BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 15"‘. May 2008 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Edmonds (Chairman), C Beesty, B Beinder, J Corfield, M Esdale, J Hill, T Wilmshurst, City Councillor John Anderson, County Councillor M Northey, P Knight CCFC, D Fairclough CCFC, N Fox CCFC, C Seath (Clerk), and 15 parishioners 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Cllr Gulvin, Cllr Lewis, PCSO Sue Radcliffe, Mr & Mrs D Stewart, Mr M Seath, and Mrs J Hill. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 12"‘ April 2007 The minutes of the meeting held on 27”‘ April 2007 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2007/2008 Councillor Ann Edmonds welcomed parishioners to the meeting. She outlined various village projects that had been undertaken during the year. Bollards had been installed at the parish’s expense outside Bridgeway Stores and these had proved effective in preventing parking on the pavement. Kent Highways had agreed funding for the flashing speed sign for Bridge Hill but a shortage of installers had delayed its arrival. The affordable housing project was progressing slowly but it was hoped that a planning application would be submitted in Autumn. The Planning Inspectorate rejected the appeal lodged by the owners of Higham Park and that development would not now take place. The parish council had objected to the application for extended opening hours submitted in connection with the re-opening of Bridge Place Country Club. The recreation ground had benefited from the wild flower project, which was progressing well and children from the school had helped on a number of occasions. Unfortunately, the youth group had been disbanded in April due to lack of numbers. Should more young people come forward, this decision could be reviewed. However, the new Teen Shelter was installed on the recreation ground in February and officially opened by Cllr Northey on 8"‘. May. It had been well used and Cllr Beesty was thanked for his efforts in overseeing the project. The parish council was still in negotiation with the city council over the renewal of the lease for the Mill Centre. Cllr Beinder was having difficulty in locating a supplier of signs for the restoration of old street names, but this was on-going. Cllr Edmonds reminded parishioners of the Welcome Packs for newcomers and asked them to let councillors know of new arrivals in the village. Cllr Edmonds thanked Mr & Mrs Possee and Mr & Mrs Oakey for their good work on the planters outside Bridgeway Stores and at the chicane. She reported that under Cllr Lewis’ coordination a group of volunteers were keeping the village litter free and she thanked them for their efforts. She also thanked Cllr Esdale and residents for their help with putting up and taking down the Christmas trees. The parish council had written to Stagecoach to thank them for re-scheduling the 9.28am bus so that it left Bridge at 9.30 and Freedom bus pass holders could use the bus without payment. Cllr Esdale had instigated this initiative. Cllr Edmonds thanked Cllr Hill for chairing the Planning Committee during a challenging year and she thanked other councillors and the clerk for their hard work and support during the past year. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2007/8 Cllr Esdale presented the accounts for the year ending 315‘ March 2007.He explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. REPORT OF COUNTY COUNCILLOR, MICHAEL NORTHEY 2 Cllr Michael Northey announced that the KCC Cabinet had agreed to subsidise the over 60s free bus scheme so that it would start from 9.00am each day. This would cost KCC an estimated £120,000 in the first year, rising to a projected £150,000 at current prices in future years. This was due to be implemented from 30"‘ June but could be delayed to enable legal formalities to be resolved. KCC had voted to ban the use of the ‘mosquito’ device on KCC premises. This device emitted a high-pitched sound, audible only to those under about 23 years of age, and was used increasingly to deter gatherings of young people around shops etc. Kent Highways Authority had instigated a drive to clear up the backlog of pothole repairs, with 11,314 potholes repaired in the five weeks up to 28"’ April. Recent legislation effective from July would mean that in future any utility company wishing to dig up the road would have to apply to KCC for permission, justify the work and negotiate a time slot. There would be financial penalties for over-running. The St Peter's Appeal had been supported by a contribution of £11,800 from Members’ funds, following Cllr Northey’s recommendation. Cllr Northey congratulated the parish council and Cllr Beesty in particular on the successful teen shelter project. He had been honoured to perform the opening ceremony. The KCC had an excellent trading standards unit and Cllr Northey urged parishioners to report any ‘rogue traders’ or dishonest door-to-door sales people. The unit also held a list of approved traders. The KCC had a turn over of over £2.1bi||ion. It had been able to keep the council tax for 2008-9 to just below the Retail Price index of inflation of 3.9%, which was in the middle range for English councils. While Cllr Northey did not have a fixed weekly ‘surgery’, he was always happy to discuss concerns with constituents over the phone, by email and letter or would visit their homes by appointment. REPORT FROM CITY COUNCILLOR JOHN ANDERSON Cllr Anderson reported that the new Lord Mayor would be Cllr Mrs Caroline Parry, Conservative councillor for Marshside. Her deputy would be Cllr Charlotte McCau|, Liberal Democrat councillor for Wincheap. Cllr Anderson was Chairman of the Licencing Board and as such could not adjudicate on premises applications from his own constituency. He was also Chairman of the Joint Transport Board, which works with KCC. Cllr Anderson was rotating Chairman of Housing Appeals and a member of the Rural Area members Panel. He could advise on building matters within the parish. a. REPORT ON YOUTH SHELTER — Cllr Colin Beesty Cllr Beesty gave a presentation on the processes that had led to the installation of the youth shelter on the recreation ground. He explained that a consultation process had been undertaken over several months, starting with the village fete in 2006. The consultation had involved the village youth organisations, villagers and older school children. A short list of designs had been drawn up after consultation and this was narrowed down to one design after a further exhibition outside Bridgeway Stores in October 2007. Permission had been obtained from Cantley Estates to erect the shelter on the recreation ground and there had been extensive discussions with residents living round the recreation ground as to the siting of the shelter. The youth group had secured a £5,000 grant from KCC, the parish council added a contribution of £1,745 and the order had been placed in January 2008. Cllr Beesty showed pictures of the shelter being erected and of the formal opening of the shelter by Cllr Northey on 8”’ May. He thanked parishioners for their support for the project. b. REPORT ON PROPOSED ALTERATIONS TO THE VILLAGE HALL — Cllr Mark Esdale Cllr Esdale reported that the village hall was used at least once every day. Five years ago there had been discussions about building a new hall but there had been difficulties over finding a new site. It was impossible to extend the present hall in any direction and the main problems were lack of storage space, particularly for playgroup equipment, and the need for upgraded disabled toilet facilities. Cllr Gulvin had drawn up plans which would provide new disabled toilets, a new storage area, table trolley and chair storage and a re-designed, smaller kitchen. The cost would be about £30,000. The parish council had applied to the city council for funding under a capital grants scheme. Unfortunately this scheme was over-subscribed and in order to obtain funding this year, projects had had to score 78 points and above. Bridge’s project scored 76 points. The parish council would re-apply for a grant in the next financial year and hoped to begin building in 2009. There would be no change to the Hunter Room. C. REPORT ON FIRST SEASON OF CANTERBURY CITY FOOTBALL CLUB AT BRIDGE — Phil Knight, Chairman CCFC & Norman Fox, Press & Media CCFC Phil Knight reported that Canterbury City Football Club currently ran 8 teams; the First Team, Development Team (Reserves), a Ladies team, 2 girls teams, 3 youth teams and a special needs club. The club had had a very successful season with the first team becoming the Kent County League Division Two Champions. The club were also the Kent Junior Cup winners, Kent Ladies team champions, Kent Youth League Under 16s Champions among other successes. Mr Knight thanked the Bridge village website for its prompt match and results reports. The club currently supported over 30 youth and community projects in the area. He highlighted in particular the SNAAP project which supported special needs children in sport, the half term coaching initiatives as the Canterbury Barracks for the children of servicemen currently serving in Afghanistan and the Activ8 schools programme. In addition the club supported the Pi|grim’s Hospice as its charity, helping to raise both funds and awareness. They hoped to receive the Charter Standard for a Community Club. The club currently had 200 members and 30 corporate members. It had been honoured with a civic reception in recognition of its success. It had a well used website and produced a club newsletter. There were plans to organise 11 teams for the 2008-9 season, including a veterans team. Bridge had been an ideal home for the first team. The officials had noticed a reduction in graffiti and damage to the pavilion, as more local young people had been involved with the club. The club was aware of the on-going problems over litter, disturbances to local residents caused by the crowd and some reports of bad language. It was pointed out that there were stewards to monitor the crowd and deter bad language; the club had a zero tolerance policy towards bad language among its players. It was planned to use a large litterbin to clear up after each match and to establish a litter duty rota. The club was investigating ways of communicating the fixtures in advance. The long-term goal of the club was to have its own ground in Canterbury and negotiations were on-going with the city council. It was envisaged that the Bridge ground would still be used for other teams, possibly the Ladies team, once the First Team moved to new accommodation. The club was grateful to Bridge residents for the welcome it had received and to the Plough and Harrow, which was the c|ub’s official pub. At the close of the presentation, the club officials answered questions from parishioners. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Schools Admissions - Cllr Edmonds explained that the parish council had sent letters and had meetings with representatives of KCC, the Anglican Church and Bridge Primary School governors over the criteria for admissions. It was clear that there was no support from any of these groups to change the admissions policy at present. Bottle Bank — Fly tipping was an increasing problem at this area. The parish council was aware of this and it would be discussed again at the next council meeting. Parking on the High Street — It was pointed out that a blue Kia car regularly parked partly on the pavement outside 24 High Street. While this was anti-social and to be deplored, in fact there was nothing that could be done to stop it as, unfortunately, parking partly on the pavement was not illegal, although driving on the pavement was. Country Club Opening Hours Application — Cllr Edmonds explained that an extraordinary parish council meeting had not been held in this case, unlike the meeting 4 to discuss the Red Lion’s application last year. This was because it had been possible to include the Bridge Place application as an item on the normal parish council agenda and give the requisite notice to parishioners. In the case of the Red Lion the application had come between parish council meetings so it had been necessary to hold an extraordinary meeting to meet the deadline for comment to the Licencing Board. Cllr Anderson urged parishioners to write to the Licencing Team if they objected to the proposal and informed residents that they were entitled to attend and speak at the hearing if they wished. The meeting closed at 9.05p.m. Chairman .............................................................. .. Date ........................ .. PARISH COUNCIL OF BRIDGE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 21st. MAY 2009 AT 7.30 PM BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL AGENDA Apologies for absence To read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 15”‘. May 2008 To receive: a) The Chairman's Report for 2008/09 — Cllr Ann Edmonds b) A report on the accounts for the year ending 31* March 2009 — Cllr Mark Esdale. Presentations by: a) Kate Harrison from Ashton Hayes, Cheshire, on ways to reduce Bridge’s ‘carbon footprint’ b) Mike Bundy, Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre for Kent, Surrey & Sussex Any other business concerned with parish affairs Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 213‘. May 2009 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Edmonds (Chairman), B Beinder, J Corfield, M Esdale, J Hill, S Lewis, T Wilmshurst, City Councillor John Anderson, C Seath (Clerk), Kate Harrison of Ashton Hayes, Mike Bundy of The Energy Saving Trust for Kent, Surrey and Sussex and 31 parishioners 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Cllr Gulvin, Cllr Beesty, County Councillor M Northey, PC Paul Gibson, Mrs J Lovelock, Mr P Richardson, Mrs A Williams, Mr M Seath, Mrs F Krish and Mrs J Hill. 2. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 15"‘. May 2008 The minutes of the meeting held on 15"". May 2008 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. 3a. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2008/2009 Councillor Ann Edmonds welcomed parishioners to the meeting. She explained that because the meeting was being held within six weeks of an election, to avoid any possible political bias it had not been possible for either the county or city councillors to speak. The long awaited village speed sign had been installed and the build outs on Bridge Hill completed. These were not positioned where the Parish Council had requested. The upper one had had no effect on killing speed, especially up the hill and had probably made the situation worse. However, the Parish Council had agreed to start a Speedwatch scheme at various sites within the village boundary. Signs had been ordered and the initiative would start in the near future. Southern Housing had submitted the planning application for the affordable houses in January. The Development Control Committee of Canterbury City Council was likely to discuss the application in June, as technical problems had been solved. The Parish Council had spent a great deal of time ensuring that the 106 agreement would only allow Bridge residents and those with long standing ties to the village to qualify for the housing. The Parish Council was considering the possibility of providing a skate board ramp on the recreation ground. Youngsters visited a park in Lyminge and the council were drawing up scale plans to see what space was available. No decision would be taken without adequate consultation with village residents. The parish council had fought the development in the garden of 24 High Street and had won the case on points of procedure at the High Court, with costs awarded against the City Council. The plans had been resubmitted, however, and had been approved. Cllr Edmonds thanked those residents who had supported the parish council in its efforts to prevent development in the garden of Mount Charles House. Cllrs Beesty and Esdale were still in negotiation with Canterbury City Council over the possible purchase of the Mill Centre. The council hoped for a positive outcome. The condition of 45 High Street had been a concern for many years and Canterbury City Council had been asked many times to enforce repairs. Scaffolding had been erected a few months previously and the council hoped that the building would be restored. The Parish Council proposed to erect a bus shelter against the wall, near Bridge Post Office. Cllr Gulvin was drawing up plans. Two old street name signs had been installed in Brewery and Conyngham Lanes. Judging of the annual Bridge in Bloom competition would take place in late June. Cllr Edmonds commented that many residents were continuing their efforts to make their gardens attractive in the winter. During the last year our P.C.S.O. had left Bridge but the council had built up a good relationship with P.C. Paul Gibson. There had been some minor vandalism, especially on the recreation ground, and some fly tipping, but on the whole the village had fared well over the past year. 3b. 4a. 4b. Cllr Edmonds thanked a number of villagers; The Village Hall Committee, Mr and Mrs Possee for their beautiful tubs and Liz and Bill Oakey for their continued work on the chicane, Cllr Lewis and his volunteers, who did such a wonderful job litter picking and the volunteers who turned out to erect and dismantle the Christmas trees. The council had held a special litter pick and a tidying and planting morning on the recreation ground, both in March. Cllr Edmonds thanked everyone who had helped with these, especially Derek Prior. Finally, Cllr Edmonds thanked Cllr Hill for chairing the Planning Committee during another challenging year and she thanked other councillors and the clerk for their hard work and support during the past year. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2008/9 Cllr Esdale presented the accounts for the year ending 315‘ March 2009.He explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. PRESENTATION BY KATE HARRISON OF ASHTON HAYES, CHESHIRE Kate Harrison explained that Ashton Hayes was a village of around 1,000 people. The project had begun in 2006 after a meeting called by an enthusiastic resident had attracted 400 people. The twin aims of the project were to become a carbon neutral village and to share their experiences with others. She said that it was very difficult to attain carbon neutrality and there was a limit to what could be achieved through behavioural changes. The parish council was the body through which grants were channelled but the project was run by groups of local people. There had been a lot of publicity and support had come from local businesses and councils as well as national bodies. The project had a website and a toolkit could be downloaded to help individuals reduce their carbon footprints. A baseline survey was carried out in 2006 and a follow up in 2007 showed a 20% reduction in carbon emissions. Kate Harrison gave examples of the activities that could be carried out by most people. These included growing your own food, changing to renewable heating fuels, taking holidays closer to home, starting farmers markets, changing to low energy light bulbs and reducing the heating levels, installing micro generating equipment and ensuring that purchases at work were environmentally friendly. Once the Ashton Hayes project was under way, the village had found that the city council was willing to help, for example, by creating a footpath to the station and trialing energy saving measures in the local school. The next steps for Ashton Hayes would be to investigate a micro—generating system for the village. There were plans to install monitoring equipment to plot energy demand in homes and buildings. Wind speeds would be monitored. There was the possibility of an anaerobic digester and energy suppliers were discussing how to link their generation system to the local grid. The village shop was trying to source stock from local suppliers and the local education authority was keen to support projects in the village school, which had taken an active part in the project. Students from the local university had helped in carrying out surveys and analysing data. Their results had been achieved with two or three public meetings and smaller group meetings during the year. The aim was not only to make Ashton Hayes the first village in England to achieve carbon neutrality but to show other villages that by taking coordinated community action, they could do the same. Kate Harrison left two copies of an information DVD with the parish clerk. This charts the journey of the village and contains a ‘Going Carbon Neutral Toolkit’ The DVDs would be available on loan to Bridge residents. PRESENTATION BY MIKE BUNDY OF THE ENERGY SAVING TRUST FOR KENT, SURREY & SUSSEX 3 Mike Bundy explained that the Energy Saving Trust had previously been known as the Kent Energy Centre. He said that Elham had been one of four towns and villages in Kent participating in the Low Carbon Communities project since November 2007. In January 2008 the website elhamenvironment.co.uk was launched. In February 2008 the Energy Saving Trust had carried out a carbon emissions audit in Elham and in March 2008 an Eco Fair had been held to disseminate the audit’s results. This had been followed in April 2008 with the ‘Trees for Elham’ project and the launch of the Elham shopping bag in June last year. A fuel club now had 50 members. In December 2008 Elham had been awarded £4,000 by KCC to set up ‘Operation Energy Saver’. ‘Operation Energy Saver’ was an initiative to offer thermal imaging, distribute free low energy light bulbs, measure energy reduction and offer help and support to residents. It was launched in Elham in February 2009. This had been followed up by another audit in March 2009 and a second Energy Saving Fair at which residents could collect the thermal images of their homes and discuss the results with the Energy Saving Trust. So far the carbon foot printing results had been encouraging with a -5.71% change. Mike Bundy also spoke about Community Action for Energy, (CAfE) a national support programme which provided information about energy, and helped to develop community projects based on sustainable energy. It offered free membership, free technical support, free training sessions and small grants for equipment, travel or events to keep projects going. There was a possibility that Bridge could be nominated as the next Kent village to participate in the Green Communities Local Support Programme 2009-10. Only one Kent village could be chosen to participate and it would need to demonstrate that there was interest and enthusiasm for change. It would be important to use the skills and expertise of local residents, for example in designing a suitable logo and maintaining a well produced web site. Evaluation criteria would include scale of potential for carbon reduction, support for longer term ownership, potential to make a difference and achieve good carbon savings and the availability of advocates to promote what had been done in the community. The parish council would be invited to apply in the coming weeks. 6 ANY OTHER BUSINESS Chairs for the village hall — Cllr Esdale said that a grant for new chairs had been applied for and a response was expected within the next eight weeks Parish Council thanks — The parish council was thanked for its hard work during the past year. The meeting closed at 9.08p.m. Chairman .............................................................. .. Date ........................ .. 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 20"‘. May 2010 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Edmonds (Chairman), C Beesty, B Beinder, J Corfield, M Esdale, M Gulvin, J Hill, T Wilmshurst, Philip Wicker, BEST, Janet Larkinson, Chairman Harbledown & Rough Common PC; No Man’s Orchard, Jon Shelton KSCP, C Seath (Clerk), and 11 parishioners 1. 3a. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from Cllr Lewis, County Councillor M Northey and City Councillor John Anderson, MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 21 S‘. May 2009 The minutes of the meeting held on 213‘. May 2009 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2009/2010 Councillor Ann Edmonds welcomed the speakers and residents of Bridge to the meeting. She outlined the projects which had been undertaken in the village during the past year. Speedwatch equipment was being hired from Lower Hardres Parish Council on a monthly basis and any volunteers to help with this project would be very welcome. At long last, planning permission had been granted for the affordable housing scheme in Brickfields. The outcome of the application for village green status for Brickfields and the water meadows would be known by the end of the month. The greater crested newt survey was under way on the site and an archaeological investigation was being organised. Negotiations to buy the Mill Centre had stalled. Following the closure of the oil depot it was possible that the city council would use the site for housing. The parish council was concerned about the potential loss of this facility for the youth of the village. A skateboard ramp had been hired for the recreation ground over the May Bank Holiday. This would test out the local interest. Full consultation with the village would take place before any decision was made to purchase a ramp for Bridge. A grant had been received from the city council towards to cost of adult outdoor exercise equipment for the recreation ground. Both the bridge over the Nailbourne at Patrixbourne Rd and the spider climbing frame would shortly be refurbished. Tenders for the new bus shelter near the pharmacy had been received and planning permission granted. Cllr Northey had provided funding from his local projects fund for build outs by the zebra crossing and he had also donated £618 from his members’ fund for the refurbishment of the sports pavilion. The poor surface of the road by the zebra crossing had been reported frequently to Kent Highway Services but potholes on minor roads are their present priority. A replacement bench for the corner of Beech Hill had been ordered because the previous bench was vandalised in April. Councillor Edmonds thanked the villagers who took part in the litter pick in April and the Spring tidy up of the recreation ground. She expressed particular thanks to Councillor Lewis and his team of volunteer litter collectors and to those who again helped to put up the Christmas trees. Six councillors had attended the meeting in Bishopsbourne the previous evening to discuss the pumping of sewage into the Nailbourne. It was anticipated that the Environment Agency & Southern Water would work together to prevent a recurrence of the problem. The chairman thanked Liz and Bill Oakey for once again planting the chicane and Mr & Mrs Possee who continue to plant the tubs in the High Street. Councillor Edmonds concluded by thanking the Village Hall Management Committee and also Councillor Hill and Esdale for their assistance earlier in the year when she was unwell. She thanked Councillor Hill for chairing the planning committee and Councillor Esdale for the fantastic website and keeping the parish council on target with the 3b. 4a. 5a. 5b. 2 finances. She particularly thanked the councillors and the clerk for their hard work and support during the past year. Councillor Edmonds announced that a tree in memory of the late John Purchase would be planted on the recreation ground the following Saturday, 22”“ May at 12 noon. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2009/10 Cllr Esdale presented the accounts for the year ending 315‘ March 2010.He explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. PRESENTATION BY JANET HORSLEY — HON CHAIRMAN, BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Bridge village hall would be renovated thanks to a grant of £19,000 from KCC and £9,000 matched funding from CCC. A new storage corridor would be created with cupboards and a trolley table. The kitchen would be remodelled and would be slightly smaller with new units and a new floor. There would be three toilets including a disabled toilet and a new water heater. Work would begin on 26“, July and was due to end on 3'“ September. New chairs had been bought for the hall during the past year. PRESENTATION BY PHILIP WICKER — CONVENOR - BRIDGE ENERGY SAVING TEAM BEST grew out of the previous year’s Annual Parish Meeting when a speaker from Ashton Hayes made a presentation about becoming a carbon neutral village. A group of enthusiastic villagers formed a committee to provide good quality advice to local people on low carbon issues. A short video had been made, which was shown to the meeting. An information event had been held in December and a coffee morning in March. The group had a website that could be accessed via the village website www.briddevillade.orq.uk/BEST. In addition to lots of helpful advice, there was a quiz on the website which residents might find interesting. BEST would have a stall at the village fete in June and would be promoting the 10;10 campaign and asking people to sign up to the energy saving campaign. Residents were also invited to enter their energy consumption figures onto the website and join the group which meets at 47 High Street, the home of Philip Wicker. PRESENTATION BY JANET LARKINSON - NO MANS ORCHARD CHARTHAM HATCH & JON SHELTON - KENTISH STOUR COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIP ON COMMUNITY ORCHARDS Mrs Larkinson explained that the orchard belonged jointly to Harbledown & Rough Common PC and Chartham PC and had been acquired as an established orchard about 15 years ago. The orchard was run by a committee of 8, with 4 representatives from each parish. The group was advised by the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership which helped with obtaining funding and sourcing old varieties of apple trees. One or two trees needed to be replaced each year and orders had to be placed about 2 years in advance. Residents paid £15 per year to rent trees or could pay £50 for life ownership, although this was now being increased to £75. Eight years ago the site gained Local Nature Reserve status and aimed to promote biodiversity. Many community events had been run in the orchard including bat and moth evenings, poetry readings, musical events, an Apple Day in October etc. The site was some way from Chartham and had no toilets or parking facilities. The North Downs Way ran through it. Jon Shelton of the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership showed pictures of the orchard and some of the events that had been held there. He explained that the site covered 10 acres but other much smaller community orchards existed in the area. There were four main varieties of apple grown including some cider apples. KSCP gave advice and Natural England were occasionally called in to give expert advice. The main cost was pruning the trees, which was required every two to three years. This cost around £2,000 and had to be done professionally. The cost was borne by the project not by individual tree owners. KSCP volunteers had helped with fencing and other maintenance tasks. 3 Funding was available to purchase land and start up orchards. Orchards could be any size from one acre of 15 trees up awards. Longer—term maintenance was expensive for apple or pear trees but less so for cherry or plum trees. 6 ANY OTHER BUSINESS Tony Walder proposed a vote of thanks to the parish council for its on—going work on behalf of the village. The meeting closed at 8.45p.m. Chairman .............................................................. .. Date ........................ .. .0‘ PARISH COUNCIL OF BRIDGE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING WENESDAY 27”‘. APRIL 2011 AT 7.30 PM BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL AGENDA Apologies for absence To read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 20”‘. May 2010 To receive: a) The Chairman's Report for 2010/11 — Cllr Ann Edmonds b) A report on the accounts for the year ending 31“ March 2011 — Cllr Mark Esdale. To receive; A report on Bridge Village Hall by Janet Horsley, Hon Chairman of Bridge Village Hall Committee A report on Bridge & Patrixbourne Primary School by Ms R Chinnadurai, Head teacher A report on Bridge Farmers’ Market by Phillip Wicker, Chairman of the Committee Presentations on the Bridge Affordable Housing Scheme by: a) Caroline Ruiz &Anne Dow|ing— Southern Housing Group b) Gill Pritchard— Canterbury City Council Lettings Officer Any other business concerned with parish affairs Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 27"‘. APRIL 2011 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Edmonds (Chairman), C Beesty, B Beinder, J Corfield, M Esdale, M Gulvin, J Hill, T Wilmshurst, Mr Philip Wicker, Bridge Farmers’ Market, Janet Horsley, Hon Secretary Village Hall Committee, Renuka Chinnadurai, Headteacher, Pam Clubb, Advanced Skills teacher & Daniel Luck, Music teacher & school governor Bridge Primary School, Caroline Ruiz & Ann Dowling, Southern Housing Group, Gill Pritchard Canterbury City Council Lettings Department, C Seath (Clerk), and 30 parishioners 1. 3a. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from County Councillor Michael Northey and Mr & Mrs Walder MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 20"‘. May 2010 The minutes of the meeting held on 20”‘. May 2010 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2010/2011 Councillor Ann Edmonds welcomed the speakers and residents of Bridge to the meeting. She outlined the projects which had been undertaken in the village during the past year. The Affordable Housing project was coming to fruition and the speakers later in the meeting would give the latest information on progress. After a lengthy hearing, the application to Kent County Council for a village green had been successfully fought by both the City Council and the landowners, Cantley Estates. The future of the Mill Centre was still in doubt and a decision on the parish council’s request to buy the site had been promised by the city council by June this year. The village hall had been refurbished over the summer. New adult exercise equipment had been installed on the recreation ground and it was planned to replace the two springers with help from a grant from the city council. No decision had been taken about a skateboard ramp. Bridge Farmers’ Market, which had been given start up funding from the parish council had been very successful. A new bus shelter had been installed in the High Street and although some residents felt it should have had a seat, it was a great asset. The road outside the post office had been resurfaced with money allocated from the County Councillor’s budget and the council was very grateful to Cllr Northey for funding this. The new build outs had made a considerable difference to parking by the zebra crossing. Two new benches had been installed in the village. The first was a replacement for the bench vandalised on Bridge Hill. The other, overlooking the recreation ground had been generously donated by the family of George Pratt, former local police sergeant. The Speedwatch had started up again after the winter break and the Chairman thanked those residents who had agreed to help. She also thanked Tony Walder who had agreed to help with clearance of the village footpaths. Gavin Dodwell had been appointed as our PCSO and had been helpful in sorting out parked cars and graffiti. It was hoped he would stay in post for longer than usual. The Spring litter pick in March had been well supported by volunteers. The Chairman also thanked the volunteers who helped to put up the Christmas trees, Mr & Mrs Possee who continued to plant the tubs in the High Street and Mr & Mrs Oakey for once again planting the chicane. Finally the chairman thanked the Village Hall Management Committee and also all parish councillors for their commitment to the village. She mentioned John Corfield for his work on the newsletter and village website, Selwyn Lewis for organising the litter clearance, John Hill, the Chairman of the Planning Committee and Mark Esdale for the Christmas trees, website and work on the parish council finances. She particularly thanked the councillors who would be standing down at the next election and the Parish Clerk for her hard work during what had been a difficult year for her. 3b. 4a. 4b. 4c. 5a. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2010/11 Cllr Esdale presented the accounts for the year ending 315‘ March 2011.He explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. PRESENTATION BY JANET HORSLEY — HON CHAIRMAN, BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Bridge village hall had been renovated over six weeks in the previous summer, thanks to a grant of from KCC and matched funding from CCC. A new storage corridor had been created with six cupboards and a new toy store. The kitchen had been remodelled with new units and a water heater providing up to 100 cups of hot water for tea or coffee. There were three toilets including a disabled toilet, using air hand driers, which reduced the expense of paper towels. Problems with mould were being tackled. PRESENTATION BY RENUKA CHINNADURAI, PAM CLUBB and DANIEL LUCK, BRIDGE WITH PATRIXBOURNE C of E PRIMARY SCHOOL Bridge Primary School had a very good reputation and had performed in the top 8% of schools nationally by ‘value added’ measure. The school currently had 396 pupils. 26% of pupils had special educational need and this reflected the good reputation the school had developed through its specialist teachers. A high percentage (for Kent) of children did not have English as their first language. The school was one of 400 nationally designated as a ‘Support School’ and experienced teachers from Bridge helped other schools with leadership skills etc. as ‘trouble shooters’. The school was proud of its artistic and creative focus. It had participated in the National Gallery ‘Take One Picture’ project and work by pupils had been selected for display in the National Gallery two years previously and in the current year. The work would be exhibited from 13"". May until September. Staff had lectured at the National Gallery on the use of the ‘Take One Picture’ resource for multi disciplinary teaching. The ICT department had been judged outstanding and had been accredited the ICT Mark by inspectors. It was well resourced with computers, web cams, dictaphones etc. Music teaching was strong in the school and choirs had participated in concerts at the Albert Hall and Canterbury Cathedral. There were strong links with Bridge Parish Church. They aimed to be a Fair Trade school and the ‘walking bus’ initiative was continuing. There had recently been a twinning link with a school in St. André, France. Ms Chinnadurai hoped that the new curriculum would make the school more relevant to the village and hoped to strengthen links with the local community. PRESENTATION BY PHILIP WICKER —CHAlRMAN- BRIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET COMMITTEE The first Farmers’ Market had taken place on 13"" November 2010. The market had been set up by a committee of volunteers from the ‘Bridge Going Green’ initiative who had carried out research at the village fete in June 2010 to find out what residents wanted to do to make Bridge a more environmentally friendly village. The market had benefited from start up funding from the parish council, a third of which had now been repaid. It was affiliated to the Kent Farmers’ Market Association and complied fully with all regulations. The market, which was held in the Red Lion car park on the second and fourth Saturday morning of each month, had proved very successful and 400 visitors had attended the last market. Stall—holders paid a weekly fee of £12. It was hoped to appoint a market manager in the future to relieve the small committee of the huge amount of work it presently carried out on a voluntary basis and to allow the volunteers to move on to other projects. Mr Wicker paid tribute to the work of the committee and said that the success of the market was evidence of what could be achieved by community effort. PRESENTATION BY CAROLINE RUIZ and ANN DOWLING — SOUTHERN HOUSING GROUP. 5b. 6 Chairman .............................................................. .. 3 Planning permission for the project had been granted on 30"‘ April 2010 but building had been delayed by the Judicial Review and village green application. Currently the builders, Jenners, were working through 19 planning conditions with Canterbury City Council but building was scheduled to begin on 3'“ May. A site manager, Alan Doughty, had been appointed and residents were asked to report any problems at the site to him. The homes would be built to Code 3 standards for sustainable homes. The designs would be adaptable to take account of changes of need, for example, the installation of stair lifts. They would be 20% larger than standard builds with ample storage space. Each unit would have a garden with shed and water butt, composter and external water and electricity supply points. There would be mature hedging to replace the lost hedgerow. Completion was scheduled for February 2012. The 8 properties would be advertised on the city council website and by the parish council in the late summer. People could then bid for properties and a short list would be drawn up of people who had the most need and the requisite connection with Bridge. Those who had already enquired would get a letter explaining the process. The parish council would be involved in ensuring that the claims of local connections were genuine. PRESENTATION BY GILL PRITCHARD, CANTERBURY CITY COUNCIL LETTINGS DEPARTMENT There had originally been 40 applicants for the properties but some had found alternative accommodation. Applicants had to be on the housing list but only if no applicants were found that fulfilled the 4 tiers of long connection with Bridge and then surrounding villages would tenants from the general housing register be considered. Local connections would take precedence over degree of need where there was no local connection. There would be 8 units; 4 one bedroom flats, 2 two bedroom homes and 2 three bedroom homes. All would be for rent. Part ownership was not an option because of the local connection criteria. Rents would vary from around £60 / £70 per week for a flat to £100 for a 3 bedroom house. Initially homes would be leased on a ‘Starter Tenancy Agreement’ for 6 months to one year. This would be extended to a permanent tenancy if the tenants had behaved well. There would be no priority for any particular age group. ANY OTHER BUSINESS The candidates for the parish council elections were asked to make themselves known to the meeting. The meeting closed at 8.54p.m. Date ........................ .. PARISH COUNCIL OF BRIDGE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 3rd. May 2012 AT 7.30 PM BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. To read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27”‘.April 2011 3. To receive: a) The Chairman's Report for 2011/12 — Cllr John Hill b) A report on the accounts for the year ending 31“ March 2012 — Cllr Simon Cook 4. Presentation by Kent Fire and Rescue Service; Ann Millington — Chief Executive, Kent Fire & Rescue Service Russ Jordan — Group Manager for East Kent 5. To receive; A report by Canterbury City Councillor Simon Cook A report by Kent County Councillor Michael Northey 6. To receive; A report on Bridge Twinning with St Andre by Cllr Bill Oakey A report on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebrations by Cllr Alan Atkinson A report on the Mill Centre by Colin Beesty, Mill Centre Committee A report on the Neighbourhood Plan Committee by Joe Connor, Chairman Neighbourhood Plan Committee 7. Any other business concerned with parish affairs Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 3RD. MAY 2012 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs J Hill (Chairman), A Atkinson (Vice Chairman), S Cook, J Corfield, A Edmonds, S Hodges, B Oakey, B Ward and T Wilmshurst, KCC Cllr M Northey, C Beesty Mill Centre Management Committee, J Connor, Bridge Neighbourhood Plan Committee, A Millington & R Jordan, Chief Executive and Group Manager for East Kent, Kent Fire & Rescue Service , C Seath (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 40 parishioners 1. 3a. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Derek Prior, Joan Hill and Mark Esdale MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 27"‘. April 2011 The minutes of the meeting held on 27“. April 2011 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2011/2012 Councillor John Hill welcomed the speakers and residents of Bridge to the meeting. He introduced the five new parish councillors and praised all the parish councillors for the large amount of unpaid work they did for Bridge. Cllr Hill outlined the projects which had been undertaken in the village during the past year. The affordable housing scheme had been formally opened during the week, with the burial of a time capsule. He complimented the previous parish council on their tenacity in getting the scheme through in the face of some local opposition. The council had purchased a strimmer and appointed Tony Walder as Footpaths Officer. There had been a working party of volunteers to clear path CB 309 earlier in the yeah He thanked Cllr Hodges for her work on the wild flower project on the recreation ground. There had been two very useful working parties of volunteers in the year. A Jubilee oak tree had been planted on the recreation ground. The wet pour surface of the children’s play area was in bad condition and councillors were investigating the costs of replacing it. Cllr Hill thanked Mr & Mrs Possee for caring for the High Street planters over many years. They were retiring from the task and he asked for volunteers to takeover their care. Cllr Hill also thanked Mrs Fawke and Cllr & Mrs Oakey for caring for the chicane planters. The village was being kept clear of litter thanks to Cllr Ward and her band of volunteers. He also thanked Cllr Ward for organising regular Speedwatch session in Bridge, again helped by local volunteers. Former Councillor Mark Esdale had continued to organise the Christmas trees in Bridge and Cllr Hill thanked the residents of the High Street who paid for the trees each year. Cllr Hill mentioned the Twinning with St Andre, which Cllr Oakey would report on later and also the failure to secure the lease for the Mill Centre, again to be reported on later. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee would be an important celebration and Cllr Atkinson would give the meeting more details.. Bridge Village Sports Trust was being run by former councillor Mervyn Gulvin and he would welcome help and support from residents. The village had again had a change of PCSO but the new officer assigned to Bridge had not yet been in contact. The future of the Methodist Chapel, which the parish council had hoped to buy for community use, was still uncertain. It had been locally listed and a decision on English Heritage National listing was awaited. Cllr Hill mentioned the new Neighbourhood Plan Committee, which would be reported on later in the meeting and urged residents to make their views known about what they wanted for the village over the next two decades of the Canterbury District Local Plan. Cllr Atkinson was working to gain registration for the ‘Walkers are Welcome’ scheme which would bring visitors and business to local shops and pubs in the village. 3b. 5a. 5b. 2 Cllr Hill mentioned the success of the Farmers’ Market and welcomed the installation of the new bus shelter. Investigations were on—going to find suitable tip up seats for the shelter. Finally Cllr Hill mentioned village volunteers who continued to do regular important work; all the councillors who serve on many committees as well as working as parish councillors, former councillor Selwyn Lewis clearing bushes and collecting litter, Valerie Wicker for litter collection, Cllr Terry Wilmshurst as Chairman of the Planning Committee, Cllr Corfield for his work on the village website. He thanked the Clerk for routinely working beyond her allotted hours and for her helpful advice to the council. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2011/12 Cllr Cook presented the accounts for the year ending 313‘ March 2012.He explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. He also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. PRESENTATION BY KENT FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE Ann Millington, Chief Executive of the Kent Fire & Rescue Service, explained that the Service was visiting parishes to spread the message about their help for vulnerable people. The Service had 77 fire engines across Kent. There had been a 25% reduction in fires over the past 10 years because of their involvement in community safety. They were available to make home visits to vulnerable people and liaise with other agencies in putting a care package in place. Their performance standard was a10 minute response time but on average this was cut to 6 minutes. New £1/2 million Cobra equipment meant they were able to reduce fire temperatures in 15 seconds. Some fire stations, which had been in the wrong place, had been closed but five new stations had been opened. Cuts had been made in ‘back office’ staff. Russ Jordan, Local Commander for East Kent, said that Bridge was one of the safest places in the Canterbury ‘cluster’ which was one of the best in Kent. There had only been two incidents in the past 15 months. He was keen to work with parish councils in identifying and assisting local vulnerable people. The Fire Service would also work with the police and ambulance services to undertake joint activities to support them. REPORT BY CANTERBURY CITY COUNCILLOR SIMON COOK Cllr Cook said it had been an eventful and enjoyable first year as a City Councillor. The Council’s budget was tough and future prospects looked equally difficult. His main objective had been to preserve youth facilities in Bridge. Once the city council had refused to renew the Mill Centre lease, he had been working with all parties to secure a new youth centre on the school site. The Local Plan would be an important issue in the coming year. Cllr Cook stressed the importance of residents contributing their views to the Bridge Neighbourhood Plan, especially with regard to the proposed housing development sites. Cllr Cook concluded by saying it had been a pleasure to serve as City Councillor and he was always willing to listen to the concerns of local residents. REPORT BY KENT COUNTY COUNCILLOR MICHAEL NORTHEY Cllr Northey reported that although this year £97 million had been cut from the KCC budget there had been no rise in council tax and in the 2012-13 budget less would be spent on administration and a higher percentage on front line services. £3,000 was being spent from Cllr Northey’s Members’ Highway Fund to introduce a 40mph speed limit along Bifrons Hill and signing had been introduced to improve the turn at the Town Hill/Station Road junction and to divert traffic from the Bekesbourne Road triangle. Overall £8,000 of the £25,000 had been spent on projects for Bridge & Bekesbourne with Patrixbourne parishes. Cllr Northey outlined proposals for a county wide HGV plan aimed at producing electronic route maps to reduce the impact of freight deliveries in the county and reported that a Sat Nav summit held in March was trying to tackle the issue of HGVs 6a. 6b. 6c. 3 blocking rural routes; a national problem. KCC is leading the campaign to use some of the new tax on foreign lorries for repairing our roads. KCC aimed to have 90% of the county on super fast broadband by 2015 and the remaining 10% on at least 2mb. To this end, KCC had received a grant of about £10 million from the government, to which KCC had added a further £10 million and it was hoped to add a further £20 million from local companies. Cllr Northey ended by thanking the parish council for its tireless work for the village. He gave the example of village litter clearings. The parish council assisted him in his work as county councillor and he was pleased to hear of the many superb organisations in Bridge. REPORT BY Cllr BILL OAKEY BRIDGE-ST ANDRE TWINNING ASSOCIATION. Cllr Oakey reported that following a village poll, held in November last year, it was agreed to go ahead with plans to twin Bridge with St Andre. On 10"‘ February the Mayor of St Andre with their Twinning President signed the Twinning Accord with John Hill, Chairman of the Parish Council and Louise Tasou, Chairman of Bridge Twinning Committee in the Guildhall in Canterbury. The French Twinning Accord was signed on 24“. February in St Andre when the Bridge Twining Committee went to France. Cllr Oakey outlined the benefits of the twinning explaining that over the past two years visitors from St Andre had come to Bridge to the fete. They had given support to educational cooperation between the two local schools and a party would be coming to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It was hoped that the twinning would bring economic benefits to Bridge. Cllr Oakey said that the twinning was being funded by an EC grant to St Andre and that Bridge would have access to this funding in future. A programme of future events was being drawn up. An open meeting would be held after the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for villagers who wished to get involved and perhaps volunteer to serve on the Committee. REPORT BY Cllr ALAN ATKINSON ON PLANS FOR OUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS Cllr Atkinson announced the plans for the’ Bridge Big Jubilee Lunch’ to be held on the recreation ground on Sunday 3'“ June from 12.00 to 4.00pm to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. There would be a programme of fun and games for all the family. Among the highlights would be a fancy dress parade, old—fashioned games such as a tug of war, sack races, children’s entertainment, face painting etc. Villagers were asked to bring a picnic, a picnic blanket and sun—screen for the children. There would be food and drink with a bar kindly arranged by local publicans. On Monday evening at 10.15pm the Jubilee beacon would be lit on Star Hill as part of a national chain of beacons. It should be visible throughout the village. Cllr Atkinson thanked Rev Simon Rowlands, Simon Hopkins and Dominic Graham and the pyrotechnics team for their help. Commemorative coins had been arranged which would be given to local children but there would be additional coins for sale at the Big Jubilee Lunch. Cllr Atkinson, on behalf of the Parish Council, thanked the School, PTA, St Peter’s Church PCC and Friends of Bridge for their support. Volunteers were still needed to help on the day and if possible to lend gazeboes. REPORT BY Mr. COLIN BEESTY ON THE MILL CENTRE Colin Beesty outlined the history of the Centre, which had originally been a depot for Bridge and Blean Rural Council. The depot had been abandoned in 1973 when the Rural Council had been subsumed into Canterbury and was later used as a wine business before being abandoned again. In 1994 the Scouts had gained entry and started negotiating with the city council for the lease. In 1997 a 10 year lease was granted to the Girl Guide Association at a modest rent and since then the Centre had been maintained by the Mill Centre Management Committee. In 2007 Discussions started over the renewal of the lease. The city council proposed a 25 year lease at £14,000 per year, which was beyond the means of the youth organisations using the centre to pay. Further negotiations led to a verbal agreement to 6d. 7 Chairman .............................................................. .. lease the Centre for 99 years for a peppercorn rent. However, in January 2012 the City Council Executive voted to sell the Centre for housing development and gave the youth organisations 9 months to vacate the Centre. It had been suggested by the city council that a new building be erected in the grounds of Bridge school for shared use. To date agreement had been reached in principle with the school and school governors to commit land and building plans had been drawn up. The estimated cost was more than £450,000 and discussions were being attempted with KCC for funding sources. Meanwhile the city council had begun the review process to decide on whether to evict the youth organisations in September and a decision would be reached in June. REPORT BY Mr. JOE CONNOR ON THE BRIDGE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN Joe Connor explained that under the 2012 Localism Act, local input into the planning of housing and local facilities could be achieved via a Neighbourhood Plan. Bridge had therefore set up a working group to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan. As a first step a questionnaire would be delivered to every household in Bridge asking how residents would like to see in the village develop over the 20 year period of the Canterbury Local Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan would be based on responses from residents and there would be other events at which villagers would be consulted about the Plan. Once the plan had been drawn up it would be independently assessed and if accepted, there would be a referendum on it before it could be adopted. The Neighbourhood Plan Committee would have the services of a volunteer professional planner. Mr Connor pointed out that the city council had potentially identified three sites in Bridge and proposed around 250 new houses for the village. This would mean a large increase in the population of Bridge. It was probably not an option to refuse any housing development because of central funding cuts in the future, which would mean that housing would become an important source of city council revenue for local services. If Bridge refused to negotiate over housing numbers, development could be imposed on the village by the city council via the Local Plan Volunteers were asked to help with distributing and collecting in the Neighbourhood Plan questionnaire, which would be done towards the end of May. ANY OTHER BUSINESS There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.15p.m. Date ........................ .. 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 13‘. MAY 2013 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs J Hill (Chairman), S. Hodges (Vice Chairman), A Atkinson, J Corfield, R Moon, B Ward and T Wilmshurst, CCC Cllr S Cook, C Beesty, Mill Centre Management Committee, L Reed, Canterbury City Council, C Seath (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 50 parishioners 1. 3a. 3b. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Cllr Edmonds, KCC Cllr Northey, Janet Horsley and Mark Esdale MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 3"‘ May 2012 The minutes of the meeting held on 3'“. May 2012 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2012/2013 Councillor John Hill welcomed the speakers and residents of Bridge to the meeting. He introduced Robert Moon, the new parish councillor who had been elected to fill the vacancy left by Simon Cook. He told the meeting that Bill Oakey had resigned because of ill health and wished him well. The highlight of the year had been the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and Cllr Hill thanked Cllrs Atkinson, Oakey and their committee for a great celebration. The largest item of expenditure during the year had been the renewal of the safety surface of the children’s play area. The pavilion had been the target of vandalism and Cllr Wilmshurst had arranged for brackets to be fixed to the under side of the guttering to try to prevent further destruction of the guttering. There had been long standing problems with the junction of the A2 slip road. Speed indicator lights to calm traffic had been stolen. Recently a temporary red and white barrier with lights had been put in place. Cllr Hill thanked KCC Cllr Northey for his efforts to persuade the Highways Agency and Kent Highways to introduce a permanent solution. Cllr Hill praised all the parish councillors for the large amount of unpaid work they did for Bridge; sitting on outside committees and organising many activities for the good of the village, with the help of volunteers. He mentioned the Speedwatch project, litter picking initiatives, the recreation ground planting and footpath clearance. He thanked Cllrs Ward, Hodges, Wilmshurst, former Cllr Lewis, Tony Walder and Valerie Wicker. The village planters were cared for by Mr & Mrs Fawke, Cllr and Mrs Oakey and Cllr Ann and David Edmonds and Cllr Hill thanked them for their work. Cllr Edmonds had also organised the successful ‘Bridge in Bloom’ competition again. The village Christmas trees were greatly admired throughout the area and Cllr Hill thanked Mark Esdale and his band of volunteers as well as the many residents of the High Street who displayed trees on their houses. This Winter Cllr Oakey had organised new group of volunteers to clear snow from the footpaths and Cllr Hill thanked those who had helped. The Affordable Housing project was an attractive addition to the village and the new homes had now been occupied for just over a year. The new bus shelter had had a seat provided during the past year. The Neighbourhood Plan Committee had been set up and was meeting regularly to try to shape the future of the village for the next 20 years. Finally Cllr Hill thanked the councillors for their work during the past year. He mentioned Cllr Wilmshurst who chaired the Planning Committee and Cllr Corfield who maintained the village website and was responsible for production of the village newsletters. He also thanked the Clerk for regularly working more than her allotted hours and for her support. Cllr Hill informed the meeting that he would be stepping down as Chairman later that month having help the post on and off for many years. He thanked councillors for their support over the years. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2012/13 2 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, presented the accounts for the year ending 313‘ March 2013.She explained, with the help of pie charts, the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. She also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. REPORT BY CANTERBURY CITY COUNCILLOR SIMON COOK Cllr Cook paid tribute to the parish council for the work it did in the village. He had been impressed by the number of activities that went on in Bridge. Cllr Cook reported that the city council was being forced to reduce its costs considerably and had so far managed to do so by introducing back office efficiencies without affecting services. He informed the meeting that the draft Local District Plan would be published the following day and would be put out to public consultation from 14"" June for 8 weeks. It was very important that residents made their views known during that period. The draft Plan would be available online but also at the city council offices and in public libraries. Some money was available for local projects through the Rural Area Member Panel Fund and other grants of up to £500 were available from other city council funding. Cllr Cook urged residents to contact him about any concerns and he wished them well in the coming year. REPORT BY COUNCILLOR ALAN ATKINSON ON THE POLLUTION OF THE NAILBOURNE Cllr Atkinson gave a report, with photographs, on the current situation regarding the over pumping at three sites in the area and the tankering at various points on the Nailbourne. He explained that the cause of the problem was that the groundwater level rose and the pressure form this water allowed groundwater to infiltrate an unsound sewer system. The Environment Agency sampled the water regularly and the advice was to avoid direct contact with the water. The cost to Southern Water of replacing the sewer would be more than the cost of the current ‘emergency’ operations. So far the Little Stour & Nailbourne River Management Group had held a series of public meeting and sent a series of questions to Southern Water. The LSNRMG had also contacted our local MP and consulted with the National Flood Forum and other parishes that were experiencing similar problems elsewhere in the South of England. A meeting with DEFRA had been requested. LSNRMG were embarking on a multi—agency approach which would aim to change the Environment Agency’s interpretation of the law so the current activity, which happened every time the river flowed, was not classed as an ‘emergency’. Once the river dried up over pumping would end but the tankering was likely to continue with its accompanying nuisance, damage and disruption of village life. Parishioners were urged to apply pressure to Southern Water to repair the sewers to resolve the situation. Cllr Atkinson thanked Jill Thomas, Secretary of the LSNRMG for hersuppon. REPORT BY Mr COLIN BEESTY ON THE FUTURE OF MILL CENTRE Colin Beesty, Chairman of the Mill Centre Management Committee, reported that negotiations with the city council regarding the future of the Mill Centre were on—going. The city council had granted the Centre a two—year lease but the youth organisations required 12 months notice to vacate the premises, which meant that a decision on the future of the Centre would have to be taken by the Summer. Every possible alternative site had been explored in Bridge and none had been found suitable. The parish council had started negotiation with the city council over the possible purchase of the site but this would require substantial funding to be found. Clive Medhurst had taken on the role of fundraiser for the project. PRESENTATION BY LARISSA REED, HEAD OF CANTERBURY CITY COUNClL’S NEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES. Ms Reed demonstrated the new bins that would be given out in the District over the coming weeks once the new recycling system was in place. She explained that the 3 system had been introduced to increase the amount of re—cycling in the District. This had been 20% ten years ago and was currently 50% recycling and burning to make energy. The new system would recycle glass and food waste at the kerb side with battery and textile recycling in the future. Each household would get a new blue lidded wheelie bin for re—cycling with an insert for paper and a lockable big food waste bin with a smaller food waste caddy, and a roll of biodegradable insert bags. Replacement bags would be obtainable from supermarkets or householders could use newspaper as lining for the caddies. The blue bins and food bins would be collected weekly. The fortnightly green bin collection would continue, as would the black bin collection for residual waste. Ms Reed explained that the city council ran an ‘Assisted Collection Service’ for those unable to move their full bins and she asked residents to make this service known more widely. There would be no compulsion to re—cycle and residents could ask for some of the bins to be taken away after they had been distributed. Bins that got stolen during the first year would be replaced free of charge. After that the householder would need to purchase a replacement. Larger families could ask for larger bins and smaller households could request smaller bins. Clear plastic sacks would be collected for a year after the new system began. The recycling points with bottle banks etc would stay for the time being until it was clear how much use they were getting under the new scheme. The collection lorries would have compartments into which the various categories of refuse were sorted. In future Serco would be penalised if they missed streets or for not replacing the bins properly. 8 ANY OTHER BUSINESS Residents asked questions on the following matters; Location of the parish notice board — no suitable alternative site had been identified Parking on double yellow lines at school collection times in Conyngham Lane — Canterbury City Council would send out a Parking Enforcement Team to target Bridge at some time in the future Dog mess in Brewery Lane — Canterbury City Council’s Environment Dept would investigate Noise from the A2 fly over joints — The parish council had already taken this matter up with the Highways Agency. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.33p.m. Chairman .............................................................. .. Date ........................ .. 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 15‘. MAY 2014 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs S Hodges (Chairman), J Hill (Vice Chairman), A Atkinson, A Edmonds J Corfield, R Moon, B Ward and T Wilmshurst, KCC Cllr Northey, G Gardener KCC/CCC Resilience Officer, E Edwards Engineering Manager Canterbury City Council, C Seath (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 26 parishioners 1. 3a. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Cllr Wortham and Mark Esdale MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13‘. May 2013 The minutes of the meeting held on 15‘. May 2013 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2013/2014 Councillor Hodges welcomed Rev Jonathon Lloyd, the new vicar, to the village and Kate Wortham who had been co-opted onto the parish council. She then outlined four major events of the year. Firstly the Canterbury District Plan had been published and proposed a large area of housing, a new hospital and a major road junction for South Canterbury. The parish council had commented in detail on the first draft and she asked parishioners to give their views on the proposals in the final plan to the parish council. She also advised that the parish council had withdrawn its support for a housing development on Patrixbourne Road next to the Health Centre following recent flooding in the area. Secondly, a proposal for a solar farm had been opposed by the parish council on environmental grounds because it bordered an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and would cover Grade 2 agricultural land. The parish council had written to the Boundary Commission objecting to the proposal to make one large two-member ward covering the area from Bridge to Littlebourne. It was inequitable and did not meet the aims of the Review. The ratio of electors to councillors would be one of the worst in the District and communication links in the ward would be difficult. A two-member ward could prove difficult if two different political parties were represented. Cllr Hodges paid tribute to the very supportive agencies, the parish councillors and residents who had shown great community spirit during the recent floods. She was pleased to report that Cllrs Atkinson and Moon had received local awards for their work. The Neighbourhood Plan was continuing under the Chairmanship of Prof Connor. A parking survey was currently under way and there would be another consultation event later in the month. A group of volunteers worked on the recreation ground regularly. In May last year an updated tree survey was carried out and some remedial safety work was being carried out on the trees. The Jubilee Oak and new hedge by Riverside Close were thriving and children from the school had helped with planting snowdrops and wild flower seeds last May and narcissi bulbs in the autumn. Cllr Hodges thanked Kent County Councillor Michael Northey and City Councillor Simon Cook for their support and attendance at parish council meetings. All councillors gave their time on a voluntary basis for the good of the village. Cllr Hodges thanked the councillors individually for their work and also named many residents of Bridge who also volunteered for the good of Bridge; litter picking, acting as footpath warden, organising the Christmas trees, running the Mill Centre and the village hall, sitting on the Little Stour & Nailbourne River Management Group, maintaining the village website, volunteering to plant the village planters and chicanes and generally supporting the parish council in its work She closed by thanking the parish clerk for her support during the year and regularly working more than her allotted hours and her husband, Peter, for his support which made her work for the council possible. 3b. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2013/14 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, presented the accounts for the year ending 4”‘. April 2014.She explained the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. She also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. REPORT BY KENT COUNTY COUNCILLOR MICHAEL NORTHEY Cllr Northey explained that KCC had to make savings of around £81 million and this would mean a change in the way KCC did things. The change in delivery would not be noticed by the users. For example in the care of the elderly — there would be the same level of care and home visits, but the number of agencies was being reduced from over 120 to 23. This would result in savings, with fewer agencies to partner, and fewer staff needed to do the monitoring. For the first time in four years KCC had had to increase council tax, byjust under 2%. This would raise ten million pounds. From April, each local County Councillor had had a reduction of nearly half in available grants. So funding applications must be well targeted. The current emphasis on partnership working was well demonstrated during the recent floods. Bridge parish suffered awful damage and inconvenience and the issues of water pollution. The City Council had done a greatjob in helping and co-ordinating, and the community response had been terrific. Cllr Northey had seen huge involvement from many groups, including the church and pubs, KCC Highways, the Environment Agency, Southern Water, the Ambulance Service, Red Cross, the Army, Police, Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Service, the MP, EDF Energy, community wardens, many local councillors, particularly Cllrs Moon & Atkinson in Bridge, and parish chairmen and many prominent individuals. It was good that Greg Clark MP had met people in the village on 23 April. In May the KCC Cabinet would discuss ways to bring in money for enhanced flood protection measures for the future. The government had given KCC an extra £8.6 million to repair Kent roads badly damaged in the floods. KCC was also applying for further funding, especially under the Bellwin Scheme; a national government scheme to help councils with emergencies. There were now over 40 crews on Kent roads in the Find and Fix scheme. The average turn-round to mend a pothole was 13 days. Foreign lorries were now being charged £10 each to enter the country, towards road repairs. Unfortunately the Treasury was keeping the money — but KCC were lobbying for some of it to come back to Kent, which suffered badly from the damage by these lorries. Cllr Northey praised the area as strong with good services, vigorous societies and local life. The village website was especially good. He paid tribute to Sue Hodges, Christobel Seath and, the whole council and said it was a privilege to be Bridge’s representative on Kent County Council. DISCUSSION ON THE RECENT FLOOD EMERGENCY LED BY CANTERBURY CITY COUNC|L’S EMERGENCY CO-ORDINATOR GUY GARDENER AND ENGINEERING MANAGER TED EDWARDS. Guy Gardener, who had been the Emergency Co-ordinator for the area during the recent floods, explained that Kent’s emergency response unit had been instituted to make the system more efficient. KCC and CCC were Category 1 responders and the other services co-ordinated with them in educating and warning the public. It made businesses more resilient to floods via the Kent Resilience Forum, which helped them plan for emergencies. Twice the average January rainfall in Kent had led to the flooding. West Kent was particularly badly hit with some properties flooding three times. During the emergency there had been three levels of emergency strategic co-ordination; Gold Control, which met daily to allocate resources and was run by the police from the Police HQ and came into play when more than one area was affected. Silver Control run from CCC at District level, which met twice a day and allocated resources locally. Bronze met three times a day locally and kept a constant flow of information between controls and agencies. In Bridge the main problem had been ground water. Few properties had been flooded by the river. The Environment Agency had played an important role in predicting and plotting the river levels. Mr Gardener congratulated Bridge for its co-ordinated response and community spirit during the floods. It could happen again and the City Council would like to revise and improve the emergency plan. They wanted to work with the Parish Council and the Little Stour and Nailbourne River Management Group (LSNRMG) and residents were asked to feed in their ideas and comments via those organisations. Ted Edwards said that the response in Bridge worked better than in 2001 and he could rely on Bridge volunteers to deploy sandbags delivered by Serco, which was a great help. Arrangements to co-ordinate the agencies and provide sandbags had begun in December when river levels on the Stour began to rise. For the future, a working group had been set up with details of 42 short and long term improvements that could be made. Government funding could be a problem as money was available for the repair of existing flood defences but money for new defences had to go through different channels and could take 2 years to access. Careful records had been kept of the deployment of more than 20,000 sandbags and pumps and pipes for future reference. He conceded that the early response could have been better but said that little could have been done to prevent the flooding. A briefing note from LSNRMG would be put on the village website and the website also gave details of how individuals could access up to £5,000 in government funding for resilience measures for their houses if they had been affected by the floods. Guy Gardener presented Cllr Rob Moon with an award on behalf of the Kent Association of Local Councils for his outstanding work in the parish during the floods. 6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Residents asked questions on the following matters; 25 Brewery Lane — house almost derelict and affecting neighbours. Cllr Northey would investigate options with KCC. Allotments — some now available for lease via Bridge Allotment Association Cinema — could films be shown in Bridge? — a matter for a commercial enterprise or an individual to organise. The company showing films in Barham had deemed Bridge village hall unsuitable. Recreation ground — could it be declared a village green? Parish pursuing this with CCC but unlikely because it was currently held on a lease agreement There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.00 p.m. Chairman 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 30 APRIL 2015 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs S Hodges (Chairman), J Hill (Vice Chairman), A Atkinson, A Edmonds J Corfield, R Moon, B Ward,T Wilmshurst and K Wortham, P Wicker (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 21 parishioners. 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Mark Esdale, Cllr Simon Cook, KCC Councillor Michael Northey, Cllr Mike Sole, Christobel Seath and Barbara Beinder. 2. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 1 May 2014 The minutes of the meeting held on 1 May 2014 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. 3a. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2014/2015 The Parish Clerk It was with great regret that the Parish Council accepted the resignation of the Parish Clerk Christobel Seath at the end of last year. Christobel completed ten years of dedicated work to the village for which we are all grateful. In her place I would like to welcome our new Parish Clerk Philip Wicker who joined us in February this year. I hope Philip will enjoy the challenge of working with us. There have been six maior developments this vear: 1. The Second Canterbury and District Local Plan The proposed installation of a Solar Panel Park The Bridge Draft Neighbourhood Plan The development of the Village Emergency Plan The future of the Mill Centre The refurbishment of the Pavilion on the Recreation Ground. F39“.-PS9!” 1. Parish Council responded to the Second Canterbury and District Local Plan in July 2014. Objections to the proposed housing development in South Canterbury and the repercussions for Bridge were made. The Plan is now with the Inspectors and we await the findings. 2. Several Parish Councils worked together putting forward reasons why the development of a Solar Panel Park was not appropriate on the outskirts of Bridge. The application for the development was withdrawn in September 2014. 3. Work has continued on the Bridge Neighbourhood Plan. Joe Connor will report on the latest developments. 4. After the flooding last year Bridge donated £10, 000 from parish reserves towards schemes that would benefit Bridge. We now have flood gates in Brewery Lane which have been used this winter. Bridge now has an Emergency Plan which is the envy of other Parishes. The members of the Parish Council’s Community Emergency Team are trained Flood Wardens. At present they are collecting the names of people who may need help in an emergency and also the names of volunteers who would be willing to help. 5. In July 2014 the Executive of Canterbury City Council decided to extend the lease of the Mill Centre for another year before selling the premises. Colin Beesty will report on the latest developments. 6. The Parish Council has spent £11,000 refurbishing the Pavilion on the Recreation Ground to extend its use. Thank vou to manv includind: Kent County Councillor Michael Northey and Canterbury City Councillor Simon Cook for attending our monthly meetings and for their support in pursuing different issues. The six major developments (above) come on top of the day to day work of the Parish Council. I would like to thank all the Parish Councillors for their support, for the unpaid work they do for the village, sitting on committees inside and outside the village and organising many activities for the good of the village together with the help of volunteers. I would like to thank specifically: o Cllr Hill the Vice Chairman for chairing meetings in my absence and for being my mentor — if I get things wrong you know who to blame! o C||rWi|mshurst for Chairing the Planning Committee, acting as Tree Warden and as a member of BVST taking a major role in the refurbishment of the Pavilion. o Cllr Edmonds for monthly auditing of the accounts, organising Bridge in Bloom, the Welcome Pack and monitoring footpaths o Cllr Corfield for representing Art in Bridge, acting as Editor compiling the Village Newsletter and helping with the Village website. o Cllr Ward for organising Speedwatch, Litter Picking and work on the Recreation Ground o Cllr Atkinson for the vast amount of work he has done and is doing on the Nail Bourne & Little Stour River Management Group and for Chairing the Emergency Planning Committee o Cllr Moon for his work on the Emergency Planning Committee, the Mill Centre Committee, the Village Hall Management Committee and undertaking School Liaison. o Cllr Wortham for her extensive research and work on the Emergency Planning Committee and offering her expertise on Health Issues. Parish Councillors are ably supported by many volunteers. These are:- - Joe Connor, who chairs the Neighbourhood Plan Committee and their on- going work. o Colin Beesty for chairing the Mill Centre Committee o Mark Esdale for acting as Snow Warden, for Christmas Tree co- ordination, the Village Hall Management Committee, the Mill Centre Committee, the Village website and taking a leading role in the refurbishment of the Pavilion. o Mervyn Gulvin on the Nail Bourne & Little Stour River Management Group, the Mill Centre Committee and for taking a leading role in the refurbishment of the Pavilion. o Laurence Dunderdale for his work on the Emergency Planning Committee o Tony Walder and helpers for footpath clearance o Jenny Vye for chairing the Village Hall Management Committee o Esther Hall and Kathy Walder for working on the Neighbourhood Plan Committee In my spare time I work with a regular group of volunteers on the Recreation Ground. I would like to thank them for all the help and fun we have had over the year. Volunteers from the Stour Countryside Partnership spent a morning with us last September helping to clear the area by the large school gates and an area near the Tennis Courts. The flower beds by the pavilion provide a warm welcome to visitors. I would particularly like to thank the children of the village school for planting wild flower seeds last May, the wild flower plug plants in September and Narcissi bulbs in the autumn by the Nail Bourne. I would like to thank Pam Dobson for completing a Hedgerow Survey of the Recreation Ground. 3 After a safety inspection of the trees on the Recreation Ground in 2014 some remedial work needs to be carried out. The cost of this has been spread over two financial years, 2013-14 and 2014-15. The Recreation Ground is fulfilling its designation as a Community Asset with a thriving Tennis Club catering for people of all ages, a newly refurbished Pavilion which is not only home to several football teams but other village groups including a newly formed Youth Group. The WI has a May Day Tea from 2.30 until 4 pm tomorrow afternoon. Why don’t you come and join them? If you are holding a small party or get together you might think of hiring the pavilion rather than the Village Hall. Details are available from Mark Esdale. I would like to thank Vicky White for maintaining the planters in the village High Street, Mr and Mrs Fawke and Mrs Oakey for tending the flower beds by the chicane and Valerie Wicker for litterpicking. I would also like to thank local residents in the High Street who put Christmas trees outside their houses. Several Parish Councillors are standing down in May. On your behalf I would like to thank them for the outstanding work that they have carried out over a number of years for the village. Cllr Edmonds has completed 12 years as a Parish Councillor, but I think the record must go to Cllr Hill who has served the village for 39 years including 18 years as Chairman. Finally I would like to thank my husband Peter Hodges for his support because without him I would not be here. 3b. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2014/15 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, presented the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2015. He explained the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. He also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. 4. REPORT BY KENT COUNTY COUNCILLOR MICHAEL NORTHEY-read by Cllr Corfield in the unavoidable absence of Cllr Northey. Recognition of good work I would very much like to thank the whole parish council for all their help and indefatigable efforts for the village, not always fully recognised. It has been a pleasure to work with you over the four years, and all good wishes to those departing and those who will be on the incoming council. A special word of thanks to Cllrs Edmonds, Hill and Hodges for their leadership. Also special thanks go to Cllr Atkinson and all those involved in mitigating flood problems over the past two years. Happily things were not so severe this year but we thank the whole team for their vigilance. It is good to see various mitigation measure in progress, e.g. the wall being planned at 69 High Street. The work of KCC KCC had to find another £86 million savings for the current budget. However it is still possible to do much good work such as the improvements on the Bridge Down steps, potholes filled in Higham Lane and the road markings reinstated. Every so often someone will complain that they receive ‘nothing’ or ‘very little’ for their council tax. A good response might be to simply list the 300+ services Kent County Council provides. Of course not everyone uses all the services — there’s no compulsion to visit a library, download an e-book or visit a country park. But there are other services that everyone uses such as our roads and disposal of your waste (and paying the government landfill tax of £80 a tonne on that waste). Some services might be considered more as ‘insurance’ such as emergency planning, gritting the roads and provision of salt bins. Much of Kent County CounciI’s budget (and your council tax) is spent on school buildings and transporting children to and from school. If children are at their nearest 4 appropriate school then KCC is obliged to pay for this but KCC also provides a £9m annual subsidy to make a deeply discounted bus pass available to all 11 — 16 year olds. KCC subsidies some uneconomic rural bus services, to keep them open. These and other transport services cost around £70m a year. Other services include the coroner’s court, trading standards, help to those fleeing domestic abuse and youngsters needing help to get off drink and drugs. KCC's biggest area of expenditure (over £400m) is on social care for adults — the elderly, the mentally ill, the disabled and those with learning disabilities and for children — keeping them safe from abuse, arranging adoption or care. The district/city council, Kent Police, Kent and Medway Fire Authority and the parish/town council also set their precepts and the district/city council then sends out the council tax bills on behalf of them. This year KCC agreed a rise of 1.99%. 5 (a) REPORT ON THE MILL CENTRE BY COLIN BEESTY (CHAIR, MILL CENTRE COMMITTEE) (NB: CCC=Canterbury City Council; BPC= Bridge Parish Council) Context and recent history: The Mill Centre is used on a regular basis by various units of uniformed youth organisations. Over 120 children per week attend meetings and events over five weekdays. The Mill Centre was granted by CCC a two year lease in 2013 which expires in October 2015, the purpose of which was to give time to explore any and all options for community facility provision in the village. Over the last 2-3 years these options have been exhaustively explored and it has become obvious there is nowhere else that would be feasible. So, unless another solution can be found, the youth groups will have to be given notice soon so they have time to find accommodation elsewhere when they restart after the summer of 2015. In early 2014 we approached CCC to brief them on our findings of our investigation and to explore an alternative solution to the problem of where to house youth groups for Bridge. We proposed the granting of a long leasehold by way of a Community Asset Transfer - this long lease is necessary as fund raising for building redevelopment will be unobtainable if it is simply on a rolling lease or another 2 year lease. At the same time, BPC placed the Mill Centre on the register of assets of community value. This gave the Parish the right to bid under the Localism Act should the building come onto the open market. We were then invited by CCC to make an Expression of Interest to run the Mill Centre which is the City’s way of dealing with Community Asset Transfers. This involved BPC in making an application to be granted a Community Asset Transfer (agreed unanimously in April 2014) and corresponding long lease over the Mill Centre with support from the Mill Centre Management Committee to write a business plan and justify the case. This was done. Alongside this we sought and obtained planning permission for a major upgrade and refurbishment of the Mill Centre, including new entrance, toilets and kitchen as well as a re- arrangement of the internal rooms to increase the community use and meet requirements of current and future user groups. The business plan ‘The object is to acquire a long leasehold via Bridge Parish Council and to expand and improve the amenities for the benefit of the young people of the surrounding rural area. The centre is to be run as a rural social amenity with the emphasis on youth.’ The centre will be run with daytime (mainly adult) activities to produce revenue subsidise youth work in the evenings and weekends. The centre will be run in tandem with the existing Bridge Village Hall which is unable to provide the necessary facilities for many and various groups. 5 The business plan demonstrated that after gaining the lease (“year 1”), considerable funds could be raised and spent on the refurbishment of the Mill Centre. Year 2 would just break even, with subsequent years showing sufficient balances to repay loans raised in year 1. It does not ask for or assume any additional grant funding from CCC. Following the Expression of Interest submission and business plan CCC had 3 options 1. To grant a long lease to Bridge Parish Council This presumes that CCC is satisfied that community benefits outweigh the site’s market value. 2. Proceed with the open market sale of the site BPC would have the opportunity to bid for the site at market value. We are confident in the business plan for refurbishment but are aware that numbers don’t allow for both an outright purchase and refurbishment. 3. To grant a short term extension of the current lease In June 2014 CCC’s Overview Committee voted overwhelmingly to support option (1) i.e. granting us a long lease-an important step because the Overview Committee makes recommendations to the Executive Committee In July 2014 the Executive Committee discussed the future of the Mill Centre. Cllr Hodges, Cllr Simon Cook and Mervyn Gulvin spoke in support of the plan. Sadly they voted for option (3) a one year lease extension as we could not demonstrate that the community benefit outweighed the estimated £300,000 market value of the site. We wholeheartedly disagree with the estimated market value and community benefit calculation. We remain convinced this project represents a better value for money for taxpayers than the transfer of Westgate Hall in Canterbury into the hands of its local community. In February 2015 we received notification of CCC’s intention to market the site triggering the Community Right to Buy process (as BPC had previously registered the building as a Community Asset). This allowed six weeks for qualified interested parties to register an interest and place a moratorium (until 28 August 2015) to prevent its sale for 6 months except to a community interest group. CCC initially stated BPC could not do this but later recanted. After August 28 2015, CCC can sell to whoever they wish - the purpose of the 6 months period is for a community group to open discussions and/or raise money. There is no right of first refusal. It is not our intention to raise funds to purchase the site at market value. However, the six month moratorium means that the proposed sale will be the responsibility of newly elected council. It is possible with new leadership and transfer of power away from the Executive Committee under the new CCC operating structure that a vote of the new full council could overturn the sale decision. What I ask of you all here tonight is to challenge your prospective City Councillors for their position on this subject and make it an election vote issue if you really wish to see the Mill Centre continue to provide such a valuable service for our young people and be developed into providing new services for the adult population of the village. In response to questions raised by parishioners, Mr Beesty stated that: o The main priority at present is to secure a long lease on the building and a return of the Mill Centre asset to BPC 6 o Publicity about the Centre has been achieved through social media and banners and not through a sustained press campaign o Existing Mill Centre groups will not be able to use the refurbished pavilion henceforth for logistical reasons 5 (b) REPORT ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN-JOE CONNOR (CHAIR, NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN COMMITTEE) The current state of play: o Draft 1-published October 2014- with responses received from 20% of the village population o Statutory consultation on draft 1 was conducted with 25 groups o These responses are being used to revise the plan (by mid-Summer 2015) for final publication and agreement by a referendum (organised and paid for by CCC) by the end of 2015 The plan matters greatly as it provides the village with a means of challenging decisions made by external authorities we may not agree with about future developments within the village. 6. PRESENTATION BY BRIAN LLOYD OF CPRE ON: CPRE, LOCAL PLANNING AND THE CANTERBURY CITY COUNCIL LOCAL IN PARTICULAR. Cllr Hill welcomed Brian Lloyd as a town planner of 30+ years’ experience and as an advisor and trainer for BPC and also for the Kent Association of Local Councils. Brian spoke of the history, role and values of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) the context of local plans within decision making on development issues and his misgivings about the current Canterbury Local Plan. (His full presentation is available at httb://wvvw.briddevillade.ord.uk/icwebfiles/barishcouncil/bades/bdfs/APM%202015%20CPRE %20address.pdf and the CPRE draft response to the CCC Local Plan can be found at httb://brotectkent.ord.uk/wb-content/ubloads/2014/10/Publication-Draft-submitted- responses.pdf) With regard to the CCC Local plan, with its intention of creating 15,600 new dwellings, 6,500 new jobs and over £100m of road infrastructure investment, Brian spelt out the objections that CPRE will be putting forward to the inspector who has been appointed to overview the Plan from July 2015. Specifically, CPRE feels that: o The new jobs target is over optimistic and should in the realm of 3,500 o The number of required dwellings is therefore too high (should be 12,000 maximum) o The choice of proposed development sites is too concentrated on large greenfield areas (such as South Canterbury with the proposed construction of 4,000 dwellings) o The consultation process has been very poor and the plan lacks public support o The wrong strategy is being advocated by CCC-there should be development of more brownfield sites and these should be more dispersed over all of Canterbury District o More emphasis is needed on rural and affordable housing o The CCC local plan gives too much emphasis to road building and allows for too much urban sprawl o The proposed development may pay for expensive road programmes, but this could lead to funding shortfalls for other essential infrastructure (schools/health/sustainable transport) if the overall housing stock of Canterbury District rises by 26% over the period 2011-2031, as the plans currently proposes 7 The coordination of such a high risk and extensive plan may prove to be beyond the capacity of CCC to deliver Housebuilders will not be able to meet the challenge of building 780 new dwellings per year for 20 years. In response to questions raised by villagers, Mr Lloyd explained: how the inspector’s investigation will be organised how the Coalition government changed central government requirements on local housing provision that water stress for Canterbury is a significant issue and that the plan for a new reservoir in Broad Oak remains in the long term planning of water companies There will need to be greenfield development even to provide 12,000 dwellings and that there should be consideration of spreading these developments over a wider area than the 10 preferred sites as identified in the CCC local plan. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Chairman A KALC award was presented to Cllr Atkinson for his work in dealing with the various issues associated with the Nail Bourne and Bridge Village in the past year. In receiving the award, he paid tribute to the other members of BPC with whom he has worked on these matters. A parishioner proposed a vote of thanks to all members of the Parish Council for their work this year and in the past four years. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.10 p.m. Date 1 BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2016 AT 7.30 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Atkinson (Chairman), 8 Fawke (Vice Chairman), R Atkinson, J Corfield, S Hodges, P Dhillon and P Wicker (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 25 parishioners. 1. 3a. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Cllr K Brooks MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 30 APRIL 2015 The minutes of the meeting held were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2015/2016 Mr Ray Evison of the Kent Association of Local Councils made a presentation to former Councillor John Hill, marking his 39 years of service to the local community as a Parish Councillor. For most of these years John had served either as Chair or as Vice Chair of the Parish Council. Cllr Atkinson then reviewed the work of the Parish Council over the last year, concentrating on those matters it had inherited and those which it had initiated in the course of 2015-2016. He mentioned many councillors and villagers by name: they are indicated in bold font in the report that follows. In particular, he noted the work involved by Cllr Cook and the Mill Centre Management Committee in the reversal of the decision by Canterbury City Council to sell off the Mill Centre. He updated the meeting on the current state of the lease negotiations and thanked Mervyn Gulvin and the Clerk for their involvement in this work. He thanked current flood wardens (Cllrs Sole and Moon, and Richard McCarthy) and members of the Recreation Ground committee of the Parish Council for their hard work in the last year (Cllrs Sole, R Atkinson and Hodges) as well as the many volunteers who help to keep the environment clean and pleasing. He also thanked the footpath wardens (Richard McCarthy and Tony Walder) and litterpickers who make such a different to the village. He made a special reference to the Clean for the Queen activity in March 2016. Having thanked those whose work had lessened some of the traffic problems on the High St, he referred to those working to improve the parking problems at the primary school. A greater focus has been placed on cars speeding through the village with the purchase and regular use of Speedwatch equipment. (Cllrs Dhillon and Fawke and their team of volunteers). The Parish Council worked well with Bekesbourne Parish Council to provide temporary facilities for skateboarders. (Cllrs Sole and Brooks) The parish newsletter is now in colour (Cllr Corfield) and the Village Facebook group page has become very popular with many (Cllrs Corfield and Fawke). Bonfire night on the recreation ground had proved to be a great success (Cllr Moon) and it seems that Stagecoach will review its price zoning policy in so far as Bridge is concerned in the near future. (Cllr Fawke) The sport pavilion has been further upgraded and is now perfectly suitable for hire by villagers and non-villagers. 3b. 2 The Parish Council has led a number of consultation events with members of the village community and been as open and as transparent as possible in setting out options for the future. He concluded by thanking the councillors leading on the planned improvement to the Green Court /Western Ave area (Cllrs Fawke and Sole) and encouraged all present to attend the forthcoming village party to celebrate the Queen’s birthday on 12 June 2016. (C||r Dhillon). THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2015/16 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, presented the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2016. He explained the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. He also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. REPORT BY KENT COUNTY COUNCILLOR MICHAEL NORTHEY There is a lot going on in the village and parish, and the parish council is to be congratulated in all they do. The team, ably led by Cllr Atkinson, is very capable and I am always impressed at the amount of business. The Clerk is a real support to the whole council. Just one look at the village website shows some of the vitality of Bridge. We have all been agitating for a long time, not least myself, for great improvements of the road from Littlebourne to the A2. We have a promise of the work, to be done in two sessions this summer. Most of the road from Littlebourne, along Bekesbourne Lane, Station Road, Bifrons Hill to the A2 is scheduled for micro-surfacing or total resurfacing in various sections. That will make a colossal difference. Many have been worried about the new road lay-out which is proposed for the new south Canterbury development. Various people, including Cllrs Cook and Atkinson, myself and others from neighbouring parishes had a meeting at the City Council officers with the developers, but I have to say, not much progress was made. We plod on. From my Member's Fund I am offering £300 towards celebrations being held for the Queen's birthday. This should be a very pleasant time. Three years ago, I had £45,000 in various grants available for local schemes, highways and community. This current year ending soon, 2015/16, it went down to £25,000 and for next year, 2016/2017, it will be only £20,000. This follows the trend of the fierce restrictions in the money available to Kent County Council. The government cut the grant to KCC by £42.9 million, and we had to make savings of £75 million for extra demand and costs — so the budget for the coming year had to make savings of £118 million. Five year ago the turnover was £1,100,000 million: now it is down to £900,000 million. Nonetheless, KCC still does a huge amount and I recommend the KCC website to see the wealth of activities, including education, roads, lighting, libraries, social services, consumer protection, looking after vulnerable children, fostering and adoption services and many more. I commend the new initiative — “Release the Pressure — don't suffer in silence”. It encourages men in particular to seek help when life gets really hard. In Kent (2012-14) the suicide rate for males was 16.5 deaths per 100,000 population, for females it was 4.1. In Kent, suicide is the largest killer of men under 45. The new 24/7 all year round helpline is 0800 107 0160. See also the website: \Nvvw.reIeasethebressure.uk Another initiative is the free Citizens Advice Consumer Service. This helps anyone in dispute 6 (a) 6 (b) 3 with a trader or anyone wanting to report any consumer issue they are worried about. Over 25,000 reports are received from consumers. There is now an Alternative Dispute Resolution help desk. The email address for this is tsaIets@kent.gov.uk. See the KCC website for further details. In all, KCC is in good heart, serving all the people of Kent and it is a pleasure to work with them and yourselves REPORT BY SIMON COOK (Leader and North Nailbourne Councillor-Canterbury City Council) Cllr Cook reflected on the successful transfer of the Mill Centre to management by the village and also on the improvements made to the village’s flood defences since last year. Refuse collections can still be a cause of frustration, but generally works well. Funding for some of the Parish Council’s work is now on a 4 year footing rather than an annual basis. Major challenges remain in resolving the litter problem on the A2 and fly tipping. The challenges on the A2 are financial, organisational and logistical, though solutions-working with other local authorities- are coming into effect. More and bigger litter bins will be provided in the laybys on the A2. Cllr Cook also talked of the opportunity open to Bridge of further devolution of powers if it wishes to take them up-especially in the area of planning. REPORT ON THE MILL CENTRE BY MARK ESDALE (TREASURER, MILL CENTRE COMMITTEE) After a brief recapitulation of the history of the Centre since 1991, Mr Esdale stressed that the Mill Centre has the advantage of not being a location where activities are precluded because of the nature of the environment. In other words, once renovated — probably at a cost of £250,000, of which £65,000 will need to be raised by the committee-the centre will be available for indoor sporting and other “rough and tumble’’ activities. In other words, it will not be a substitute for a village hall. Fund raising will start in earnest once a long, 30 year lease is in place between the City and Parish Councils. The picture is therefore much more positive than a year ago. The refurbished centre will entail the creation of new covered area between the two wings of the building and a new kitchen and toilets. The Management Committee is in the process of becoming a registered charity. REPORT ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN-JOE CONNOR (CHAIR, NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN COMMITTEE) Having traced the history and origins of the Neighbourhood Plan group, he stressed that the group is keen to get a plan for the community out to referendum. This will happen once a final draft of the plan has been agreed upon by the committee and after it has been approved by Canterbury City Council. PRESENTATION BY ASH CAPEL OF SECAMB ON: Defibrillators and First Aid Mr Capel stressed the need for defibrillators to be available to assist with cardiac arrests, where every minute lost reduces the chance of survival by 10%. He mentioned the different models available and gave a practical demonstration of using a defibrillator. There were two cases in Bridge last year where a defibrillator might have made a difference to outcomes. In response to question he said that SECAMb was keen to open negotiations for the creation of a team of Community First Responders in Bridge. A fully operational defibrillator costs in excess of £1,000. He looks forward to the day when defibrillators will be as widely available as fire extinguishers now are. 4 ANY OTHER BUSINESS There will shortly be a process beginning for co-opting a councillor to replace Cllr Moon, who was thanked for all of his many contributions to the work of the Parish Council. There being no other business the meeting closed at 9.08 p.m. Refreshments were then served. PARISH COUNCIL OF BRIDGE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 27 APRIL 2017 7.00 PM BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL AGENDA Welcome by Cllr Alan Atkinson (Chairman, Bridge Parish Council) 1. 2. 7) Apologies for absence To read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting (28 April 2016) To receive: a) The Chairman's Report for 2016-17 — Cllr Alan Atkinson b) A report on the accounts for the year ending 31“ March 2017 — Clerk (Philip Wicker) Presentation by a speaker from CHEK (Concern for Health in East Kent) To receive: A report by Kent County Councillor Michael Northey A report by Canterbury City Councillor Simon Cook To receive: Reports on the Mill Centre, the Neighbourhood Plan, the Scout group, the Horticultural Society and the Women's Institute Any other business concerned with parish affairs including the following 2 motions: 1) That no further work should proceed on the Bridge Neighbourhood P/an until the Canterbury District Local Plan has been adopted. (Proposer Mr D Humphries; seconder Mr K Jenner) 2) Bridge Parish Council should immediately write to the inspector (Mr Moore) appointed to adiudicate on the Canterbury District Local Plan to say that the letter dated 24 March 2017 regarding the green gap, written by the Chair Cllr Atkinson, does not represent the position of the Bridge Parish Council, nor general feeling in the village, and should be disregarded accordingly. (Proposer Cllr P Ferguson; seconder Mrs F. Ferguson) Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL DRAFT MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 27 APRIL 2017 AT 7.00 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Atkinson (Chairman), 8 Fawke (Vice Chairman), R Atkinson, J Corfield, S Hodges, P Dhillon and P Wicker (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 63 parishioners. 1. 3a. We have again been very busy on your behalf. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Cllr K Dhaliwal, Cllr Hodges and KCC Cllr Michael Northey and Joe Connor. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 APRIL 2016 The minutes of the meeting held were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2016/2017 I am conscious though, from reading through the minutes from last year’s APM, that some projects are taking a little longer than had been anticipated. But that is how it is; we cannot just do things, and usually we find ourselves moving at some other group’s pace. So, to begin with those projects: the Bridge Neighbourhood Plan work continues, and we really should be able to bring that to a referendum of this Village in this coming year.l am very grateful to all of the volunteers who have worked so very hard on the project, carefully considering a range of policies and options for incorporation into what I hope will be a splendid final document. So especially, Joe Connor, who has chaired this group from the start, and Christobel Seath, Kathy Walder, Mervyn Gulvin, John Hill, Terry Wilmshurst, Rosy Atkinson, Sue Hodges all of whom have worked very hard for this village over many, many years. The Mill Centre may, now, be at the very point of being transferred from the District, via Bridge Parish Council, to a Mill Centre Management Committee. Thus the MCMC will have three years from about now to collect the required funds and to renovate the building. I hope that village residents can assist the MCMC members as they take, what is now their project forward. This has taken years to effect, and BPC and our District Cllr Simon Cook have worked hard to keep this building available within the village. I am grateful to the help received from the Clerk, from Simon Cook, and from former Parish Cllr Mike Sole, for their advice and support. Following on from last year also, when we had a technician from SECAMB give the talk, and more recently following a talk by David Latham, we are finalising the arrangements for a defibrillator to be placed in the village, and thanks go to Ranjit Dhaliwal of the Londis Store for his wonderful generosity in assisting with this. have continued to take action against “inconsiderate car parkers”. For the north of the village, proposals from local District Cllrs have been supported at District and County, and there has been a 7.5 tonne restriction put in place, so there might be fewer lorries transiting the village overnight and less mess left there. The measures put in place last year to encourage more sensible behaviours at peak school traffic times continue to have an effect. We run our own Speedwatch sessions, organised by Cllr Dhillon, in an attempt to keep our village safe, and several volunteers and Cllrs assist with that. It depends ultimately though, upon enforcement, by the Police who seem reluctant to come out, or from the District, who, we have been promised, will be employing and deploying, more officers. 2 o The Recreation Ground group continues to look after that area of the village, keeping it maintained and developing the wildflower areas. The Bonfire again happened on the Recreation Ground and and I trust that the village was happy to host the event again. In particular, the Recreation Ground work has been the responsibility of Cllrs Hodges, R. Atkinson, P.Davies, Paldeep Dhillon, former Cllr Sole, with much appreciated help from volunteers, especially Barry and Ros Bray. And, of course, several of the classes and staff from the school. We have been required to renew the climbing toys and swings; I am afraid that it has to be the last days for that spider. There has also been significant investment in and around the Pavilion, and whilst it is currently still recovering from burst water pipes, that building should become more available for more general use within the village. c We have a volunteer footpath warden who helps keep routes passable, and volunteer litter pickers who give their time to keep our village cleaner than it would otherwise be, performing tasks that we all benefit from. So thanks go to Richard and Ginny McCarthy, Jenny Vye and Valerie Wicker, and to all the others, and to Cllr R Atkinson for doing the inevitable paperwork required by the District in support of the major litter- picks; and to Simon Cook and his Beavers and everyone else who joins in those litter picks. o The colourful newsletters were printed and delivered, and delivered electronically, and a facebook site now has a thousand subscribers, perhaps reaching out, additionally to a different set of residents, arranged mainly by Cllrs Corfield and Fawke and Dhaliwal o Cllrs Fawke, Sole and Davis, supported by the Clerk, have moved the Green CourtIWestern Avenue project fonivard: it may not seem that there has been progress, but the agreement preparatory work takes time, and we now just await the licences from the County so the physical work can be started upon. And a major event this past year was the flood in June 2016 in the vicinity of the White Horse. The flooding, on the day and threatened again a week later, was dealt with by volunteers, including Cllrs and members of the Emergency Planning team. Kate Wortham, Rob Moon, Laurence Dunderdale, Richard McCarthy, and Cllrs Fawke and Davis currently make up the main part of the Emergency group. After the initial emergencies had been dealt with, and the village returned to normal, work continued. On behalf of the Council, the Clerk and I tackled Kent Highways because the Highways drainage systems had failed. Representatives attended meetings with the JTB (Joint Transportation Board) and the Nail Bourne River Management Group to try to ensure that the drainage systems are brought up to the required standards and are being properly maintained. And this type of work, which goes on all the time, from the Council on behalf of the Village, is very important. Raising the profile of the village means that we get our proper share of the District’s and County’s resources. And a huge amount of effort is required for sometimes only very little progress. As an aside here, emergencies can emerge at almost any time: and again, if you feel that you might not cope and would soon require assistance from the emergency services in the event of a major snowfall or flood or power cut, do please let the Clerk know, for that allows us to direct the emergency services efficiently to where they might be most needed. You will be familiar with our Planning Committee, with Cllrs Fawkes, Corfield, Hodges and Davies, sitting here each month, but there is also a huge amount of work, largely unnoticed, that they carry out before each of those sittings, and sometimes afterwards too as decisions are later defended at District level. And similarly, the whole team has represented this village at various meetings: at the District’s Planning meetings, at discussions surrounding the Mountfield development, with Kent Highways, at the transportation board meetings, at County or District meetings of parish councils, with the Environment Agency ...often unremarkable, and fairly mundane. But all the 3 time, raising the profile of the village with these higher levels of government, and with these other agencies, so that we obtain the best service possible from them for Bridge. So I trust that you will appreciate that the team this year has been very busy. Notjust all of the Councillors who have served this year, but also the army of other volunteers. I apologise if I have missed anyone in this brief summary. And for early next month, Cllr Corfield has organised a photographic competition that I hope that you have had the publicity for. And a little further away, Cllr Dhaliwal is already organising a Village Party, for July 8 2017, and if there are any of you who would be able to assist her with the associated tasks, do, please, contact her and offer your help. I hope that you are happy with what has been done. 3b. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2016/17 The Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, presented the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2017. He explained the sources of the parish income, how the money had been spent and the plans for the use of the reserves over the next year. He also gave a comparison of Bridge’s precept against other villages in the District. The full powerpoint used for the presentation is now available on httb://www.briddeviI|ade.ord.uk/icwebfiIes/barishcouncil/bades/bdfs/Annual%20Parish %20meeting/APM%20Finance%20Report%202017.pdf or on request from the Clerk PRESENTATION BY MARTYN WE of CHEK (Concern for Health in East Kent) Mr Vye’s main points were that: o CHEK fought and won against the downgrading of the K and C hospital 20 years ago o Hospitals in Kent and Medway will have a deficit of £420m by 2020. o Recent salami slicing of health services will increase in the forthcoming consultation on plans being drawn up for the area, to include reduced hospital attendances and 1 acute hospital-likely to be at Ashford, 1 emergency hospital with planned care (Margate) and 1 primary care-led hospital in Canterbury ( a “cottage hospital”) o CHEK believe much greater investment is needed in Canterbury-to build up a medical school here using the Higher Education resources. This will also prevent the loss ofjunior doctors at the K and C. o Mountfield Park has provision for a new hospital o A new vision is required to provide acute services in the centre of East Kent rather than on the peripheries. Population density in the Canterbury district makes this essential. o A non —poIiticaI march is to be organised for 3 June 2017 starting at the Dane Jane Gardens at 10.30 am Mr Vye’s presentation was followed by a short appeal by Emily Shirley for funding to help with the cost of a judicial review she and others are raising against the proposed Mountfield Park development in South Canterbury on the grounds of unacceptable air pollution caused by an extra 28,000 daily carjourneys. She distributed a number of leaflets and made a plea to local residents and to the Parish Council to provide assistance with legal cost which could be as high as £25,000. A REPORT BY SIMON COOK (Leader and North Nailbourne Councillor-Canterbury City Council) mentioned the following: The Canterbury District Local Plan is expected to be adopted in the summer of 2017 4 o The District is taking a tougher line on fly tippers and those who litter. £400 penalty notices are being enforced for fly tipping. The Council intends to take a more proactive line in supporting voluntary litter picking. o Extra parking enforcement officers are now working for the District o The Mill Centre has finally been secured for the village-with 3 years to raise the necessary funds o The Marlowe Theatre has become a trust-so will be able to attract more grant funding. It is one of the best regional theatres in the South East o The Heritage Museum is to be repurposed and transferred to the MarloweTheatre. o The car number plate recognition scheme in the city carparks has been deemed a great success. o The City Council has resolved to support the CHEK campaign, though not responsible itself for health funding. Cllr Cook answered a number of questions about the new parking scheme in the City, and continuing access for members of the public to the Heritage Museum building. Canterbury City Council will formally celebrate 80 years of the K and C hospital later this year. 6 REPORTS WERE THEN GIVEN ON The Mill Centre: CIIrA Atkinson reviewed the process of acquiring the leases which now make the Mill Centre an asset of the village, managed by a local management group. The Neighbourhood Plan: In the absence of Joe Connor, the Clerk reported on the activities of the Committee. A copy of the presentation is available at http://www.bridqevi||aqe.orq.uk/icwebfiIes/parishcounciI/paces/pdfs/Annual%20Parish %20meeting/APM%20NP%20Report%202017.pdf or from the Clerk on request. The Scout Group: Cllr Cook reported that the Beaver group is now full and that the Scout group would benefit from further adult help, if only for 1 hour per week. A precis of The Women’s Institute and Horticultural Society reports presented by Kathy Walder follows: Bridge with Patrixbourne Women’s Institute will soon be celebrating its 98”‘ birthday: we are all determined to make our century. Membership has been fairly stable over the last few years (20-25) but, our members are not getting any younger. We have a varied programme throughout the year: illustrated talks, practical evenings as well as a summer outing, craft and chat afternoons and a monthly lunch date. Evening talks coming up are one on Homeopathy and one on the Ramsgate Tunnels which we intend to open to everyone, men included! We are hoping to follow this up with a tour of the tunnels in August. Thanks to the Village Hall Committee for providing some chairs with arms. One more thing, we are always delighted to welcome visitors to our meetings. So, if interested in coming along to one of our talks or would like to know more about the WI in general, please do come. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month in the Village Hall at 7.30 pm. We have our own noticeboard outside the hall giving details of our programme and contact details. The Horticultural Society, is one of the oldest village societies having started in 1911. There are records of Minutes until 1959. It was reformed in 1976 as the Nailbourne Horticultural Society. We have been very lucky to have had Ann Shirley as our President for the last few years and now John Hill. 5 We hold both a Spring and a Summer Show in which we include some classes for everyone to enter. We also arrange evening talks on a variety of topics connected with gardening and the occasional visit. We have 35 members but, would welcome more. Details of our meetings appear on posters around the village, on the village website, in the Parish Magazine and in the village community news section in the Kentish Gazette. 7. Two motions submitted by residents prior to the meeting were then debated by a number of speakers. The meeting was reminded by the Clerk that such motions are purely advisory for the Parish Council. This part of the meeting was chaired by the Cllr Steve Fawke, Vice Chair of the Parish Council. Motion 1 (Proposer Mr D Humphries; seconder Mr K Jenner) was as follows: That no further work should proceed on the Bridge Neighbourhood Plan until the Canterbury District Local Plan has been adopted. The Clerk reminded the meeting that only those on the electoral register for Bridge Parish could vote. There voted 26 in favour, 15 against and there were 9 abstentions. Motion 2 (Proposer Cllr P Ferguson; seconder Mrs F.Ferguson) was as follows: Bridge Parish Council should immediately write to the inspector (Mr Moore) appointed to adjudicate on the Canterbury District Local Plan to say that the letter dated 24 March 2017 regarding the green gap, written by the Chair Cllr Atkinson, does not represent the position of the Bridge Parish Council , nor general feeling in the village, and should be disregarded accordingly. After lengthy debate involving many speakers, the motion was withdrawn and Cllr Atkinson agreed to the following motion proposed by David Humphries and seconded by Cllr Ferguson: “The Chair of Bridge Parish Council will write to Inspector Moore withdrawing his letter of 24 March 2017” No vote was taken. There being no other business the meeting closed at 10.05 p.m. Refreshments were then served. Bridge Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting 27 April 2017 Parish Finances BPC Income 2016-2017 £39,805 39.00 731.00 I:IConcu ent Function funding and precept '\. IZIVAT eturn ‘K \ I Bank intere§\ I Fees from hire -~—~——_____ 34,092.00 I Other Other....£4,793 Major sources 0 Section 106 monies for play area.. £2094 0 Christmas Trees .. £1150 0 CCC and KCC grants for Queen's birthday event. £390 0 Insurance claims .. £652 Parish precepts 2016/2017 Band 0 - £46.59 for 2016-17 in Bridge 8"‘ highest in Canterbury district (out of 26) Rising by 1.7% for 2017-2018 BPC Income 2016-2017 £39,805 EICO ent Function funding and precept EIVAT -‘ 34,092.00 I Bank intere ‘ I Fees from hire I Other Concurrent Function Funding 0 Recreation Ground 0 Bus Shelters (not used in 2016-2017) BPC Spending 2016-2017 £39,655 _ 433.00 86.00 4,024.00 I Clerks salary El Postage I Travel I Admin, El Subs, El Projects I:IiRecrea11'on El Capital IVAT Stafi onery Insurance Grants, Ground Projects, Photocopying Donations Reserves Projects and capital projects (£11,580) 29% of spend MAJOR ITEMS INCLUDED 0Chi|dren’s swings (£3,253) 0New pavilion path (£4,188) 0Mi|| Centre legal costs (£3,208) Recreation ground £6,807 spent= 17% of expenditure 0£85O pavilion repairs 0£764 Insurance 0£69O pathway tarmac 0£55O|ease 0£51O bins 0£56O metalwork repairs/gates and bridge 0Most spent on mowing/strimming Neighbourhood Plan 0 Income: DCLG grant of £6,925 0 Spending: £6,999 (of which £5,371 was spent on consultancy fees). Reserves (£75,225) 0 Continengcy 0 General reserves 0 Playground equipment and surfacing 0 Mill Centre 0 Allotments 0 Elections 0 Tree surgery 0 General Reserve Bridge Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting 27 April 2017 Neighbourhood Plan activities May 2016—Apri| 2017 Neighbourhood Plan 0 Income: DCLG grant of £6,925 0 Spending: £6,999 (of which £5,371 was spent on consultancy fees). Meetings 0 Composition of the group confirmed by Parish Council and transformation into an advisory committee of the Parish Council (Jan 6 2017) 0 Met 11 times since last Annual Parish Meeting 0 Also met 3 times with planners at Canterbury Ciw Council Information 0 Dedicated website-all agendas/minutes/latest versions of the plan-via the Parish Council section of bridgevi||age.co.uk 0 Update of 16 December 2016 covered period May-Dec 2016 Consultation events 0 25 June 2016—Vi||age Fete 0 21 January 2017—Vi||age Hall Publications 0 All on the website-and available in printed form on request from the Clerk 0 Scoping report for statutory consultees to be added (some 50 pages on age profile/environment/water resources and flooding risk/heritage issues/working patterns of the local population/travel networks and other data. Other issues 0 Traffic survey conducted in January 2017 0 Canterbury City Council's plans to allocate 40 houses to the Brickfields site were rejected by the Government appointed inspector—he cited the emerging Neighbourhood Plan in his reasoning PARISH COUNCIL OF BRIDGE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING THURSDAY 14 MARCH 7.00 PM BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL AGENDA Welcome by Cllr Alan Atkinson (Chairman, Bridge Parish Council) 1. Apologies for absence 2. To read and confirm the minutes of the previous meeting (27 April 2018) 3. To receive: a) The Chairman's Report for 2018-19 — Cllr Alan Atkinson b) A report on the accounts for the year ending 7 March — Cllr Alan Atkinson 4. Presentations by: a) Estella Last (Bridge Parish) b) James Tibbles (Headmaster Bridge & Patrixbourne School) 5. To receive: A report by Canterbury City Councillor Simon Cook 6. To receive: Reports from village groups: Julia Cooper — Women's Institute Meriel Connor — Bridge & District History Society Megan Shirley — Woodpeckers Nursery Maggie Fairwea ther — Nailbourne group of the League of Friends of Canterbury Hospital P/easance Kirk — Horticultural Society o Jean Barber — Bridge Benefice Caring and Sharing Group 8) Any other business concerned with parish affairs. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the meeting BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 14 MARCH AT 7.00 PM IN BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL PRESENT: Cllrs A Atkinson (Chairman), 8 Fawke (Vice Chairman), 8 Hodges, R Atkinson, P Davies, R Moon, N Kirk and F Cairns (Clerk to Bridge Parish Council), and 15 members of the public. The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. 1. 4a. 4b. 5a. 5b. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were apologies for absence from Cllr Shirley and Cllr Dhillon An award for outstanding service to the village was presented to Laurence Dunderdale by the Lord Mayor in recognition of his many years of service to Bridge Village. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 28 APRIL 2018 The minutes of the meeting held were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a true record. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT FOR 2018/2019 Slides from the attached powerpoint presentation were used to highlight the work of the Parish Council in the previous year. THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2018/2019 The Chairman presented the accounts for the year ending 7 March 2019, using the attached powerpoint slides. . Rev Estella Last (Bridge Parish). “I have been in the village for one year and it has been an absolute privilege and pleasure getting to know the Bridge Community. We have started a Baby and Toddler Group which is held in the Pavilion. We are completing the restoration and the rafts once dried out will go back on. The remembrance event in November went particularly well and stands out as a highlight of the year. Estella would like to thank Laurence and the team for all the support the Church has received. Rob Moon read a report on behalf of James Tibbles (Headmaster of Bridge School) who was unfortunately off sick. fin DI! Parish Council Update reipcnrt Bridg A REPORT BY SIMON COOK “Cllr Cook expressed his thanks to the Chair and it has been a delight to work with Bridge Parish Council. Canterbury City Council are doing a lot with the budget without cutting services. CCC have introduced a new parking system into Canterbury whereby you pay after you have returned to your car — CCC think this is a much fairer system and Cllr Cook explained that you can sign up via CCC website to automatically do this. 2 He recognises there have been some unofficial lorry parking and Canterbury City Council had decided to commit to building a lorry park along with Sittingbourne and Swale Council. CCC are carrying out Litter picking along the A2 each pick costs CCC £20,000 the next pick is due to take place 10 days before Easter. CCC are trying to work with Rural England on the litter pick-ups. Lots of funding has been received to Bridge Parish Council via the Rural Forum in respect of. SID/Bus Shelter/Pavilion. Mike congratulated Cllr Cook and Canterbury City Council along with BPC on the turning down of the Highland Court Development. REPORTS WERE THEN GIVEN ON: Bridge and Patrixbourne WI- Julia Cooper had a successful year 2018-19 with 26 members. We meet regularly on the third Tuesday evening of the month in the village hall with a varied programme of talks, demonstrations and practical activities with the occasional open meeting to which partners and friends were invited. Our members have appreciated the hearing loop, the chairs with arms and the lighter tables. We hire the Pavilion for Armchair Yoga on the second Wednesday afternoon of the month, after a very successful demonstration at one of our evening meetings; this has proved popular. One of our members hosted a garden party in aid of her charity “Operation Sunshine”. This year we celebrate our centenary as does he Federation of Wls in East Kent. Bridge the 14"’ Wl to form. It is the longest surviving continuous organisation in the village of Bridge, continuing right through World War 2 with adaptions to timing and activities. We shall be holding an Afternoon Tea in the pavilion on Friday 3rrd May and a Coffee Cake and Concert Celebration in the church on Saturday 18”’ May with all proceeds to Church funds. The Wl will be doing the flower arrangements, preparing and serving the coffee and cake and giving historical readings with music and song and display of memorabilia from the archives. At our evening meeting on 21 S’ May we shall have a birthday cake. We have also offered to plant a tree to celebrate 100 years in Bridge. We hope you support our centenary events, particularly the Coffee, Cake and Concert. Bridge & District History Society Mrs Meriel Connor. The society was founded in 1995 by John Williamson it is to promote local history in around the villages. We meet once a month on Thursday from September to June. Each month we have a guest speaker and enjoy a question time with them afterwards. We enjoy a meal out at Christmas. As we acquire more items we find we are running out of space. There was a book published on the history of the village and this is available at £5.00 per copy. Very welcome to receive new members. Woodpeckers Nursery — Megan Shirley The last 12 months has been a time for many changes at Woodpeckers and with those changes have come a lot of opportunities. Sadly, last May Bridge after School Club decided that they were closing which meant that Woodpeckers Committee gained sole responsibility for Bridge Childcare Centre. Over the summer holidays a team of volunteers worked tirelessly alongside the builders to ensure that new cladding, guttering, an access ramp and a full interior and exterior re-paint were completed. Thanks mostly to a very generous £10,000 grant from Kent County Councils Cllr Michael Northey the first stage of the redevelopment was completed as planned. Further to the external works the Committee decided that they would open the nursery to a wider range of children and so in November of 2018 the age range of children cared for was reduced to two years of age and a new changing area and equipment was purchased. This was only possible thanks to a grant from the Kent County Council Childcare and Sustainability team. A further £5000 of grant money was received from a small projects application to the Childcare and Sustainability team for new internal equipment to help to create separate areas of /earning within the nursery’s main floor space. The next stage in the redevelopment plan is to improve the bathroom and kitchen facilities in the building. In October Woodpeckers was chosen as a Co-Op community Cause which means that when Co-op members shop they can donate 1% of their spend to a local cause. The scheme runs for a year and Woodpeckers has been paired with Co-op Funeral Care in Canterbury and the Co-op Local store in Sturry. The money raised from these partnerships will go to help with the second phase of development. In early December the nursery was inspected by OFSTED and thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Staff and Committee members Woodpeckers was graded as GOOD in all areas. Christmas of 2018 saw a change to the celebrations at Woodpeckers as staff, children and parents attended a short carol service and nativity in St Peter’s Church, Bridge. This first visit was very successful and the Nursery looks forward to further visits to St Peter’s being planned for Easter 2019 and onwards. Michelle Briggs, Annabelle Peppiett and Michalina Jonczyk have all been great additions to the nursery team during the last year and have helped by bringing many new ideas to the setting. Lastly, the Committee are still looking for additional support mostly, in the form of a treasurer. If anyone locally is interested in the position or helping with fundraising events please contact the committee by email woodpeckerscommittee@qmail. com or call the nursery on 01227 831159. There are also currently spaces available for children to start in April 2019. Plans have begun for the annual spring fayre in May so please keep an eye out in On the Nail for news of this and other future events. League of Friends of Kent and Canterbury Hospital - - Maggie Fainiveather League founded in 1953 to provide extras for the comfort of patients and staff This has developed into providing updated equipment for wards and departments. The League a registered charity is made up of a central committee and 9 groups from villages around Canterbury and meets 6 times a year. The Nailbourne group covers the villages of Bridge, Bishopsbourne, Patrixsbourne and Bekesboune and raises about £2,000 per year via coffee mornings, yearly letter drop talks and selling raffle tickets for the annual hospital fair. We are planning a strawberry tea this year by kind invitation of Stuart and Maggie Field. Requests for equipment are notified to the groups who then decide whether or not to sponsor them. Any items not chosen by the groups are covered by the central group. The Nailbourne group has recently brought gym equipment for the physio department and contributed to an Ultrasound scanner for the Neurophysiology department. We have recently agreed to purchase transducers for the Paediatric Echocardiography clinic which will provide a local service for children meaning they no longer have to travel to London for tests. This is in memory of our past chairman Elizabeth Stewart. Horticultural Society Pleasance Kirk — We have recruited well to this. Every month we have a guest speaker who will talk to the existing members. If you would like to try 4 us out if you come with an existing member it is free. Annual membership is £6.00 per person or£10.00 per family. We have a summer show in July. Caring and Sharing — Jean Barber— Caring & Sharing is a social group for women that meets on two Monday evenings a month. Although it comes under the aegis of St Peter’s Church it is open to everyone. The purpose of the group is friendship and support for its members and care for those in our community who are sick lonely or otherwise in need. The usual format is coffee and chat at a member’s house for the first meeting of the month and an invited speaker for the second,, which is usually held in the common room at Mansfield Court. This year members have enjoyed talks covering a wide range of topics, this has included Sir Konrad Schiemann, talking about his career as a Judge in the Court of Appeal. Those attending pay £2 which enters them in a weekly raffle, with the excess going into a general fund. This is used for donations to speakers, charities and other causes and cards, flowers 0 gifts for people in the community. Donations recently have been given to New Life Nyambene and to Christian Aid to pay for survival packs for women fleeing form places of conflict. New members are welcome and men are always invited to attend our speaker meetings. Full details contact peggypryer@yahoo.co.uk. The meeting closed at 8.45 p.m. with refreshments being served.