NONINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Report of a meeting held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 1^st July 2009 at 19.30 hrs.

·        Affordable housing –a representative from the English Rural Housing Association gave a brief presentation on EHRA, their various activities in Kent and an outline of the process for getting affordable houses approved in the village should the PC choose to pursue this as an option. It was agreed that a second stage survey would be required – the Parish Council will meet to discuss if this should be progressed and has agreed to send a letter to EHRA outlining their decision in due course.

·        Roads improvements. An update of the status of the project to install speed abatement measures in the village. Highways Dept has indicated that the full cost of the proposed measures is likely to be higher than at first indicated, thereby taking the funding of the project out of the scope of the Parish Council and will require full funding by Highways. Project progress will be updated at the next meeting.

·        Prima Glass parking. A meeting to discuss the various options available to alleviate the parking issues outside Prima Glass is currently being set up between PG management and representatives of the PC.

·        Snowdown Footpath. Timing for installation of the path is some time during August, once the crops in the affected fields have been harvested. It was agreed that the PC Clerk will send the actual dates nearer the time to all relevant parties and volunteers who have indicated their wish to be involved in the project.

·        Vicarage Lane Footpath. Highways have indicated that they have no funds available for the path but have prepared a letter of agreement to enable the PC to move forward with the project. However the terms of the agreement letter place severe restrictions on any flexibility to keep costs down – consequently this would prove prohibitively expensive as an option using PC funds alone. The option of seeing if the ownership of the affected land can be transferred from Highways to the PC is currently being investigated.

·        Allotments. Following contact with Southern Water to look at a water supply to the plot of land in Church Street is appears that a metered supply would cost at least £1100 to install and a further £1000/year to lease the metered standpipe and associated equipment. It was agreed that a different water source, possibly from a nearby property would need to be found if the project is to be progressed.

·        Village design statement. A representative from Gt Mongeham  gave a presentation discussing the process, costs and timeframe for preparing the design statement for their village.  It was agreed by the PC that this should be discussed further at the next meeting before committing to a village design statement for Nonington.

·        Village Green Day. It has been agreed that the next Village Green Day will take place on 26^th September. All the equipment and names of volunteers needed for the day are currently being gathered together.

·        Village day – preparation are progressing well (currently being organised by the NVE). All councillors agreed that the same budget as last year would be made available for the firework display.

·        The annual playground inspection is due in July. It was agreed to use the same inspector as previous years, particularly as costs have been held at last years levels.

·        A request was made for a sign outside the Dolphins Club indicating children present. This has been included as an option in the potential improvement project for speed abatement for traffic through the village.

The next Parish Council Meeting will be held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 2^nd September 2009 at 19.30 hrs

Mr T Miller            -            Clerk to Nonington Parish Council

                   Pilgrim Cottage, 17 Church Street, Nonington, Kent CT15 4LE 

                                            Tel: 01304 840602