BARMING PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES of the 110thBARMING ANNUAL PARISH MEETINGand CELEBRATION in honour of CLLR PAUL OLDHAM upon his retirement from Maidstone Borough Council, held on Friday 9th May 2008 at Barming Parish Hall, Tonbridge Road at 7.30pm.
PRESENT: Cllr Gooch (Chairman), Cllr Aronson, Cllr Hall, Cllr Hesse, Cllr Hurrell, Cllr Mann and Cllr Manser.
Cllr Oldham and Cllr Stockell were also in attendance along with approx forty local residents.
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Apologies were received, noted and accepted from Cllr Homewood and The Revd Nigel McGregor.
2. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON 1st MAY 2007: The minutes were approved and signed as a correct record of the meeting.
3. REPORT FROM BARMING PARISH COUNCIL: Cllr Gooch thanked everyone for attending and briefly described the work of the Council undertakes eg responsibility to maintain its buildings whilst always looking for value for money, and intentions to replace the Pavilion.
Accomplishments from the past year included resurfacing the entrances to the Allotments and Parish Field and arranging for the poles at the Bull Orchard crossing fully illuminated.
The Parish Council’s role is to support the community and safeguard the area for the current residents and for the next generation. The Council tries to alleviate occasional problems between Barming Youth Club and local residents, and tries to strike a balance between the needs of residents and the youth to support the community as a whole.
The highs of the past year included overcoming the threat of the land at Cedar Drive being sold off. Cllr Gooch expressed thanks to Cllr Oldham and Cllr Stockell for all their work behind the scenes with KCC and MBC. This has secured the purchase of both pieces of land from KCC by Barming Parish Council for £5,000 with costs and any additional fees being covered by an £8,000 grant from MBC.
The low from the past year was the failure of the petition to KCC of over 600 signatures for a Pelican crossing. KCC had explained that they must make the most cost effective use of their funds, so pelican crossings are only installed on sites of serious accidents or where deaths have occurred.
4. REPORT FROM COUNTY COUNCILLOR PAULINA STOCKELL: was circulated as Cllr Stockell had been unavoidably delayed.
5. REPORTS FROM LOCAL ORGANISATIONS:
Barming Scouts and Guides
Richard Freeman reported on their work during the past year; their successful waste paper collections having collected over 30 tons, raising funds to pay for their fantastic facilities. He praised everyone who works tirelessly with Youth organisations in Barming, the community spirit in Barming and the way in which local groups pull together.
Paying tribute to Cllr Oldham, he felt that Cllr Oldham’s passion, drive and care for the community had a positive impact on his own choice to become involved in the Scouting and Guiding movement in Barming.
Barming Youth Football Club
Lorraine Jacobs spoke about how supportive Cllr Oldham has been to the work of the Football Club and that she was particularly grateful that a number of the eight to sixteen year olds have now been trained as referees. She talked about the sense of responsibility that the club gives young people and how they are investing in Barming’s youth.Lorraine concluded by presenting Cllr Oldham with a Barming Youth Football Club T-shirt and pennant.
Barming Youth Club
Nigel Pyman explained that the Youth Club aims to instil good values in its members. On their behalf, he thanked Cllr Oldham for his years of service to youth, for his financial support enabling games and equipmentto be purchase for the Club and in particular his work for Astor of Hever School. Nigel then presented Cllr Oldham with a card and ‘Happy Retirement’ balloon.
Barming Village Hall Management Committee
Bill Wickham reported that the hall is one of the most successful Village Halls in Kent and that all income is spent on maintenance of the hall. The Committee has finally obtained planning permission for an extension at the rear of the hall.
In his capacity as President of Barming Horticultural SocietyBill Wickham reported that the society is thriving, with thirty to forty people now attending each monthly meeting.
6. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR:
A local resident asked whether the Council would be doing anything to prevent large transport vehicles attempting to cross Barming Bridge due to their satellite navigation systems.
Cllr Gooch responded by saying that this was also a problem for Farleigh, Teston and Yalding bridges. Barming Parish Council is working with TRAMP (Maidstone Traffic Management Partnership) and that they are working together to lobby KCC.
7. TALK FROM BOROUGH COUNCILLOR PAUL OLDHAM on the past 30 years as a councillor:
Cllr Oldham opened by saying that he is one of the few people who still live in the house that they were born in and therefore he has had an excellent perspective of the changes to the area in the past 30 – 40 years. He has always been committed to the essence of Barming, through helping organisations. He spoke about the community spirit and the way in which the people of Barming tend to look after one another and he felt that this was the reason that crime and development in the area have remained much less than other areas.
His work in founding the Maidstone Area Archaeological Society, involvement in Astor of Hever School and being a Governor of Maidstone Girls and Boys Grammar Schools was because he didn’t feel he could rely on remote institutions to make the right decisions that benefit the community, as they tend to have other agendas.
Cllr Oldham spoke about the Teston Land Conservation Trust and how he hoped that Barming Parish Council would be able to use some of the grant for Cedar Drive to set up the Barming Land Conservation Trust, as it is the only way to truly safeguard land and stop development in the future. Public and Local bodies can sometimes have completely different objectives to local people, therefore local representation is required to ensure that what happens is within the interest of local people.
Having described the origins of Barming Bridge, Cllr Oldham concluded by saying that he is establishing a Charitable Trust in memory of his parents for historical and archaeological interests and for local support.
8. PRESENTATION TO BOROUGH COUNCILLOR PAUL OLDHAM:
Cllr Gooch paid tribute to Cllr Oldham upon his retirement from Maidstone Borough Council, commending his 27 years of loyal service to Barming: his knowledge of local history being second to none; his ability to quietly listen and gently influence, and hisinvaluable advice.
Cllr Gooch then presented Cllr Oldham with a framed water colourof the old wooden bridge at Barmingby Vivienne Hall entitled‘A Winter’s Morning’ which the Parish Council had commissioned especially for the occasion.
This was followed by celebratory drinks, buffet and a celebratory cake, enjoyed by one and all.
The evening ended at 10pm having commenced at 7.30pm.
Lucy Hope, Clerk to Barming Parish Council, 82 Wrangleden Road, Maidstone ME15 9LJ Tel: 01622 206569