WATERINGBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 15th October 2019
7.30pm in Wateringbury Village Hall
Present:
Cllr M Wells – Chairman
Cllr L Simons – Vice Chairman
Cllr R Tripp
Cllr D Marks
Cllr F Fielding
In attendance:
Mrs S J Cockburn – Clerk to the Council
Cllr S Hudson – Tonbridge & Malling Borough Councillor
11 Members of the public
The Chairman opened the meeting by reminding everyone in attendance the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed or otherwise reported and asked if any person present intends to make a video or audio recording of the proceedings. None
Item 1 – Apologies – Cllr M Burrows
Item 2 – Declarations of Interest – none
Item 3 – Playing Fields Overflow car park
The Chairman read out the attached letter received from Jenner (Contractors) Ltd requesting use of the overflow car park.
Cllr Marks read out his comments – attached.
Cllr Tripp stated he was originally in favour of allowing use of the car park but following residents having spoken to him voicing their objections he had since
changed his mind and was against the request.
The Parish Council had consulted both the Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association and the tenant of Drayhorse Meadow
The Chairman proposed rejection of Jenner (Contractors) Ltd request
All Councillors voted in favour A letter would be sent to Jenner (Contractors) Ltd
Item 4 – Heath Farm – Planning Application Appeal
The Chairman referred to the appeal by Liberty to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s refusal of building at Heath Farm & Amber Lane. The Parish Council had submitted their comments to the Planning Inspectorate as had East Malling & Larkfield Parish Council and Teston Parish Council.
Kings Hill Parish council would also make a submission. Teston would be arranging a road/speed survey on A26 to Teston at a cost of approximately £400.
The Chairman asked Councillors to consider carrying out a similar road/speed survey on Bow Road and on the A26 to the cemetery at a cost of £400. Cllr Fielding said with the possible temporary traffic lights due at the crossroads it was possible any survey may not give a true picture.
Cllr Tripp remembered a road/speed survey carried out by KCC in the last year or so and it was agreed to see if the Clerk could obtain sight of it.
Cllr Tripp proposed spending £400 on a traffic/speed survey and this was seconded by Cllr Simons All Councillors voted in a favour. The Clerk was asked to liaise with Teston Parish Council
The Chairman felt more people in the village could support the representations made by the Parish Council when objecting to additional traffic through Wateringbury.
Item 5 – Cemetery Rabbit Damage
The Chairman referred to the amount of damage to graves caused by rabbits in the cemetery and a meeting he had with Cllr Simons and the Clerk with Evergreen Rabbit Control. It was estimated about 20 rabbits were active on site. The Chairman read out the quote attached received from Evergreen Rabbit Control for a total of £570
A member of the public said there was a resident who had ferrets that might be able to carry out remove of the rabbits. It was agreed to put something on the Facebook page asking they contact the Clerk. Cllr Simons agreed to do this. It was agreed if the Clerk had not received any contact by the next meeting then the Parish Council would vote on the Evergreen Rabbit Control’s quote.
Item 6 – Public Discussion
It was reported that due to the number of vehicles parked in Fields Lane any weed killing in the area had to be abandoned.
Cllr Hudson said she had walked with Shaun Burgess from Jenner’s along Fields Lane to show the amount of rubbish that had been dropped. Cllr Hudson referred to the vehicles parking in Fields Lane right up to the junction of Tonbridge road. She had raised this with Traffic Enforcement and they would monitor the situation.
Cllr Hudson said the reason why Jenner’s had turned down using Teston Country Park for parking was due to its opening hours.
The resident of The Brucks raised the problems of access to their property for the erection of an extension, which would need to be from the rear of the property and would require using the Parish Council’s track and removing some hedging. The Chairman said Council found it puzzling why their builder/architect had not identified the need for access earlier. The Parish Council needed a signed license before work could proceed and a template license could be found online. The resident said this would be followed up and something would be sent to the Clerk as soon as possible.
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting at 8.20pm