NONINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Report of a meeting held on Wednesday 1st November 06

Wicksteed Leisure have given the Parish Council a bench as compensation for the poor installation of the slide and not taking the old one away. As agreed, this is now in storage but will be placed in the playground next year. The back of the goal posts also need to be tied down for safety reasons.

Rural Housing Trust. One new site is being looked at behind the pond in the centre of the village all the other sites are now doubtful.. The money is allocated to Nonington by the Rural Housing Trust but this may have to moved to another village leaving those in need and the long term sustainability of the village unaddressed.

Village Day. Everyone who attended said that they had a good time at this event and that a great atmosphere was created, we were helped by the good weather. Over a 1,000 people attended and many asked if it would be a yearly event. Not charging for children proved very popular as did the children’s face painting by the Beechgrove Community. The amount of £2,500 was raised towards next year’s event.

Bus Service/Shelter. Nonington has benefited very well from the new bus service, which appears to be well used. Stagecoach to be asked if smaller buses can be provided at quieter times of the day.

Resignation of Cllr Holt - Cllr Holt has now moved out of the village and will be sadly missed after serving 10 years on our Council, a new Vice-Chairman is now needed.

New members are still needed on the Parish Council if no new members are found it may be that the Parish Council would cease and a caretaker put in charge by D.D.C. which would not be of benefit to the village.

Meetings Attended:- Cllr Barnett attended the Snowdown Regeneration Meeting this was followed by a daytime meeting with K.C.C. and SEEDA at the site of the old pit, this was the first time anyone from SEEDA had looked at the problems that will arise if no footpath is installed to Butter Street. Parish Councillors have been attending meetings on Snowdown Regeneration for 5 years but this was the first time the proposed footpath had been looked into, although it has always been requested. The Parish Council still maintain there are problems to solve with traffic through Nonington now, and traffic calming in the future will require the introduction of measures that must be in the budget and be ‘ringfenced’.

The latest meeting of the SRF was concerned with the possibility of a Heritage building on the Snowdown site and the application for outline planning. The Parish Council have considered some of the application and are in favour of the plans for the site but the road management for Nonington is not specified and therefore we have had to reject the whole plan in the hope that this will lead to consultation.

An Action Committee on Roads was proposed to ensure that the Council are fully aware of the current needs for improvements and the additional needs when the Aylesham expansion and Snowdown sites are built and ensure the SEEDA budget covers our requirements. The Council expect this will eventually lead to a public meeting and the approval of the planning application.

Dover North Neighbourhood Forum: The Chairman and the Clerk attended this meeting which was called by Eileen Rowbothom the KCC representative for Dover North. This group is experimental and will run for a 12 month period it is intended to help bring decision making down to local levels of the community. The forum is made up of a representative from KCC, one from DDC and the Chairman of the Parish Councils. The aim is to ensure closer working of the three tiers of local government. There will probably be four meetings a year and at least one will be to assess grant applications. All three groups will have one vote, i.e. one for the County, one for the District and one that represents Parishes.

Grants and Donations. It was reported that a total of £23,861 had been given to the village in donations in the last six years, this had been used for many things, including a lot of work at the playground. A full list of things completed can be seen on the website and in the Parish Magazine.

Next Parish Council Meeting – Wednesday 3^rd January 2007

In the Dolphins Hall

Clerk to the Parish Council, Mrs Linda Player 01304 840410