KNOCKHOLT PARISH COUNCIL

DECEMBER EDITION PARISH NEWS

 NEWS FROM KNOCKHOLT PARISH COUNCIL

The Parish Council meeting on Monday 7 November 2011 comprised nine Councillors and 11 members of the public.

Public comment

Several members of the public wished to comment on the Affordable Housing Project. Despite items appearing in both the Parish Newsletter in August 2011 and in the minutes of each Parish Council meeting it seems some residents were not aware of the proposal to build the houses in Halstead Lane . It was reported that a new consultation would take place on Monday 28 November 2011 between 3.30 until 7.30 in Knockholt Village Hall.

Other members of the public wished to comment on the Girls and Boys Marching Band following on what was said in the October meeting and reinforced their position against it. The points raised were several from wanting to know who supported it, to concerns on extra rehearsals. As the Marching Band was already an agenda item, nothing was said at this point.

Another concern was raised about parking issues at the school. Although the Council is concerned for the safety of children, and it is supportive of any initiative that will improve it, the appropriate procedures require the request to come from the School governing body to the Council.

Clerk report

After agreeing and signing the minutes of the October meeting, the Clerk opened with her report. By the end of April 2012 there will be a complete switch from analogue to digital. It will be done in two different stages, the first occurring on 4 April 2012, and the second on 18 of the same month.

Committee reports

Amenities : The Amenities Committee are seeking financial approval from the Finance Committee to hold a one day summer play scheme. Subject to the budget request being approved details of the scheme organised by, ‘ Play Place ' will be circulated to all Members before the next meeting.

 Finance : the accounts were found to be in order, with nothing else to report, as a meeting was due later on this month to discuss the budget for 2012/13.

Planning : it was pleasing to see how our committee and the District Planning officers' decisions on planning applications agreed in the overall majority of the cases.

Transportation : once again we suffer from a lack of information from Arriva concerning the changes that are applied to the 402 services in terms of timetable and route. The Clerk will contact the service operator for an explanation.

Publicity & media : A big thanks to Mrs Rebecca Day, co-opted member of the committee, and the brain behind the organisation of our Council newsletter and the running of the Knockholt web site. Statistics on the usage of the web site were circulated and the results are very pleasing.

Leisure and Sport : a big thank to Cllr Broadhurst for overseeing the possible addition of extra land to be leased from the Chevening Estate. The proposal is that this area of land will be turned into an additional football pitch and who knows, maybe more facilities for the children and young people of the area? The process was lengthy and only the determination of our Councillor could bring such a brilliant outcome to the initial stage.

Police : there have been three incidents, scaffolding stolen in Pound Lane and thefts from two sheds in neighbouring properties in Old London Road . On the evening in question some neighbouring villages reported as many as eight incidents. The Council agree in encouraging the parishioners to remain vigilant and security wise. Councillors were invited to a meeting with the representatives of Neighbourhood Watch – a scheme very much alive in the village. Concerns were expressed about the perceived absence of the PCSO at Parish Council meetings. The reason given was that as he meets regularly with the Clerk it was not deemed necessary that he need to come to the Council meetings. However, his presence could be required if the need arose.

Parking : the major problem is the decriminalisation of parking offences; therefore within the village anyone can park almost anywhere they like. It appears clear that it is down to the individual to park sensibly, or to the Parish Council to ask for the introduction of double yellow lines. A proposal on parking will be put forward by Cllr Malzer at the December meeting.

Fort Halstead : Cllr. Martin explained that this group would not meet until one of the two Members from Halstead Parish Council who instigated this initiative was able to attend. It was suggested that given their expertise the Fort Halstead group could look into the Chelsfield ex-MoD site where a proposal have been put forward to turn the former site in a industrial waste recycling facility.

Affordable Housing : (different from Social Housing), KCC Highways and Transportation is looking into whether the proposed access could be altered so that a significant tree, previously thought to be at risk could be saved, There will be a village consultation on Monday 28 November 2011 between 3.30pm and 7.30pm in Knockholt Village Centre, needless to say everyone is welcome.

Village Centre Redevelopment : the planning for the new building will now be submitted to SDC.

Speed watch scheme : The Council has resurrected the scheme; efforts so far have been successful in slowing the traffic down. The point of the scheme it is not to just to penalise drivers who speed, but rather to raise and maintain awareness of the speed limits.

Marching Band: from Cllr Martin who acts as a go between the Parish and the Girls and Boys Marching Band, it appears that a misunderstanding has occurred. The Band is not to increase the number of rehearsals, but of the rehearsals they do, two of them will be dress rehearsals, something they don't normally do. The band had started playing one hour earlier on the last rehearsal on 25 September and the fact that this was not communicated properly to the residents directly affected had caused unnecessary distress. The Clerk had already apologised for this at the meeting in October and apologised again at the November meeting. Cllr. Malzer, taking on the concerns of the parishioners against the Marching Band, proposed to drop the Marching Band altogether because they don't come from Knockholt and therefore are not our problem, rather somebody else's problem - namely their borough. Moreover, they cause unnecessary stress to several parishioners who live in the immediate vicinity of the site used for the rehearsals.

A vote on the issue was taken and the pro marching band won the vote by 5 Councillors in favour and 4 against. So as it stands, this charitable organisation is allowed to come next year for rehearsals of three hours each, between April and September.

Biggin Hill Airport : A group of Councillors went to the airport and were given a tour of the facilities. Currently the airport is a point of contact for private flight and servicing facilities. It is clear that there are currently no plans to use the Airport for commercial flights and the emphasis will remain on executive flights only.

Queen Diamond Jubilee Celebrations : The Knockholt Village Tree Society Trust is donating three specimens of trees to plant around the village and has asked the Council for permission to plant one oak tree at Park Corner. The Clerk will request details of the exact location and circulate these to Members.

Mineral and Waste Sites Development : Councillors were reminded that a consultation was taking place and to send any views to the Clerk so that a response could be assembled.

Localism Bill: Members agreed in principle to pay for a ‘complaints handling service' as well as training and conciliation should SDC decide to retain a Standards Committee.

The meeting closed at 21.43, public comment followed:

A Parishioner raised a point regarding the Marching Band. As the balance has shifted towards the against-side, his proposal was for the Council to engage in finding a solution that would benefit everyone. Another parishioner expressed concern on the site chosen for the Affordable Housing Development.

Please note that this article represents my personal view of the Parish Council meeting and is not minutes of the meeting. If you require any further details of this meeting, please contact the Clerk, or visit the Parish Council website www.knockholtparish.co.uk . We look forward to seeing you at the next Parish Council meeting on Monday 5 December at 7.45 in the Village Centre.