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Minutes of the Hever Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 10th September 2008 at 8pm in Four Elms Parish Room. Present: Cllrs. Roberts (Chair), Boyle, Thompson, Shepherd and Southworth, District Councillor Ryan and County Councillor Lake, one member of the public and the Clerk. The Council was pleased to hear from Mr. John Proctor a resident of Five Fields Lane. Mr. Proctor thanked the Council for its continuing efforts to improve the road safety on Five Fields Lane. Mr. Proctor reported that commercial traffic has reduced on the lane. County Councillor Peter Lake reported the following: In respect of Traffic calming at Four Elms Crossroads - Councillor Lake has received an e-mail from Alan Ash, Highways Engineer for the Sevenoaks area. A Signs and Lines order has been placed as a priority. Councillor Lake is still pursuing a speed activated sign for the approach to the Crossroads and slow progress is being made. Councillor Lake also stated that should the Parish Council be granted the aforementioned sign then he would offer some funding support for this in conjunction with the PC. Councillor Lake asked that the Parish Council give Kent Highways a month to get back to us with dates and specifics of the works to commence . Verge cutting- has not been satisfactory. Please e-mail Councillor Lake with feedback and remedial work will be done. Bus Passes for children attending the Hugh Christie School- Councillor Lake reported to the PC that there has been a successful lobby to ensure that in the future the families of these children will not have to pay for journeys to school as they will be granted freedom Passes. 1. Apologies for Absence was received from Councillors Hodson, Wade, Scott, Miller and Houlton and their reasons for absence were accepted.
2. Declarations of interests from members in respect of items of business to be discussed - none were received.
3. The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14th July 2008 were amended at the request of District Councillor Ryan. Item 6 c "Hever Residents Association request for £500 towards repairs of Hever Village Hall was approved and will be paid upon receipt of second Precept installment." The minutes were subsequently approved.
4. Matters Arising from Parish Council Meeting held on 14th July 2008 - none.
5. Correspondence received - The Clerk reported that lists of correspondence had been circulated and drew members attention to the following: a) August items 18 and 21. Notification from KALC re: BT's proposal to realign payphone provision. BT received a number of approaches from members of the public, parish councils and local communities enquiring about the possibility of retaining red kiosk(s), without the payphone itself, for historical and aesthetic reasons. Understanding the significant role the red telephone kiosk plays in our national heritage BT has been reviewing the legal and regulatory issues surrounding such requests. BT are now pleased to announce that they can offer communities the opportunity to retain their kiosks thereby ensuring that these icons can, where requested, continue to form a focal part of a community. More detailed information about this new Adopt a Kiosk programme can be found online at www.bt.com/payphones. The new initiative allows communities, where usage of the public payphone service is limited, the opportunity to take ownership of the red telephone box free of charge, ensuring the kiosk, minus the payphone equipment, is retained in situ for generations to come. Any applications for Adopt a Kiosk should be submitted before Oct 1st 2008. Applications will only be accepted via www.bt.com/payphones. In addition to the above SDC require further feedback on why the Phone box located at Uckfield Lane Hever should be retained.
b) September item 1: Invitation from CPRE to forthcoming event for Parish Local Development Framework. Councillor Thompson and the Clerk will attend. c) September item 6: letter regarding Affordable Local Needs Housing, Action with Rural Communities in Kent writes regarding local housing needs and have been prompted to contact you following a conversation with Sarah Paxton, a senior Development Manager at Moat Housing Group. Sarah has informed me that Moat have been approached by a landowner in the Parish who has a piece of land they are considering selling for a local needs housing scheme. The Clerk has invited Richard Hall from Action with Rural Communities in Kent to the next Parish Council meeting on November 10th to speak to the Council and answer any questions the PC may have.
d) September item 8: The Kent Association of Local Councils invitation to a Finance Information day. This information day is aimed at the new Councillor and the Clerk. It will take place on Saturday 18th October 2008, 10am-4.30pmand will include: · Local Council Finance: opportunities and challenges · The annual budget: planning and implementation of the local council budget · Local Council Insurance and Best Practice · Workshop "Setting the Precept" · Auditing of Accounts · Fund Raising, Grants & Project Management Cost £70.50 per delegate. Location is Headcorn Village Hall Clerk has been approved to attend with a member of the Finance Committee.
e) September item 10. : E-mail received from a resident of Four Elms regarding poor state of repair of shops at Four Elms Crossroads. Requesting Parish Council to take action in order to speed up completion of works. The Clerk responded to the Resident by e-mail that the PC has no jurisdiction to act in this matter.
f) September item 11: E-mail from David Baron with feedback on Parish web-site. Clerk has rectified all bar 2 points. The two outstanding issues are more technical, the Clerk will seek support from the web-site administrator.
6. Complaints procedure - Having previously been circulated was adopted. District Councillor Ryan requested that the Hever Parish Council logo be amended to read ....." Incorporating the villages of Four Elms, Hever and Mark Beech" as in the previous logo. The Clerk will amend the logo and post the complaints procedure on the Parish web-site.
7. To appoint a Standards Committee under section 102 Local Government Act and delegate Powers as set out in Terms of Reference, under section 102 LGA, 1972 - Terms of reference were circulated and a Standards Committee was duly appointed and was delegated powers as set out in terms of Reference to deal with complaints received. The Chair will be Councillor Wade and the Committee members are Councillors Tim Boyle and Christine Thompson.
8. To approve meeting dates for 2009/2010 - Councillors discussed proposed dates and venues. The Clerk will re-work the proposal to take into account feedback from Councillors and will submit at the next Parish Council Meeting in November. It was also noted that Councillor Hodson proposed to start meetings at 7.30pm. Councillors decided that this also should be discussed at the next meeting of the PC when more Members would be in attendance.
9. To report on Planning Applications - Councillor Boyle reported on planning applications received and considered since the last meeting of the PC in September. There had been an increase in the number of applications received. The Planning Committee did not object to any of them but did recommend conditions on the positioning of a dung heap at Blackmoor Farm. The application for a dwelling at Prettyman's Paddock which the Planning Committee did object to has been to appeal and the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed the appeal. The Parish Council has received a number of queries from members of the public regarding the cladding of an extension in Five Fields Lane at Owls Court. The cladding is bright green in appearance and it has been commented upon that this is not in keeping with the rural character of the surrounding buildings. Details of materials to be used are not usually given to the Parish Council for consideration and subsequently the Planning Committee had no visibility to this when considering this application. Councillor Miller declared a prejudicial interest in this application as his practice was the architects for this extension and as such he took no part in the Parish Planning Committee's consideration of this application. The Chair of the Parish Planning Committee has followed up with the District Planners on how the decision was reached to grant the use of this cladding in light of resident's comments. They have confirmed that the cladding is pre-patinated copper and will weather down over a period of eighteen months. Further to this the material was approved by both the District and County Planning Officers.
10. Finance i) To report on cheques paid: Since the last meeting on 14th July 2008 the following payments have been made: 14/07/08 Bank Charges, Natwest £3.25 7/08/08 EDF Energy, Contract Maintenance £7.87 7/08/08 Richard Bennett, Mowing and Strimming £100 7/08/08 KCC Landscape Services £269.32 7/08/08 Promotion House Printers, Parish Survey £60 15/08/08 Richard Bennett, Mowing and Strimming £150
ii) Members approved payments of cheques: Action with Rural Communities in Kent Annual Sub. £35 KALC, Budget training Day, 2 attendees £140 CPRE, Local Framework workshops £5
iii) 2009/2010 Budget the Clerk reported that work on the budget is underway and advised Councillors that increases were necessary to take into account feedback from Parishioners and in light of Playground costs incurred this year. The Clerk will prepare a detailed breakdown for the Finance Committee to consider at the meeting on 8th October 2008.
11. To appoint a Finance Committee under section 102, Local Government Act 1972 and delegate Powers under section 102, LGA 1972 - Terms of Reference were circulated and The Finance Committee was appointed. The Chair will be Councillor Hodson, Four Elms will be represented by Councillor Christine Thompson, Hever will be represented by Councillor John Shepherd and Mark Beech will be represented by Councillor Paul Houlton.
12. To report on Parish Survey results received to date - The Clerk reported on findings from the Parish Survey and will undertake investigations into the costs of improving/introducing services requested by Parishioners. These costs will then be considered with the Precept application in November 2008. The most frequently raised concern was the state of the Highways in the Parish, mainly speeding through the villages, Highway maintenance and signage. The Council noted that a number of Four Elms residents expressed their concerns over the state of shops undergoing refurbishment at Four Elms Cross-roads. Councillors also noted that over 50% of respondents had no objection to the Precept being increased. Councillors decided to discuss how best to publish the findings of the survey at the Parish Council Meeting in November.
13. To discuss the creation of a Parish Plan - Having previously circulated an overview of Parish Planning, Councillors discussed the viability of producing a Parish Plan for Hever. It was considered that the nature of the Parish, comprising of three different villages, could be a stumbling block. Councillors did consider that the creation of such a plan would provide a Mandate for the PC and as such would inform the Budgeting process for the next Five to ten years. The Clerk will ask for copies of the Parish Plans from neighbouring Parishes to include Cowden and ask for feedback to present to the PC at the next meeting in November. The Council also considered how to engage young people in the Parish in giving feedback, it was suggested that the schools in the Parish be asked to participate in a survey similar to that which was sent out in July to Parishioners.
14. To discuss drainage and related issues at Four Elms Pond - It was reported that at the request of the Parish Council the drainage team at Kent County Council had investigated the drains that run into Four Elms Pond and had found no problems, cracks or breakages. The gullies and drains at Pootings Road running down to the Crossroads were also cleared.
15. To report on Parish roads and footpaths i) Spreadsheet - Issues on the Parish Spreadsheet were discussed. The Clerk will follow up on white lines in centre of the road at Cowden Pound Road in Mark Beech which Kent Highways consider to be unnecessary. The Council considers that this is a road safety issue. ii) Report and update on meeting held with KHS 14th August 2008 - The Clerk up dated the Parish Council on the meeting held with Kent Highway Services. The PC is still awaiting confirmation of when works will be carried out at Four Elms Crossroads. County Councillor Peter Lake has asked that Kent Highway Services be given a month to come back to the PC with this information. Councillor Lake reported to the Council that Alan Ash the Highways Engineer responsible for Sevenoaks District was working very hard on our behalf to secure the necessary funding and a start date for the works. The PC therefore expects a response by October 10th 2008.
16. Items for reporting or inclusion in future agenda - no items were raised. There being no further business the Chairman thanked those present for their attendance and the meeting closed at 9.20pm.
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