Harrietsham Parish Council

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on
Wednesday 29th April 2009 at 8.00pm in the Booth Hall.

1. Introduction

Parish Council Chairman Dennis Clifton opened the meeting by welcoming all present and thanked the WI for providing the refreshments during the interval.  He welcomed both Jenny Whittle who is the conservative candidate for KCC and Victoria Lawson from Action with Communities in Rural Kent.

1. Present

Cllr D Clifton (Chair), Cllr S Morris, Cllr D Oversby, Cllr J Sams, Cllr T Sams, Cllr C  Willis, Cllr Laffan, Cllr Jack, Cllr D Marshall, RFO M Cuerden, Clerk A Broadhurst.
Six members of the public.

1. Apologies for absence

None were received.

1. Clerk’s report – Mrs A Broadhurst

I have been the Clerk here for 6 months now, and can truly say that there is never a dull moment.  I managed to minute my first meeting the week before I became the Clerk and wondered what I had got myself into.  On that first evening, everyone made me feel incredibly welcome although I found it quite a daunting event.

In my short time in post, we have already co-opted two new Councillors.  This has come as a welcome relief as I am no longer the new person.  I am due to attend the Clerk’s training course in May and I am sure that this will be of great assistance to me.  Unfortunately, it is on my birthday, so please feel free to drop cards and presents into the office a day early!

I am finding, as the weeks fly by, that I am becoming quite protective of Harrietsham and I will always assist the residents wherever possible when a situation occurs.  This can be anything from problems with potholes and street lighting, to children building 3ft snow barriers across the road – yes, this did truly cause a stir at Kent Highway Services!

I have attended all of the Kent International Gateway meetings since November and I have found this to be a very interesting issue to be involved with.

I am sure that the next year will bring lots of fresh challenges.  I am luck to be able to say that I look forward to coming into the office every day.  I know that I upset my family when they complain about their jobs; I smile and simply say ‘I love my job’.

I would like to end by thanking everyone for all their support, especially the Chairman, Cllr Clifton, who was waiting outside the office on my first morning, and has guided me through this learning process.

1. Chairman’s Report - Cllr D Clifton

Another year has flown by and what an interesting and trying year it has been.  Our Clerk moved on, we had 3 Councillor resignations and still all of the normal business to cope with.

But that is enough of the negative.

Let’s look at the positive:

We have had to employ a new Clerk and very fortunate we were in securing the services of Amanda as I am sure you will all agree.

We have had multiple candidates for the vacated roles of Councillor which is very reassuring in itself and our 2 latest Councillors, Cllr Laffan and Cllr Jack have already embraced the challenges placed before them with zeal. We have already advertised for a 3rd Councillor so would hope to be up to a full contingent within a couple of months.

We have happily secured the Glebe Field for the Community by purchasing the eastern 2/3rds from KCC and leasing the western MBC 1/3rd on a Peppercorn Rent.  This now enables us to move towards our target for a recreation facility in Harrietsham and to this end, we have a Working Party encouraging parishioners to contribute to evaluating the possibilities.

Of course, we are not stopping there. We will be evaluating all unregistered plots of land within the village with an aim to obtaining it for the benefit of the community. 

Over the last couple of months, personally, my time has been limited due to work commitments but I am extremely grateful to my Vice Chair, Stephen and our Clerk Amanda who have seamlessly managed the Chairs role for me…………..I may need to be careful here!

I should also offer my gratitude to all Councillors who offer considerable amounts of their free time to making our village a great place in which to live.

We will, I am sure, have many more challenging tasks over the coming year but I am convinced that with the strong council team we have, we can more than cope with any of these challenges.

1. Presentation – Parish Plan review –Victoria Lawson

Victoria Lawson gave a presentation outlining the role of ACRK within the community and how they can help to review and update the Parish Plan.

1. Group Reports

1. Finance  & General Purposes – RFO Mike Cuerden

The committee met on four occasions during the year – once a quarter, on pre-set dates; everyone is welcome to attend, and agendas are posted on the notice boards at least three days in advance.

At these meetings, we discuss a variety of items, usually of a financial or administrative nature, but also touching on the delivery of services to the community. At this point, I would like to thank the members of the Committee, Cllrs Clifton and Morris, and Brian Wood and Paul Fleming for their time during the year.

So far as the council’s finances are concerned, we run a broadly balanced budget. According to the unaudited draft accounts, 2008/09 saw income of £67,000, against an expenditure of just over £63,000 giving an operating surplus of £4,000 for the year.

The bulk of our income comes from MBC in the form of precept and grants (£26,000), and rent from the Medical Centre (£22,000). The bulk of the rest came from contributions towards council activities, such as Remix, the annual playscheme and the hedge cutting service.

Talking of Remix and the playscheme, Remix generated an operating surplus in the year of just over £3,000, which would allow the council to re-invest in the scheme as necessary. The playscheme, on the other hand, operated at an overall cost to the council of almost £3,000! In addition, the council provided grants totalling some £6,600 to such groups as the Friday coffee morning, the WI, Harrietsham in Bloom, the Gardening Society, the Guides, the local parish church and the Royal British Legion. Also included in this figure is the provision of books for a reading scheme to the local school, a grant to the Network magazine and a contribution to a football training scheme run last summer.

We also spent almost £19,000 in maintaining the open spaces around the village.

Finally, the council currently has cash reserves of just over £128,000. This doesn’t mean, however, that we can run out and spend it all, as some £88,500 is reserved for the maintenance of the Woodlands Walk, lake and dam. The remaining £39,500 represents a prudent level of reserves, being about 8 months of our annual expenditure.

Finally, finally – don’t forget to come along to our meetings! Ask me for the dates.

1. Highways - Cllr J Sams

Highways, unfortunately, has been somewhat of a disappointment as many of the issues and concerns have not been dealt with in the time and manner that we feel the public expect.  It is perhaps the most frustrating part of the Parish Council’s work.  I would like to say that we have found it difficult not having a KCC councillor fighting our corner on these occasions.  We have really missed the support of Sandy, and we hope that the new councillor will take an active part in assisting us in the future.  Many items have not been resolved at all.  On a positive note, our meeting with Keith Ferrin will hopefully prove fruitful – only time will tell.  The afternoon of the day we met, there were highway workers at the traffic lights and the day after there was work on the crossing.

The filter lane, at the far end of West Street, should be done in the next financial year and we will be meeting to look at a crossing on the A20 near Church Lane opposite the old Mayfield site.  The lines and signage at Court Lodge is an issue we hope to resolve this year.  Potholes are still a problem.  We as a committee, and also with our Clerk’s persistence, will continue to work hard to resolve highways issues within the Parish.  Any highways concerns need to be reported to the Clerk so there is no duplication, as this leads to confusion and ultimately delay.  We have found this to be a more effective way to progress the few items we have had success with.

1. Planning - Cllr D Clifton

Planning is probably the single most time consuming responsibility for this Council.

Over this past 12 months, we have processed some 60 or more applications. Some of these were seeking simple straight forward permission for pruning trees with tree preservation orders placed upon them through to the more complex multi property developments that will impact upon our infrastructure.

However, any new development within the village will have imposed upon them a Section 106 Agreement which is basically, an agreed sum of monies that the developer issues back to the Parish Council for specific Community identified projects.

All villages in the south eastern corner of England face major challenges with legislation placed upon us by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister with regard to increased housing developments, noisy roads, noisier railways and ill thought out freight depots. Rest assured though that this Parish Council, whilst embracing change, will strive to ensure that the needs of our parishioners are at the forefront of our efforts on their behalf.

1. Youth Provision - Cllr S Morris

In Harrietsham we are lucky to have so many youth groups run by many very dedicated volunteers.  We have Beavers and Scouts run here in Harrietsham and Cubs in Lenham; we also have Rainbows, Brownies and Guides run in the village hall and in the case of the Girl Guides Association, they have the largest number of girls for the last 10 years.  We, as a Parish Council, were able to support Harrietsham Guides with a grant of £400 to start their fundraising for Centenary Camp in 2010.

The village school is now at full capacity with over 140 pupils for which the Parish Council this year provided a grant for an additional reading scheme.  When I look back over the last 4 years, when the school was just down the road, it had no library and limited books and resources, so it just shows how far things can improve.  We also provided a grant for Harrietsham Pre-school for improved facilities and also a grant for £500 to bring Charlton Athletic football training to our recently acquired Glebe Field.

But our two largest projects have to be Remix and the Summer Playscheme.  Remix will have its own separate report to follow, but this year’s Summer Playscheme has to have been one of our most successful ones since I have been on the council.  The scheme ran for the first two weeks of the summer holiday with again over 100 children registered.  With a ceiling of 75 places each day, it became apparent very quickly that a counting system needed to be implemented as we were reaching 60-75 children each day.  I’m sure all the councillors remember my pieces of pasta moving from one pot to another until the first pot was empty – then the door closed.  Our thanks to Jan Sams and all the staff who made the scheme such a success and to all the Parish Councillors who helped register and organize the scheme.  With recent changes in Ofsted legislation, our playscheme will have to evolve again to continue to meet the needs of the community.

1. Remix Project - Cllr T Sams

Remix will be 5 years old this autumn.  It is certainly not what those of us involved in the beginning thought it might become.  It has grown beyond our wildest dreams and provides something all involved are very proud of.  The Parish Council continues to support and keep a helpful arm around the project which our team are very grateful of.  It has continued to be a positive influence for all of us.  The Project operates a Youth Club on Monday nights 7.30-9.00pm, Mini Beat Dance Club Tuesdays 5.30-6.45pm, and Mini Rockers on Wednesdays 5.45-6.45pm, these are weekly.  Monthly we have the Film club which has shows for both juniors and seniors.

This represents a contribution, on average, of 30 volunteer hours for the weekly clubs and 12 hours approximately for the film club each month.  Without that contribution, the project could not exist.  We have been very fortunate to find young people who are making significant contributions in leading roles within the groups.  I would like to pay particular thanks to Dan Brown (16) who brings the shows together and acts as producer for the youth club.  Also Patsy Tomlin (16), who acts as a choreographer for the mini beats and who has inspired individual talents with those children.  They pull together with all the other volunteers to help make Remix the enjoyable project that it is.  As in previous years, the project continues to evolve and improve.

We are delighted that on May 9th, for the first time, we will be involved with a music group who are promoting a fund raising event for Remix.  Shadrock, whose promoter and band member just happens to be a grandparent of one of our members, are putting on a gig to raise funds.  We are also delighted that we will be able to have a special support act on the night.  The event is being supported by the Deputy Mayor of Maidstone.  We are hoping for a good evening and all are welcome.

We hope that the coming year will continue to give us grounds for optimism.  We are already looking for the new young volunteers of the future, to continue to be sustainable.  We recognize that there are talents out there in our community, and together with our volunteers, seek to continue to encourage them.  True success will be a Councillor standing here in 5 years time celebrating Remix’s 10th anniversary.  I am confident, given continued support when needed, this can be achieved.

1. Environmental - Cllr B Wood

At present the council has 7 amenity contracts to manage not just our open spaces and rural hedges within the Village but also the highway verges on behalf of KCC.  These contracts are divided between two contractors who have both worked for Harrietsham for a number of years.  It would be difficult to imagine the A20 verges if they only received the 2 cuts that are paid for by the county council, I’m sure our phones wouldn’t stop ringing.

We have replaced the fence behind the war memorial this year and Percy has had a new handrail installed to make climbing the slope easier.  Unfortunately, Percy had to have some remedial work carried out last year due to vandalism, but he has had a bit of a facial and he is looking good for the coming year.

Benches are starting to be an issue with now three that have had to be removed due to a combination of old age and vigorous usage from a small minority, but hopefully we will have sufficient funds next year to replace them with new ones.

The Council has continued to support Harrietsham in Bloom, not just with a grant for the purchase of the flowers, but also with the watering of the containers.  I have heard on the grapevine that Lenham only have red geraniums in its tubs because of the watering issues!  Our thanks has to go to all the volunteers who’s hard work looks after all the tubs and flower beds throughout the year which enriches our local environment.

Woodlands Walk – Cllr D Oversby

This is still one of the major assets of the Parish Council/village.  It has an abundance of wide life and a substantial stock of fish.  It continues to be popular both with residents and visitors.

There have been a few problems with vandalism during the past twelve months.  In the winter, one of the life belts was thrown into the water but was fortunately recovered by one of the local residents.  Recently, there have been reports of children fishing in the lake and on two occasions, they were spoken to by Councillors.  However, this has had no effect and the problem continues.  The Police, PCSO and the Warden are aware of the ‘goings – on’ and are keeping a close eye on developments.

On one occasion, the sluice boards were removed from the outlet, causing the level of the lake to drop suddenly and also some concern in the area of West Street.  The boards were put back into place by Tony Tippen.  This wasn’t the last time something like this occurred, as children were caught in the act of trying to remove them again recently.  There has also been a tree pulled down and a seat thrown into the lake.  There is also evidence of a drinking culture in the grounds judging by the number of beer cans left lying about.  All this is of great concern to the Council and it is taking steps to hopefully sort things out.

During the last year there were concerns over erosion of the dam wall, so much so that professional engineers were called in to carry out an investigation and subsequently making the necessary repairs.  The problem should now have been eradicated.  However maintenance is an on-going matter as the structure has to be publicly safe.  When the report was received certain recommendations were made regarding the sluices and the safety thereof.  The council is currently looking at these and obtaining the necessary quotes for the work.  Minor repairs have been carried out to the safety fence around the dam.

Dead and damaged trees have been dealt with and one large willow tree adjacent to the lake has been removed for safety reasons.  There has been damage caused as a result of the winter storms.

The lakes have been well maintained, under contract, throughout the year.

Residents should have no concern over repair costs as there are more than adequate funds set aside for this purpose and originally provided in the form of a dowry when the lakes were given to the Parish Council.

Lastly, our thanks to Tony Tippen for looking after the sluices etc on our behalf.
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Pond Warden – Cllr D Clifton

I am happy to confirm that the PC commissioned and funded a Stream Survey that verifies the whole watercourse from The Lakes through to the River Len was in very fine ecological condition and we managed to recoup £1500 back from the Countryside Partnership against the cost of the survey.

The survey also included a 5 year management plan to enable us to maintain this quality asset for the village both in volunteer time and PC funding and the first recommended clearing of some Irises from West Street will be conducted soon.

The watercourse has water voles, native brown trout, damsel flies and a large variety of vegetation which confirms the system is well balanced. However, we still obviously have to ensure that we minimize any risk to the system.

Anyone wishing to have a copy of this report, please just ask me afterwards - as a number of interested parishioners have already done.

1. Allotments -  Cllr C Willis

This 2008/2009 has been a hectic year on the allotments.

Due to the current economic recession, there has been a marked upsurge in the number of villagers wishing to grow their own produce and operate an allotment.  This has resulted in the numbers on the waiting list growing ever longer, with over a dozen villagers now seeking an allotment.

The Parish Council has agreed to take a number of measures to reduce the waiting list wherever possible.  The first action is to identify some new allotment land or suitable allotment sites within the village with a view to either outright purchase or leasing.  The second action is plot size reduction whereby some of the existing plots are rather large and in some cases unmanageable for their current tenants.  Those tenants who volunteer to reduce the size of their plot will be asked to come forward, and the Parish Council will deal with all re allocation issues to the next person on the waiting list.  The third action is to take remedial steps to reclaim two overgrown plots at the rear of the allotment complex and after clearance of the land, offer those two plots to the next people on the waiting list.

A number of meetings took place during the Spring/Summer of last year between the allotments holders and myself to address their concerns.  In particular, acts of vandalism were addressed, new contact lists were issued, the stream was cleared after a long delay and non active tenants were reminded of their contractual obligations.

Another meeting is due to take place shortly.  Items on the agenda include pest control, removal of a willow stump which is damaging the bank of the stream, plot clearance, authorized sub division of plots and a general review.  Allotment holders will be given the opportunity to pay their annual rent and return their 2009/2010 contracts on the night together with an opportunity to meet and greet our new Parish Clerk, Amanda Broadhurst.

In general, the allotment holders are much happier now with the improved system of communication and the efforts of the Parish Council, to enhance this much used and much loved village amenity.

1. Amenity Land - Cllr D Clifton

This Parish Council has been actively looking for parcels of land within the village that could be used as amenity land for the community.

I am pleased to confirm that we have been successful in securing the whole of the Glebe Field for the Community by purchasing the eastern 2/3rds from KCC and leasing the western 1/3rd from MBC on a Peppercorn Rent.
This now enables us to move towards our target for a recreation facility in Harrietsham and to this end, we have a Working Party encouraging parishioners to contribute to evaluating the possibilities.

However, we are not resting on our laurels. We have a waiting list of some 20 parishioners for allotments so we are continuing to locate any additional land and to this end, the Clerk and I will be visiting the Land Registry in order to locate any available plots.

SO……..WATCH THIS SPACE

1. Village Hall Trust Report – Cllr D Oversby

The Village Hall is administered by the Village Hall Trust on which the Parish Council is represented.  The hall is well maintained and an asset to the village.  It has suffered from minor vandalism throughout the year.  It is well used by village organizations and bookings are steady.  There has been a small drop off of lettings to county organizations i.e. KALC.  There is now strong competition from Lenham for instance.  Loans are still outstanding from the construction mainly made by the Parish Council.  Unfortunately whilst inflation is dropping, maintenance costs appear to be rising.  The hall has a major repair cost looming in the form of a boiler replacement.

1. Law & Order Report – Cllr T Sams

This year has been somewhat disappointing in relation to the policing we have felt we have needed as a community.  The latest crime statistics show that the ward of Harrietsham and Lenham has shown an increase of 25% on the same period last year.  Whilst we recognize that numbers can be deceptive, our fellow councillors in Lenham are equally concerned.  We do not want to retreat back to the times not so long ago when crime was high and public confidence in policing low.  Following attending a rural police forum, both Parish Councils present felt so concerned that they are writing jointly to Inspector Sandwell.  Both the Chairmen from this Council and also Lenham are signing this letter.  We are suggesting that a combined meeting for both Parishes to meet monthly perhaps at first, and involving both the policing team and community warden.  Outcomes could then be fed back through individual council meetings.  Currently, although monthly incidents appear to be reported, there is no way of reporting outcomes to parishes.  If this system were to be put in place across all issues including persistent problem areas and subjects, then support could be provided to parishes.  More importantly it would also give us evidence to request policing resources and question outcomes.

We are very pleased that we have a PACT process, Partners And Community working Together group.  This is, we feel, a bit unique as it allows us to meet with partners from Housing, MBC, KCC and of course the police.  It is helpful and will have its second questionnaire going out in the Network Magazine this month.  We hope this will give is the necessary feedback to allow us to prioritize what we need to do on issues like anti social behaviour and speeding.  We are determined that we, as a community, will move the police to work with us.

1. Kent Association of Local Councils Report – Cllr D Oversby

Harrietsham Parish Council continues to be a member.  The membership fee, whilst not excessive, is fairly substantial.  However, the council does receive a good deal of assistance from belonging to this organization and the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of not being a member.  The council regularly seeks advice on legal matters which would be drastically more expensive elsewhere.  Individual councillors can also receive advice directly.  Training courses are also provided for councillors and clerks.

The council is also a committee member of the Maidstone Area which meets about four times a year to discuss local issues.

Recently there has been an inaugural meeting for members of Local Councils in Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, the aim being to widen the influence of Local councils on such matters as planning, lobbying and so forth.  There has been some disquiet lately on the supposed lack of action by the Central body of the Association of Local Councils on matters of national importance.

1. North Downs Steering Group Report – Cllr J Sams

Mid Kent Downs Steering Group has been a very interesting committee, we meet every three months.  The group is made up of representatives from many of the parishes including Boxley, Wormshill, Detling, Hartlip, Milstead, Selling and Sheldwich.  Also represented are groups such as the British Horse Society, Kent Wildlife Trust, Mid Kent Downs Orchard, Mid Kent Downs Project, Detling Design Statement, CPRE, Maidstone and Ashford Borough Council also Kent County Council and Kent Highway Services.

At the meeting there are progress reports on relevant projects that are being run by the Mid Kent Downs project officers such as the Orchard project in Lenham, the fruit festival in Sheldwich and other activities that are taking place in parishes that are helping the environment such as tree planting, insect and bird spotting and recording.  Some of the projects are taking place in the schools.  An event arranged for Milstead School involved a nature walk, cherry tasting and a demonstration by a honey expert during the morning and a talk by an expert from Brogdale followed by a food and juice tasting session.  Additionally, Hartlip School ran a project entitled ‘From Bud to Beaker’. A cobnut planting day and hedge clearing had taken place at Cherry Downs.  A collage had been put together for Milstead School.  Our sculpture Percy was funded by the Kent AONB unit and funding for the wonderful sign came from the Mid Kent Downs Project, these groups also play an active part at meetings.

We also discuss problems and successes on various parts of the Pilgrims Way concerning 4x4’s, bikers, walkers and horses.  Quiet lanes are another issue discussed, and information is always sought from Highways officers that attend.  We spoke at length at the last meeting about issues that we hope to have resolved from our meeting with Keith Ferrin.  It is an exciting committee that Harrietsham Parish Council can gain help and advice from as well as sources of funding for particular projects.

1. Charities Report – Cllr S Morris

The last year has been a difficult time, not just with poor growth of the charity funds, but also with the Parish Council group appointed to manage these funds on behalf of the community.  Our standing orders have dictated to us that the trustees of the funds should be two councillors plus the Rector of the parish.  In the last 12 months, we have had no Rector and the two parish councillors designated have both resigned.  This has left us with a mountain of paperwork and necessary form filling to gain access to the funds.

We have now successfully completed the change of details with the Charity Commission and we are now proceeding with the pile of paperwork handed over from Brian Wood.  With our new Clerk in place, along with the opportunity to file paperwork in the Parish Office instead of individual councillor’s homes, this should mean a smooth transition in future years as Councillors change.

1. Booth & Baldwin Charity Report – Clerk Mrs Broadhurst on behalf of Mrs Fairall

The Booth and Baldwin Trust continue to support the young people within the village.  The children that attend our Primary School benefit in various ways.  For the last two years, the Trust has paid for a pupil to attend a three day Choir Workshop held at Benenden School and this year we will be paying for two.

Now that the Parish Council own most of the Glebe Field, the children’s play area may soon come to fruition and the Trust are waiting to help with this project.

With regards to the Old School site, the wheels are grinding slowly towards development, and this can not come too soon.  Also, the Booth Field continues to be maintained by the Trust for the enjoyment of the whole village.

1. Public Discussion

Audrey Joy and Brian Rust expressed thanks to all members of the Parish Council for their efforts.

Meeting closed at 8.50pm