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EAST FARLEIGH PARISH

Annual Parish Meeting 2015

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 28th

April 2015 at the Old School Hall, Lower

Road, East Farleigh at 7.30pm

Present: Borough Cllr Brian Mortimer; Cllrs G Charlton (Chairman), P Beasley, A

White and Darren Riches (East Farleigh Parish Council); Sarah O’Callaghan

(Parish Clerk); approx 16 representatives of village institutions and the general

public.

1. OPENING ADDRESS

The meeting was opened by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr Glyn Charlton,

at 7.30 pm. The Deputy Mayor, Cllr Daniel Moriarty was unable to attend due to

illness, so Borough Cllr Brain Mortimer said a few words. He emphasised the fact

that Maidstone Borough Council appreciates the work that Parish Councils do.

2. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from The Deputy Mayor Cllr Daniel Moriarty,

County Councillor Paulina Stockell, PCSO Matthew Judges, Parish Cllrs Steve

Shearman and John Wilson, Dennis Fowle (Priory Close Residents’ Association),

Duncan and Kathy Spencer (Local History Society), the Pre-School and East Farleigh

Primary School.

3. REPORT FROM POLICE REPRESENTATIVE

PCSO Matthew Judges was not present, but he sent a report (copy attached).

4. MINUTES

The minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting held on 6 May 2014 were approved and

signed as a true and correct record of the meeting.

5. MATTERS ARISING

There were none.

6. COUNTY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT

This was received after the meeting and a copy is attached.

7. BOROUGH COUNCILLORS’ REPORTS

Cllr Brian Mortimer noted the number of planned housing developments in the

area around East Farleigh which will have a knock-on effect on traffic in the parish.

He commented on the traffic issues on East Farleigh bridge, having monitored it the

day before and counted 260 vehicles in thirty minutes. Cllr GC reported here on the

Bridge Feasibility Study which East Farleigh Parish Council had commissioned.

Cllr Mortimer thanked the Parish Council for the work they do which often pre-empts

matters having to go to Borough Council level.

8. REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF EAST FARLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL

As Cllr Glyn Charlton had already circulated an annual newsletter to the village, he

didn’t feel it necessary to read it out (copy attached)

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9. REPORTS FROM VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS AND REPRESENTATIVES

The major points to emerge from verbal or written reports from village institutions

were as follows:-

9.1 East Farleigh Pre-School

No-one was able to attend: report attached.

9.2 Sir John Franklyn Almshouses Trust

Hilary Moon, Secretary, spoke: report attached.

9.3 John Bunyan Leaver Charity

Peter Beasley, trustee of the Charity, reported that the allotments continue to thrive

and all plots are in use and there is a waiting list. National Allotment Week is 10 –

16th Aug 2015 and the theme is A Plot for all Ages, the aim being to emphasise the

value of allotments for all generations and to get local authorities to appreciate this:

nurturing your food, getting outside and getting exercise, which improves mood and

offering an educational opportunity. Across the UK the average waiting time for an

allotment is three years, though, in Camden, it is forty!

9.4 The Farleighs History Society

No-one was able to attend and the Society reported that, due to a lack of volunteers,

no events had been organised. The Society is currently not viable.

9.5 East Farleigh Brownies

No-one attended or sent a report.

9.6 Church/East Farleigh Parochial Church Council

Peter Callway attended. He was pleased to report that the Church had been full for

the Christingle Service. He also felt that the relationship with the School and the

Parish Council had been strengthened: they had worked together on the service of

remembrance to mark the 100 year anniversary and, with the help of the Fete

Committee, had put up a lit Christmas tree in the Church grounds and sung carols

around it.

Barbara Bartlett had stood down this year from her role as Church Warden and Peter

Bonnert, organist for more than 50 years, sadly died.

Three tanks of oil had been stolen from the Church, three weeks in a row, so the

congregation were now managing with electric heaters until security can be put in

place around the oil tank.

9.7 West Farleigh Youth Football Club

No one attended or sent a report.

9.8 East Farleigh Primary School

No one attended, but Cllr GC read out Paul Sapwell’s report (attached)

9.9 Farleighs WI

The new President, Diane Scott, attended: report attached.

9.10 Farmers Markets

A copy of Sue Morris’ report is attached.

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9.11 Gardening Club

No report prepared.

9.12 Old School Hall

Mandy reported: the toilets were nearly finished, she and Gary were wanting to

create indoor access to the storage area and they were in the process of securing a loan

for the work upstairs. Mandy apologised for the state of the wall, but assured

everyone that work would be starting within the next week. The Samba band was

proving very popular and the Hall is in regular use: they are always on the lookout

for ideas for events specific to the village.

9.13 Speedwatch

Cllr Peter Beasley reported that deployments had been stepped up with the better

weather. 17th

April was European Day of Action and the Speedwatch team deployed

in Dean St with Kent Police. 29 new observations of speeding vehicles were added,

resulting in 8 letters of advice (6 high end speeding) and 8 second letters. He had also

attended the Speedwatch Conference the previous week and reported that East

Farleigh is actively seeking camera support. He was pleased to be able to report that

Speedwatch is definitely having an effect: over the last three years, 9 out of every 10

who are recorded haven’t re-offended.

Two further Speedwatch sites have been authorised in Lower Road – at Kilnbridge

Close and Priory Close.

Volunteers are always welcome.

9.14 Fete Committee

Adam Palmer reported that the 2014 Fete had raised £1,400. The weather hadn’t been

great, but he thanked the WI, the Horseshoes and the Montessori School for their

support. £600 was donated to the car park and money had also gone to the Samba

band and the Christmas tree lights. Adam said that the Fete Committee will consider

funding any projects in the village.

Planning for the 2015 fete is well underway: it will be on 28th

June.

10. PUBLIC FORUM

No one wished to speak.

11. NEXT ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

The next Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Tuesday 26th

April 2016,

commencing at 7.30 pm in the Old School Hall, Lower Road, East Farleigh.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed by the Chairman at 8.30 pm.

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The previous twelve months for crime in the Coxheath and Hunton ward which includes

Coxheath, Hunton, East Farleigh, Linton and West Farleigh, have remained relatively similar

but with a slight reduction in crime, 7 less victim based crimes, from the previous year which

also included 3 less crimes for burglaries and shed / outbuilding breaks. There was also a

reduction of 4 crimes for criminal damage and theft. This is extremely encouraging

considering I only took over the ward in the late November of last year; therefore it is clear to

see it is through the support of the community and Parish Councils within the ward that we

have been able to sustain such low levels of crime. We have dealt with a number of issues

throughout my short time of being here, which have included the following:

Follow ups on the victims of crime which has included burglaries/breaks to give

crime prevention advice and information booklets.

Speed monitoring checks throughout the villages carried out by the work of parish

councils.

The CCTV cameras that belong to the parish have been used to great effect this

year in detection and prevention of crime.

CCTV cameras belonging to the Community Safety Unit have been installed in

several areas where the community believed there were on going issues with ASB.

These have reduced the number of incidents in these areas.

Promotion of the local Neighbourhood watch to assist the local coordinator in

increasing numbers.

I have continued working with the Community Safety Unit to work with multi

agencies such as Town and Country Housing to help tackle and resolve issues.

We are continuing to work around the issues of young people causing a nuisance around the

village. This has not been a major issue this year and any incidents of this type of behaviour

have been swiftly dealt with to good effect. We aim to provide a high visibility presence

within the area to provide reassurance to members of the community that there is a police

presence.

Anyone wishing to contact me about any issues or crime prevention advice can call the non-

emergency Police number 101.

Thank you for your continued support in making The Coxheath and Hunton ward safe.

PCSO Matt Judges - Maidstone Neighbourhood Team

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COUNTY COUNCILLORS’ REPORT

PAULINA STOCKELL - KCC COUNCILLOR’S ANNUAL REPORT 2015 I have been your county councillor for over twelve years and it has been an enormously enjoyable experience. As a resident of rural Maidstone for over 45 years I am well aware of rural issues and, as your representative at the KCC and also an MBC member, I always raise issues of local importance and chase funds and grants needed for various local projects. These have included many highway schemes to lower speed limits, extra signage, road layouts, crossing points, flashing signs, footways and traffic calming to improve general safety especially around schools. Also quality of life issues like the scheme to re-route HGV’s to avoid driving through small villages or causing damage to our medieval bridges. I have given many grants to clubs, village groups and parish events. This last year has again been a challenging one for KCC and all councils. The Government has worked hard to reduce the deficit and Government grants to all councils have been severely cut back. KCC has had to make savings of £300m over the last three years and has drastically reduced staff levels in an effort to minimise bureaucracy and smarter working practices. This year they have been tasked to make further savings: some unpopular like the trial of turning off streetlights between midnight and 5am. KCC will have to save a further £250m over the next three years. It is an enormous challenge and Kent will have to do more with less over the next few years and is working on a programme of transformation to maintain and improve front-line services. The budget that was set in February delivered the substantial savings required by Government, whilst protecting front-line services and has also protected the non-statutory services like the Young Persons' Travel Pass, the new 16+ student pass, members’ grants for local projects and the Community Wardens (who continue to do a fantastic job in rural areas) to name a few. After managing to freeze Council Tax for four years, we have now had to to make a small increase of 1.9 per cent for 2015/16. We had extra funding of £8.6m from the Ministry of Transport last year that helped in dealing with the results of the harsh winter and severe damage to roads and the massive flooding at Yalding and other surrounding areas. This was very welcome finance and enabled additional road maintenance and a Spring pothole blitz. We are working hard to deliver a balanced revenue budge and trying to create some extra headroom to put into highways but having to also factor in the huge £250m in savings over three years, required by central Government. We are hoping to secure further funds from Government following this winter to carry out urgent road repairs and resurfacing and a pothole blitz. After pushing the Government hard on the flooding issues we have secured a financial commitment from them which KCC will be matching with others. This will go towards improving the flood defences in and around Yalding and other areas up and down stream and remedial work on the Medway to prevent a repeat of the massive damage. There have been many meetings with the Environment Agency, Southern Water and KCC. with Helen Grant’s involvement. I have attended the Southern Regional Flood Committee on behalf of KCC in London and recently at their Head Office in Worthing and raised a number of local concerns The improvements to the Leigh Barrier and capacity upstream was on the committee genda and is factored in to their programme of work for the coming year. They are going to have their next committee meeting in Maidstone in July and are planning avisit to Yalding to see the Leigh Barrier and surrounding flood areas to familiarise the committee with the issues. I will ensure that notification of this meeting is circulated. I also sit on KCC

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Flood Risk Management Committee, inviting the Chairman of Yalding Parish Council and others to speak on flooding issues a number of times. There will be a boundary review in Kent this year which will look at the size of the area and the number of councillors needed. We have put in a submission response and await the outcome. The county did come out very well in a Local Government peer review last year by saying that ‘there is much to celebrate about Kent, who have committed and talented members and officers’ in a county that is already growing fast and has further significant development planned. It noted the huge challenge we face in the next few years. Maidstone Borough still has the second largest budget in the county from KCC (Thanet being the largest). This covers the huge investment in schools, libraries, health and social services etc. Contributions to Town centre improvements which include, Public Realm upgrade, the Museum extension and Kent Library and Archive Centre in Maidstone, as well as the significant costs of elderly social care, children’s centres, schools, school transport, bus passes, roads and highway maintenance and infrastructure. The nine Maidstone councillors have had their annual grant allowances reduced from £35k to £25k to spend on local projects in their communities. This is still a significant amount that is spent direcly in Maidstone and I am very glad they have protected this amount in the budget for the current year. It is much appreciated funding for clubs, groups and parishes. Community Wardens continue to do a fantastic job alongside PCSO’s in the rural areas. A recent consultation praised the work of the community Wardens and was 100% behind retaining them. With an aging population and a more calls on services for the elderly, the KCC has led calls for the Government to cap elderly care costs at £35,000 (in line with the Dilnot Report) and to end the system which forces the elderly to sell their homes and possessions before they get state help. The 'Care Bill' will introduce a cap on the cost to any individual at £72,000 and increase the residential means-test threshold from £23,000 to £118,000, while the 'Better Care Fund' will put in billions of pounds of health and social care funding and integrate local services. Councils maintain firm support for the principles behind the Care Bill but there must be a better understanding of the true cost of reforms. We will want a cast iron commitment fully to meet the cost of implementation so that Kent is not left to pick up additional costs. KCC is working with the clinical commissioning group and the Health & Wellbeing Board to improve the delivery of care. There are ambitious targets for new neighborhood teams, centered on GP surgeries with the intent that health and social care colleagues move to a seven days a week work model and, in some cases, 24 hour care. Childrens' services have been a top priority at KCC since a poor Ofsted report three years ago. Huge improvements have been made since then and KCC is delivering excellent support to vulnerable young people and their families. At a follow up visit there ‘were no issues or areas for concern’. Our major goal is to reduce the number of children in care and to keep all children safe in Kent, through delivery of early quality help and preventative services working alongside quality front line social work. A lot of work was done with the Governments successful ‘Troubled Families Programme’ putting in multi agency support to families in trouble, crisis or under stress. Many families have had their lives transformed with this support and improved the life chances of their children. The troubled families agenda is always at the heart of KCC services. Over 250.000 children are educated in Kent schools every day. We fully support Grammar Schools and the expansion of school places where needed. I would like to thank the parish council for all they do voluntarily for the parish and residents to enhance their lives and for the support and hospitality shown to me as your councillor over many years. I am delighted to represent such a lovely part of Maidstone and will continue to

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champion protection of our countryside and green spaces, preserving the character of our rural villages – at a time of huge pressure for development in Kent. I am very disappointed at the unecessary high housing numbers for Maidstone and the amount of housing and concrete being shoehorned into some of the villages. KCC has produced its response to the Maidstone Local Development Plan, ‘Managing Growth in the Maidstone Borough’. advocating much lower housing figures in rural areas. Kent Association of Parish Councils have also done much research and also advocates a much lower figure. KCC has also commissioned planning experts to produce The Kent and Medway Growth and Infrastructure Plan - intended to be a succinct document that gives coherence across the county joining up the 12 districts and Medway local Plans for both housing and commercial development to 2031. The Growth and Infrastructure Plan will identify the necessary infrastructure needed to manage the substantive population and housing growth agenda estimated at 1% per annum and 11% per decade. This will scope the extent of the necessary capital investment in Education Facilities, Transport, Highways, Public transport - Rail etc. Health - Primary, Acute, community facilities , Utilities - energy, water, sewage, waste. broadband etc. The Plan will broadly identify and assess the capital costs of provision, identify the developer contributions, and central government grants. It will no doubt highlight the substantive funding shortfall that will need to be brought to the attention of the new Government if we are to match growth with the essentially needed infrastructure provision and not diminish the quality of Life for Kent’s residents! Paulina Stockell paulina.stockell@kent.gov.uk

EAST FARLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2014-2015

April 2015 is with us already and it is time for my annual report. The seven East Farleigh

Parish Councillors (still two below our full complement) continue to meet on a monthly basis

to endeavour to do our best for East Farleigh and its residents. We would love to welcome

two new councillors who would be prepared to give of their time for the greater good of East

Farleigh: contact Sarah, the Clerk on eastfarleighpc@googlemail.com if you think you

would be interested.

Traffic continues to be a major concern for us in East Farleigh: it may take the form of

speeding through the village, congestion on the bridge, risks to pedestrians or accidents

destroying our infrastructure. These points are discussed at length by the Council and, over

these last few months we have been trying to get some joined-up thinking to protect our

bridge. We have been using DHA consultants and those who were involved with the

previous survey for the Village Plan Action Group, will know how difficult it is to progress

even good ideas, especially when funding is tight. We are still pursuing some form of speed

control both in Dean Street and through the village. We still await our 30 mph limit for Dean

Street, approved a year or more ago. I hope Paulina Stockell, our County Councillor, is going

to bring this to a conclusion, along with our other outstanding issues, very soon.

On a really positive note, we are very grateful to Gordon Newton at the Stone Shop on

Station Hill for reinstating our damaged drinking trough and mounting steps on the triangle

by the Bull, after a protracted insurance claim procedure. Sadly, during all of this, part of it

was stolen and we are seeking a solution at the moment to create a replacement.

We are pleased generally with the car park, which does keep parked cars off Vicarage Lane

most of the time. If any local resident wishes to become a responsible key holder, we will be

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happy to give out the padlock numbers in exchange for contact details. Please contact Sarah,

the Clerk, as above if you are interested.

The Recreation Ground gets far more use now it is the route between the car park and the

school and the Trustees endeavour to keep the area clean tidy and hygienic for children to

play on.

Litter and keeping the village tidy are still major tasks and our contractors soon use up their

few allocated hours attempting to do this. Some of you may have noticed or seen Jayne and I

removing litter and rubbish from the coppice on the corner of Lower Road and Dean Street.

Apart from the odd wheel and car parts and road signs, we collected thirty bags of rubbish for

MBC to take away. When Jayne walks along the road to catch the bus, at least she doesn’t

get annoyed at the mess now. We are able to collect at least a bag a week on this stretch of

road and only hope it is not local East Farleigh residents who continue to discard waste as

they drive by.

So much goes on in the village run by the voluntary groups: WI, History Society,

Drumming, Brownies, Gardening Club, Farmers’ Market, The Church and The Fete, to name

but a few. We have our successful school, preschool and dancing classes and many activities

in the Old School Hall. All this goes to make up a vibrant community. I know everyone

would wish me to thank all the volunteers. Many of them will be at the Annual Parish

Meeting on the 28th of April in the Old School Hall, so please feel free to join us at 7.30pm

for an update and some refreshments, before we embark on another year.

The Parish Council generally meets every first Tuesday of the month and we welcome

members of the public, so please feel free to come along if you have an issue to raise or if

you just want to see what goes on.

I would like to finish by thanking all council members on your behalf for giving up their free

time to work as councillors and a special thanks to our Clerk, Sarah, for her involvement.

Wishing you all a lovely summer.

Glyn Charlton

Chairman

EAST FARLEIGH PRE-SCHOOL REPORT 2014 This school year we had a very high number of children start with us, mainly children just turned two years of age. This was quite challenging to start with with separation issues from parents and the increase in nappy changing requirements. However, as the months have passed and six months in a toddlerʼs life having so much developmental progression, things have become easier – although most mornings we have 24-25 children present so as you can imagine it is quite hectic, but great fun. So far this year, we have had visits from a Guide Dog and his owner and today, had a visit from the Fire Service which helps to inform the children of our extended community and the world around us. I would like to thank the Parish Council for their very generous donation of £200.00 and their continued support. Being a non-profit charity-run pre-school we really appreciate donations to enable us to provide enjoyable and challenging resources for the children. If there are any local people or companies who would like to sponsor us, we would be very interested in hearing from them.

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REPORT TO EAST FARLEIGH PARISH COUNCIL

THE SIR JOHN FRANKLYN CHARITY FOR ALMSHOUSES

CHARITY NO. 210899

Committee

The committee members:-

Richard Yaxley - Chairman

Debbie McCay

Hilary Moon - Honorary Secretary

Paul Khan

Introduction

First and foremost I have to report that the Almshouses, now over 400 years old, are in fine

fettle, as are the residents, both due in part to how well they have been looked after over the

years.

Over the last few years I have had to report many changes within the Committee and just

when I thought we were on an even keel, we have had to experience two further resignations.

Fortunately, we have been able to fill one of the posts, however in this busy and insular world

that we live in we are finding it more and more difficult to recruit and we continue our

search.

Resignations This year once again has been a year of changes. Last year I reported that Joyce Swait our

long standing Secretary had rejoined as a Trustee responsible for maintenance issues.

Unfortunately after a short period in post, Joyce felt it necessary to resign. We the

Committee would like to thank Joyce for the work she carried out in her brief return to the

Committee.

Long standing Committee member of more than 10 years, Judith Cannacott, also resigned

due to family pressures, too many grandchildren! We thank Judith for her time/work she has

given to the charity, constantly keeping an eye/ear open on the residents’ health/welfare and

gossip that were eloquently and sensitively reported back in committee, to the interest of all.

I am sure the residents miss her calling in for a chin wag and wish her well.

New appointment – Trustee I am pleased to report that we have been able to recruit Paul Khan, my next door neighbour,

to take over from Joyce Swait as Trustee responsible for organising maintenance issues on

the 400 year old cottages, that as you can imagine, is ongoing.

Paul was voted in at the February meeting and I would like to thank him for volunteering to

take on this work. We all wish him well.

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Finances The charities’ finances are in good health under the watchful eye of our Treasurer, Debbie

McKay.

Secretarial Hilary Moon is continuing to make sense of our ramblings, issuing detailed minutes.

Residents There continues to be a good harmonious atmosphere among the residents and I believe they

appreciate what the Committee does for them.

Cottages Currently, the residents have had the opportunity to nominate one room to be decorated.

Three have already been done much to the joy of the residents.

Looking ahead we intend to remove the old hedge to the front boundary and re-plant.

Summary

Finally, along with the residents, I would like to thank all the Trustees and Secretary for their

continued support of the charity.

Chairman

Almshouses

R.F. YAXLEY

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REPORT THE FARLEIGHS W I 2014-2015

The Farleighs Women’s Institute

This has been another busy year for our membership which currently stands at 66 . We have

enjoyed a full programme of events including a pamper evening, French evening, a murder

mystery evening seaside outing and craft fair.

Our choir reached the regional finals in the Singing for Joy competition in October and a

coach full of supporters accompanied the choir to Dorking, who although not winning were

praised for the wonderful performance they gave.

The Christmas show was as popular as ever and drew visitors in from around the district –

showing the Farleighs really can do comedy.

The Farleighs were proud to hold the District Carol concert in All Saints church West

Farleigh in December and as this was the centenary year for the W.I. the passing of the

Federation Baton was included the programme. Our Choir complemented the readings from

around the District and with a good injection of humour a lovely evening was had by all.

Our talented Art and Craft groups continue to impress and together with the choir, darts,

lunch club and walking groups our members are kept busy.

The Hall attracts various community groups including the Evergreens,Camera Club, Dance,

keep fit and most recently Dog Training to name a few. The venue is popular for Children’s

and Adult parties/functions.

In November the decision was taken by members to remain in our current Hall. Despite being

offered land both in East and West Farleigh to build a new hall they decided the security of

Freehold Land was a better alternative.

We are currently awaiting a full structural survey of the Hall in order that we can start a

programme of refurbishment - as always our fundraising will involve hard work and fun.

So the future of our hall and W.I. is calmer, as we continue to work within the community

providing help, cakes and refreshments when requested and a sociable meeting place for our

members.

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