The Meeting was opened by the Clerk who welcomed all those present to the Meeting.

Cllr. Goring proposed and Cllr. Howard seconded the nomination of Cllr. Papadopulos

No other nominations were received.

Cllr.Papadopulos was re-elected as Chairman by a unanimous vote.

Cllr.Howard proposed and Cllr.Saunders seconded the nomination of Cllr.Oakeshott. Cllr.Oakeshott was re- elected as Vice Chairman by a unanimous vote.

It was proposed by Cllr.Goring, seconded by Cllr. Howard and agreed by all Members that the following should be elected to Committees:-

1. Allotment Committee.

Cllrs Howard and Papadopulos (2 MEMBERS)

2. Recreation Committee.

Cllrs. Goring, Pearton and Saunders (3 MEMBERS)

3. Planning Committee.

Cllrs. Grey, James, Jupp, Oakeshott, Saunders and Wright (6 MEMBERS)

The Chairman would remain as an ex-officio member of this Committee.

4. Parish Environment Committee.

Cllrs. Goring, Grey, Howard, Jupp,Waugh and Wright (6 MEMBERS)

5. The Budget and Finance Committee.

It was agreed that the whole Council should perform these duties at a separately convened Meeting(11 MEMBERS)

6. Parish Newsletter Committee.

Cllrs. Oakeshott, Papadopulos and Saunders (3 MEMBERS)

7. Higham Gardens for Pleasure Committee.

It was agreed to disband this Committee and ask each Member to provide a short list from selected roads for the final judging.

5. APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES.

These were agreed as follows:-

1. K.A.P.C. - Cllrs Saunders and Wright
2. Memorial Hall Management Committee - Cllr. Goring.
3. Local Transport Advisory Committee (Village Transport Representatives) - Cllrs. Grey and Wright.
4. Merston Court Day Centre - Cllr. Papadopulos.
5. G.R.O.W.C. - Cllrs. Howard and Waugh.
6. Multi-Purpose Sports Facility - Cllr. Goring.
7. Higham Youth Club - Cllrs. Pearton and Saunders.
8. C.P.R.E. - Cllr. Waugh.
9. Governing Body of Higham Primary School - Cllr. James.
10. Police Advisory Committee - Cllrs. Grey and Wright.

6. The Chairman thanked Cllr. Anne Waugh and Anne Carroll for their help in providing refreshments at Meetings, and presented them each with a box of chocolates.

The Chairman thanked Mr Alan Taylor for his press reports in "The Bridge" over the past year.

The Meeting closed at 7.45 p.m.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING.

It was proposed by Cllr.Wright seconded by Cllr Waugh and agreed unanimously by all Members that Standing Orders, including amendments for the Annual Parish Assembly, Financial Regulations, and Delegated Powers for the Planning Committee, should be adopted.

The Planning Committee would meet in the Memorial Hall prior to the start of the Parish Council Meetings. It was agreed that the refreshment break would need to be extended to allow those Members of the Parish Council, not on the Planning Committee, to view current planning applications.

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, 5^th April 2004, were confirmed and signed.

The Clerk reported that:-

a. P.697 Matters Arising. Light to Steadman Close. Mr Burt, the Street Lighting Engineer with the Borough Council, had confirmed that there would be no cost to the Parish for the proposed upgrade of lighting. The Borough Street Lighting contractor would rewire the Christmas lighting connection at Jubilee Corner, to ensure that it would be covered by public liability insurance, and the Christmas lights could be checked at the same time.

b. P. 699 Reports – planning. A full list of planning application descriptions was sent with the papers for the meeting.

Parishioners’ Matters.

Mr Guess, of St. John’s Road, alerted Members to a charge being made by Southern Water on current water accounts for surface water drainage. Both he, and Mr A.Taylor, explained that if a diagram of the property showing the position of down pipes was submitted to Southern Water, a refund of this charge might be made. Mr Taylor agreed to give details for publication in "The Bridge" at a future date.

Ms Carroll, of Forge Lane, reported an increase in the amount of dog fouling to the pavement between Meadows Stores and the Gardeners Arms. The Clerk was instructed to contact the Borough Council to ask if dog bins and notices could be installed to this area

In the absence of Clive Stanley, who had given apologies for the Meeting, Cllr. Saunders reported that she had personally visited Mrs Wright, who had given permission for the use of her late husband’s line drawings of the village on the web site home page. The Clerk reported that she had received a telephone call from the Cabinet Office checking the authenticity of the application and this had delayed the launch of the new web site by Kantara who were based in Wye. Members agreed to review the payments made to Clive Stanley if the hours taken to set up the site exceeded those initially envisaged.

The Chairman expressed her disappointment at the relatively low turnout for the Annual Parish Assembly (including Members of the Council), although several Parishioners had indicated that they thought it had been a good meeting. It was agreed to move the date of the 2005 Annual Parish Assembly forward by one week to 21/4/05 in the hope that all Members of the Parish Council would be able to attend. Each Member would have a name label in front of them and would be encouraged to give a verbal precis of their report at the Meeting. The Clerk reminded Members that Parishioners had complained that certain areas of the village had not received their newsletters in advance of this year’s meeting. Complaints had been received regarding a noisy burglar alarm at the Working Mens Club and children riding bikes on the pavement at night with no lights. Steve Enright had appealed for four volunteers to come forward to help with S.I.D monitoring within the village. David Mead had suggested that the Parish Council needed to set targets to achieve within the coming year and to emphasise these within the newsletter.

The Chairman produced a list of roads within the Parish and Members signed up to carry out the initial stages of the judging. Morton Grey had asked that there should be two additional categories this year for hanging baskets/ plant containers and the most colourful display at a public house within the village, and the Clerk agreed to advertise these details in "The Bridge".

The following dates for Meetings were agreed:-

Mondays:- 10^th January, 21^st February, 4^th April, 9^th May (Annual Parish Council Meeting), 4^th July, 5^th September, 3^rd October, 7^th November (Budget and Finance only) and 28^th November (Christmas Meeting with the Mayor of Gravesham).

The date for the Annual Parish Assembly was re-arranged and would now take place on Thursday, 21^st April 2005.

The remaining dates for Meetings in 2004 are as follows:-

Mondays:- 6^th September, 4^th October, 8^th November (Budget and Finance only) and 29^th November (Christmas Meeting with the Mayor of Gravesham).

Cllr. Gibson expressed his disappointment that the Boundary Commission had ignored his representations and had decided to reduce the number of County Councillors for Gravesham from six to five. This meant that with the addition of Istead Rise to the existing rural parishes the area would have half the land mass and a quarter of the total population for Gravesham, but be served by only one representative. Cllr. Gibson reminded Members that they still had the opportunity to comment on these recommendations before the 8/6 deadline.

Cllr. Gibson reported that there would be a Meeting of the Steering Group (Medway and KCC) for the proposed Regional Park the next week, and the document would be in the public arena by the end of the year. The points raised during the consultation period for the Kent and Medway Structure Plan had been taken into consideration by the Advisory Board, and minor amendments had been made, which had now been agreed by both Medway and Kent. Public determination would take place in September. Work on the demolition of part of the GNK Hospital would take place at the end of the week to allow the project to be completed by the end of next year.

Cllr. Oakeshott reported that the new Mayor of Gravesham was Cllr. John Loughlin. The demolition of the Lord Street car park had been postponed for a year. The new toilets to the Parrock Street area would be completed by April 2005, and the car park would then be re-surfaced and re-lined.

Cllr. Oakeshott reported that the licencee of the Gardeners Arms, Mr Mead, had requested permission to place a seat to the front of the building, and this had now been given by the Borough Council. Pot holes to the village had now been identified by the Borough Council and repairs were being carried out at the present time.

Cllr. Pearton reported complaints regarding cars parking on the pavement to the top of Villa Road and restricting the passage of buggies and pushchairs. Cllr. Oakeshott reminded Members that double yellow lines were to be installed to the top of Villa Road as far down as Chilton Drive and the Clerk was requested to contact Mr Easterbrook to ascertain when work would start.

Cllr. Grey reported problems with lorries accessing the Higham Station workings from the wrong direction, and that a filled-in trench to the bottom of School Lane now showed signs of subsidence.

Cllr. Waugh reported that the new seat to Hermitage Road appeared to be being well used.

Application for Listed Building consent for installation of partitioning between bedroom and bathroom.

Change of use of 845 square metres of redundant agricultural built floorspace to 9 units of B1 business accommodation; alterations to the access; alterations to landscaping and boundary treatment.

Erection of two storey front extension to form enlarged lounge at ground floor level with bedroom at first floor level;construction of dormer window in side roof slope and conversion of roof space into a bathroom/w.c.

Conversion of stables into a four bedroom dwelling and the calving house into a games room and garden room involving erection of a glazed link between and conversion of the bullock sheds into a garage and store; conversion of cowsheds into a self-contained two bedroom annexe to converted stables; conversion of barn into a three bedrom dwelling and attached cowsheds into a garage, all works involving elevational alterations and refurbishment.

Erection of first floor side extension over the existing garage to form dressing room and en-suite w.c./shower room and erection of a conservatory at the rear.

Construction of dormer extension in side roof slope and conversion of roof space into a bedroom and bathroom.

Erection of a conservatory at the rear.

Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of two detached, two sotrey four bedroom dwellings each with a detached double garage.

Erection of single storey rear extension to form enlarged kitchen.

Following a site meeting at Buckland Farm on Saturday, 24^th April, the Chairman had called an Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council on 26^th April and invited Mr A.Tickle and local residents to attend. She had invited all those present to express their views before the Members of the Parish Council reached a final decision. In the event the Parish Council unanimously recommended approval of the application with the following conditions attached:-

1. The option to convert up to 235 square metres of space into B8 (wholesale/storage/distribution) to be deleted.
2. Hours of business to be 0800 to 1800 Monday-Friday, and 0800 to 1300 on a Saturday. No Sunday working.
3. Improvements to be made to the access road.
4. Sizes of vehicles operating from the units to be restricted to seven and a half ton maximum.
5. The site to be personally managed by Mr Tickle.

Cllr. Oakeshott reported that work would commence on the building of the three two bedroomed rural housing initiative houses at Grove Farm in June. The Borough Council was still negotiating for the site next to the Station. It was expected that a follow-up questionnaire regarding rural housing needs would be delivered throughout the village in June. The Parish Council had been asked if it would be willing to help contribute to either stationery or delivery costs. After discussion amongst Members it was agreed that they would offer to help with the delivery of the leaflet as their contribution.

1. Memorial Hall.

c/d. Recreation Ground/Multi-Purpose Games Area.

Cllr. Goring reported that several football clubs from other parts of the district had been using both the recreation ground and the changing rooms claiming to have permission from Higham F.C.

The Clerk reported that Riverside F.C. (based in Chalk) had asked if it would be possible to set up a ground sharing arrangement with Higham F.C. at the recreation ground. After discussion amongst Members it was agreed that the Sports Association would recommend a scale of charges for the use of the changing rooms and recreation ground on a per match basis. Members noted that Meopham Parish Council charged £210 p.a. for the use of their pitch and the current GBC charges for pitch hire were £55 per match plus VAT (13 home matches to the season). Boys teams under 14 year of age were charged half price. Concern was voiced that some teams had virtually no players who lived in the village. Members agreed to discuss this matter further at the next Meeting once the Sports Association had met and prepared its recommendations. It was decided that to allow a ground-share arrangement would cause deterioration of the football pitch and the Clerk was asked to advise Riverside F.C. accordingly. Cllr. Goring reported that some reseeding of the goal mouth areas would take place over the summer months.

6. G.R.O.W.C

Cllr. Waugh reported that it was understood that the access to the garages for the new properties being built to the front of the Working Mens Club was down the ROW alongside, and that the builder intended to apply for the necessary permission from the County Council. Cllr. Waugh agreed to speak to the GBC Enforcement Officer to ascertain the current situation as it appeared that some of the adjoining farmers land had also been cleared to create the accesses to the garages.

The Clerk asked for approval for the items shown on the agenda plus a printing account from Gravesham Borough Council for £12.90, this being proposed by Cllr. Oakeshott, seconded by Cllr. Pearton and agreed by all Members.

Oakleigh Farm (Christmas tree) 30.00

British Telecommunications plc (fax/internet) 94.98

Mrs P.Oakeshott (APA costs under Section 150(2) of L.G.Act 1972) 114.50

Hugh Marshall (stile repair) 176.25

C.P.R.E. (2004 subscription) 25.00

K.C.P.F.A. (2004 subscription) 15.00

Spectra Press (2004 newsletter) 1379.45

N.J.Wharton (preparation for annual audit and internal controls) 180.00

Allianz Cornhill (renewal premium) 673.08

It was proposed by Cllr. Wright, seconded by Cllr. Howard and agreed by all Members that the Annual Return for Local Councils in England and Wales (which had been circulated to all Members prior to the Meeting) be approved . Members noted the date of the 2003/04 Intermediate Audit as being 1/6/04 and the Clerk provided an assurance that the Council had provided a proper opportunity for the exercise of elector’s rights in accordance with statutory requirements.

The correspondence folder had already been circulated amongst Members after "matters arising", but the Clerk drew Members’ attention to the following items:-

1. Members granted permission to the Eagles F.C. for the use of the recreation ground for the forthcoming season.

2. It was agreed that the following items would be placed on the agenda for the forthcoming Meeting of Parish Council Chairmen on 15/7:-

a. Dog fouling

b. Problems with parked cars on the approach to the traffic lights in Villa Road.

c. Pothole repairs.

d. Possible provision of skate park to Higham – would the Borough Council be willing to match fund such a scheme?

It was agreed to change the date for the next Parish Council Meeting to Monday, 5^th July 2004, at the request of the Clerk who had secured tickets for Wimbledon in the public ballot.

None was brought to the notice of the Meeting.

It was resolved that "persuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 that the public be now excluded from the Meeting because it was likely , in view of the nature of business to be transacted that if Members of the Public were present during those items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act", this being proposed by Cllr. Goring, seconded by Cllr. Howard, and agreed by all Members.