Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held at the Memorial Hall, School Lane, on Monday, 4^th October 2004 at 7.30 p.m.

Present:

Cllr. Mrs J.M.Papadopulos (Chairman)

County Councillor:- Cllr. F.Gibson, O.B.E.

Councillors:- J.D.Goring, J.A.Grey, Mrs J. Hinks, A.L.Howard, M.L.James, C.L.Jupp (also Borough), Mrs S. Saunders, Mrs A. Waugh and S.Wright.

In attendance:

Mr A. Taylor, WPC Duffort and 5 Parishioners. 

Apologies for absence: Received from Cllr. Mrs P.Oakeshott, Rural Warden Steve Enright and Clive Stanley.

Prior to the commencement of the Meeting the Chairman welcomed Mrs J. Hinks as a Parish Councillor and received her signed declaration of acceptance of office form, and entry for the register of Members Interests.

The Chairman accepted apologies for absence.
There were no alterations to the Register of Members Interests. 

The Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting, held on Monday, 6th September 2004, were confirmed and signed, following an amendment to P.720 (Recreation Ground), where the ninth line down should read " it was unanimously agreed that there would be no pitch sharing".

Matters arising from the Minutes.
The Clerk reported that:-
a. P.716 Matters Arising. Parish Council website. An e-mail had been received from Christine Edwards, of Oak Drive, congratulating the Parish Council on the excellent new website. The total number of hits for the website (as at 3/10) stood at 3729.
b. P.717. Allotment Gardens. The water supply to the allotment gardens had now been reinstated following repairs by Southern Water. It was still uncertain if the Parish Council was liable for the cost of these repairs. Daniel Annal had trimmed back the brambles on a couple of the lower allotment plots and Members unanimously endorsed a cheque for £50 for his costs, under Sections 137/139 of the Local Government Act 1972. It was agreed to discuss further clearance works at the forthcoming Budget and Finance Meeting. Members refused permission for a tenant to grow hedging around their allotment plot. Cllr. Howard agreed to produce a plan of all the allotment plots which were badly overgrown at the present time.
c. P.720 Victorian Post Box - Gad's Hill. Mrs Brooker, Conservation Planner with the Borough Council, was unaware of any work being carried out on the box but would be willing to make further enquiries on our behalf. WPC Duffort reported that Post Boxes
were often offered for sale on ebay.

WPC Duffort reported recent problems with 160 foot lorries carrying old track parts to Hoo Junction, getting wedged in Canal Road. In one incident a garden wall was demolished. These lorry movements had now ceased. The grant application for the Youth Shelter was now ranked third from the top.
Members noted that the Lower Higham Post Office, within The Railway Tavern, was closed at present due to the Subpostmistress having left. To date no communication had been received from the Post Office clarifying the situation.

Parishioners' Matters.
Mr Taylor, of Dillywood Lane, drew Members' attention to a petition signed by 18 out of 21 local property owners, objecting to the planning application for Little Hermitage. The Chairman confirmed that the Parish Council was unaware of this document as it had not been sent a copy and Mr Taylor agreed to do so. A letter had been received from the Borough Council outlining incidences when complaints had been made to the Environmental and Public Health Services regarding noise and disturbance. Mr Taylor pointed out that some of these complaints had not been substantiated as monitoring had not been possible outside the on-call hours of the service, but this did not mean that they were not true. The Chairman reiterated that the Parish Council was only a consultee in the planning process, as indeed were the local residents. As it was understood that this application was to be considered by the Borough Council at the beginning of November, the Parish Council agreed to write to them clarifying the comments made in its previous letter dated 15th August 2004, acknowledging that a petition existed and noting that several incidences of noise and disturbance had been unable to be investigated.

To discuss the proposal for a Regional Park.
Cllr. Gibson reminded Members that following the preparation of the Scoping Study by the consultants, a briefing meeting had been held in early October. The draft report had been amended after this meeting and senior officers and a wider stakeholder group would meet in November. Wider consultation with a community engagement would take place early in 2005.
No decisions would be taken until the final consultation. Cllr. Gibson advised the Parish Council to wait and see the finished report and recommendations before making a detailed study.
Cllr. Waugh drew Members' attention to the views expressed by The Dickens Society which stated that it believed that what was needed was being achieved. Regeneration was taking place and need not be spoilt by cafes, car parks and more people. A Regional Park was not the same status as a National Park.

Councillors' Matters.
County.
Cllr. Gibson had nothing to report.

Borough.
Cllr. Jupp spoke of the planned new development surrounding the Heritage Quarter in Gravesend. An Italian restaurant was planned at the end of Town Pier. The CTRL would finance a new two-way road over the A2 at Cobham. A complaint regarding street lights not being lit in Oak Drive had been dealt with by the Borough Council, only to find that a subsequent power surge had altered all the time controls again. Cllr. Jupp reported that the Borough Council would eventually move towards installing solar controls for its lighting, which would alleviate this problem. The Tilbury ferry continued to be supported by the County Council and Thurrock Council.
Cllr. Wright reported on the recent Local Board Meeting he had attended at Meopham Library. Further investment in Higham LIbrary was planned and discussion had taken place on applications for funds for Small Capital Projects. He commended WPC Duffort for her excellent bid for the youth shelter, which had been well received.

Parish.
Cllr. Grey alerted Members that repairs to potholes were still outstanding. Large lorries from the tunnel works continued to try and reverse back down School Lane causing chaos.
Cllr. Howard asked if there had been any progress regarding the Christmas lighting to the village. The Clerk agreed to check the current situation with Mr Burt, the Borough Lighting Engineer. In answer to a question from Cllr. Howard, Cllr. Gibson confirmed that it was hoped to build a new Visitors Centre at Shorne Woods Country Park alongside the existing Centre. This would give accommodation for educational purposes, and an improved car parking area. The building would be made out of local materials.
Cllr. James enquired from Cllr. Gibson if any progress had been made regarding the lorry signs on the Wainscott By Pass. He drew Members attention to an uneven roundabout on the A226 (south side) where several vehicles had already turned over. It was agreed to ask for an "adverse camber" sign to be positioned on the bridge over the By Pass.
Cllr. Waugh reported that she had inspected the footpath which ran parallel to Crabbles Wood, across the field. As there were no animals on the land there was no necessity for a gate and the current viewpoint was to do away with these, where at all possible, to help the disabled.
Cllr. Goring reported that George Chandler would be placing the photo albums in the library on Friday. These would only be available for viewing within the building, but it was agreed that the Library staff could not be held responsible for them.
It was agreed that the Parish Environment Committee would discuss with Peter Allinson how the former Emergency Planning Sub Committee of the Parish Council had worked.

REFRESHMENT BREAK

Reports.
a. Planning.
Members had studied current planning applications during the refreshment break.

Appln. no. 20040807 Mr & Mrs A.Sparks, 16, Fairview Drive.
Erection of single storey front extension to form an enlarged lounge; construction of side extension to existing dormer extension in front roof slope and conversion of additional roof space into en-suite shower room/w.c.
Appln. no. 20040831 M.Clarke, "Mill House", Hermitage Road.
Erection of double garage and store at the front.
Appln. no. 20040833 Mrs Dedridge, 5, Chilton Drive.
Erection of a conservatory at the rear.
Appln. no. 20040840 Mr Saunders, 6, Fairview Drive.
Erection of conservatory at the rear and erection of an entrance porch at the side.
Appln .no. 20040819 Mr & Mrs Goulding, 34, Telegraph Hill.
Construction of first floor to form three bedrooms, balcony, en-suite shower room/w.c. and bathroom/w.c. and erection of a replacement double garage.

b. K.A.P.C.
Cllr. Saunders reported that there was to be an Executive Committee Meeting on Saturday. The AGM would be held in November at Ditton, and she would be attending with Cllr. Hinks.

c. Memorial Hall.
Cllr. Goring reported that the work on the gas main was now in its fourth week. Graffiti had been sprayed on the wall by the door.

d. Multi-Purpose Games Area.
Cllr. Goring reported that the graffiti had now been removed from the kick boards. The foundations for the tennis posts were to be renewed.

e. Recreation Ground.
Cllr. Goring reported that the new goal posts were now in full use, and were kept within the tennis courts. The conflict which had arisen between the junior and senior football teams through lack of communication had now been resolved. The boys team were also
using two pitches at the school. The temporary repair to the slide had still not been completed and one picnic table was missing two planks and had been carved with a knife.

g. G.R.O.W.C.
Cllr. Waugh reported that all complaints had now been dealt with. The next G.R.O.W.C. Meeting would be held later in the month.

h. Governors of Higham Primary School.
Cllr. James reported that the recent OFSTED report had graded the school as satisfactory to good.

j. Higham Youth Club.
Cllr. Saunders reported that a Management Committee meeting would be held the next evening and the AGM would take place in November.

Finance.
The Clerk presented the quarterly financial statement for the period 1/7/04 to 30/9/04. She asked for approval for the items of expenditure shown on the agenda plus administration expenses for the period 1/7/04 to 30/9/04 of £359.99, this being proposed by Cllr. James, seconded by Cllr. Goring, and agreed by all Members.

Mr D. Annal (clearance work to allotments - S.137/139) 50.00
George Webb & Co. ( ½ year rent for R.G.) 125.00
Clerk's salary (1/7/04 - 30/9/04) 1175.00
Expenses - use of room as office (1/7/04 - 30/9/04) 227.50

Correspondence.
The correspondence folder had already been circulated amongst Members after "matters arising", but the Clerk drew Members' attention to the following items:-
1. A consultation document regarding Planning for Minerals in Kent was passed to Mr Martin Grey for his comments.
2. The Parish Environment Committee agreed to look at the Medway Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy document.
3. The inaugural meeting of the new Kent Transport Board would take place in November and Parish Council representatives were to be invited.
4. Kent RCC was now to be known as Action with Communities in Rural Kent.

To note the date of the next Parish Council Meeting.
This was given as being Monday, 8th November 2004 at 7.30 p.m. for Budget and Finance. The Christmas Meeting would take place on Monday, 29th November 2004 at 7.30 p.m. with the Mayor of Gravesham and his family in attendance.

Any Other Business.
Members gave permission for a ladies charity football match to be held on the Recreation Ground on 17/10 to raise funds for the pensioners Christmas party at the Working Mens Club.
The Clerk reported that the Parish Council was unable to appeal against a planning application by Balfour Beatty to site an extra four vehicles at Hoo Junction, as it did not own land in the vicinity of the site.
It was agreed that items of correspondence to be discussed at Meetings would be marked as such in the correspondence folder in future.


There being no other business, the Meeting closed at 10.10 p.m.

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