WATERINGBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting held on 3rd April 2018
7.30pm Wateringbury Village Hall
Present
Cllr R Tripp (Chairman)
Cllr D Marks
Cllr S Tickner (arr. 7.40pm)
Cllr D Mitchelmore
In attendance:
Mrs S Cockburn – Clerk to the Council
Cllr M Balfour – Kent County Councillor
PCSO Wendy Stanley – Kent Police
Mrs C Byron – Rostrum Correspondent
6 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
17/131 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies received from Cllr Wells and Cllr Daly who were both unwell & Cllr Simons
17/132 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST/DISPENSATIONS
None
17/133 ANNOUNCEMENTS
None
17/134 REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR
Cllr Balfour reported funding had been made available from Central Government to repair potholes on the roads. Kent County Council had managed to balance its budget for this year, but future cuts would have to be made. The Chairman thanked Cllr Balfour who left the meeting at 7.35pm
17/135 REPORT FROM BOROUGH COUNCILLOR
Cllr Jessel was not present
17/136 CRIME REPORT
Crime report attached – taken from Kent Police website and e-watch website. PCSO Wendy Stanley reported that she had looked at Kent Police
records and could not find anything that referred to arson as shown on the police website. More recent crime reports included a burglary when jewellery was stolen, a youth attempting entry into a property being renovated. PCSO Stanley warned residents of door to door scams. Residents being told lead needed replacing on roofs and the caller needed access to loft space to access energy losses relating to a Government scheme. The Chairman thanked PCSO Stanley who then left the meeting.
17/137 MINUTES OF PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD On 6th MARCH 2018 TO BE APPROVED FOR ACCURACY
The Minutes having been read were approved by Cllr Tickner and seconded by Cllr Marks and signed as a correct record
17/138 MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 6TH MARCH 2018
17/126 – Car park meeting – to be dealt with under item 9 on the Agenda
17/127 – Pollution Monitoring Equipment – to be dealt with under item 10.9 on the Agenda
17/128 – Village Signs – Order for new village signs placed with Maidstone Signs and await confirmation signs ready to install.
17/139 WATERINGBURY CAR PARK
The Chairman referred to a meeting held with TMBC on the 16th March
The Borough Council is making all their car parks Pay & Display. Wateringbury car park would be short stay with a maximum of a 4hr stay with no free parking, except for possibly 6pm to 8am, and parking permits could be issued. TMBC would be happy to consider any comments from the Parish Council on timings and charges. There would be statutory consultations giving everyone a chance to comment. Councillors agreed the Chairman should put forward some bullet points for consideration. The Chairman stated he had had informal meetings with the Post Office, the hairdressers and Where Memories Meet. The hairdressers were concerned they were losing business because clients could not find a parking space. The Post office had told the Chairman they had an agreement to park 2 vans in the car park.
17/140 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES
Finance & General Purposes – No meeting Councillors were asked to agree to Colin Hanley carrying out an internal audit as in previous years. All Councillors agreed
Councillors agreed that Cllr Tickner be added as a signatory to the Council bank account
The Chairman referred to an email from The Friends of Wateringbury regarding funds for treating the seat outside the school. It was stated that Section 137 of the Local Government Act could be used to fund this and future work. It was agreed a top limit should be applied and it was agreed to ask the Friends for an estimate of how much might be needed in a year
Planning – meeting to follow
Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association – Cllr Tickner said he was waiting for a date of the next meeting of the Association. The Chairman referred to the Association’s lease on insurance and Cllr Tickner said he would get more information. Cllr Marks stated that with the Association’s approval, amendments could be made to the lease.
Cllr Tickner confirmed the present funds raised from the fete were held by the Clydesdale Bank.
Cllr Tickner referred to dog fouling and that he could obtain a dog poo bags dispenser for £79, box of 800 bags £22.90 and metal signs at £39 plus VAT. Cllr Fielding felt that an additional approach could be to place an article in the Rostrum magazine
Village Hall – nothing to report
Tonbridge & Malling Area Committee of KALC_– Cllr Wells said the next meeting was scheduled for May.
Parish Partnership Panel –no report
Joint Parish Council Transport Consultative Group – no report
Kent Community Rail Partnership – nothing to report
Highways & Transportation-Speedwatch – No meeting. The Chairman referred to the Pollution Monitoring equipment and the Parish Council had been asked by Crispin Kennard of TMBC to contribute to the cost of a cabinet for the equipment which cost £2500. The Chairman had told Mr Kennard the Parish Council did not have the funds available. Mr Kennard agreed TMBC could cover the cost in the new financial year. Cllr Fielding said it would be very useful to have the equipmen in place so pollution levels could be monitored before and after any changes to the crossroads
The Chairman referred to problems with the street lighting contractor, who were not repairing lights and no invoices had been received since August last year which was a breach of contract. It was agreed to look at alternative contractors and ask other parishes who they use
Speedwatch report attached. David Merry had said the police asked that the speedwatch equipment was calibrated correctly, and to do this new tuning fork was needed. The cost would be £25. Councillors agreed to purchasing a new tuning fork
Allotments – Most plot holders had paid their rent and those who had not would be contacted. There was one vacant allotment
Cemetery – nothing to report
Village Warden – Final report presented last month
Joint Flood Group – Cllr Fielding said at the Joint Flood Group meeting on 23rd March, at which Helen Grant MP was present, the consensus was the Group should continue.
The Chairman referred to an email from Teston PC regarding changes to the crossing gates at Wateringbury Station. It was confirmed the crossing gates were in Nettlestead Parish and not Wateringbury. Cllr Fielding agreed to speak to David Meredith, the Chairman of Nettlestead Parish Council, for his council’s views.
Cllr Marks stated he and a former Cllr, Chris Talbert, had earlier been involved in the future of the signal box, which is a listed building, and if the crossing gates were changed it was likely the box would be boarded up.
17/141 FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT
Agreement of the Financial Statement was proposed by Cllr Marks and seconded by Cllr Fielding All cheques were signed.
The Chairman referred to the new laptop to be purchased by the Council for use by the Clerk, and asked Councillors for agreement to purchase Office 365 which is a ‘cloud’ system at a cost of approximately £6 per month All Councillors voted in favour.
17/142 PUBLIC DISCUSSION
Mr Dennis Stones referred to the change to the parking in the car park and said this would affect the village hall if Saturday restrictions were in place especially for wedding receptions.
Mr Stones felt maybe something could be done with the existing railway crossing gates if they were removed and referred to the old semaphore sign which was given to the school.
Mr Stones referred to changes to the cross roads. He felt a new lane to turn right on to Tonbridge Road from Bow Road was not needed, and asked if the phasing of the lights would be changed. The Chairman said it was possible.
Mrs Pat Jolly referred to a previous article in Rostrum by the Chairman on the late Michael Cayzer. She felt the article was inaccurate as no credit had been given to the previous Chairman, Mrs Sarah Hudson. The Chairman said a report after someone passed away covered all the nice things and what they had achieved.
Mrs Sarah Hudson referred to the dog fouling problem and said the bags should be biodegradable and felt any money should be put to better use.
Referring to the car park Mrs Hudson said West Malling was originally a free car park and when this was changed to pay and display there was an outcry by local businesses that they would lose business. This proved to be unfounded and she felt it would be the same in Wateringbury
Mr Mike Witts referred to the litter campaign which involved the school children to produce posters for which there were prizes supplied by the Wateringbury Sports & Recreational Association which proved successful and maybe there could be a similar project about dog fouling.
It was confirmed the Borough Council would set the charges for the car park and the Parish Council could only put forward suggestions
The Chairman closed the meeting at approximately 9.20pm