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Correspondent: Jean Watson Mob:

07966 361434 Tel: 01622 687053 Kettlebridge Quiz: Kettle Bridge Clogs invite you to St Nicholas Church Hall on Saturday, April 1 at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start. The cost is £6 per person with teams of six to eight per table. Take your own food and drink (some nibbles will be provided). To book a table or for information contact Val or Pip on 07876 194375/07876 256235 or email: quiz@kettlebridgeclogs.org Places are limited. Garden club: Next meet on Thursday April 6 in St Nicholas Church Hall from 7.30-9.30pm. Darren Everest will give a talk entitled Dahlias and Sweet Peas. Visitors £3 per visit. Subscriptions £12 per year. New members welcome. Maidstone Flower Club: The club will be holding a workshop in the Baptist Church on Thursday, April 13, entitled Easter Celebration. If you would like to join in take foliage, spring flowers, a basket or container and embellishments and prepare for a fun creative evening. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Visitors £6. Membership £30 per annum. Ample free parking. Fuchsias: At the next Mid Kent Fuchsia Group meeting in St Nicholas Church Hall on Thursday, April 13, Derek Dexter will give a talk entitled Fuchsias My Way. Starts at 7.30pm. Tea and Chat: The next over 50s Get Together meeting is on Wednesday, April 5 in the Baptist Church from 2.30-4pm. Note there will be no meeting on Wednesday, April 12 as it is closed for Easter week. disused swing framework from the playground before installing a permanent litter bin at the pedestrian entrance. Flood defence meeting: Parish councillors Grandi and Goff met with Mark Douch and Andy Gray of the Environment Agency (EA) at their West Malling office on March 23. The EA arranged the meeting specifically to give councillors details of the Property Level Resistance (PLR) scheme and to ask the councillors to check the accuracy of the Collier Street properties they list as “at high risk” of future flooding. The EA also discussed the planned time scale for the introduction of the scheme and the possible venue to meet with the owners of high risk properties. Letters to these residents from the EA are due to go out in early May with the public meetings held later in May. The parish council is extremely disappointed that the EA has decided not to progress its previously proposed large scale flood defence measures but continues to work hard with all agencies to find as many community resilience measures as possible. Such measures would include raising areas of land to provide defensive mounds; the construction of brick walls near property boundaries and improved maintenance of ditches and rivers, all of which would require additional funding which would not come from the EA. Stolen post box: The public post box was stolen from the junction of Spenny Lane and Moors Farm on Saturday, March 25. A grey van was seen at the location at the time. Woodpeckers in churchyard: The volunteers who look after the churchyard, known as The Woodpeckers, will be on duty again on Saturday, April 1 from 10am-noon. Anyone wishing to join them is most welcome. Just turn up, with a few tools if possible; forks, trowels, cutters and brooms are always useful. End of term: The school Easter service in church will start on the last day of term, Friday March 31, at 9.15am. Refreshments will be available there from 8.55am. All are welcome to attend. The FOCSS recent adult quiz raised a great profit of £375. Thank you to all who helped or supported the event in any way. shelter but a date for a site meeting had yet to be arranged in order to secure an appropriate quotation. Following a meeting with the street scene manager at the borough council, the potential order for a litter bin in the brick bus shelter had been held in abeyance pending confirmation that MBC can supply a cheaper alternative. Despite assertions to the contrary, it was clear that the introduction of new road name plates has been handled in an entirely haphazard manner by MBCs sub-contractor. Details were awaited for a suitable date for the installation of the Cynthia Webb commemorative seat. It was understood that when Mrs Robinson leaves her post of head teacher at Coxheath Primary School at Easter, the school will enter into a partnership with Loose Primary School for an initial period of 18 months. The background to this arrangement would be looked into and the parish council advised accordingly. It was hoped to arrange a necessary meeting with the village hall management committee to discuss the plans for Linden Farm and to assess the financial support required in 2017/2018. Appropriate action was to be made to either re-furbish or replace the Christmas Shop Window Display Cup which had been in use for several years. The annual report of achievements by our county councillor would be made available to residents at the annual parish meeting later in the year. It had been suggested that the donation from Beginners2Runners should be used to finance a trophy for Coxheath Primary School to award each year to the most improved sports person. This idea would be discussed with the school authorities. Correspondent: Jenny Cosgrove Tel: 01622 630462 Parish council: Meets on Tuesday, April 4 from 7pm in the village hall committee room. All residents may attend and have an opportunity to speak during the open debate time. Coffee morning: On Wednesday, April 5, the church will be open again from 10.30am-noon for a coffee morning. Drop in when you can, there is no charge. For details contact Gill on 01622 730139.