MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON Tuesday 13th October 2020 at Village Hall, Lydden 7.30pm

HELD IN ACCORDANCE WITH CURRENT SOCIAL DISTANCING AND GOVERNMENT COVID 19 GUIDANCE

PRESENT: Parish Clerk: Mrs Glynis Farthing. Parish Councillors: Mr. Peter Bowley, Mr. Ryan Booth, Mr. Phil Seath, Ms. Jill Skinner.

MEMBERS OF THE PRESS/PUBLIC: 1 Protocol on the recording and filming of Council and Committee Meetings. To be displayed at all meetings.

RECORDING OF THE MEETING: None

NOT PRESENT Cllr. Chamberlain 1) Apologies and Absences: Cllrs. Geoff Lymer, Darren Howell-Bray, Jim King, David Beaney, Mark Rose NB: Unless it is an emergency, Cllrs need to inform the Clerk 24 hours in advance if they are unable to attend a meeting 2) Declarations of Interest Cllr Skinner declared an interest in Minute 9 LPC/20/0015 related to her planning application. 3) Minutes of the last meeting All Cllrs. had read and agreed that the Minutes were a true and accurate record of the meeting. Acceptance of Minutes of 15th September proposed by Cllr. Booth seconded by Cllr. Seath RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 September 2020 be accepted and signed by the Chairman. 4) Public Participation There is an overhanging hedge on Canterbury Road that needs to be cut back and creeping ivy causing a potential hazard on Stonehall. Clerk will contact KKC and report both problems. 5) Governance No current issues. 6) Highways  LPC/19/0039 Managing HGV’s in Lydden Nothing further to report at present.  LPC/20/0014 Canterbury Road/Stonehall junction – email received from resident regarding traffic violation at the junction – this was referred to Cllr Lymer for his attention. He has emailed Louise Winch (KCC Highways) with a ‘Request for No Entry’ sign, Canterbury Road at eastern egress road to Stonehall, Lydden. He is currently awaiting a response to this request. Canterbury Road has recently been resurfaced. Cllrs discussed the works and had reservations as to whether the new surface would be resilient and were concerned about the quality. Markings are still to be done. 7) Parks and Recreation LPC/20/0002 Land on Broadacre This is very overgrown again but is not a council responsibility. Situation will be monitored.

Planters – PC has received an estimate for £70 for the bulbs and compost to be used in the planters around the village. All in agreement that this is fair and can be approved. 8) Public Properties LPC/20/009 -Village Hall proposal – Cllrs Booth and Skinner met with 3 Village Hall committee members to discuss agreements and a range of issues. These are currently being addressed by both parties.

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 LPC/20010 -Allotments. Renewal of agreements and invoices will be raised for payment due in October. Cllr Skinner is dealing with this. Water needs to be turned off. Discussion concerning the installation of new taps – this would not be done before the Spring to avoid the possibility of frozen pipes. Cllr. Skinner will speak to Colin Hoyle about this.  Notice on allotment site - unnecessary RESOLVED: That the PC will pay for the installation of the new pipes and taps. 9) Town Planning  LPC/20/0005 Ref. No: 20/00468 Proposal: Erection of 2 detached dwellings with integral garages, associated parking and creation of new and widening of existing vehicle access (existing bungalow and garage to be demolished) Location: 62 Canterbury Road, Lydden, CT15 7ES – comments submitted. Pending  LPC/20/0007 Ref. No: 20/00717 Proposal: Variation of Condition 2 (approved plans), condition 3 (materials) and condition 10 (drainage scheme) of planning permission 15/01184 to allow changes to improve floor layouts, amend materials and improved drainage scheme (application under Section 73) Location: Land Rear Of 114 Canterbury Road Lydden CT15 7ET – pending  LPC/20/0011 Ref. No: 20/00668 Proposal : Erection of a boundary fence (retrospective) -GRANTED  LPC/20/0012 Ref. No: 20/00737 Proposal : Conversion of outbuilding & erection of single storey linked extension to form 5 holiday let units. Insert internal partitions to form shower & bedrooms. Insert roof lights. Replacement window & door to front north elevation. Insert door & window to side west elevation. Pending.  LPC/20/0013 Ref. No: 20/00929 Proposal : Variation of Condition 2 (approved plans) of planning permission DOV/19/00028 to include a glazed link and minor landscaping to rear (application under Section 73) | The Lydden Bell 81 Canterbury Road Lydden CT15 7EX. PendingVariation of Condition 2 (approved plans) of planning permission DOV/19/00028 to include a glazed link and minor landscaping to rear (application under Section 73) | The Lydden Bell 81 Canterbury Road Lydden CT15 7EX Pending  LPC/20/0015 Ref. No: 20/01046 Proposal: Erection of a single storey rear extension and detached garage (existing garage to be demolished) Location: Beech Trees Bungalow , Warren Lane, Lydden, CT15 7EU – Parish Council raise no objections. • LPC/20/0016 Ref. No: 20/01045 Proposal: Erection of 1.6m fence (retrospective) Location: 54 Canterbury Road, Lydden, CT15 7ES – Parish Council raise no objections. 10) Administration LPC/19/0045 Website – Cantium Cantium have been in contact to inform those who signed a contract with them to let them know that they may not be able to fulfil the agreement as there had not been enough councils who have signed up for the service. KALC are currently negotiating with Cantium. The website is safe until January. 11) Financial Report and items for payment and receipts The financial statement for September has been prepared and circulated to Cllrs. Items for payment October 2020 NatWest (No.001249) Landmarc support services (Allotment access) £10.00 NatWest (No.001250) Castle Water (Allotments) £90.82 NatWest (No.001251) BD Cleaning (2 wasps nests) £98.00 NatWest (No.001252) L. Hoyle (Parish Maintenance) £351.21 2

NatWest (No.001253) Employee salary – Sep salary £269.67 +£12 exp.+ travel exp. £14.40+stamps £9.12=£305.19 NatWest (No.001254) P. Bowley (Gate castors) £3.23

Total payments £858.45

Proposed Cllr. Skinner seconded Cllr. Seath

RESOLVED: To approve payments for October

12) District Councillor – Cllr David Beaney 1. Unfortunately Kearsney Abbey has been subject to vandalism, ball bearings have been shot at the glass and several windows have been broken. I would ask everyone to be vigilant, these missiles could be shot from either a catapult or be- be gun, which are both very dangerous.

2. DDC took back control of East Housing on the 1st of October unfortunately as expected the officers are working through a huge amount of files and trying to organise the maintenance program moving forward.

3. DDC are expecting finances to be down approximately 4.7million this year due to COVID 19, central government have given us 3.4 million but unfortunately this still leaves us approximately 1.3 million down. We may have to use some of our reserves to balance our books.

4. I’m trying to run a campaign with the officers, this is for the usage of nos balloons (Nitrous oxide, laughing gas) residents may have noticed little silver canister laying around. We are asking for people to report sightings of areas where they have been left as we are trying to place hot spot areas on a map of the district. I’m really worried that this is becoming a gate way access drug to harder drugs. The youths are being really affected by this. Can you please inform me or the Clerk if you notice this happening.

13) County Councillor – Cllr Lymer Joint statement from Kent County Council and Medway Council’s Directors of Public Health, Andrew Scott- Clark and James Williams. The government has launched three new levels of restrictions, applicable to the whole country from Wednesday onwards. While we recognise cases are rising across Kent and Medway, at this time, it would appear that Local Authorities in the South East will be classified in the Medium Tier. This is the lowest level possible. This means that residents and businesses in Kent and Medway will not be subject to further restrictions, than are currently in place for areas deemed Medium risk. We will of course ensure that our outbreak management plans and any actions taken, now align with the Government’s new instructions, and we welcome the publication of their published guidance to support the announcements made yesterday afternoon. It is more important than ever that residents play their part to help protect themselves and others, particularly the most vulnerable members of the community who are most at risk from severe symptoms, and continue to follow the national guidelines. We are continuing to work with our partners across Kent, including Public Health local health protection teams and the NHS, to monitor where cases are occurring and whether there are larger widespread community outbreaks. There is more testing available across the county and anyone experiencing Covid symptoms should self-isolate immediately and book a test. It is vital that the wider community in Kent continues to play its part and if you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service, then you should follow the guidance given to self-isolate. We also appeal to people to remember social distancing, regular handwashing and wearing a mask in public places to help keep the number of cases as low as possible. You can now also download the NHS Test and Trace app. For more information go to www.kent.gov.uk/protectkent

The national picture: The Prime Minister has set out how the government will further simplify and standardise local rules by introducing a three tiered system of local COVID Alert Levels in England. He confirmed the levels will be set at medium, high, and very high.

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The “medium” alert level - which will cover most of the country - will consist of the current national measures, which came into force on 25 September. This includes the Rule of Six, and the closure of hospitality at 10pm. The “high” alert level will reflect many current local interventions, but there will now be consistency across the country. The “very high” alert level will apply where transmission rates are causing the greatest concern, based on an assessment of all the available data and the local situation. Non-essential retail, schools and universities will remain open in all levels. A postcode checker on gov.uk will show which alert level applies in each area and the NHS COVID-19 app will also direct people to this information. Regulations for all three local alert levels will be debated and voted on in the House of Commons tomorrow. Subject to that vote tomorrow, they will come into force on Wednesday, subject to the approval of Parliament. The PM also confirmed that the government will also provide Local Authorities across England with around £1 billion of new financial support. Full details on what the COVID Alert Levels contain are set out below.

Local COVID Alert Level - Medium This is for areas where national restrictions continue to be in place. This means: · All businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a COVID-Secure manner, other than those that remain closed in law, such as nightclubs. · Certain businesses selling food or drink on their premises are required to close between 10pm and 5am. · Businesses and venues selling food for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-thru. · Schools, universities and places of worship remain open · Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees · Organised indoor sport and exercise classes can continue to take place, provided the Rule of Six is followed · People must not meet in groups larger than 6, indoors or outdoors

Local COVID Alert Level - High · This is for areas with a higher level of infections. This means the following additional measures are in place: · People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place · People must not meet in a group of more than 6 outside, including in a garden or other space. · People should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible. If they need to travel, they should walk or cycle where possible, or to plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes on public transport.

Local COVID Alert Level - Very High This is for areas which are the worst with a very high level of infections. The Government will set a baseline of measures for any area in this local alert level. Consultation with local authorities will determine additional measures. The baseline means the below additional measures are in place: · Pubs and bars must close, and can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant - which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal. · Wedding receptions are not allowed · People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor or outdoor setting, whether at home or in a public space. The Rule of Six applies in open public spaces like parks and beaches. · People should try to avoid travelling outside the ‘Very High’ area they are in, or entering a ‘Very High’ area, other than for things like work, education, accessing youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if they are in transit. · People should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if they are resident in a ‘Very High’ area, or avoid staying overnight in a ‘Very High’ area if they are resident elsewhere. 14) PCSO Email received: Lydden now has a new PCSO – Richard Bradley. However, he is unlikely to be in post long as he has applied to join the regular police service. He is covering an extensive area – River, , Lydden, Wootton, Denton, , , Northbourne, /, Sutton by , and

15) Items for consultation and other Correspondence received.

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 All consultations have been added to the Parish website for public participation and responses.  Relevant emails have been forwarded to Cllrs for consideration.  Remembrance Day – Peter Bowley and Liz Friend are in consultation.

16) Dates and venues for future meetings Parish Council Meeting: Tuesday 10th November 2020-7.30pm Tuesday 8th December 2020-7.30pm

This meeting closed at 20.20pm

CHAIRMAN DATE

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