The village of Benenden in Kent

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Parish Council held on 16th January 2006 at The Memorial Hall, Benenden.

Present: Mr G Reynolds Mr P Conway Mr R Garnier Mr R Lake Mrs C Pitt
Mr P Message Mr S Hockney Mrs D Bailey Mr J Clarke

MINUTES: The Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on Monday 13th December 2005 were confirmed and signed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None

MATTERS ARISING:

Iden Green and Benenden Enhancements. Cllr Reynolds reported back to the council regarding the issue of the posts around the Green. It was agreed that there were 4 areas where posts would help, this to be passed on to Brian Hayward and also to query the price, as this was felt to be too expensive. Cllr Reynolds felt that the seats around the Green could be improved and enhanced.
Cllr Lake reported back about his consultation with the residents of Cherryfields, that upright cherry trees would be preferred and that repairs to the road are necessary. Clerk to notify Highways.
Cllr Reynolds had spoken to Tricia Skilton regarding the enhancements for Iden Green.

HIGHWAYS
·       Clerk informed the Councillors that there is a new pro-forma and that they should contact the Clerk regarding any Highway issues.
BENENDEN VILLAGE HALL
·       Cllr Clarke reported to the council that Cllr Lake and himself were unhappy regarding the amount of work involved in becoming personal licence holders. Cllr Clarke had spoken to the Landlord of the Bull who was happy to take over the role. Cllr Clarke to liase with the Clerk. Clerk to see if it was possible to get a refund from the training centre.
·       Cllr Clarke reported to the council on possible structural problems with a supporting timber. Cllr Conway had contacted a structural engineer who was due to visit the site on 28.2.06.
·       Cllr Clarke reported that he had sorted out the cabling for the new projector. He was asked to see if BVH funds could be used to re-imburse him.
AGM

The AGM will be on April 24th 2006. Cllr Reynolds asked if there were any suggestions for a speaker. Cllr North could arrange a Borough speaker if needed. One suggestion was a speaker on the issues of the Primary Care Trust.

PLANNING

Cllr Garnier reported to the council on planning issues this month.
3175 – there was some concern over whether there was any change in this retrospective planning application. Some councillors felt strongly that if there was not, it was just ‘cocking a snook’ at the planning process. It was agreed that the Parish Council would write a letter of complaint to the Borough Council regarding this, that their role is to comment on an application as presented and not to make suggestions/enhancement comments. Clerk to source whether there are any standard planning conditions for the planning group to have.
3199 – there was a discussion regarding supporting planning applications from residents who have lived in the village all their lives.

KENT POLICING

Cllr Reynolds was concerned about increasing crime, particularly in Hawkhurst and Cranbrook, in the whole Wealden area. He had been informed that Kent, Sussex and Surrey want to amalgamate and that he was concerned about the consequent level of local policing. Councillors agreed with him.
Cllr Conway was concerned that the police were asking parish councils to pay for Speedwatch, and possibly to contribute to policing in the future.
There was general concern regarding the police officer allocated to Benenden village. Warden Greenroyd had tried to meet her on several occasions but to no avail. She was asked to try again.
Cllr Conway will reply, on the council’s behalf, to the Chief Constable supporting a Kent based police force. Cllr Hockney asked for the letter to be circulated to the MP.

BENENDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Cllr Reynolds reported to the council the Borough Planning position, which was that all 12 sites are still being considered.
Stakeholder meeting is due to be held at the end of this month, waiting to be notified of the date.
There was a discussion regarding the make-up of the stakeholder group, Cllr Reynolds will write to Lynn Nelson requesting 4 parish councillors to be part of the group. It was agreed that these would be Cllr Reynolds, Cllr Conway, Cllr Clarke and Cllr Garnier. There was a general discussion regarding the role of the parish council and whether there should be a collective decision from the council regarding their preferred site.
Cllr Davies reported that the portfolio holder in the Cabinet will have a decision role rather than waiting for the full borough council meeting, which should speed things up a bit.
The Consultative document will be available in about 2 weeks time on the internet, if a hard copy is needed to contact Cllr Davies.
Cllr Reynolds reported that he had received 3 letters of objection to site 8 and had visited each individually.

IDEN GREEN TENNIS CLUB

The solicitor’s bill for the new lease, Cllr Conway reported to the council, was £1500 plus VAT. He asked the council to recover the Vat and use £250 of the remaining Community Sports Grant for this, and then to split the bill between the Parish council and Iden Green Tennis Club. Councillors agreed.

CORRESPONDENCE

It was agreed to change next month’s parish meeting to February 27th at Benenden Village Hall. The parish council meeting dates for 2006/7 were agreed.
Clerk reported that the PCC had contacted the council regarding help with the funding of renovation of the Church Clock. They are currently applying for a grant from TWBC, but if funds are unavailable councillors agreed to help with half of the cost, currently quoted as £400 plus VAT.
Clerk asked the councillors to read the Code of Conduct and to pass it on to the next councillor. Cllr Garnier to start.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Cllr Conway was concerned when there last was a fire inspection of St. George’s. Clerk to find out.
St George’s Committee to make a date to meet the Club representatives.
Clerk was asked to contact Lois Howells to speak at the next parish meeting on issues of probity.
Cllr Message reported that as the quotation for the 5 gates as part of the Community Paths Project was over £1000, he now had to get 2 more quotations
Cllr Davies and Cllr North reported that there was an extensive re-organisation of TWBC as a result of the new Chief Executive and a poor audit report, that there would be ‘significant’ changes.
Cllr Reynolds opened the meeting to the public.

The meeting finished at 10pm.

		Minutes for January 2006 Click for minutes for December 2005 These notes are abstracted from the original minutes-for the full and proper copy please contact the Parish Clerk
		BENENDEN PARISH COUNCIL Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Parish Council held on 16th January 2006 at The Memorial Hall, Benenden. Present: Mr G Reynolds Mr P Conway Mr R Garnier Mr R Lake Mrs C Pitt Mr P Message Mr S Hockney Mrs D Bailey Mr J Clarke MINUTES: The Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on Monday 13th December 2005 were confirmed and signed. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None MATTERS ARISING: Iden Green and Benenden Enhancements. Cllr Reynolds reported back to the council regarding the issue of the posts around the Green. It was agreed that there were 4 areas where posts would help, this to be passed on to Brian Hayward and also to query the price, as this was felt to be too expensive. Cllr Reynolds felt that the seats around the Green could be improved and enhanced. Cllr Lake reported back about his consultation with the residents of Cherryfields, that upright cherry trees would be preferred and that repairs to the road are necessary. Clerk to notify Highways. Cllr Reynolds had spoken to Tricia Skilton regarding the enhancements for Iden Green. HIGHWAYS · Clerk informed the Councillors that there is a new pro-forma and that they should contact the Clerk regarding any Highway issues. BENENDEN VILLAGE HALL · Cllr Clarke reported to the council that Cllr Lake and himself were unhappy regarding the amount of work involved in becoming personal licence holders. Cllr Clarke had spoken to the Landlord of the Bull who was happy to take over the role. Cllr Clarke to liase with the Clerk. Clerk to see if it was possible to get a refund from the training centre. · Cllr Clarke reported to the council on possible structural problems with a supporting timber. Cllr Conway had contacted a structural engineer who was due to visit the site on 28.2.06. · Cllr Clarke reported that he had sorted out the cabling for the new projector. He was asked to see if BVH funds could be used to re-imburse him. AGM The AGM will be on April 24th 2006. Cllr Reynolds asked if there were any suggestions for a speaker. Cllr North could arrange a Borough speaker if needed. One suggestion was a speaker on the issues of the Primary Care Trust. PLANNING Cllr Garnier reported to the council on planning issues this month. 3175 – there was some concern over whether there was any change in this retrospective planning application. Some councillors felt strongly that if there was not, it was just ‘cocking a snook’ at the planning process. It was agreed that the Parish Council would write a letter of complaint to the Borough Council regarding this, that their role is to comment on an application as presented and not to make suggestions/enhancement comments. Clerk to source whether there are any standard planning conditions for the planning group to have. 3199 – there was a discussion regarding supporting planning applications from residents who have lived in the village all their lives. KENT POLICING Cllr Reynolds was concerned about increasing crime, particularly in Hawkhurst and Cranbrook, in the whole Wealden area. He had been informed that Kent, Sussex and Surrey want to amalgamate and that he was concerned about the consequent level of local policing. Councillors agreed with him. Cllr Conway was concerned that the police were asking parish councils to pay for Speedwatch, and possibly to contribute to policing in the future. There was general concern regarding the police officer allocated to Benenden village. Warden Greenroyd had tried to meet her on several occasions but to no avail. She was asked to try again. Cllr Conway will reply, on the council’s behalf, to the Chief Constable supporting a Kent based police force. Cllr Hockney asked for the letter to be circulated to the MP. BENENDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL Cllr Reynolds reported to the council the Borough Planning position, which was that all 12 sites are still being considered. Stakeholder meeting is due to be held at the end of this month, waiting to be notified of the date. There was a discussion regarding the make-up of the stakeholder group, Cllr Reynolds will write to Lynn Nelson requesting 4 parish councillors to be part of the group. It was agreed that these would be Cllr Reynolds, Cllr Conway, Cllr Clarke and Cllr Garnier. There was a general discussion regarding the role of the parish council and whether there should be a collective decision from the council regarding their preferred site. Cllr Davies reported that the portfolio holder in the Cabinet will have a decision role rather than waiting for the full borough council meeting, which should speed things up a bit. The Consultative document will be available in about 2 weeks time on the internet, if a hard copy is needed to contact Cllr Davies. Cllr Reynolds reported that he had received 3 letters of objection to site 8 and had visited each individually. IDEN GREEN TENNIS CLUB The solicitor’s bill for the new lease, Cllr Conway reported to the council, was £1500 plus VAT. He asked the council to recover the Vat and use £250 of the remaining Community Sports Grant for this, and then to split the bill between the Parish council and Iden Green Tennis Club. Councillors agreed. CORRESPONDENCE It was agreed to change next month’s parish meeting to February 27th at Benenden Village Hall. The parish council meeting dates for 2006/7 were agreed. Clerk reported that the PCC had contacted the council regarding help with the funding of renovation of the Church Clock. They are currently applying for a grant from TWBC, but if funds are unavailable councillors agreed to help with half of the cost, currently quoted as £400 plus VAT. Clerk asked the councillors to read the Code of Conduct and to pass it on to the next councillor. Cllr Garnier to start. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr Conway was concerned when there last was a fire inspection of St. George’s. Clerk to find out. St George’s Committee to make a date to meet the Club representatives. Clerk was asked to contact Lois Howells to speak at the next parish meeting on issues of probity. Cllr Message reported that as the quotation for the 5 gates as part of the Community Paths Project was over £1000, he now had to get 2 more quotations Cllr Davies and Cllr North reported that there was an extensive re-organisation of TWBC as a result of the new Chief Executive and a poor audit report, that there would be ‘significant’ changes. Cllr Reynolds opened the meeting to the public. The meeting finished at 10pm.