardworking and all the volunteers who help run the matches and training and look after the pitches.

A presentation evening to award those who have worked hard over the year is arranged and always a good night.

CXK Youth Services

Lindsay Williams thanked the Parish Council for the opportunity for CXK to deliver sessions in the Jubilee Hall having transferred from Shrubbery Road play area as it’s a more central location for both Villages. The team have been delivering a range of activities during sessions recently for example an assault course where young people had to beat each other’s time for competing it and as well a movie session where there were snacks available and comfy bean bags to suit on in the hall. Other activities have focussed on planning the Summer Programme with young people. For this the team have facilitated mind-mapping idea sessions where all young people have been able to contribute their ideas for the talent show.

Young people have been signing up to take responsibility for certain roles needed to organise the project and are excited about the idea of inviting the community to watch it. Sessions have also been issues based and have included topics such as bullying. For this topic young people engaged in a Bullying Quiz: the team and young people took it in turn to read out statements for others to agree or disagree with indicated by standing on agree and disagree signs on the floor. This facilitated the chance to discuss the concept of bullying and how young people’s behaviour can affect others. One young person has recently been experiencing difficulties at home due to a death in the family, so the team have been supporting this young person with this and talking through their feeling. Promotional activities carried out in previous months, including the St Georges day event, the disco (that had up to 25 young people attend) and the piece in the local parish magazine are to encourage more young people to participate

The team have been keeping in touch with all young people each week letting them know plans in advance but feedback is that some are finding it difficult to get down to the hall. The team will investigate the feedback further to look in to what the key issues are. Management and the youth work team are also trying to build staffing capacity and availability to be able to deliver a second session during the summer months to engage those that have struggled to get the hall. Becca and Lindsay will keep the parish clerk informed of these plans as they develop.

The older members of the group are really developing their skills in leading activities and supporting youth workers with delivery.

District Councillor, Philip McGarvey Cllr McGarvey was pleased to report that having completed a year as Deputy Chairman last year he was now Chairman of District Council and looking forward to a busy year.

Quite often our villages will feel that they are being neglected however HKSD Parish is active and he is always at its meetings and in contact with its members to help wherever he can. Cllr McGarvey was pleased to have been voted for at the General Election, together with Cllr Ingrid Tennessee, and to continue serving his ward of , Horton Kirby and South Darenth.

Works in progress are the parking issues around the East Hill/Horton Road/Esparto Way being looked at. Saxon Place also has parking issues which are being looked at following a positive meeting with residents and agencies. Cllr Roger House from the Parish Council did a great job of facilitating this at the Jubilee Hall.

County Councillor, Roger Gough ‘As usual, I will start my report by covering Highways issues, since they provide the bulk of the concerns that residents raise with me. In terms of potholes, has in the last year secured a disproportionate share of the government’s March 2014 Weather Repair Fund and of the government’s pothole fund; taken together, these amount to some £15 million. In awarding this, the government noted that Kent is considerably more efficient than many other councils, with it costing some £37 to fill a pothole, compared with a national average of £53. However, these allocations only just about offset the impact of reductions in overall grants from government, and as so often at the end of winter the roads were showing a lot of signs of wear and tear. The County Council therefore made an additional £2 million available from the underspend in the overall budget (for the council as a whole, not just Highways) in the financial year just ended. I was pleased to be able to install a salt bin towards the foot of New Road, paid for out of my Combined Member Fund. I had already had one installed near The Queen, but something was needed for the approach to the Horton Road junction. I visited last year with a Kent Highways engineer, and we looked for possible sites that would not block the pavement. Eventually, one of my colleagues came up with the creative suggestion of approaching H&V Building Services, who agreed to have it installed at the front of their premises. I know there is also interest in having one in East Hill, and that is something that I will examine from this year's Fund. We should also see this year works carried out in the area outside Giffords Cottages. The unwanted rumble strip will be removed; since this will require a road closure, this will take place at the same time as measures to replace the temporary bollards in that area with something more permanent. This will be paid for from my Combined Member Fund. The last year saw (between March and September) the rollout of the second phase, covering , of ‘Make Kent Quicker’, the scheme for delivering improved (and in most cases superfast) broadband across the County. It is funded by national agency BDUK, KCC and the provider (BT). Much of Horton Kirby and South Darenth is supposed to be covered by BT's commercial programme for broadband, though implementation of this has been delayed; however, the area along the Road and the top of Station Road has yet to be tackled. This area is scheduled for the final phase of the ‘Make Kent Quicker’, in the last quarter of this calendar year. Some of the most rural sections of the parish - I am thinking here of areas such as Rabbit's Road and Gills Road - will not get superfast coverage in this programme, though there is a further programme (the Superfast Extension Programme) which will be introduced in the coming years and may help. As you know, I have the KCC Cabinet portfolio for Education, and have been visiting all the schools in the area, including a good visit to Horton Kirby Primary School in the autumn. I was pleased - though, following my visit, not surprised - when the school was upgraded by Ofsted from 'Requires Improvement' to 'Good'. As I touched on last year, we have seen changes in the admissions criteria for local grammar schools; while some of those in the Dartford schools have increased the intake of Out of County pupils, those in the Wilmington schools are very positive for residents of the parish. More widely, we are grappling with the impact of the closure of Oasis Academy (a decision of the academy provider, not the County Council, though we have to find places for the students who are displaced) and with the continuing saga of a possible grammar annexe in Sevenoaks. In February, the Leader and I (along with the Head and Chair of Governors of Weald of Kent Grammar School) met the Education Secretary to discuss the issue and urge approval of the proposed grammar annexe. However, no decision was reached by the Secretary of State before the start of pre-election purdah. It is now clear that, whatever else may happen, it will not be possible to deliver a grammar annexe in time for September 2016, and we have to focus on ensuring that the new buildings for the Trinity Free School are delivered on that site for that time. The County Council continues to have to deliver very large-scale savings, running at around £90 million per year on a budget of just under £1 billion. We have been doing this for some years now, so we are talking about cumulative savings of around £350 million, and there has to be more to come over the coming years. Much of this has been done by major reviews and overhauls of our services, such as social care, while protecting front-line provision, but there is no question that this is getting ever more challenging to do. One area in which the County Council sought to save both money and carbon emissions through its policy of ‘Safe and Sensible Street Lighting’, including a policy of turning off most street lights overnight. This is County-wide, and was introduced in Sevenoaks District at the end of 2013. However, the County Council has now secured low-cost funding for a £40 million programme – the biggest of its kind in the country – to switch all its streetlights to LED. Subject to the procurement process going well, this should start at the end of this year or the beginning of 2016, and as LED lighting – delivering savings of 60% - is installed, full night lighting will return. This year, as in the previous year, the County Council is increasing Council Tax by 1.99%.’

PCSO Dylan Crawford and Sarah Douse PCSO Crawford introduced PCSO Douse as his replacement in the Parish following his relocation to the West Country. He has very much enjoyed working in the Parish and with the Parish Council and has built good local knowledge which he can pass on to Sarah in the coming weeks.

One of the biggest calls on his time at the start of his role here had been to respond to calls concerning loose horses in Horton Kirby with around 150 calls. Thankfully this has now been resolved. Parking has been another concern for residents.

The parish however is a low crime area with most crimes being committed by those who live outside and see it as a rich area to target. This can be tackled by ensuring that homes and property are secure and residents vigilant. Report anything suspicious to 101.

PCSO Douse explained that she had been recently based at and was looking forward to working in the Parish. She would be writing an article for the Newsletter to introduce herself properly to residents.

Cllr Mitchell on behalf of the Parish Council: ‘Horton Kirby and South Darenth needed a tenacious and approachable PCSO for its residents for its’ varied and wide policing needs. PCSO Crawford has delivered that in the last 18 months, engaging fully with the Parish Council and residents’ young and old alike. He has looked for ways to improve things and has made suggestions to his colleagues at and to the Community Safety Unit at Sevenoaks District Council. A local resident asked for Dylan to be nominated for the Community Safety Award in June which the Parish Council has fully supported. In the meantime we would like to present Dylan with our own Certificate of Thanks and wish him all the very best as he moves to the West Country.’

3 CHAIRMANS REPORT

‘We have had a busy year and we are lucky to have had a full team of parish councillors working hard and I would like to thank them for their continuing support. I would like to especially thank Eric Wilson who has retired as a Parish Councillor after 8 years and to Adair Lewis who has moved away and served over 2 years as a Parish Councillor for their hard work over the years and wish them well for the future. They are replaced by Peter Rushbrook a resident of Horton Kirby and James Stewart a resident of South Darenth and I am pleased to welcome them this evening.

Our major source of funding is the precept which forms part of the council tax that you pay. Again this year the Parish Council has not increased the amount of precept asked for and is set at £96,800. The financial statement is available on the Parish Display for you to look at.

The land in Franks Lane by the river bank is being adopted by the Parish Council and a fence will be erected after a period of notice; this is to provide a safe place for the local schools to carry out their field studies on the river and ease congestion from horse washing.

Planning permission for the rota spikes on the village hall was granted subject to conditions – these conditions, to paint the spikes is now being carried out. The Village Hall has had a busy year and proves ever popular with local groups and families for events. We are very lucky to have such a great resource for our community and we hope you like the hanging baskets!

After a long consultation period and looking at different options and proposals it was decided that it was not financially feasible to take on the project of purchasing the Fire Station. However the most popular ideas that were put forward for its’ use have been taken to develop at the Jubilee Hall such as the setting up of a Befriending Group for older folk with the help of Swanley Volunteer Centre and a new Youth Club night aided by CXK who are here this evening. History displays will be coming later in the year to the Parish Room.

The Pavilion on Westminster Fields is now being looked after by the South Darenth Football Club and I would like to thank Derek Chambers of the Horton Kirby Football Club for all his hard work for caring for it over the many previous years.

We have developed a Flood Plan and have a good working relationship with the Environmental Agency; as part of this plan we have 3 new Flood Wardens who will work with Heather as Flood Co-ordinator. More details about this will be coming out in our November Parish Magazine.

The South Darenth Village Green will soon be under the Parish Council ownership - we are STILL waiting to hear that the transfer has been made! In the meantime investigations are being made as to how the pavements around the village centre can be better maintained as the weeds continue to grow.

In July 2014 a meeting was held with various partners under the directorship of West Kent Housing and a neighbourhood charter was discussed – this is now finalised and the draft is here for you to look at. It will be signed by all the partners at a lunch on the 17th July and we would like to invite 10 residents to come along to witness it. If you would like to come please sign up on Parish Council display table.

The Fireworks Display held in November last year proved a great success and over 2,000 people attended and a profit of over £1,000 was made and this money will go towards putting on another event this year. The Scouts did a brilliant job along with Councillors of getting this organised and stewarding the event.

The Parish Council has supported eight local groups using section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972. £2,460 was given in grants. In addition the Parish Council supports the British Legion in supplying the cannon for Remembrance Day and will be supporting St Mary’s Church with their Flower Festival in September.

The maintenance of St Mary’s Church churchyard will be coming under the care of the Parish Council in the next year or so; the diocese is going through legal process to bring this about.

I would like to thank the many volunteers that give their time to help the Parish including: The 100 Year Wood Project, the Picnic area clearance, the Burial Ground tidy up, the flood wardens, litter pick days and the newsletter deliveries. Thank you also to residents who take responsibility for reporting things, raising their concerns and giving feedback good or bad. We do listen and wherever possible take action.

Thanks must also go to Roger Gough and Philip McGarvey, District and County Councillors for their interest, advice and contributions. Congratulations to Philip on becoming Chairman of the Sevenoaks District Council.

Finally, I would like to thank Heather for all her hard work and commitment to the Parish Councillors and keeping us up to date with information and legislation.’

4 QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Mr Fournel raised the matter of flytipping in the Parish, particularly the regular dumping of waste in the slip road from the A225 to Franks Lane, Horton Kirby. He feels that the matter is not given enough sense of urgency by SDC given the location and the danger this puts motorists in when leaving the A225. He wanted to know why it takes so long to remove the rubbish and why more is not being done to catch the perpetrators.

Cllr McGarvey and Cllr Gough explained the history of which local authority had taken responsibility and that recent changes meant that this was now fully the responsibility of SDC who were working to ‘do more with less money’. Both offered to look into the matter with Mr Fournel. Cllr Mitchell explained that flytipping was the most pressing concern of residents at this time and that the Parish Council would continue to ask for more support.

5 PRESENTATION TO MR PAUL GOODING Cllr Mitchell: The weir at Horton Kirby has been one of those features that we have come to accept as being ‘normal’ in our Parish. Its’ part of the landscape that is home to a very prominent chimney, a viaduct striding across the valley, hop fields, historic buildings, a beautiful river and rolling fields. However these are not ‘normal’ features to the majority of people and for those who visit our patch they are an unusual and delightful sight. We were reminded of this last year when an unsuspecting driver of a camper van was so enchanted by the weir he managed to drive into the height barrier entering the car park!

This weir is one of the last of its’ type and Paul has been managing the gates and it’s function for the last 25 years, diverting flood waters across Westminster Field as necessary - not always to the football clubs’ pleasure!

It is now covered by the Environment Agency’s emergency river flow blockage service, which does mean uncertainty for the future of the weir as it needs maintenance and there is not the funds to do it. This is something the Parish Council will be keeping in view together with interested residents.

Today was Paul’s last day as manager for the weir and so we thought it only fitting that we mark the occasion by expressing our thanks for his work. We would like to present him with our Certificate of Thanks.’

Cllr McGarvey, Chaiman of Sevenoaks District Council presented the framed certificate to Mr Gooding who was invited to speak.

He thanked everyone for the recognition and reminded listeners that the rivers route is naturally across the football pitches- its just the weir and mill pond keep it in check!! He also reminisced about the weir especially in the dry periods that Malcolm had remembered. Repairs had been carried out and he hoped that the weir would stay intact and be looked after. He was warmly applauded.

Cllr Mitchel invited everyone to stay for refreshments and to chat to members of the Parish Council and to look at the stands brought along by local organisations.

The meeting ended at 8.30pm

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