KNOCKHOLT PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

The second Parish Council meeting of the year took place on a very cold Monday 1 st February evening, with arctic temperatures at the Village Centre! On opening the meeting there were no questions from the five members of the public in attendance. Apologies had been received from the Chairman and one other Councillor; declarations of interest were heard; minutes of the previous meeting were signed; and Councillors turned their attention to the matters of the month within the Clerk’s Report.

First up was planning for the Parish Meeting, which will be held on the evening of Monday 19 th April – a date for all diaries! It was decided that our County Councillor Richard Parry would be invited to speak at this meeting, specifically about transportation; and the Council discussed who else might be invited as a speaker. Our MP Michael Fallon will not be invited this time as he has accepted, and then pulled out due to other engagements, in each of the last two years! All ideas for speakers gratefully received – please do let us know if you have any thoughts (tel 532150).

The Clerk reported that the wooden gate leading from Ivy Lane to the football pitch has been forced and broken. This has been tied up for now and a quote is being sought to get this mended (other than this gate, there were no reported criminal incidents this month). It has also been reported that three street lights are on permanently, day and night. Investigations are underway into whether these lights can be repaired, or whether they should be replaced. Licensees at the Harrow Inn, Martin and Sophie, have invited the Parish Council to launch a re-opening following their restaurant and bar refurbishment, to take place at 7pm on Wednesday 10 th February. Finally, the Clerk reported on financial matters - payments approved this month included website maintenance, signage and mowing.

The meeting then turned to Committee reports. Focus at the allotments has been on the car park area and sealing of the water taps – but it was also pointed out that the ground in front of the shed doors needs scraping so that these can be fully opened. Allotment holders have received their agreements from the newly formed Association and are now starting to move on site. A donation has been made by Carnival Committee and the Association will be applying for grants that the Parish Council cannot, such as ‘Awards for All’. To date the Parish Council has spent £8,252 on establishing allotments within the village (having set an original budget of £10,000); a grant has been received from Richard Parry for half of the deer fencing and there is one final payment to be made, for which quotes are being sought, to be dealt with next month.

The Amenities Committee reported that they are looking into the usage of the existing dog bins before deciding on the establishment of a further bin within the village. On street lighting, the replacement of ten lamp units has been agreed in this financial year and a further ten in the next as this will be a bulk purchase attracting a discount. The Committee were encouraged to explore the possibility of spare parts from decommissioned lamps being used to repair others, if this is feasible. Advice will be sought on which lamps to replace first to achieve cost-savings.

The Publicity Committee circulated website statistics that showed 1,300+ visits to the website each month within the last four months; and the continued popularity of Clubs and History pages. Clubs were encouraged to provide the Clerk with updated content so that their website pages are up to date. Content contributions were discussed for the next Parish Council newsletter which will be distributed to everyone in the village in early March. For latest Knockholt news, and details of forthcoming events, visit www.knockholtparish.org.uk

At this point in the meeting, Councillors discussed the current issue of cold-calling within Knockholt by firms offering security systems and alarms. Whilst the firms are bona fide, the offers are not and parishioners should beware – if the deal appears too good to be true, it is! The Police have been notified.

The Sports & Leisure Committee reported that they had just heard back from the Chevening Estate with good news. The farm tenant would be happy to make part of the field available for additional football pitches and this can now be progressed.

With regards to Fort Halstead, there is still no application to date. We learnt from an information-exchange meeting at the end of January that the Local Development Framework will be out in February and considered in March. It is expected that Hines will challenge the fact that Fort Halstead is included only as a commercial and not a mixed development.

It was reported that three Parish Councillors and the Clerk recently met with representatives of English Rural Housing and Sevenoaks District Council to consider potential sites for affordable housing within the village, based on the housing need survey undertaken in 2005. A number of green field ‘exception’ sites have been proposed by landowners and English Rural Housing, and these were assessed. A copy of the assessment criteria was requested, together with information on the sites described as preferred options.

A meeting has taken place with Highways and the PCSO to consider ‘slow’ markings and lights outside the school. It was proposed that Richard Parry might be asked for a grant to assist with this work.

The meeting was concluded with no questions from the public, but that may have had something to do with the need to get warm! The next meeting is to take place on 1 st March at 7.45pm and all parishioners are very welcome. We hope to see you there.

Cllr. Rebecca Day