MAY 2010 ANNUAL PARISH
MEETING MINUTES

Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting

held in the Village Hall

on Friday 7 May 2010 at 7.00pm

[ DRAFT - to be formally accepted at next APM ]

The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.  There were 22 Members of the Public present, 3 representatives of the young people of Hothfield, 7 Parish Councillors and Mrs J Batt, Parish Clerk,

1.   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:

Were received from County Councillor King, Parish Councillor Collins and Mr Charles Oliver.

2.   TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

      These were unanimously approved and signed by Mrs Whittington.

      Proposed  Mr Patten       Seconded  Mr Howard

   At this point the young people present were asked to read out the recent article they submitted to the newsletter which informed residents of their recent activities.

3.   MAINTENANCE OF THE MUGA

        Mrs Whittington asked Mr David Parker, who has taken over as Councillor responsible for the

        MUGA from Mr Peter Patten, to explain to those present the current situation regarding the

        upkeep and running of the MUGA.

   It was explained that it had originally been intended to hire the MUGA out to groups from outside Hothfield but    this has not been possible due to opposition from some of the young residents of the village who feel that it was installed for their benefit.

Future financing of this amenity is of some concern as, although the Parish Council have an amount of £5300 in the account which has been earmarked specifically for the upkeep of the  MUGA and although we have not had a great deal of expense so far, the costs involved will increase with the age of the facility.

        The younger residents present at the meeting were asked to think about this and Mrs Whittington asked them    for any ideas they could think of which would help to generate income to help fund the MUGA in future years. No ideas were forthcoming at the meeting.

   The KCC Youth Workers are working with the youth of the Village and trying to set up football tournaments with other youth groups.

3.     QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ON REPORTS FROM VILLAGE ORGANISATIONS

All reports received from the Village Organisations were circulated with the May edition of the Hothfield Newsletter.  There were no questions and comments on the reports.

4.     ANY OTHER MATTER RAISED BY AN ELECTOR THAT IS OF INTEREST OF

      CONCERN TO THE PARISH

        Village Hall Committee

The Village Hall Committee have, following discussions with the Parish Council been working hard to try and make the hall self financing,

        A member of the Committee asked whether the Parish Council had had the same sort of discussions with the Church as the Parish Council contributes towards the grass cutting in the Churchyard each year.  Similar discussions have not taken place to date.

        Play Area

        We now have a magnificent new play area but concerns have been raised over certain safety

aspects, namely the ditch and the lumps of concrete which were left from the old play equipment after the installation of the new equipment.  The play area is now the responsibility of Ashford Borough Council and Mrs Whittington reported that she has been in regular contact with them regarding the concerns of residents and she will contact them again.

Fly Tipping

The Parish Council hired a skip last year and a major clear up was undertaken in the area around Coach Drive and Beech Drive.  Sadly rubbish is once again being dumped in the area and complaints were received from the local residents regarding this.  This issue was highlighted in the Village Appraisal.  Various suggestions were put forward as follows:-

That the land owner should erect a fence to stop people dumping rubbish in the wood – The landowner who was present at the meeting said he had tried this in the past but the fence had always been broken down. 

That the Parish Council should pay for a permanent skip to be left in the area.

That a skip should be hired for a couple of days every 3 months.

The skip which was hired for a weekend last year cost £224. The landowner offered to help with the cost of hiring a skip for a couple of days.

It was agreed that we should seriously consider prosecuting anyone caught fly tipping and it was also suggested that signs should be put up to this effect.

That mounds of earth should be put at the side of the wood to make it difficult for people to dump rubbish.

We could contact Clean Kent and ask for their help.

An article regarding this issue should be put in the next newsletter.

This issue will be discussed at the Annual Parish Council meeting on 10 May 2010.

        Parish Sign

It was unanimously agreed that the recently refurbished sign should be erected on the triangle at the top of Coach Drive and School Drive.

Mr Peter Howard thanked Mrs Whittington, who is giving up the chairmanship of the Parish Council from next Monday, for all her hard work over the past 3 years.  He said many people in the village grumble that things do not get done, but she has worked very hard on everyone’s behalf. 

He also thanked Mr Rogers for all his hard work on behalf of the Village Hall Committee.  Bookings for the hall are on the increase and it is hoped that the hall will soon be financially secure.

Mr Marden was thanked for all his hard work in keeping the village clean and tidy.

Mr Howard pointed out that the residents of Hothfield all need to work together to help make Hothfield a pleasant place to live.

Mrs Whittington thanked Mr Pender for preparing the Ploughman Supper for this evening.

Mrs Whittington thanked everyone for attending the meeting.    

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.00 pm.

^^^ Up to top of page