BISHOPSBOURNE PARISH COUNCIL
An Ordinary Meeting of Bishopsbourne Parish Council was held on Tuesday, 5 July 2021 at 6.30pm in Conrad Hall. Present: Cllr R Prestige, Cllr K Martin, Cllr B Dutta, Cllr D. Tapley,
Mrs V McWilliams – Clerk
COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC
Two members of the public attended. The publican of The Mermaid gave a detailed analysis of their forthcoming events over the summer months. They are holding a Fete on Saturday 24 July from 12-4pm. All proceeds from the Tombola Stall will go to the Pilgrims Hospice. Prizes will be welcome. Cllr Dutta thanked her for all they were doing for the village.
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ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
We did not hold an Annual Meeting due to Covid 19, so the current chairman was unable to step down. He is doing so now at our first Face to Face meeting. Cllr Martin nominated Cllr Prestige, seconded by Cllr Tapley. There were no other nominees. Accepting nomination Cllr Prestige stressed he would only do one more year.
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Cllr Mike Sole.
3.MINUTES
The minutes of the Virtual meeting held on Tuesday 4thMay 2021 were approved. Proposed by Cllr Dutta seconded by Cllr Martin.
4.REPORTS FROM COUNTY/CITY CLLR MIKE SOLE
Cllr Sole did not attend the meeting but sent the following report:
Parish tours– My walks around the parishes with parish councillors and clerks have continued in June and hopefully by the end of July I will have completed these. I have also attended some parish council meetings in person.
Committee places– I can now confirm that I will be serving on the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee, Kent Flood Risk Management Committee and the Commissioning Advisory Board. Having taken an interest in flooding matters I have also been put forward to fill the vacant Canterbury City Council position on the River Stour Internal Drainage Board – I shall know later this month if this is approved.
Little Stour and Nailbourne River Management Group – I had a very pleasant and informative meeting with members of the committee and I look forward to working with them in order to address local flooding issues. Flooding can come from all sorts of places though and when Bishopsbourne experienced issues in June due to heavy rain and water flowing from fields, I was able to help get this resolved.
KALC – I was very pleased to be invited to speak to members of Canterbury KALC last month.
Tonford Lane Bridge– Campaigners for a new bridge across The Stour met with me to discuss their plans for a new accessible bridge that will open up the Hambrook Marshes and cycle/footpath to more people.
Covid Recovery Grant– I have sent details to all parishes about the grant fund of £6,000 that I can access for local projects. I have already had several enquiries about this, and some applications have been made, so please do let me know if you are aware of organisations that would benefit from this funding.
Footpaths– Many public footpaths have become very overgrown recently. KCC are behind on their programme for cutting these back. Any specific issues can be reported here: https://www.kent.gov.uk/environment-waste-and-planning/public-rights-of-way/report-a-problem-on-a-right-of-way
City Council issues:
Bins –There are still quite a few persistent issues with bin collections that I am following up. There have been teething issues with the new technology in the trucks and also the online reporting system is still far from perfect. It really should be much better after nearly six months on Canenco.
Offices– The City Council are now considering moving offices into vacant space in Whitefriars that they own. I will be pushing for the existing offices and car parks to be developed into social housing.
4.MEMBERS’ INTERESTS
No notification by members was given of any pecuniary or personal interest in items.
5.MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising from the minutes not on the agenda.
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FINANCE
Lloyds Bank£23,069.07
Monies In
Precept £7,500
Concurrent Funding £1,949.00
Claim for VAT refund £148.94 (not yet received)
Monies out
Val McWilliams Clerks Salary (2 months May/June 26 hrs. at £10.50 = £273.00 + 0ffice maintenance £80 Total £353.00
AJL Gardiner Ground maintenance £240.00
Pest Control Moles £60.00
Website £170.00
TOTAL £823.00
Agreement to approve payment of the above expenses due was proposed by Cllr Martin seconded by Cllr Prestige.
The Clerk has applied to Lloyds Bank in order to change to online banking. The necessary forms have been completed and we are just waiting for confirmation from the bank to formalise everything.
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PLANNING
CA/21/01321 Two-storey side and rear extensions together with dormer windows following demolition of out buildings and annexe. Little Pett Farm, Pett Bottom Road, Bridge CT45PD. There were no objections to the plans as such, although some councillors felt it was too large for the surrounding area. The Clerk will write to CCC.
CA/21/00962 Detached single storey out building for use as garage and workshop. The Old Cottage, The Street, Bishopsbourne, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 5HT Awaiting decision.
CA/20/01745 Land Adjoining Gorseley Cottage, Pett Bottom Road, Lynsore Bottom. Three single-storey terraced holiday lets with associated storage, landscaping, access, and parking. Appeal ref: 3265612 Awaiting appeal decision.
Canterbury Local District Plan.
There was a Parish Council Virtual Briefing on 1 July 2021 which the Clerk attended. This was an extremely lively meeting with parish councils. Much of the debate was surrounding the so called “principal” preferred option of A by CCC. CCC would like to
build between 14,000 to 17,000 houses instead of the decreed minimum 9,000 homes suggested by the Government. This would enable more funding towards an eastern by-pass.
The consultation ends of Friday 30 July 2021. Councillors are encouraged to submit personal responses as well ones from their parish council.
More information is available on the CCC website.
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HIGHWAYS
Cllr Tapley reported that the drains outside the Duck Inn at Pett Bottom were still blocked and the road was constantly flooded. The Clerk had reported it to Highways said the problem was more than just a blocked drain and they were looking in as to how they could cure it.
The Bridleway path CB 274 at the bottom of Rose Lane that that was full of potholes has now been repaired. The area at the Kingston end of the Bridleway has been cleared and the grass cut back.
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NEAME MEADOW
The clerk has been in contact with Jamie Cole who confirmed he has enough wet pour left to redo the surfaces under the play equipment. ROSPA are due to inspect the equipment in July. The clerk was asked to contact Jamie again asking him to go ahead with any repairs needed once the ROSPA report was released.
- FLOOD AWARENESS Flood Warden Roger Martin reported that though all is quiet at the moment the problems with flooding were not going away and he and the River Group Management Team would be keeping a watchful eye on the situation.
Roger Martin reported that George Hayward had been appointed the new Secretary to the Group following the death of Jonathan Mount. The group feels they need to make their profile more prominent in preparation for the winter months ahead. They felt that they had a narrow escape from severe flooding in the Little Stour and Nailbourne River catchment area last winter. To increase their profile, and hopefully the effectiveness, they are looking into the possibility of developing a web site and documentation.
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WASTE BASKET
The Clerk has still not been able to arrange for the black bin to be placed outside the Tadpole Tearoom. She will contact CCC again stressing the importance of having another bin as the number of visitors who park their cars behind the Tadpole and then walk their dogs around the village is increasing.
There are not enough bins to cope with the amount of litter left behind.
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WEBSITE
The website is fully up to date. Our subscription to ZOOM has expired. It was agreed not to renew it as we no longer hold ZOOM meetings. If in the future, we need to use it again we can easily install or just book a single session.
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FAST BROADBAND
Cllr Tapley reported that Open Reach are still considering the final costing. She will report back next month with an update.
14 CORRESPONDENCE
KALC Newsletter May
Awareness Week
Chief Executive Bulletin
The Queens Platinum Jubilee
KALC NEWS
Chief Executive Bulletin
KALC Local Bulletin
PCSO McLeish Police Report
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COUNCILLORS’ RESPOSIBILITIES
Cllr Prestige Nothing to report
Cllr Andrews – KALC- Nothing to report
Cllr Tapley. – Nothing to report
Cllr Dutta– Website – nothing further to report
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Further to the announcement from Buckingham Palace on 2nd June 2021, regarding the Platinum Jubilee Weekend of 2nd – 5th June next year, of which The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons is part of the arrangements. It was agreed that Bishopsbourne would not light a beacon or a bonfire but instead would plant a tree to commemorate the occasion. The tree and site will be discussed nearer the date in 2022.
Cllr Prestige asked if the Clerk would get a quote to cut back the hedge on the left-hand side of Conrad Hall as it is very overgrown.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.40pm
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NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 7thSeptember at 6pm in The Conrad Hall
Any Covid restrictions will be announced nearer the time of the meeting.