Edited, published and distributed

by

Sutton Valence Parish Council

Autumn 2014

PARISH NEWS

Parish Council News

SUTTON VALENCE

SUTTON VALENCE - “A LARGER VILLAGE” NO!

In MBC’ s Draft Local Plan, our Parish has been designated as a “Larger Village”. The Parish

Council reject this designation, we have none of the facilities which fit the criteria for a

“Larger Village”. Councillors will take a Petition to the Town Hall on Thursday, 11th Decem-

ber to confront the full Borough Council; Ward Councillor, Paulina Stockell, is supporting

this petition. Sutton Valence is a rural Community with a population of 2,200 residents and

600 houses, it sits on the Greensand Ridge, the “Village” is a conservation area. The surround-

ing countryside is made up of mixed farming with a variety of small businesses employing lo-

cal people. If you have not already done so, please support your Parish Council by signing the

Petition and if you want an interesting evening

join us at the Town Hall at 6.30 on 11th December.

14 development sites have been proposed by MBC and a number of Developers have come

forward with various schemes. The Parish Council have started a Neighbourhood Plan which

will give us some protection and allow residents a say in the type and size of future develop-

ment. Until the Plan is completed and the Borough finalise their Local Plan (2016)

WE ARE VULNERABLE.

The Parish Council is not opposed to some development, although we are legally obliged to

comply with numbers provided as part of MBC’s Local Plan which hopefully will include a

mix of houses suitable to the rural environment and homes that local families can afford.

2

REPORTS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL

COUNCILLOR VACANCY

Following the resignation of a

Councillor, there is now a va-

cancy on the Parish Council.

These are exciting and impor-

tant times for the Parish Coun-

cil. Decisions made now will

affect the future of the Parish

and its Parishioners. If you

wish to be part of this and have

time to spare, please contact

the Clerk for more details or at-

tend the next Parish Council

meeting to see what the Parish

Council does.

Continued from page 1

The plans to transfer the Post Office to Haven Farm are hopefully near fruition. A controlled

crossing by the Primary School and a footpath to Haven farm are planned. The crossing will

also be helpful to residents visiting the Cobtree Surgery or using the new bus stop. The cross-

ing and footpath will cost over £100,000 and the Parish Council will be seeking sources of

funding. The Independent School has offered a significant sum.

A seat will be installed on the way up the hill for those of us who need a rest.

Work has started to turn the old play area into a residents’ car park.

The speed limit from Warmlake to the Plough has been “officially” reduced from 40 to 30mph,

we await the Highway signs to inform motorists.

The Parish Council has heard from MBC that The Harbour Play Area has had its status altered

and is now a designated play area. This means that the Parish Council can apply for grants

from MBC to update this area. The Parish Council will be looking at the whole area and would

like input from the Parishioners as to what they would like to see in this part of The Parish

Whilst we are on the subject of The Harbour it has been reported to the Parish Council that

some dog owners who live locally are allowing their dogs to foul in the Harbour field and are

not picking up after them. The dog warden has been informed and will be carrying out visits to

identify the guilty parties. If caught this can lead to a £75.00 fixed penalty notice.

Eileen Riden - Chair

Hugh Robertson, MP, knighted for work as

Olympics Minister

Our local MP, Hugh Robertson, has been knighted for his

contribution to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic

Games and for his more recent work as Foreign Office

Minister.

As Olympics Minister he was a key member of the team

that delivered a flawless Games viewed around the world,

which saw a great success for Team GB and he was in-

strumental in delivering a legacy described as a

"blueprint" by the IOC.

The award was made following his decision to step down

as Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, North Af-

rica and Counter Terrorism to spend more time with his

family.

He continues to work tirelessly to safeguard the best in-

terests of his constituents , holding surgeries regularly on

Fridays in the Constituency Office in Lenham and he has

given staunch support to protecting the rustic nature of the

Parish of Sutton Valence in his opposition to the MBC

Local Plan expressed widely during the recent Regulation

18 Consultation exercise.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sir

Hugh on this well deserved award and to thank him for his

continued contribution as our Constituency MP.

3

REPORTS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL

The Parish council is not responsi-

ble for faults on the roads, pave-

ments or public rights of way. To

report a fault ring KCC on:h

Highway Faults

03000418181

Public Rights of Way

03000417171

Or email:

Www.kent.gov.uk

The inscription on this

cup reads :

COLIN FINLAY TROPHY

TUG OF WAR PRE-

SENTED BY MR AND

MRS A.R GAYER FINLAY

1ST AUGUST 1953

This cup was pre-

sented to the Parish in

memory of Sergeant

Colin Vernon Finlay a

pilot in 185 Squadron

RAF Volunteer Re-

serve who died on

Thursday 14th May

1942 at the age of 20.

The last time that this

cup had been fought

for was in 1995 when

Kings Head B team

won the Tug of War.

The Parish is intend-

ing to have a fete next

year and it would be

wonderful if the Tug of

War Competition for

this cup could be res-

urrected. It needn’t be

just the pubs but all

clubs, societies and

businesses could en-

ter. It would be a

shame if the cup just

gathers dust for an-

other twenty years.

JUBILEE COMMITTEE

The Jubilee Committee have already booked next year’s fair.

(Saturday, 6th June 2015) This year we joined with St.Mary’s Church

and the Primary School and it was a highly successful community day

enjoyed by young and old. We had some great music from young mu-

sicians from the Independent School and combining our resources

made the day easier for everyone and much more fun.

30 “Seniors” attended the excellent Summer lunch in the Village Hall,

Gover James accompanied our singing, (Gover says we need more

practice). Great credit is due to the Jubilee Ladies for their organisa-

tion.

The Children's’ Christmas Party is on Saturday 13Th. The Annual Po-

lice Band Carol Concert on Sunday 21 December at 2.30 and Carols

on the Green, Friday, 12th December at 6.30.

KENT POLICE BAND CHRISTMAS

CONCERT

SUNDAY 21ST DECEMBER 2014 AT

THE VILLAGE HALL.

SEE NOTICE BOARDS AND PARISH COUNCIL

WEBSITE NEARER THE DATE FOR MORE

DETAILS

PART TIME CONTRACTOR

NEEDED FOR EAST SUTTON PARISH

COUNCIL. 8 HOURS PER MONTH.

CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE OWN

TOOLS.

WORK WILL INVOLVE: LOCALISED

STRIMMING, HEDGE TRIMMING,

SIGN CLEANING, GULLEY CLEAR-

ING LITTER PICKING AND OTHER

WORKS AS REQUIRED.

CONTACT THE CLERK ON 844135

FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO APPLY

4

REPORTS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL PEG (Parish Enhancement Group) and Open Spaces

which if successful will be

one of their dual purpose

bins, litter and bagged

dog waste. The Parish

Council is also putting in

another bin at The War

Memorial Sports Ground

to cope with the large

volumes of rubbish there

- while the problem with

household rubbish in the

bin on The Green appears

to have stopped there is

an ongoing problem with

it at the Sports Ground.

Please let us

know if you

can identify

the culprit

Allotments

Bowhall has one allotment

available and others that

are rumoured to being

given up this autumn.

The Harbour has ½ allot-

ment available.

If you are interested in

either site please contact

the

Clerk .

Dog Poo

I am told

that a large dog with a

distinctive blue shoulder

harness was seen depos-

iting at Bowhall just the

allotment side of the gap

in the hedge with the

school field. It then ran

off – if you are the owner

please be aware of what

can happen when your dog

is out of sight.

More volunteers are

needed, please contact the

Clerk if you have a few

hours to spare

PHIL TAYLOR

Well, we

planted

those

Weeping

Willows

donated by a parishioner

along the streamside and

now wait to see if they

have taken.

Hopefully our contractor

will be able to cut and

remove the long grass

this autumn at both sites

if it is not too wet, the

problem which stopped us

doing it last year at The

Harbour though it wasn’t

a problem at Bowhall with

its sandy soil.

Bowhall

The final cut of the ash-

lings and cherry seedlings

was completed in the

Spring and we are now

getting ready for this

year’s work clearing them

in the wood. We also have

some Briony berries to

plant and would appreci-

ate any pink Foxgloves

that parishioners might

have spare – we were

given some a few years

ago by a kind parishioner

and now want to plant

some more.

In both The Harbour and

Bowhall long grass areas

we have seen very few of

the wild flower plant

plugs that we planted, so

we may be considering a

different approach –

stripping back a few small

areas of grass and plant-

ing wildflower seed. We

have also been promised

Teasel plants by a resi-

dent which we shall plant

at both sites. Any other

offers of wild flower

plants gratefully ac-

cepted.

The Community Orchard

needs some attention to

remove the strong tree

suckers which we have to

do every year and which

seem to be stronger than

ever this year. Unfortu-

nately, of the 35 trees 3

Gage trees have died, evi-

dently susceptible to

drought, and we will have

to consider what to do -

replace or go for a dif-

ferent tree type if we

can find the funds.

Adder, Lambe’s Garden

I was

surprised and pleased to

find a young Adder, sadly

dead, below the wall of

Lambes Garden. This may

well affect how we deal

with this area - Adders

are protected by law. We

are in discussion with

QHOF about a different

approach to our twice

yearly grass cut and clear

back and the area has had

to remain closed because

of dangerous steps in it

which would be all part of

any work that is done be-

fore re-opening.

If you experience an ad-

der bite, then the NHS

website advice is:

Immediately after being

bitten by a snake you

should: remain calm and

don't panic; snake bites,

particularly those that

occur in the UK, are not

often serious and

rarely deadly try to re-

member the shape, size

and colour of the snake

(adders have a black dia-

mond pattern the length

of their body) keep the

part of your body that

has been bitten as still as

possible to prevent the

venom spreading around

your body remove jewel-

lery and watches from

the bitten limb because

they could cut into your

skin if the limb swells

do not attempt to remove

any clothing, such as

trousers

Seek immediate medical

assistance by dialling 999

to request an ambulance

or visit your nearest acci-

dent and emergency

(A&E) de-

partment.

CHURCH

TRIANGLE

The immediate residents

in this area have done

some sterling work clear-

ing it, while PEG was able

to give some help with a

final clear.

Litter

The Clerk is negotiating

with Maidstone Borough

Council about an addi-

tional bin up at Bowhall

5

REPORTS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL

Footpaths Officer

The resignation of Phil Taylor from the parish Council has left a vacancy for a

Footpaths Officer.

The Profile for the position follows:

This voluntary role involves checking footpaths in the parish on a regular basis

and reporting their condition back to the Parish Council.

Role Description:

Footpaths should, if possible, be checked at least once a year, preferably more of-

ten, particularly those which are in regular use.

The type of problems that can be expected are:

obstruction by vegetation - usually most growth occurs from May to August

damaged and dangerous stiles, gates and bridges

obstruction by falling trees, fly tipping etc.

obstruction by landowners

The role does not involve clearing paths, but advising landowners if known and KCC PROW of problems.

From time to time the Parish Council may organise path clearance exercises which you should try to lead or

be involved in. For these exercises it will be necessary to have in advance a list of easily accessible paths re-

quiring attention, to help advise people of Health and Safety considerations including Risk Analysis/ Accident

reporting and to ensure that no power tools are used.

For the purposes of this role, footpaths being checked will be those where there is no adjacent road, perhaps

best described as country footpaths.

Members of the general public should be encouraged to contact KCC PROW direct rather than go through the

Footpaths Officer.

Frequency :

Ongoing - checking of paths and reporting to KCC PROW, landowners and Parish Council where considered

a problem.

Ongoing - reporting to the Parish Council footpaths inspected and status.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS ROLE PLEASE CONTACT THE CLERK

Cllr Resignation

Councillor Phil Taylor has resigned from the Parish Council. Phil has served on the Parish

Council for six years and has been the Footpaths Officer for even longer. In recent years Phil

Chaired Open Spaces which included looking after allotments, dealing with maintenance

specifications for ground work and generally keeping an eye on "green" things in the Parish.

We are very pleased that Phil will continue to Chair the Parish Enhancement Group, volun-

teers who take a pride in their Community, without their contribution we would not be living

in such a pleasant place. The Parish Council would like to thank Phil for his valuable contribu-

tion.

6

Three Suttons Helpline

If you need help with transport to local

medical surgeries or hospitals, or need

prescriptions collected or help with ba-

sic shopping, please contact our "good

neighbour" scheme by telephoning one of

the following numbers :842530.842346.

844303.If you think that you could help

this scheme by being a volunteer driver,

please contact Christine Parkes -842217

REPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY

The WI meet on the

second Tuesday of

the month at 7.30pm

in the Village Hall.

We normally have a

guest speaker .In

October Richard Fil-

mer will be telling us

about hops and hop

picking and in Novem-

ber we will be learn-

ing about the history

of the Royal Variety

theatre. Visitors and

new members are

welcome. On 11th Oc-

tober we will be hav-

ing a Jumble Sale at

11am in the Village

Hall. During the

month we meet up

for a lunch, we have a

reading group, we

play scrabble and

have a craft group.

We are also lucky to

have a member who

arranges coach out-

ings. Any queries

please ring Rosie on

01622 842034.

SUTTON VALENCE WI RNLI

Maidstone Vil-

lages Branch

Many thanks to

all the Sutton

Valence Parish

News readers, who

were so generous

when we were col-

lecting House to

House. These

collections are

such a help for

our wonderful

charity, which

relies totally on

public donations.

And now .......

we need you

again, as this is

soon to be the

time of the year

for us to sell

Christmas cards,

calendars and

diaries. I can

hear you all

moaning, and I

don’t mind, as

long as you all

support the RNLI

– please!

I have lots of

stock in my

house, so just

contact me, and

I’ll even deliver

them by

hand – what more

could you wish

for? No, I won’t

write them for

you......

Thank you in ad-

vance,

Audrey Bishop

SUTTON VALENCE

MUSIC SOCIETY

Groves Hall, Sutton

Valence School Friday,

24th October, 2014 at

7:30 p.m. Joseph

Shiner, clarinettist,

accompanied by Fre-

derick Brown, will play

Lutoslawski, Bozza,

Brahms, Finzi and

Giampieri.

Tickets £12.

Enquiries: 01622

863002

Friday, 21st

November, 2014 at

7:30 p.m.

Manus Noble,

guitarist, will play

Giulani, Brouwer, Ryan,

Albeniz and Noble.

Tickets £12.

Enquiries: 01622

863002

Sutton

Valence

Tennis

Club

New members of all

ages welcome. Lo-

cated at the back of

the War Memorial

playing fields at North

Street. For Member-

ship enquiries call:

Mrs J Waterman on

01622 768654 or email

jennywater-

man@btinternet.co

Normal Club

sessions:

Tuesday, Wednesday

6.30pm, everyone

Friday 10.30 am,

everyone

The tennis courts can

be hired by non-

members at other

times. Ask for details

at Sutton Valence

Post Office

Or contact

The clerk

7

REPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY

NEWS FROM ST

MARY’S CHURCH

The benefice of Head-

corn and the Suttons is

still without a Vicar. We

were unable to interview

anyone after the first ad-

vertisement in July and

we are now re-

advertising the post. We

hope to interview poten-

tial Vicars on 5th Novem-

ber, with some sparklers

among them. If we are

able to appoint someone

then, he or she will have

to give three months’

notice in their present

post so we will look to

have a new Vicar in

place by about Easter

2015.

In the meantime, life has

gone as usual, thanks to

the help of retired priests

from the area who have

helped us to maintain our

regular pattern of ser-

vices. We have been

pleased to see the Bishop

of Dover, Bishop Trevor

Willmott, the Archdea-

con of Maidstone, the

Ven Stephen Taylor and

the Area Dean, the Rev

Ali Duguid, who is also

Vicar of Marden at St

Mary’s. It was good to

see getting on for 200

people at the service to

commemorate the

100thAnniversary of the

outbreak of World War I.

(Continued)

We have been busy rais-

ing money for a lavatory

and new kitchen in St

Mary’s. We decided

many years ago that we

needed to install a loo

but now we are really

going for it. We have had

musical events

(including singing See

amid the Winter’s Snow

in July …), a sale of

books and CDs/DVDs,

we had some stalls at the

village fête, people have

had tea parties, and

many, many individuals

have made private dona-

tions, for which we are

so very, very grateful.

We have found out more

than anyone would ever

want to know about

drainage systems and

filled in more applica-

tions forms for grants

than you could shake a

loo-brush at. We are get-

ting there, but it is, inevi-

tably, slow going, but we

still hope and pray that

we might be in a position

to start work in the

spring or summer of

2015.

In the meantime, busi-

ness continues as usual.

We are in church for the

first three Sundays of

every month at 10.00am,

and at Chart Sutton on

the fourth Sunday. On

fifth Sundays, we go to

the four churches in turn.

We’d love to see you

there.

Gover James

Churchwarden

Pereira family from Sutton Valence

perform admirably on the World Ka-

rate stage Steve, Maria and Michael

Pereira of Sutton Valence recently

returned from Sun City South Africa having com-

peted for England in the World Shukokai Karate

Championships. Whilst it was their first competition,

dad, Steve, placed fourth in the veterans Kumite

(fighting), daughter, Maria, managed to get to the

quarter finals in Kumite, whilst son, Michael, per-

formed brilliantly gaining a third place Bronze medal

in Kumite and a fantastic second place Silver medal in

Kata. The family, including younger son David, all

train at Kingswood

and Lenham under

the guidance of

Sensei Chris and

Sensei Katie

Simpson, Kent

Shukokai Karate’s

senior instructors.

PRIMARY SCHOOL

CENTENARY

CELEBRATIONS

The Sutton Valence Primary School Centenary

celebrations will be held in the school hall on Sat-

urday 8th November 2014 from 2 - 5 pm. Teas and

coffees etc will be available on the day and the

school will have displays of work completed by the

children in support of the Centenary. All are wel-

come, whether they attended the school or not.

All photos and memorabilia from the school's his-

tory that anyone has would be welcome to be dis-

played in the hall - copies can be made and we will

be very careful! Please pass on details to anybody you think may be

interested in attending as they will be most wel-

come.

8

REPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY

THE LOCAL ARCHIVE

This year's local history exhibitions contained quite

a lot of material relating to the First World War

and I have no doubt that there will be further ref-

erences to that terrible conflict in some of next

year's exhibitions. I am particularly grateful to

those people who loaned material from their own

family archives for those exhibitions and I should

like to encourage anyone else who has documents,

letters, photographs, artefacts or whatever that

they would be prepared to share with visitors to

next year's exhibitions to get in touch with me. Ex-

hibitions are on the first Saturday of each of the

six months April - September from 10 a.m. until noon

in St Mary's church. Over the years I have accumu-

lated quite a lot of archive material relating to the

three Suttons and am always on the lookout for

more. And it doesn't have to be old to be collect-

able: current newspaper articles and photos of local

events will be of interest to future generations as

will so many other things that we might not immedi-

ately think of as being of any relevance or impor-

tance. If you have got anything that you think might

possibly be of interest, please do get in touch with

me so that I can copy or photograph it.

Michael Beaman mfbeaman@btinternet.com

Friday October 31st 2014 at 3.00pm (doors open 2.00pm)

Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Chart Sutton, ME17 3RF

Tickets £12 including afternoon tea and free parking

By kind permission of the Head

All proceeds to the St Michael’s Church improvements fund

Entry by ticket only, available from:

Colin Rollinson tel. 01622 842133 email: colinann55@tiscali.co.uk or

Sue Wight tel. 01622 844946 email: swight1919@hotmail.co.uk

An afternoon with:

Alexander McCall Smith International bestselling

author of The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Come and hear Alexander talk about his writing, his

characters and his latest projects. A great opportunity

to meet the author, buy his books and have them

signed. 'In the world of Alexander McCall Smith, the

sheer enjoyment of life ranks high.' - The Times

ST MARY’S

CHRISTMAS

FAIR

29th

November

12-2.30pm

Delicious home cooked

lunches.

Father Christmas

arrives at 1pm with

a present for all

the children. Lots

of stalls to buy

Christmas presents,

raffles etc.

£1 entry, 50p for children

9

REPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY Scouting Group news

Waste Paper

Recycling

The paper bank at Norton

Lea Farm is being with-

drawn from 30th June

following Aylesford

Newsprint's decision to

stop collecting paper.

Please do not bring any

paper to Norton Lea Farm

after this date. Many

thanks for all your sup-

port over the last 10 years

and we will now have to

find other ways to raise

funds. Any ideas for

fundraising please do let

your section leader know.

St Georges Day parade

The St George's Day pa-

rade held in Maidstone on

Sunday 27th April raised

a fantastic £522.77 for

the Children’s Trust

Charity Maidstone a big

thank you to all those that

contributed. Also a huge

thank you to all those that

attended and represented

our group, we appreciated

you giving up your time

on a Sunday.

Sutton Valence Fete

Many thanks to the lead-

ers who manned the stall

at Sutton Valence fete -

we made a profit of

£45.00.

Tina and I

are still

looking for extra help so

if anyone is interested

please contact me. We

have been spending lots

of time outdoors and en-

joying the nicer weather

doing lots of fun activi-

ties for example cooking

on an open fire.

Article written by Clare

Hampson Beaver Leader

.

District Cub Camp at

Thiftwood - Essex

We went to camp travel-

ling on a coach I sat next

to Mathew and we both

where really excited and

kept asking "are we there

yet". When we arrived at

the camp we walked to

our cabin in the woods, I

was sharing a room with

7 other girls and I slept on

the top bunk, which was

great. Over the weekend

we tried rifle shooting,

crate stacking, kayaking,

inflatable-bull (an inflat-

able Rodeo bull with a

twist), rock climbing and

a 3d maze. We also went

to a camp fire and the in-

structors got everyone to

sing and dance, my fa-

vourite song was "have

you ever seen a penguin

come to tea" which was

funny, it was all very very

fun and I want to go back.

Article by Ellie M Cub

Scout.

This term we have been

working on the Fitness

Challenge. The cubs have

looked at their eating and

sleeping habits and have

undertaken various fitness

challenges, which they

hope to improve on dur-

ing the term. The pro-

gramme this term has in-

cluded a hike around Sut-

ton Valence and sessions

of tennis and ball skills.

We have done a litter pick

around Chart Sutton and

visited the Chief Glen K9

training school where we

saw how the drug sniffer

dogs are trained and we

visited the dog

hydrotherapy pool where

we learnt how dogs are

rehabilitated following

surgery or injury. We

thank the staff at Chief

Glen K9 for allowing us

to visit and for their time.

We will conclude the term

with more traditional

scouting skills - fire light-

ing, backwoods cooking

and pitching tents, prior to

our summer camp at the

end of June.

Article written by Linda

Waris and a 3 man hike

tent. Linda Waring Cub

Leader.

This term has been a mix-

ture of indoor and outdoor

activities. One evening,

which was thoroughly

enjoyed, was carving.

With camp around the

corner we have tried to

include some skills that

can be expanded once on

camp such as the carving.

We have also had a cou-

ple of evenings teaching

the scouts how to get fires

going with as little un-

natural materials as possi-

ble.

We also did our usual

overnight wander, which,

as always, was another

eventful way for the

scouts to spend their Fri-

day night.

The end of term is going

to see the scout troop do-

ing a bit more exercise

with an evening of cy-

cling around Mote Park.

Article written by Tim

Waring Scout Leader

Sainsbury’s Active

Kids Vouchers

With everyone's help this

year we have collected a

fantastic 3137 vouchers

We have ordered 2 fry-

ing pans and a 3 man

hike tent, so thank you to

everyone who donated

their vouchers to us we

really appreciate it.

Fundraising

Opportunity

What could be simpler

than visiting The London

Beach Spa & Country

Hotel and holding a

Function here or simply

enjoying a Sunday

Lunch, Afternoon Tea /

Cream Tea or even a

Dinner Dance/Function.

An offer has come

through from the London

Beach Spa and Country

Hotel, Tenterden to raise

funds for Scouting! All

you have to do is book

Sunday lunch for a mini-

mum of four people and

they donate the food

costs back to your nomi-

nated charity. Please

consider this and donate

your food costs to Kent

Scouts or us your local

group Suttons Scout

Group, both Kent Scouts

and Suttons Scouts are

registered charities. The

meal / function must be

pre booked and you must

mention your chosen

charity at time of book-

ing.

For more details contact

Meredith at the hotel on

01580 766 276.

10

REPORTS FROM THE COMMUNITY

Farmers Market

Held third Saturday of every month at the Village

Hall from 9.30am.

Lots of different stalls including plants, cards,

paintings, upholstery, meats, bakery, handbags,

jewellery, jams and a wonderful breakfast is

served. Come and have a look. Forthcoming dates

are:

October 18th,

November 15th

December 20th

SUTTON VALENCE

GARDENERS’ ASSOCIATION

Paula Doust died in September. Paula with help

from her daughter Carrie has been the Association’s

Secretary for some years and continued to work for

the Gardeners’ during her illness, we all admired her

strength of character and we will miss her so much,

our deep sympathy goes to Tony and family.

Our Charity this year has been The Heart of Kent

Hospice.

The Association has had a splendid year, 3 shows, 4

talks and 3 outings. All the talks have been varied

and informative. The coach outing to Eltham Place

was a delight, a beautiful Art Deco House with an

interesting history. The Great Hall had been main-

tained by the owners and that alone was worth the

visit; the spring gardens were coming to life and we

enjoyed lunch in the fresh air. The coach then took us

to Danson Park which was a surprise for most of us,

it’s in the middle of a built up area, there were formal

gardens and a great lake, the park was full of families

enjoying the beautiful day. Our happy band of gar-

deners thoughely enjoyed the day. We had car visits

to Great Dexter and Great Comp Gardens. Thank

you Audrey for giving us all so much pleasure.

All the shows have been well supported but as usual

the Autumn Show was the most popular with exhibi-

tors and visitors, the Village hall was full of colour

and there were some outstanding exhibits. Mrs.

Scott again encouraged her children at the Primary

School to take part in the Show and they produced

parrots, rockets, winter scenes and Christmas cards.

Perhaps we shall see them in future years bringing

their own children to the shows. Parish Councillor

Barry Armstrong presented the prizes at the Autumn

show.

We were all delighted to see our Chair lady, Edie

Watt at the show, Edie has been out of action because

of a fall, and we have missed her cheerful presence.

The Annual dinner on Wednesday, 12th November is

at the Weald of Kent Golf course, £23 per head, it is

always a very pleasant evening, a chance to meet gar-

dening friends. Contact David Gallafant for more de-

tails, 01622 842439. Our Annual General Meeting is

on Sunday 16th November, 2.30pm at the South Lane

Surgery.

We have a great Committee who deserve our thanks

for all they do, setting up and clearing away after the

shows, producing all the literature; Pat and Jayne

Raffill have the responsibility for Show exhibits and

David Gallafant sorts out the money, Jaqui Mason

organises teas and cakes, Audrey organises visits and

talks, the other Committee members do every else!

Janet Francis, Geoff Watt, Michael Wood and Gladys

Davies. Thanks to all our

members for their support

particularly on Show days.

Eileen Riden

There have been reports of residents receiving calls from

people claiming to be from Borough Councils. The caller

claimed the resident had been put in the wrong council tax

band and were due a refund. The caller had information

about the resident which convinced them the caller was

genuine and they confirmed their bank details.

Maidstone Borough Council would never contact people

by phone this way to ask for bank details and payments.

They urge the public to be extremely cautious and never

give out their bank details to anyone unknown.

11

What’s on guide Spring / Summer 2014

18th October 2014 9.30am Farmers Market Village Hall 24th October 7.30pm Sutton valence Music Society Concert Sutton Valence School 31st October 2014 3.00pm An afternoon with Alexander McCall Sutton Valence Preparatory School

8th November 2.00pm Primary School Centenary Celebrations Sutton Valence Primary School 13th November 2014 7.00pm Parish Council Meeting Village Hall 15th November 2014 9.30am Farmers Market Village Hall 15th November 2014 12.40pm Freighter Service South Lane 21st November 2014 7.30pm Sutton valence Music Society Concert Sutton Valence School 29th November 2014 12.00pm St Mary’s Christmas Fair Village Hall 11th December 2014 7.00pm Parish Council Meeting Village Hall 12th December 2014 6.30pm Carols on the green Village Green 13th December 2014 2.00pm Children's Christmas Party Village Hall 20th December 2014 9.30am Farmers Market Village Hall 21st December 2014 2.30pm Police Band Concert Village Hall

YOUR PARISH CONTACTS

Parish Councillors

Cllr. Eileen Riden, Chairman (844953)

Cllr. Barry Armstrong, Vice Chairman (842129)

Cllr. Maurice Stancombe, (844845)

Cllr. Peter Green (843230)

Cllr. Ian Robinson (840231)

Cllr Gordon Dent (07957 425490 )

Cllr John Davis (01622 842459)

Cllr Chris Smith 01622 842642)

Clerk to the Parish Council

Mrs Janet Burnett (844135)

clerk@suttonvalence.org.uk

Borough Councillor

Cllr. Paulina Stockell (842508)

paulinastockell@maidstone.gov.uk

County Councillor

Cllr. Eric Hotson (01580 892312)

eric.hotson@kent.gov.uk

Village Hall

Chairman: Martin Stokes 842024

Bookings: Jenny Weller 843273

Newsletter

Email the Clerk (as above) or to Janet on

svnewsletter@live.co.uk

Community

Support

Warden

Dawn

Riach-Brown

To contact Dawn phone:

07773397125

A Consultation on

Community Support

Wardens is cur-

rently open. The

consultation sets

out how KCC pro-

pose to save

money and address

the geographic

reach of the Com-

munity Warden

Service. KCC pro-

pose changing the

way the service

is delivered with

less staff, less

focus on geo-

graphic bounda-

ries and less

process and admin

(Continued)

and believe it is

the best way to meet

the needs of as many

people in Kent as

possible and deliv-

ers financial sav-

ings.

KCC's preferred

model which is set

out in the consulta-

tion document is:

Warden services will

still be delivered

in existing par-

ishes;·

Partnership working

with Neighbourhood

Policing Teams and

district Community

safety Units will be

maintained and en-

hanced; The new pro-

posal does mean a

reduction in posts:

·Area manager posts:

from 3 to 2

Administration posts

from 4 to 1

Supervisor posts

from 12 to 6

WARDENS

FROM 79 TO 40

To access the con-

sultation go to:

http://consultations.kent.gov.uk/

consult.ti/CommunityWardens/

consultationHome.

OR VISIT THE PARISH

COUNCIL WEBSITE

Information and Parish contacts

12

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Sutton Valence Parish Council do not endorse or recommend any of the services or products advertised here.

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THE ANNEXE

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