NONINGTON PARISH COUNCIL

Report of a meeting held in the Dolphins Hall on Wednesday 3^rd March 2010 at 19.30 hrs.

·              Roads improvements. A formal proposal has now been received for the improvements scheme – the cost has risen to £17K and now includes road narrowing at one end of the village. The Parish Council were very unhappy that the cost had risen so sharply yet again, that the scheme proposed was not that agreed by the PC and was also inappropriate and probably wouldn’t be effective for the village either. It was agreed to contact both parties to try to get the scheme back on track.The grant for the speed camera has now been received – it was agreed to go ahead and purchase the unit.  The PC would also like to hear from anyone interested in volunteering to operate the camera once it has been received.

It was also commented on the poor state of the edge of the road along Vicarage Lane –Highways will be contacted to see if this can be addressed.

·              Nonington school traffic issues. The school head has been contacted following several complaints of cars speeding along Church Street and the aggressive behaviour of some of the  parents at dropping off and collection time. A notice from the school headmaster which was sent to local residents was read out explaining that Highways have been contacted and asked to look at improving the school signage and lowering the speed limit along Church Street from 30 to 20 mph and asking for local resident support. The parents have also been contacted yet again and warned of this unacceptable behaviour.

·              Footpaths. The Snowdown footpath is close to completion - final handrail modifications are still awaited, a formal opening of the footpath with local press attendance is planned for early Spring. The PC would like to also extend warm thanks to Steve Finnis for providing the signage on the footpath. The Vicarage Lane footpath has taken a step closer to being installed – Highways have discovered that the land is owned by KCC and they have no interest in its construction in terms of Highways regulations. KCC have now been contacted and asked to grant a licence to allow the PC to start work on construction of the footpath, hopefully to a design similar to that used for the Snowdown path. DDC footpaths department have been contacted to ask for a quote for improvements to the Holt Street end of the Ash footpath and also the cost of installing a bollard to stop vehicles using the Butchers Lane footpath (as discussed in the January meeting). The landowner has been contacted and is agreement with this proposal.

·              Village Hall grant – a cheque for £1000 was handed over to the VHC with a covering letter which was signed and returned as receipt.

·              Village Green Day. This is most likely to take place on a Saturday towards the end of March, date to be finalised very shortly. Organisation and publicising the event will start and volunteers will be sought within the next fortnight.

·              BT has now been in contact and asked for the formal “adoption” of the Frogham telephone kiosk to take place. The relevant paperwork and cheque were signed and will be forwarded.

·              The hedgerow along Sandwich Road (opposite Prima Glass) is being removed and replaced with fencing. This could have an adverse impact on the parking situation and access to footpaths. The PC intends to keep a watching brief on the situation. The Chairman also commented that it would have been better if the landowner had contacted the PC regarding his intentions before commencing the work.

·              Concern has been raised over the dangerous condition that the Promis centre has been left in following the substantial fire damage sustained. The Clerk will contact DDC to see who is responsible and what can be done to improve the site and make it safer.

·              It was noted that the pond is looking a bit neglected despite the recent sterling efforts of volunteers to clean and remove sludge. This will be discussed further at the village meeting.

The next Parish Council Meeting will be the Annual Parish Meeting to be held in the Village Hall on Wednesday 7^th April 2010 at 19.30 hrs

Mr T Miller, Clerk to Nonington Parish Council 01304 840602

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