LEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the leigh PARISH COUNCIL MEETING held in the Small Hall,
High Street, Leigh on Monday 2ND DECEMBER 2013 at 8.00pm
PRESENT: Cllr. C. Stratton-Brown (Chairman), Cllr P. Croft, Cllr A. Johnston, Cllr J. Knock, Cllr G. Marchant, Cllr S. Smith and Cllr R. Swallow
APOLOGIES: Cllr B. Doherty, Cllr D. Bennie and County Cllr Pearman
IN ATTENDANCE: Mrs L. Kleinschmidt (Clerk), District Cllr Cook and public
Open Session
Report by District Cllr Cook
District Cllr Cook reported that, as members would have seen, Ashill Developments have sent out a newsletter regarding the soft demolition on the site. Residents have asked D.Cllr Cook whether the suggestion could be made that the speed limit is reduced to 20mph on the bends near The Plough. D.Cllr Cook has spoken to Joe Middleton at SDC regarding sites in the district with small enterprise units, in particular companies that have required a site in a remote setting. Joe is gathering the information and will discuss it with D.Cllr Cook in due course. Regarding the planning application at Oak Tree Cottage, the planning officer, Neal Thompson, has been away but he is now considering his recommendation. D.Cllr Cook reported that work is nearly completed at the development at Hollow Trees Drive but unfortunately tanks installed to receive surface water drainage weren’t adequate and so will need to be replaced. The developers have said that the first new residents will take occupation before Christmas. D.Cllr Cook reported that there is still money available in the Big Community Fund and suggested that the Cricket Club apply for a grant towards the cricket net project. Finally, D.Cllr Cook reported that the utility contractors working on the gas mains by The Green have damaged the verges and will need to repair them. Clerk to inform Highways.
Questions from members of the public
Mrs Heather Powell asked what the Parish Council is doing to campaign about excessive aircraft noise. (please see item 122 below).
Closed Session
111. Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Doherty and Cllr Bennie and their reasons for absence were accepted. Apologies for absence were also received from County Cllr Pearman.
112. Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non-Pecuniary Interest in respect of matters to be discussed
Cllr Swallow declared a NPI in item 120(iii) as he is Chairman of Leigh Tennis Club
Cllr Smith declared a NPI in item 120(iii) as she is a member of Leigh Tennis Club
113. The minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 4th November 2013 were approved and duly signed. Proposed by Cllr Knock, seconded by Cllr Swallow, and all were in favour.
114. To report on matters arising from the minutes not otherwise on the agenda
i. Item 104: Cllr Marchant reported that Coppings Road is still flooding badly. The KCC drain goes into the ditch but gets blocked up with leaves. The landowner has a fence around the drain so it is not easy to clear out, and Cllr Marchant undertook to speak to him to see if he could make the access easier.
ii. Item 96(i): Cllr Stratton-Brown reported that the resident at Paul’s Hill Cottages is agreeable to the permissive path.
iii. Item 108(v): Cllr Croft agreed to find out who the oak tree in The Green Lane belongs to.
115. Planning
i. to consider applications received – none.
ii. notification of planning decisions:
· SE/13/02524/LDCEX- Stidolphs Old Farmhouse, Egg Pie Lane, Weald TN14 6NP – retention of use of barn as a self contained independent dwelling for the period in excess of 4 years. Application refused as the information submitted fails to prove, on the balance of probability, that the barn has been used continuously for a period of 4 years or more as an independent residential unit.
· SE/13/00840/DETAIL: Land to the rear of Garden Cottages, Powder Mill Lane – details pursuant to condition 3 (hard and soft landscaping) of SE/12/01055/FUL – approved.
iii. To receive update regarding the proposed development on the GSK site, Powder Mills
i. SE/13/03225/DEMNOT: Old Powder Mills, Powder Mill Lane, Leigh – SDC has received an application for general permitted development to demolish all buildings within the site edged red except buildings 11 and 12 edged yellow on the demolition plan. The Clerk reported that SDC has determined that prior approval of the local planning authority will be required for this development and the development cannot therefore begin until such approval has been given. This is due to the size of the site and the scale of demolition, and the need for further details to be submitted in relation to the likely impacts upon local wildlife. Soft demolition on the site can be done prior to planning permission being granted, but the buildings must remain intact.
ii. The Clerk reported that following the meeting with C.Cllr Pearman, contact has been made with the Area Education Officer, Richard Dalziel, in order to arrange a meeting to discuss the Parish Council’s concerns regarding the impact of the proposed development at GSK on primary and secondary education in the area.
iii. D.Cllr Cook reported that there have been some complaints regarding the size of the board advertising the sale of building 12. This has been forwarded onto enforcement officers at SDC.
116. To discuss the route of the Tonbridge Half Marathon
The following proposals have been prepared by Andy Blundell and John Playle:
1. The present route is the only viable one and if the event is to continue, it would have to do so in its present form. Having said that, the Committee believes that there are a number of improvements that can be made to the event which would minimise its impact on the village of Leigh. These are set out below:
i. High Street – proposed measures to limit the time that it is closed: we propose to keep the Scout & Guide Band on The Green before the event rather than playing up and down the High Street before the event. This will enable us to keep the High Street open until 10.00. Signs and marshals at the junction beside the school will inform motorists that the road will be closed at 10.00, giving shoppers time to clear the High Street well before the runners arrive. Once the sweep waggon (following the last runner) has cleared the High Street, we propose to re-open it immediately as far as the Fleur-de-Lis. This will give residents access to the village store by car. By implementing both of these measures, the High Street between The Green and the Fleur-de-Lis would only remain closed for about 45 minutes.
ii. Lower Green/High Street junction: the junction at Lower Green needs to be closed until the race has passed for the safety of both runners and vehicle drivers. However, we propose to delay closing this junction until 10.00, about 15 minutes before the lead runners arrive. This will give time to halt all traffic movements on the two roads and get the cones and signs in place before the lead runners arrive. As the race progresses, runners at the back of the field spread out quite considerably, leaving larger gaps between individuals and groups of runners. We therefore propose to look into the possibility of partially re-opening the Lower Green/High Street junction about half an hour earlier than has previously been the case, with the marshals controlling westbound traffic through the gaps in the field at appropriate times.
These measures could mean that the junction at Lower Green/High Street would be closed to traffic for approximately two hours, i.e. at least an hour less than has previously been the case.
iii. Well Close: Some residents of Well Close have complained that they have no means of leaving their road throughout the whole time the race is passing through Lower Street. We therefore propose to place a line of cones down the centre of Lower Green, and keep the runners on the east side of the road. That would then enable residents of Well Close to be escorted across the racing line by marshals on the junction with Lower Green so that they could drive up Lower Green and exit the village to the west.
iv. Ensfield Road: Previously, the Lower Green/High Street junction has been closed for traffic travelling towards Ensfield Road until the race has cleared the Ensfield Road/ Hayesden Lane junction. This is normal practice for an event such as this, to protect the tail end runners. Once the race has cleared the railway bridge, we propose to move the closure point to just before the bridge, provide additional signage to warn drivers and instruct marshals to explain the reasons for the closure and indicate the expected time of re-opening. If drivers then want to go round a different way, they can turn around at the junction with Well Close. This will have the effect of opening Lower Street and Well Close earlier and improving the flow of traffic through the Lower Street/High Street junction for traffic flowing along the B2027.
2. Marshalling and Communication: The Parish Council expressed the view that marshalling should be more professional and with improved communication.
i. Training: All our marshals are volunteers. The race is divided into three sectors and each sector is overseen by a senior and very experienced marshal. One of these is situated at the Lower Green/High Street junction. All marshals receive a comprehensive briefing and detailed instructions as to their duties from the Chief Marshal. Having said that, we recognise that some of our volunteers are better at the job than others and it is our wish to bring everyone up to the same standard as the best. We propose to review the junction-specific instructions for next year, particularly for those marshals operating in the village of Leigh. We will also review which marshals are on each junction and make changes as necessary.
ii. The use of radio communications across the event: Raynet is a voluntary organisation of radio enthusiasts who provide us with radio coverage of the whole course. They are located at specific junctions and linked to Race Control at K College. We propose to have a Raynet volunteer in the sweep waggon next year to give us better information about the progress of the race rather than having to rely on mobile phone communications from the sweep waggon. This will enable us to re-open the roads in a more co-ordinated way and ensure that no junction or section of road remains closed for any longer than is completely necessary. We also propose to amend the Race Control protocol for communicating instructions to marshals so that we get information out more quickly. We have agreed to put in a beefed up PBX communications hub in Race Control which will allow marshals at outlying road junctions where there is no Raynet presence to be contacted more quickly.
3. Information to residents: We propose to amend our letter to residents, which is hand-delivered to every house in the village and along the route of the race, informing them of the changes noted above.
4. Consultation with the Parish Council: The Parish Council expressed a wish to have further consultation about future races and be kept informed of developments. John Playle and Andy Blundell will be pleased to attend meetings of the Parish Council as required. We are also happy to maintain email contact with the Parish Council as required. We feel that it is important to undertake a post-race review and present our findings to the Parish Council in the autumn, so that decisions about the future of the race and changes to the organisation can be made well before it goes live on 1st January each year.
Members discussed the email from John Henderson, but there was concern that this view may not be representative of the parish as a whole. However, there are genuine concerns about the marshalling which must be improved. It was agreed that the Parish Council would not object to the 2014 race but Clerk to ascertain the views of residents via the parish magazine. Cllr Swallow offered to attend race committee meetings on an ad-hoc basis when required.
117. To hear update regarding the permissive path at Knotley Hall
The Clerk reported that the path has been completed and now links the pavement from near Knotley Hall to the pavement opposite St. Luke’s Church, Chiddingstone Causeway. There has been one complaint that one of the gates is positioned too close to the road and pedestrians with pushchairs would not find it easy or possibly safe to use. The Clerk has sent this complaint onto David Munn at Kent ROW.
118. To hear update about the Rural Broadband initiative – none.
119. Environment
i. To consider how the surface of The Green could be improved
Cllr Swallow reported that a quote has been received from Landscape Services to verti-drain the football pitch to a depth of 250mm on 4 occasions during the playing season, and to verti-drain the football pitch to a depth of 275mm and to supply and apply 100 tonnes of grade e sports pitch sand at the end of the playing season. Cllr Marchant suggested that Cllr Swallow obtains an alternative quote from Bourne Amenity who have been recommended to him by Sevenoaks School. Item to be discussed at the January Parish Council meeting.
ii. To hear update on the Kent Men of the Trees competition and to consider their report
The Clerk reported that Leigh were placed in the top twenty villages in Kent and were awarded a Highly Commended certificate. There were the following recommendations:
· The village plant more young trees in private gardens, and judges would look for smaller examples of familiar species, such as Weeping Willow Leaved Pear, instead of Callary Pear.