Hothfield Parish Council

...in the rustic heart of Kent

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PRESENT: Mr P Patten(Chair), Mr J Collins, Mr P Holloway, Mr L Hughes, Mr L Krause and Mr A Rawlins

PARISH CLERK: Mrs J Batt

BOROUGH COUNCILLOR: Mr N Wallace

COUNTY COUNCILLOR: Mr R King

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: There were 13 Members of the Public present

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for Absence have been received from Mrs S Whittington who is on holiday and
from Mrs P Warren and Mr P Howard who both had previous commitments.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no Declarations of Interest

i) Updating of Declarations of Interest for the Code of Conduct
The Clerk reminded Councillors that they should update their Declarations of Interest
with the Monitoring Officer if necessary.

3. DISCUSSION WITH JOHN McALLISTER, KENT WILDLIFE TRUST
Mr McAllister updated those Councillors and Members of the Public present on the work
currently being undertaken on Hothfield Common and the plans for the future. It was agreed
that he would send a summary of the discussion and the points raised and answers given to the Clerk to be published on the Web Site.

Mr Patten thanked Mr McAllister for attending the meeting

4. PUBLIC INTERVAL
The meeting was opened to Members of the Public for questions and comments from 7.56 to
8.15. Most of the Members of the Public left the meeting after this item.

5. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES
Minutes 61 were accepted and it was unanimously agreed that Mr Patten should sign them.
Proposed Mr Patten Seconded Mr Collins
  
6. MATTERS ARISING
There were no Matters Arising.

7. GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS
Newsletter
There has been some confusion regarding the funding of the newsletter. Mrs Whittington
contacted the Clerk and asked her to record exactly what Mr Twydell said in his letter -
" In practice, providing at least some of the information in the Newsletter was related to the Village Appraisal , it would be right and proper to use some of the £1,500 grant ...
Mrs Whittington also thought Mr Twydell had spoken to AwCRK but it does not say this in his letter.

The Clerk contacted AwCRK for clarification and was told that the grant money can only be used in connection with the newsletter if it is providing a route for the distribution of information for the Parish Plan, such as having flyers or questionnaires included with it.

Following discussion Mr Patten proposed that we use £365 of the money received for the sale of litter bins to the Parent Support Group to fund the Hothfield Newsletter. Mr Collins seconded this proposal.

Resolution
It was unanimously agreed to use £365 from the money received for the sale of the litter bins to fund the production and distribution of the Hothfield Newsletter.

It was unanimously agreed that the first edition of the Newsletter was excellent and a vote of thanks was proposed to Mr Twydell.

Crime and Disorder
PC Smith is now back on duty.

Councillor Wallace reported that he had spoken with the Housing Security Officer at
ABC as there are concerns that the Housing Department is still not receiving enough
evidence relating to unruly tenants to allow them to take action. Other residents are still loath
to come forward and report the troublemakers.

Traffic Calming
Councillor King showed councillors present a map indicating exactly where the gateway
features are going to be sited. The work is scheduled to be completed next spring.

The Clerk was asked to contact our Highways Liaison Officer regarding the lights that are not
connected. Mr Hughes said he would prepare a list of the columns that are not working.

Tidying of Village
Mrs Whittington spoke to Caroline Wood and asked her whether she would be prepared
to undertake the job of litter picking around Hothfield for 2 hours a week at £7 per hour.
Ms Wood agreed to do this and Councillors unanimously agreed to the arrangement.
  
With regard to cutting the verges, the Clerk pointed out that we are not insured if the
person undertaking the work is not using Parish Council equipment.

Following discussion it was agreed that Mr Hughes would look into the cost of an industrial
strimmer and mower.

Resolution
The Parish Council unanimously agreed to pay Ms Wood £7 per hour for 2 hours
Litter Picking per week around the Parish of Hothfield. All necessary tools and equipment will be supplied by the Parish Council

MUGA
Mr Patten asked for it to be minuted that without the very active help and support of
Mr Rivers and Mr Boorman, there would not be a MUGA.

The official opening is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 4.00 pm.

Now that the MUGA is up and running, Mr Patten asked that the Parish Council take sole
responsibility for its maintenance and upkeep as it is the Parish Council that has the
agreement with Ashford Borough Council regarding its installation etc. Mr Krause proposed
this, seconded by Mr Rawlins

Resolution
The Members of Hothfield Parish Council unanimously agreed to take sole responsibility
for the upkeep and maintenance of the Multi Use Games Area

The Parish Councils Public Liability insurance, will cover the MUGA up to £5000,000
subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the Policy. At the present time the MUGA
is not covered for Material Damage.

Village Appraisal
A foreshortened questionnaire will be presented to the Village at the Fun Day on 1 December.
It will then be distributed to all homes in the Village.

Land for Sale in Village
Details of land put forward for development will be made available at the Rural Community
Workshop to be held on Tuesday 20 November. Mr Patten asked councillors to attend if at
all possible.

Bus Shelter
Mr King offered to speak to the officer who deals with bus shelters at KCC to see if he could
either, effect a repair to our existing shelter, or provide a second hand one to replace it.
Councillors unanimously accepted Mr King’s offer.
  
8. CORRESPONDENCE AND FINANCE
 

Correspondence
ABC Standards Committee – Minutes of meeting held 03.10.07
KAPC re AGM 10.11.07
Queensbury Bus shelters
Kentish Stour Countryside Project
Erha
S & C Slatter
Euroshell
ABC re Recreation and Open space in Ashford Borough
Kent Highway Services – Winter Maintenance
Allianz Cornhill re MUGA Insurance – PP
AwCRK re Parish Plan Grant
Kent Highways re PIPKIN
Clerk and Councils Direct
ABC Report of the Chairman of the Parish Forum
Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS PCT Strategy
KAPC Parish News

Mr King reported that Planning Permission has been approved for the Children’s Centre and
work is expected to be completed in January 2008.

It is possible that as Goldwyn School are selling Swinford Manor they may relocate some of
their resources to Hothfield School.

The Police, Community Warden and Church may use the elements of the school not used by
The Children’s Centre.

Accounts to be paid 

PAYEE	DETAILS	£  NET	£  VAT	£  GROSS
CASE	Printing of Hothfield Newsletter	100.00		100.00
Mrs J Batt	Salary	312.33		312.33
Mr P Patten	Village Appraisal Expenses	95.59	16.72	112.31

 
Resolution: Councillors unanimously agreed to pay the above accounts.

Bank Balance
The account balance stands at £16477.60. £1452 of this is earmarked for the Village Appraisal.

Bank Mandate
We are trying to contact our Liaison Officer at NatWest.
  
9. PLANNING
See attached list.

The application for development at the Old Kings Head is due to be discussed at the Planning Committee meeting on 21 November.

10. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/UPDATING OF WEBSITE
Details of the discussion with John McAllister will be posted on the website.

11. RISK ASSESSMENT/RISK INSPECTION
ROSPA Report
Cars are being driven across the field to the MUGA. Mr Patten said he would try and obtain
some quotes for continuing the fence to stop this.

12. VILLAGE RESPONSIBILITIES
Repairs and Maintenance
We are now responsible for ensuring that no one smokes in the bus shelter. The Clerk
gave Mr Collins a No Smoking Sign to put up.

Items to be reported to the County Lengthsmen
Street lights along Station Road
The path between Park Drive and Beech Drive
The pot holes and dropped drain along Bethersden Road between Church Lane and
Hothfield Manor
The dropped drain along West Street.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30 pm.




Signed …………………………………………………………. Dated …….............................
Mrs S Whittington, Chairman

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HOTHFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

PLANNING APPLICATION RECORD

8 OCTOBER 2007 - 12 NOVEMBER 2007

Planning Applications Received

Full Planning Permission requested – Delegated to Officers unless otherwise stated:-

07/01545/AS	Mr J Loggerenberg, 37 Park Drive, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent TN26 1EG Summer House, front fence, new access to road Parish Council: OBJECT There has been a noticeable increase in the number of cars parked outside this property since the building we erected without Planning Permission
AS/07/TEMP/0052	R Durtnell and Son Ltd and KCC Families and Children’s Education Provision of a two bedroom house for occupancy by site manager and Consequential changes to vocational building and car park permitted under planning permission AS/06/1046 Parish Council: No Comment
07/01918/AS	NCR Ltd re Hothfield Service Station, Maidstone Road, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent TN26 1AP Installation of freestanding ATM cash machine with bollards Parish Council: Support
The following application has been granted:-
07/01562/AS	Montash Properties Ltd re Barn 2, Home Farm, Water Fall Road, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent Proposed timber frame garage and store
07/01631/AS	Cox Restoration, re Home Farm, Water Fall Road, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent TN26 1DR Conversion of redundant agricultural building to B1 use

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