Benenden

The Vicar's Letter

Minutes for February 2006
Click for minutes for January 2006

These notes are abstracted from the original minutes-for the full and proper copy please contact the Parish Clerk

Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of the Parish Council held on 27th February 2006 at Benenden Village Hall.

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 16th January 2005 were confirmed and signed.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: None


MATTERS ARISING:

Cllr Reynolds raised the issue of a speaker at the AGM. Councillors agreed that Cllr North should be contacted to arrange a speaker.

HIGHWAYS

Cllr Clarke reported on his meeting with Highways. The Benenden and Iden Green enhancements, re the kerbing on the green, etc, has gone to tender. The signage regarding the crossroads will be redone.
Mid-Kent had been contacted regarding the tracing of the water leak and various holes being dug in the road.

PLANNING

Cllr Garnier reported to the council on planning issues since the last meeting.
Application 2994 has been deferred until next meeting, but parish council recommends approval subject to conditions.
Application 243 – parish council recommends approval subject to conditions. Cllr Clarke raised the concern that it would be difficult to relocate the containers, but councillors agreed that a site where they were not so visible would be appropriate.
Application 3175 – Cllr Pitt reported that neighbours were not happy and have written an official complaint. Cllr Pitt asked the council to also write an official letter regarding the handling of the case. Clerk to liase with Cllr Pitt.

BENENDEN VILLAGE HALL

Cllr Clarke reported that the structural report recommended that as the base of the supporting buttress has rotted away, it will need reinforcing. Cllr Clarke to put out to tender.

ST GEORGE’S HALL

Cllr Reynolds reported to the council regarding the meeting with the club. That there was a membership of over 100. The window on the west side of the building needs replacing. Clerk to get relevant quotes.

CORRESPONDENCE

Clerk read out a thank you letter from Sally Harrington of IG Tennis Club.
Cllr Reynolds reported that he had received a number of letters regarding the siting of the new primary school.

AOB

Cllr Bailey reported concerns that the new double kerbing round the edge of the Green was still being mounted.


BENENDEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Chairman gave a brief outline of how the parish council will handle the next few weeks of consultation. He confirmed that the council will listen to villagers comments and that the councillors will vote at the next council meeting on March 13th 2006.

At the next stakeholders meeting on 6th March 2006 the council will seek further information on highways, ecology, land and build cost and comparison of disabled access on the two sites.

He outlined concerns with the two sites as currently submitted, and that these along with concerns raised by villagers will be addressed in the parish council’s submission.



He informed the meeting of the next steps in the process. After March 17th TWBC will process all comments and seek clarification on the comments and suggestions. That they will identify matters that need to be discussed with individuals or groups concerned, try to agree common ground and address outstanding issues, and that the public will be part of this process. If this stage is not complete by June the further 6 week consultation period will not start until September. All matters raised will be addressed before the formal consultation stage, and then a draft allocation to the First Secretary of State will be put forward.

He confirmed that the parish council was intent on getting a site allocated for the new school.

The meeting was then opened to the public. There was much valuable discussion and clarification of points. These covered the following areas:

Parish Council

If the council wasn’t to vote on the issue until March 13th, due to a lack of necessary information, how can they reconcile this with asking residents to fill in the forms now when they don’t have the necessary information. Cllr Reynolds informed the meeting that he had moved the next parish council meeting forward a week so that residents could attend if they wished. He felt that at the next stakeholder meeting on the 6.3.06 there would be more information and this would help councillors to make an informed decision on 13.3.06.

Site 8

It was reported that planning officials had made it clear at the workshop that site 8 would be going to the next stage and that the questionnaire used was to ascertain sustainability of other sites. There was concern that this was therefore not a free vote. It was also pointed out that there was confusion over the 2 options, 8a and 8b, offered at the workshop. The parish council had stated that access through BVH car park was unworkable, but that TWBC had not taken this on board. Residents felt that building on Glebe field was not an option, but that TWBC had not taken this on board. It was pointed out that diversions of public footpaths, of which site 8 would be affected, take about 12 months to process.

Questionnaire Form

Residents were concerned that they were having to make choices over which site with little information. That it was difficult to make an informed decision with no knowledge of costs involved. It was pointed out that further information to an already submitted form could be added if you contact TWBC. There were strong feelings that only those who are resident in the village should have their point of view taken into account. Councillors agreed and will make TWBC aware of this issue.

Miscellaneous

Regarding Site 1, safety on New Pond Road was raised as there is a dip in the road where the entrance to the school would be sited.
Would there be lighting all night on school premises?
Regarding the representation of the stakeholder group, there was no community representative. Cllr Reynolds replied that the Parish Council was democratically elected and that there was a good representation of residents’ opinions in the hall.
Statement from Cllr Davies was read out as he was unable to attend the meeting to prior commitments. He outlined that as he was a member of TWBC planning committee his role was advisory. But he felt that unless there was local agreement on a site, ‘there was a real danger that government inspectors will rule that our children can be educated in surrounding local schools.’

The meeting closed at 9.40pm

Copyright Tim Dwyer 2004 - timdwyer@benenden.org.uk