Late Night Shopping & Christmas Lights Switch On
Thursday 29th November 6 - 9pm
Join Westerham and its retailers for a Christmas shopping extravaganza! Journalist and TV Broadcaster Dr. Hilary Jones is to ‘switch on’ and will arrive in Westerham with Father Christmas on a dray pulled by local shire horses.
Charming and quirky shops will welcome shoppers with mince pies and mulled wine, and there will also be stalls around the town, with hot chestnuts, candy-floss and other goodies, while the Rock Choir will provide entertainment.
There will be a merry-go-round for children and members of Westerham Amateur Dramatic Society will wander around town in their ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ costumes.
There will be free parking from 6 pm.
Major grant award for sport in Westerham
Westerham Town Council and Westerham Junior Football Club are delighted to announce that Sport England has awarded a grant of £50,000 to develop the playing facilities at King George’s Field. The Junior Football Club has grown from just 4 teams and 50 players in 2007 to 16 teams with over 250 playing members in 2012 as well as a thriving Under 5 and Under 6 Colts section. Following the 2011 publication of the radical FA plans to update grassroots football, it quickly became apparent that the Field in its current state prevented the Club from developing along the lines that the FA envisaged with smaller pitches for Under 8s as well as for Under 12s. This grant will provide further ground suitable for sport and other recreational purposes, subject to a feasibility study by its appointee. The money will be used to level out an area in the south-east of the Field, creating enough space for up to 3 new mini pitches.
This is fantastic news for Westerham Junior FC as it will ensure the continuity of the Club at the heart of the local community and allow it to offer first class facilities for all who wish to train and play football.
For more details about the project, please contact
Westerham Junior Football Club: Simon Walton 01959 561569
Edenbridge Spitfires have a new home at
Crockham Hill War Memorial Playing Field
The Spitfires are a popular local football club for boys and girls aged 6 to 12 years old. The club was initially set up by Robert and Debbie Johnson as there weren't any local sides offering football for the younger age group.
The Club has been running for over three years now and has grown from 10 budding footballers to 36 at present. Players attend a variety of local schools. This season sees us running both an under 10’s and an under 12’s team.
We are very proud of our growth and our family spirit within the Club and we have an emphasis on improving ability whilst having fun. The Club has already won a league “Fair Play” trophy to date. Our under 10's team is steadily improving in its first season whilst the under 12's remain unbeaten.
We are very excited about our move to Crockham Hill War Memorial Playing Field and have recently re-decorated the changing rooms and clubhouse in the Pavilion. If you would like to come and support your local football team on match days we will be offering light refreshments from a cup of tea to a bacon sarnie!!
To find out when our home matches and kick-off times are please visit our website at http://www.edenbridgespitfires.co.uk or find us on Facebook.
Rob Johnson, Chairman
01732 866545
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – EDENBRIDGE HIGH STREET
It will be necessary to close High Street, Edenbridge, Sevenoaks from 12th November 2012 for up to 5 days. The road will be closed at the junction of High Street and Mont St Aignan Way. The alternative route is via Mont St Aignan Way. The closure is to enable a new gas service to be installed.
HIGHWAYS AND LIGHTING COMMITTEE
ANNUAL REPORT 2011- 2012
(presented to the Annual Parish Meeting on 2nd May 2012)
Highways
Speeding remains a serious concern. We are continually asking Kent County Council Highways Department to implement measures to reduce speeding but we have been informed that any highway safety measures funded by the Highway Authority can only be promoted as part of their Crash Remedial Measures (CRM) programme. This means that any proposal would need to demonstrate a quantifiable lowering in the number or injury crashes thata speed limit reduction orimproved signingwould be likely to achieve.
The bollard has now been removed at the junction of Hosey Hill and Quebec Square and the junction re-aligned. This work has been paid for by KCC Cllr Richard Parry from his KCC Members Fund. At Crockham Hill Cllr Parry will also be funding a Speed Interactive Device (SID) and the automation of the School signs. A meeting has been held at the School and a site plan has been received for the SID.
Parking difficulties in Westerham are still unresolved. However the Police have been monitoring the parking issues in Market Way and these have improved. Cllr Parry is also funding a continuation of the white line past Brewery Cottages.
After much diligence Westerham Parish Council managed to succeed in persuading with Sainsburys to alter their lorry route so as to avoid the Croydon Road/High Street junction as their vehicles were not able to navigate it safely.
Unfortunately the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board did not support provision of a pelican crossing for school children in London Road despite a well- supported residents’ petition. Council will keep this on the agenda and request Section 106 statutory funding as the housing development on the old school site progresses.
Lighting
WPC is pleased to have completed the mercury-based light replacement programme undertaken on its behalf by Direct Tech. As a result we now comply with the European Directive. Gratifyingly, vandalism to lighting has fallen in the past year.
WPC is currently discussing adding two new street lights in Sandy Lane and Lockyer Place. Full consultation will take place with residents.
Reg Buckley, Chairman
VICARAGE HILL – PINCH POINT
Over the years there have been a number of incidents at the top of Vicarage Hill but there have not been enough to justify any preventative measures. Local residents would like to see better signage in the area to warn drivers that the road narrows. Unfortunately Kent County Council is not prepared to take any action as they state: -
“KCC Highways and Transportation receive many requests for the implementation of safety measures, including additional signs and lines on the highway, and as such all requests will be prioritised. This is especially important at this time, given the current economic climate and the reduced budgets which have resulted. These reduced budgets must be spent on new measures which are deemed as safety critical and this is assessed by analysing the personal injury crash record for the past 3 years in order to establish whether there is a pattern of crashes which could be addressed by the safety measure in question.”
Crash data for Vicarage Hill has been confirmed for this period and there are no crashes which can be attributed to the road narrowing, therefore the Council’s request will not receive priority for the foreseeable time being.
Evidence is therefore needed to demonstrate the problems.
If you see or experience any incident there please report them to: Kent County Council – Highways Department on 08458 247800 or go to http://www.kent.gov.uk/roads_and_transport/highway_maintenance/fault_reporting
FORTHCOMING TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS
Monday 5th November Allotments, Playing Fields and Open Spaces
Thursday 8th November Planning
Monday 12th November Finance and General Purposes
Monday 19th November Youth and Community
Thursday 22nd November Planning
Monday 24th November Highways and Lighting
Thursday 6th December Planning
Members of the public are very welcome to attend these meetings. The first ten minutes of every meeting are available for members of the public to raise any issues with Councillors. All meetings start at 7.30 p.m. - except Planning which is held at 9.30 a.m. and Allotments, Playing Fields and Open Spaces which begins at 8.00 p.m. They take place in the Town Council Chamber in Russell House.