WATERINGBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 5th September 2017
7.30pm Wateringbury Village Hall
Present
Cllr R Tripp (Chairman) Cllr M Daly
Cllr M Cayzer Cllr F Fielding
Cllr C Talbert
Cllr M Wells
In attendance:
Mrs S Cockburn – Clerk to the Council
Cllr M Balfour – Kent County Councillor
Cllr S Jessel – Tonbridge & Malling Borough Councillor
Mrs C Byron & Mrs T Bailey – Rostrum Correspondents
8 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
17/039 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Marks who was away, Cllr Fisher who was unwell & Cllr Simons
17/040 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST/DISPENSATIONS
None
17/041 ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Chairman advised the meeting there would be a Finance & general Purposes Committee Meeting on Tuesday 17th October 7.30pm when the first draft of the 2018/2019 Budget would be agreed
17/042 REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR
Cllr Balfour reported Kent County Council were subject to finance and budget restraints, having to make savings of £80m in the next financial year. It would mean cutting £1m from bus services.
Problems had arisen over the school transport to Mascalls School which goes from Kings Hill but not from Wateringbury.
Cllr Balfour mentioned Community Bus Services. A couple of schemes are being successfully operated by volunteers who drive mini buses funded by KCC
Cllr Balfour raised the question of problems at the traffic lights and said there was not enough room for a roundabout. Other engineering options were being investigated. It was the duty of the Borough Council to monitor air quality and not Kent County Council
It was stated there was only one set of monitoring equipment in the Borough. Cllr Simon Jessel said he would look at the cost of the equipment and pollution records for the next meeting
Cllr Balfour referred to the rail franchise process. there are three bidders and Kent County Council Officers would work with the franchise team.
Kent Highways had confirmed nothing could be done about the problems raised in Pizien Well Road of speeding traffic as it is too narrow.
Cllr Wells stated that from around 7.00am each morning vehicles were speeding along Pizien Well Road.
The subject of overgrown vegetation on road signs was raised and Cllr Balfour said it was the responsibility of the land owner ensure they were kept clear
Mrs Sarah Hudson raised the condition of road signs that need cleaning and the state of the cross road gardens.
Mr Michael Williams stated the Welcome to Wateringbury Signs were dirty
The Chairman thanked Cllr Balfour who left the meeting at 8.05pm
17/043 REPORT FROM BOROUGH COUNCILLOR
Cllr Jessel stated the Borough Council had to look at reducing expenditure due to a reduction in funds from Central Government by about 30%
Cllr Wells referred to the Parish Charter for discussion. KALC had objected to the time limit for comments as being too short and it had been agreed to extend this to October. Council would discuss this at their next meeting
The Chairman thanked Cllr Jessel who left the meeting at 8.10pm
17/044 CRIME REPORT
Crime report attached which had been taken from Kent Police website
17/045 MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 4th JULY 2017 TO BE APPROVED FOR ACCURACY
The Minutes having been read were approved by Cllr Daly and seconded by Cllr Talbert.
17/046 MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 4th JULY 2017
Matters Arising attached.
17/034 – iCloud/Drop Box – Cllr Daly would be arranging a suitable time with the Clerk to go through Google Drive
17/034 – Pizien Well Road – Councillors had seen an email from Kings Kent Highways stating due to the road being so narrow there was nothing they could do in the way of traffic calming.
17/034 – Possible Survey on Roads – No further update
17/034 – CCTV village hall – Cllr Simons was not present. This would go forward to the next meeting.
17/034 – Car Park letter to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council – Still no reply
17/034 Cemetery Car Park hedge – Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council had confirmed in writing that planning permission was not required to remove the hedge at the car park. Three quotes had been received. A & F Services £1286 – Andrew French £2280 & £2150 ( two different types of fencing – S W Yorke & Sons £3255 & £3410 (two different types of fencing) After discussion Cllr Wells proposed acceptance of A & F Services and this was seconded by Cllr Cayzer. All Councillors voted in favour
17/034 – Iron Fencing Bow Road – No further update
17/034- Cleaning of Village Signs – Cllr Fisher was not present but had stated he had contacted three contractors who were not interested and was waiting for contact from another.
17/036 – Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association meetings were 4 times a year the next end September/October.
17/047 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
Finance & General Purposes – No meeting. All Councillors agreed a new sign for the play area would omit the wording concerning cricket matches. A quote would be obtained from Stock Signs for a new sign. It was also agreed the Cricket Club/Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association would be informed.
A report from ROSPA on the play equipment had been received highlighting some medium risk issues. It was agreed the goal net would be removed and not replaced. Plastic seat bars on the Swing Seat were broken and needed replacing. It was agreed to contact Playdale. The wet pour surface under the cable way did not confirm to EN 1176. It was agreed to contact Abac
Some of the seats on the swings in the lower play area had areas bitten away and needed replacing. Chain connectors on some of the equipment needed replacing. It was agreed to contact Park Leisure.
Drayhorse Meadow – The Tenant had reported that although some repairs had been done the stable roof was still leaking. It was agreed to get quotes for new roofing
Insurance Policy – The Chairman questioned whether the Parish Council should pay for the insurance cover for the pavilion when the lease stated the WSRA were responsible. It was agreed to contact the WSRA for comments.
Twinning – the Parish Council had received an email request to twin Wateringbury with Cresse in France. Councillors agreed that as the village was already twinned with Le Puy en Velay in France they would decline the offer.
Planning – meeting to follow
Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association – Nothing to report.
Village Hall – nothing further to report
Tonbridge & Malling Area Committee of KALC_– Report of last meeting attached
Parish Partnership Panel – Next meeting 7th September
Kent Community Rail Partnership – Cllr Talbert regretted he was unable to attend the next meeting on the 12th September
Highways & Transportation-Speedwatch – No report from Committee
Speedwatch report attached.
Cllr Fielding reported that vegetation was growing out from the metal railings in Bow Road. Brambles were growing over the pavement from the gas substation in Bow Road. The water continued to flow from Waterside Mews and was wearing away the tarmac. All would be reported.
Allotments – There are two vacancies
Cemetery – PCSO Wendy Stanley had reported a member of the public was concerned about the evidence of drinking and possible drug use in the car park. PCSO Stanley had been updated on the removal of the hedge which was a screen for anti social behaviour incidents.
Village Warden – nothing to report
Joint Parishes Flood Group – Cllr Fielding reported there were no properties in the village that were likely to be ‘fast tracked’ regarding flooding. Parish Council’s had been asked to support the Joint Flood Group to carryout scoping surveys to understand which homes at greatest risk of flooding, investigate community level resistance and resilience measures to reduce the impact of flooding, investigate and install traffic management measures, and develop and deliver a rolling exercise programme to test community emergency plans. Councillors gave their support
If any member of the public had any comments on flooding they should send them to the Clerk.
17/048 FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT
Agreement of the Financial Statement was proposed by Cllr Cayzer and seconded by Cllr Talbert. All cheques were signed.
17/049 PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Mrs Sarah Hudson referred to the overgrown crossroad garden and suggested children from the Wateringbury Guide & Scout Group doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award could carry out maintenance… Hair Traditional at the corner of Bow Road had also suggested they were willing to carry out maintenance and possibly erect their own sign.
It was stated the gardens had been given back to Kent Highways as they were not prepared to cover the full cost. Mrs Hudson suggested the Parish Council take back the gardens.
Trudy Bailey reported the Tonbridge Road sign near the traffic lights was leaning over
Mr Thompsett said that any improvements to the crossroads should include consideration for pedestrians. He also felt the cemetery hedge could be reduced to about 4ft instead of being removed. The Chairman stated the land owner had given permission to remove the hedge. Mr Thompsett said that the Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association should reimburse the Council for the insurance cover on the pavilion. Mr Dennis Stones felt volunteers were needed to clean the village signs. He also said that when the pavilion was put up the Parish Council agreed to put it under their insurance.
Mr Charles Stroud referred to the previous minutes and stated that he objected to the statement made by Cllr Talbert concerning Cllrs participation in Speedwatch, which he said was false and insisted that this be recorded in the minutes. Cllr Talbert in reply, said that the statement made by Charles Stroud at the last meeting that “no parish councillor had ever been out with speed watch” was incorrect because he, Sarah Hudson and Dennis Stones had all been members of speed watch while members of the Parish Council and he stood by his previous remarks.
Mrs Hudson asked where one of the picnic tables had gone from the play area. It was stated this had been taken down to under the trees on the playing field. It was agreed to have it put back.
The Chairman thanked everyone for coming meeting and closed the meeting at 9.45pm