What’s happening where you live...
on Thursday August 4 at 9.30am. What’s the time: Passers by may have noticed that the time shown by the clock on St Nicholas church has been erratic for most of this year. Repairs have been completed recently so there’s no excuse for being late for the Family Service on Sunday, July 24 at 9.30am. Tuesday Prayers will be in Ulcombe church on July 26 at 9.30am. Lenham Valley Business Associa
tion: See Lenham. Cream teas: Real summer weather accompanied the cream teas at Boughton Malherbe on July 17 so hopes are high for the next sitting on Sunday, July 24 from 2pm. Go along and meet your friends over a cup of tea. Help available: A representative of the Citizens Advice Bureau will be on hand In Headcorn library from 2pm on Tuesday August 2. Correspondent: Rosa Sams, Uplands Hogbarn Lane, Harrietsham, Maidstone, ME17 1NZ Tel: 01622 859412 rosa.sams@ googlemail.com Lenham Valley Business Associa
tion: See under Lenham. Correspondent: Mike Bennett Mob: 07470 362801 Tel: 01580 761943 mikebennettkm@ tiscali. co.uk Play date: The Children’s Centre will be holding a family fun event on Parsonage Meadow next to the village hall from 2-3.30pm on Wednesday, August 24. For details contact Karen Coppen on 01622 892189. Deaf Aid: Hi Kent, the charity that aids the deaf and hard of hearing, holds another free hearing aid clinic from 10-11am on Tuesday, July 26 in the Methodist Church hall. Speaker booked: Members of the vil- lage active retirement association will hear Melanie Gibson-Barton talk about Bruges is About More Than Chocolate at their monthly meeting in the village hall at 2pm on Tuesday, July 26. For details of the club contact Jenny Gore on 01622 890349. Parish council: All the latest applications lodged with the borough council for the village will be debated by the parish council planning committee in the village hall at 7pm on Monday, July 25. Interested residents are welcome. Aid effort: Christians Together in Headcorn raised £860 in collections held during Christian Aid Week. Correspondent: Liz Willy , 108 Eyhorne Street, Hollingbourne, ME17 1UA Mob: 07928668924 elizabethwilly@ btinternet.com PARISH COUNCIL: Cllr M Bedwell asked Cllr P Garten when the verges would be cut within the village, especially opposite the school. KCC is responsible for the verges on the road to the A20 from the village while Maidstone BC maintains them in the village. A big cardboard box had been dumped in Greenway Court Road, and Cllr Bedwell had found details on the box of a purchase order and supplier of the original goods. With the intention of identifying the fly-tipper, Cllr Bedwell contacted the enforcement team at Maidstone BC to be told that it would cost too much money to carry out the investigation. Cllr P Garten advised that due to cut back of budgets within the borough council, he could well believe the situation and could share Cllr Bedwell’s frustration over the matter. The golf tournament between Hollingbourne and Templeuve was an enjoyable event with lunch being taken at the Fairfax, Leeds Castle and dinner in the Dirty Habit pub. The tournament ended in a draw. The golf course at Leeds Castle was spectacular and Cllr Bedwell would like to thank Glenn Bryan and Colin Leggett for arranging the event. A car was damaged in a driveway along Eyhorne Street, when somebody attempted to disarm the security alarm on it, to enable to car to be stolen. Possible housing development in Windmill Lane – Guy Osborne, Country House Developments: The parish council received a short presentation from Mr Osborne on behalf of the owners of the paddock adjacent to the Windmill pub. The development company had been liaising with the Maidstone BC and working out designs with the conservation and planning departments with regards to building 12 houses in the area. Parish councillors’ immediate concerns were about the narrow single way access to the site with no passing places and no pavement which would be entered by a “drive in” by the village hall and the fact that the developer had not consulted with Enterprise Inns PLC which owns much of much of the Windmill Lane footpath (the access route for the site). It was noted that KCC Highways had described the site in the MBC list of possible housing sites as being “particularly difficult for pedestrians” and that the site did not meet the criteria for access in the publicly available development guidelines issued by KCC. Clerk’s report: It was recommended that Cllr Bennett join the Patient Participation Group (PPG) at the Bearsted Medical Centre on the behalf of the parish council. Maidstone BC had confirmed that Wealden Homes had designated £22,050 to the parish council specifically for the children’s playground on the Lance Memorial Field. To enable the release of the funds, Maidstone BC asked for prices of the equipment and quotations for the supply and installation of the goods. The clerk and Cllr Ward would liaise on this matter. County Cllr Whittle: A Find and Fix potholes campaign was being launched. Continue to report highways faults and liaise with Susan Laporte (Susan.laporte@kent. gov.uk) who has replaced Richard Emmett. Cllr Whittle was arranging a meeting with Stagecoach, Cllr