Chairman: Mr N Whitburn – Chairman of Ash Parish Council
Present: Approximately thirty-five parishioners, including nine Parish Councillors,
District Councillors Mr Trevor Bartlett, Mr Paul Southgate and Mrs Anne Willshaw Kent County Cllr Mr Leyland Ridings and P.C. Wayne Wright.
Apologies: Mr S Gregory, Mr and Mrs D Blaxland and Mrs M Kimberley

1. Minutes
The minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting, held on Monday 20th April 2004, had been made available for perusal before the meeting. It was agreed that the minutes be signed as a true record.

Mr Whitburn welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained that item 7 would be brought forward on the agenda. (However, it is recorded in these minutes in numerical order). He also explained that ‘highways’ now needed to be added to the list of responsibilities for KCC, as the DDC agency has ended.

2. Questions to County Councillor Leyland Ridings
Mr Ridings reported on achievements of the County Council during the past year and said they were looking forward to a number of innovations being introduced in the coming year, including the Tele-Health scheme and the Purchase Cards, which enable people to acquire Social Services more easily. A further eleven Sure Start centres are planned, as well as twenty-three more maintained nurseries by 2006. A new Vocational Centre is planned for Whitfield and a further fourteen of these Centres are due for completion.

Mr Ridings invited questions:

• What is the position now regarding reporting highway problems?
Reports can still be made to Dover and also Canterbury – the Clerk will ensure that the phone numbers are advertised.

• Mrs Ovenden said she had spoken to the Site Manager at the Puma site about bollards for the end of the footpath and he had told her they would increase danger.
Mr Southgate agreed to look into this.

• Mr Downes asked what had emerged in the end regarding the fact that the houses on New Street were built 6” from the carriageway.
Mr Southgate said that the Planning Application had been passed two years prior to him becoming cllr and that nothing could be changed now. He agreed that it was difficult to see how it had been passed. Mr Downes suggested that it was due to incompetence on someone’s part and that they should be made to come and apologise. Mr Ridings said he would arrange for someone from Highways to come to the Parish Council and explain why it was passed.

• Miss Bennetts asked if, now that KCC has taken back responsibility for Highways, whether litter picking on verges would be undertaken again.
Mr Ridings said he was unsure, but would check on the situation.

Mr Whitburn thanked Mr Ridings for coming and he left the meeting, as he was due at another one.

3. (i) Report of the Parish Council – Mr N Whitburn
Mr Whitburn explained that the Parish Council now produces a quarterly Newsletter, which is one requirement should the Council wish to apply for Quality Parish Council status, and that the second issue had been produced for this meeting and contained the Agenda and draft accounts.
It was noted that another requirement is for the Clerk to have a qualification in Local Government Administration, which the Ash Clerk is hoping to achieve by the end of the year.
Cllrs must also be elected, rather than co-opted, so this requirement cannot be met at present.

The Housing Survey, completed last year, had indicated that the parish needed eighteen houses of the category ‘social housing’, and this was being met at the two new developments.

The pavilion extension is now completed, with the help of a £20,000 grant and a loan from the Parish Council and a grant and loan from The Jack Foat Trust. The pavilion is owned by the Parish Council and leased to the PMC. The teen shelter and kick wall in the Recreation Ground were donated by KCC Youth Services and a grant from the SRB Regeneration fund paid for the lighting and concrete base for the shelter.

Concerns about speeding traffic are being addressed as KCC proposals for 2006-2007 include some sort of ‘village gateway’ at three entrances to the village. As yet this is not definite. It was noted that the turning at Chequer Lane is not included in the proposals, but Mr Whitburn suggested that once the other three gateways are completed this can be addressed.

The wild flowers along the bypass have been a cause for concern, as contractors for Highways had cut the verges last year when in flower. Prof Swingland explained that he and the Parish Council are working with Kent Wildlife Trust to ensure that they are protected this and future years.

Negotiations and research regarding the layby at New Street were explained and the fact that a dead-end seems to have been reached. Mr Downes suggested further action that could be taken, which the Parish Council will need to consider.

The Local Development Framework (LDF), which replaces the Local Plan, was explained, and it was noted that Cllr Bennetts is a Parish Representative on the new DDC Focus Group for Planning.

Mr Whitburn explained that about twenty years ago the village did an audit. As this is now out of date, he suggested that a Parish Plan could now be undertaken, which would be useful to feed into DDC planning and the LDF. Other village groups would need to be involved, as it could not be just a Parish Council project. Various sources of funding for a Parish Plan were cited.

The clerk, Jeanette Potts, was thanked for her work as were the Parish Councillors. The three District Cllrs were thanked for their support. Usually one of them attends each Parish Council meeting, which has helped to improve the co-operation between the Parish and District councils.

(ii) Report of the Recreation Ground Committee – Mr G Foat
Mr Foat reported on the acquisition of the teen shelter and kick wall and the extension to the pavilion. He said that the Tennis Club are proposing to install a practice wall and that the large football posts are being reinstated. Another tree was lost to fungal disease and moles are regularly being treated.

The Environment Assistant’s reports continue to include incidents of vandalism, which have included damage to the toilet block, the notice board, young trees and the basketball backboard, and evidence of substance abuse. The roof of the teen shelter has now been coated with anti-climb paint.

Mr Foat said that not all the damage was being caused by the youth of the village. Recent incidents include adults playing golf, which is prohibited by the Byelaws, bollards being damaged by the roller and a large patch of grass being burnt by one of the sports clubs. Dog waste also continues to be a problem. It has been found that the bollard locks are ineffective and an alternative means of preventing vehicular access onto the field, to protect the grass, will need to be found before next winter.

It was proposed by Mrs Ovenden and agreed, that Paul Dunn continue as representative of the meeting on the Recreation Ground Committee.

In response to questions from the floor, it was noted that the builder has signed off the pavilion extension, but that members will be doing some of the painting and finishing off.

(iii) Parish Council Accounts – Mrs J Potts, Clerk
The clerk explained that the accounts for the year ended March 2004, which were on display, were certified by the District Auditor as fairly presenting the financial position of the council.

The accounts for the year ended March 2005, printed on page 4 of the Newsletter/Agenda, were not audited and contained some projections, as they needed to be prepared in advance of the year-end. Major expenditure during the year included £94,000 for the Pavilion extension, but it was explained that the Pavilion Management Committee has contributed almost £70,000 and once they have paid back a loan of £8,000, the total contribution of the Parish Council will be £20,000; £1,368 was paid for soil removal at the Churchyard and in addition to the usual grants to the two village halls, £200 was donated to Kent Police towards the purchase of a mountain bicycle for P.C. Wright. The budget for 2005-2006 includes £1,000 to replace the springy motorbike in the Recreation Ground, £3,500 over two years towards the tennis court resurfacing and up to £3,000 for youth facilities.

The 8% increase on the Precept was noted and it was queried whether a reduction may be possible next year when extra council tax-payers were occupying the new houses. Mr Whitburn said that more would be known next year.

(iv) Accounts of the Parochial Charities

(a) Ash United Charities – Mr D Downes
Benevolent Fund - Mr Downes explained that the fund exists as a result of a number of small endowments made in the 19th century for the purchase of items such as coal for the poor of the parish. The income is used to meet cases of need brought to the attention of the Trustees and this amounted to £800 last year.
Resthaven – Mr Downes explained the history of the Resthaven almshouses. He said it is a constant struggle to make ends meet. It is hoped at some point in the future two more houses can be built, with grant assistance, but this will not be possible for a while to come.
Mrs Ovenden expressed thanks to the person that tends the gardens, which she said are a picture.

(b) Ash Village Hall –Mrs J Ryan
Lettings have increased, mainly due to extra line dancing sessions, new yoga classes and a baby clinic. Most evenings are now booked, but there are daytime sessions that could be filled. The Seniors Table Tennis group on Wednesday mornings is now well established and the Chalkfoot Theatre Arts visited in February to perform Jane Austen's "Emma". The committee was disappointed when only 57 people attended and may review its booking policy in 2006. However, Chalkfoot has been booked in November for a performance of a children's play "The Sea Morgan's Child".

Major expenditure was for the sanding and sealing of the hall floor, and new tracks and trolleys for the stage sliding doors. During the very cold weather, complaints were received about the overhead electric heaters in the main hall. During December, January, and February three heaters broke down at different times. The heating levels were unacceptably low for which Mrs Ryan apologised. The committee has taken steps to improve matters for next winter, but grants will need to be obtained to put this project in hand.

At the AGM last week members said goodbye to long-standing Hon Treasurer, Graham Foat, to whom a presentation was made on behalf of the users of the Village Hall. Mrs Ryan repeated the committee's thanks to Graham for all his hard work on behalf of the hall. Mrs Annie Hunt, WI treasurer for the past eighteen years, has filled the post. The hall’s audited accounts show that the financial position was very similar to the previous year, except that that it was £500 better off. Current assets stand at £4,800.

On behalf of the committee, Mrs Ryan thanked the parish council for its continued support towards the upkeep of the hall. She apologised for the fact that there was no heating for the meeting, which she believed was due to the recent contractors having turned something off in error.

(c) Westmarsh Village Hall – Mr C Pratt on behalf of Mrs Kimberley
The accounts show total receipts of £2,186.18. The committee appreciates the annual grant from the Parish Council and last year’s fund raising produced £550.00. Expenses amounted to £1,809 of which insurance was a large part and maintenance costs rose to £594. A surplus of £337 gave reserves of £8,900, which will be necessary for any future major repairs to the floor or similar. The committee continues to seek a regular user, but as yet unsuccessfully, possibly due to the distances involved to reach the hall.

(d) Jack Foat Trust – Mr D Downes
Mr Downes provided information about Jack Foat and how the Trust was set up. He said that the Trust has been active in three area; grants to organisations and individuals; retaining land belonging to Jack Foat and buying more for the recreation of parishioners; and as landlord of five cottages in The Street. Mr Downes paid tribute to the groundsmen who look after the land and the walkers who are known to litter-pick while they walk. He explained about the way the tenancies of the houses are set up and expressed an opinion about housing surveys.

Income for the year was £38,184 and expenditure £34,676, which included grants of £20,000 towards the pavilion extension and £900 for the disabled access to the Church. Up to £130,000 has been pledged for the Pre-school, which has risen from £85,000, meaning the Trust will have to ‘pull its horns in’ in the coming months.

Mr Downes asked for it to be recorded that the charities of the village have provided grant assistance to the tune of over £200,000 towards the new school.

(e) Frank Kingsland Bequests
Mr Downes provided historical information about the Trusts, one of which owns two bungalows for the elderly, whose funds are derived from tenant’s weekly maintenance charges, and the other set up for ‘such charitable purposes in the Parish of Ash as the Trustees may determine in their absolute discretion’. The grant of £10,000 pledged towards the pres-school facilities at Cartwright and Kelsey School would, he said, more than wipe out the year’s income.

(f) Ash Educational Charities – Mr I Chandler
Mr Chandler explained that the Charity is an educational foundation, which is primarily funded by the proceeds of letting the Old School buildings in the Street to FH Browne and Sons (Organ
builders). The lease agreement has been renegotiated to provide£8,000 a year in rent. The Trustees insure the premises and are reimbursed the premium on a quarterly basis by the tenants. The accounts for year ending 31 December 2004 show receipts of £13,628, which includes £4,180 investment income. This is high because of a policy of no grants for educational purposes since the Governors of the present school decided that the school should be rebuilt. Payments totaled £3,030, which included insurance of the current school and the Old School and bibles for school leavers. The balance at 31.12.04 was £87,294.

£50,000 is earmarked towards the school rebuilding. This will become due in the near future. £4,000 has been committed towards the cost of an adventure playground. Once these sums are cleared it is to be hoped that the Trust can return to its proper role and accept requests for grants from students and young people for educational purposes. These would include grants towards: purchase of books and equipment, travel and further education expenses and so on. Mr Chandler said that he would encourage young people to apply either to him or to Mr Downes.

(g) Report of the Governor appointed by the Parish Council of the Cartwright & Kelsey CofE (Aided) Primary School – Mrs S Chandler
Mrs Chandler reported that there are 150 children on the roll, in seven classes and that
the School is proud of its academic record, having achieved good results in the Kent Test and SATS scores. It continues to enjoy the benefits of retaining an experienced teaching staff and the Governors have been joined by Nicky Fiduck, Jane Newing and Chris Dutton.

Recent awards have included FLAIR, an accreditation for the teaching of modern languages in Kent, and the Activemark, which is a measure of the excellence of the PE syllabus both within the curriculum and beyond it. The football team are in the final of the Crickson Cup for the third year running.

The choir gave a Christmas concert to residents of High View Oast, they took part in a concert for the Lord Mayor of Canterbury and some of the choir sang in St Nicholas on Education Sunday. Several children have individual instrumental lessons at school and have done well in grade exams. Other ‘Arts’ events included the opera workshop programme Mantissaopera, at the end of which the children gave a performance of the Pirates of Cartwright and Kelsey, and an Art Week.

The new school building is heading towards completion and it is hoped to occupy it by September. The school bell has returned to its new home inside the clock and the PTFA have been working hard to raise money for the new adventure playground.

There has been a consultation meeting held with reference to a maintained nursery being part of the school but the final decision will not be known until May 10th.

4. Civil Protection
(i) Questions for forwarding to Kent Police
P.C.Wayne Wright addressed the meeting, speaking about issues such as anti-social behaviour and reiterated that it was not only young people who are guilty of it. In his opinion problems in the village have subsided somewhat of late and he has received fewer calls out to ‘hot spots’ such as Pound Corner And Chequer Lane, with the teen shelter and kick-wall contributing to crime prevention. The perception of drug related crime outweighs the reality as it is a very small minority that is involved with drugs. P.C. Wright continues to work with other agencies to tackle the dealers.

The Police are watching unlicensed traders, that are known to target the vulnerable, and when taken to court large fines and sometimes custodial sentences are being imposed, as well as their stock being impounded.

The former Speedwatch scheme, whereby parishes monitored traffic speeds on their roads, has been suspended for legal reasons, but it is hoped that a similar scheme can be set up in its place.

Operation Freedown, which deals with nuisance off-road motorcylists, has been operating at Westmarsh and DDC Planners are liaising with police regarding a planning issue for a piece of land being used in this way. Operation Castle, which is targeting prolific burglars, aims to disrupt their activities and movements at every opportunity. P.C. Wright asked for members of the public to be watchful and report anything suspicious to the police, or ASBU if appropriate.

P.C. Wright thanked the Parish Council for the donation towards his mountain bike, which he said is helping to keep him fit as well as assisting in fighting crime. He said that he is also now ‘Wildlife Liaison Officer’.

In answer to a question from the floor, P.C. Wright agreed that speeding is anti-social and suggested that incidents could be passed to the ASBU, who would most likely pass it on to him, where he will then endeavour to address the problems. Further discussion followed about the effectiveness and aim of speed cameras – are they there to prevent accidents, or just to raise money for the self-funded Traffic Management department?

Mrs Rootes made the point about how difficult it can be to actually report anything to the police, quoting a personal incident. P.C. Wright explained that it is up to the Control Room Supervisor decide what has priority and suggested that she write to the Chief Constable with her comments.

P.C.Wright asked for his thanks for the assistance of Neighbourhood Watch to be recorded.

(ii) Neighbourhood Watch
There was no Neighbourhood Watch representation at the meeting.

5. Entries to the Trees in Your Village Competition for 2004 and the Kent Village of the
Year Competition for 2005
Ash is entered into the Trees in Your Village competition 2005. The Kent Village of the Year would not be entered unless volunteers came forward, as the council chooses not to take a lead role. It was noted that this is an agenda item at every Annual Parish Meeting, but that by the time the meeting is held it is too late to enter for the current year. It was agreed that it should be omitted from next year’s agenda.

6. Resolutions of which written notice had been given
None

7. Questions to District Councillors
Mrs Willshaw reported that the finances of the District Council had been turned round since the new leadership and that books have now been balanced, with a Council Tax rise of only 4.9%.

£100,000 more is being spent on recycling this year to try and reach targets and perhaps obtain grants from the Government. Recycling of green waste and cardboard is envisaged and that wheelie bins may be provided.

Licensing is now the responsibility of the District Council and further information about how this will work was provided.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (ASBU) was launched in October last year and the Unit has resolved 70% of cases in the first three months.

The strategy for the future of Dover for the next 30 years outlines the objective for the development of Dover. It covers education, community projects, business development along with urban projects to expand the town. Strategic access will be an important aspect enhancing rail links and dualling of the A2 will be crucial for the whole district. Housing needs to increase and the Local Development Plan will include for increasing this by 10,000 over 20 years.

The Dover Town Investment Zone was explained as creating housing wrapped around new shops, including an Asda supermarket, along with hotels, restaurants etc. In addition, the White Cliffs Business Park (phase 2) should be starting within the year, which will be a major development providing around 1800 new jobs and £100 million investment in Dover.

The Aylesham Development project will provide up to 1,000 new houses and associated leisure and shopping facilities. Increased traffic will be a side effect of this development, so it will be critical for the roads and infrastructure to be right. Parishioners were asked to pass on any concerns they may have on to the Parish Council, DDC or KCC.

Some outstanding issues still need to be resolved regarding the new housing in the village, in particular New Street. The scrutiny of sheltered housing has highlighted the poor state of the accommodation provided by the council at St Nicholas House. Already some consultation has taken place and the council will continue to liaise with residents at all stages to ensure that there will be no upset to the, tenants as any changes are developed.

District Cllrs were encouraged to see the extension to the sports pavilion completed and wish the committee every success in engaging the youth of Ash into the sports facilities provided.

Questions to the District Councillors were invited:

• The number of problems resolved by the ASBU was questioned and Mrs Willshaw quoted a particular incident where the outcome had been successful.
Mr Whitburn emphasised that Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) are always a last resort. Prof Swingland suggested that the ASBU can only monitor problems and that P.C. Wright cannot be everywhere to which Mrs Willshaw answered that the Unit is in its infancy and is a multi-agency organiation, so that problems are passed on as appropriate to either the Police, Social Services, DDC Housing Dept, etc. P.C. Wright emphasised that of course the police would always deal with criminal behaviour, but that he was not alone and could call on a chain of officers for extra resources. Mr Downes expressed the view that general rowdiness in the village seems to have decreased, to which Mrs Chandler said that it may be because the ASBU is dealing with incidents at an earlier stage and preventing them from escalating.
Mr Downes asked how the village is trying to improve facilities for the young people, rather than just being repressive. Mrs Rootes said that the Recreation Ground is very well equipped, but that too is abused. Mr Whitburn reminded parishioners about the meeting two years previously, the aim of which was to try and address the problems. He said that although several people agreed to help set up a Youth Club, nothing materialised as a Leader did not emerge from meetings held to take it forward. Prof Swingland said that the Karate Class had been very successful however. Mrs Willshaw explained the DDC Youth Strategy, but emphasised that it was there to help empower young people, it did not have the means to actually set up youth clubs. The successful music group, Innovations, was mentioned and the pool table that is being obtained with grant assistance. The idea of a mobile unit being situated somewhere for use as a drop-in centre for young people was considered. It was thought to be a risky venture, but was it worth the risk?

• Mrs Ovenden asked why Wimpeys were being allowed to go against the Planning Inspectorate’s report and build what should have been Phase two of the development already. Mr Southgate explained that Tim Flisher of DDC’s Planning Department is aware of the situation and is currently looking into it. The issue of a large developer riding roughshod over the District Council was discussed.

• A New Street resident complained about being very overlooked by the new houses and Mr Southgate agreed to approach the developers to see if any landscaping or fencing could be done to improve matters.

• Another New Street resident complained about bad language and loud music from the builders on the site. She had been told that ‘that’s what builders do’. The Parish Council agreed to make a formal complaint.

8. Any Other Business Concerned with Parish Affairs
A query about disposal of asbestos at Richborough was referred to the County Councillor.

Mr Whitburn thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.