Chairman: Mr N Whitburn – Chairman of Ash Parish Council
Present: Approximately forty-seven parishioners, including eight Parish Councillors
District Councillors Mr Trevor Bartlett and Mrs Anne Willshaw
P.C. Wayne Wright and Community Wardens Bob Priestly and David Bish
Apologies: Kent County Cllr Mr Leyland Ridings

1. Minutes
The minutes of the last Annual Parish Meeting, held on Monday 26th April 2005, 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 including the two Community Wardens and Matthew Crick , Headteacher at Cartwright and Kelsey School, who had brought along slides of the new school building.

2. (i) Report of the Parish Council – Mr N Whitburn
Mr Whitburn welcomed everyone to the meeting, making special mention of the two community wardens and Mr Matthew Crick, Headteacher at Cartwright and Kelsey School, who had brought along some slides of the new school building. He explained that his report would be a brief one, as his written report was in the Newsletter.

The incident of fire damage to the teen shelter was under investigation by the Police but the Council hopes to bring it back into use very soon.

Cllr Meg Bennetts and her father were thanked for work they have carried out to renovate one of the old-type of signposts and it was mentioned that the ‘polo’ for the signpost at Pound Corner is to be replaced as soon as possible. The Cllrs, Clerk and Environment Assistant were also thanked for their hard work over the past year.

Mr Whitburn ended with a reminder that 2007 is election year and he suggested that parishioners may like to think about putting themselves forward for the Parish Council.

(ii) Report of the Recreation Ground Committee – Mr G Foat
The Environment Assistant’s reports included many incidents of vandalism, which included the toilet block and teen shelter. Dog waste continues to be a problem and black sacks of rubbish are regularly left outside the pavilion. A barrier post was broken last week by a driver.

The junior rugby club continues and there is now a junior football club for boys and girls. Once the cricket nets are sorted out there will be junior cricket as well.

Mr Foat proposed and it was agreed that Paul Dunn, who was absent from the meeting, continue as representative of the meeting on the Recreation Ground Committee.

In response to questions from the floor, it was noted that a down pipe needs to be fitted to the pavilion to prevent water running down the wall.

In response to a complaint about an overgrown allotment, it was explained that the original allotment holder had to give up due to ill health and that the person who was allocated it failed to do any work. It has now been allocated to someone else and it is hoped that they will soon be able to bring it under control.

iii) Footpaths Committee Report – Mrs S Chandler
The Footpath committee meets three times a year, with additional walking meetings arranged as and when appropriate. In recent years the committee have walked the walks on the Walk Cards and made some improvements and necessary updates to the route instructions, this year it is hoped to investigate producing an additional walk possibly from the centre of the village to Richborough Castle.

Parish Council meetings routinely bring reports of problems on footpaths, some are ongoing ones of paths being overgrown etc. There have been recent discussions with the Public Rights of Way Officer about the problem of suitable deterrents for motorbikes using paths which are too narrow to allow the use of the more usual v shaped barriers or gates and still allow access for buggies and wheelchairs.

At the last PROW meeting for Parish Council footpath representatives, a presentation on East Kent Healthwalks was given. This is a relatively new initiative being run by the East Kent Health Promotion Service to encourage people to walk more for the sake of their health. They are basically looking for local walkers who might want to volunteer to lead walks in their own neighbourhood which can then become a regular social event. They provide training and advertising etc. Contact details or more information can be forwarded o anyone interested.

The Committee is hoping to expand a little on the monitoring system set up last year and a pack has been put together which will be sent to all our volunteers either by email or personal delivery soon. It includes a new monitoring form, to enable more of a picture of our parish path system to be set up. Mrs Chandler thanked all who help to keep the Council up to date on the state of Ash’s large network of paths.

(iv) Parish Council Accounts – Mrs J Potts, Clerk
The clerk explained that the accounts for the year ended March 2005, 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 2006, 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. Expenditure during the year included £1250 for repairs to the seesaw, £600 to install a gate and surfacing into the play area, to comply with DDA requirements and as well as the usual grants to the two village halls and PCC, an additional £2,000 to Ash Village Hall towards the new heating installation.

Included in the 2006-07 budget are:
£2,500 to replace the nets on the climbing frame and one of one of the springy toys (which was scheduled for last year, but repairs to the seesaw took precedence), £1,000 for additional dog bins; £2,500 to install a plastic type of ‘grasscrete’ to an area near the pavilion and the entrance to Burford’s Alley and £3,000 allocated last year for Youth facilities was carried over.
It was agreed to allocate £5,000 in the budget towards provision of a Police Community Support Officer, as it was anticipated that costs would be £22,500 over 3 years, but that this would be split proportionately with Wingham.

The precept for 2006-2007 was increased to £53,000 to take into account the additional homes built during the year and this equates to £44.96 per annum on a D Band property – an increase this year of only £0.65 per annum per household.

The high balance in hand at March 2006 was queried from the floor and the Clerk explained that it included £7,000 which had been set aside for renovations to the tennis courts, the £3,000 set aside for youth facilities, £1,000 for play equipment repairs and £1,000 pledged towards rebuilding the Scout hut.

(v) 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 £769 last year. £70 per year is put towards a fund for maintaining the stained glass window at the Church and £563 paid for Christmas hampers for the elderly.
Resthaven – Mr Downes explained the history of the Resthaven almshouses. He said it is a constant struggle to make ends meet and asked that if anyone was looking for a somewhere to leave their money in their will, perhaps they would consider the Resthaven charity. It is hoped at some point in the future two more houses can be built, but as grant assistance is not available, it will be many years before this is possible.

(b) Ash Village Hall –Mrs J Ryan – read out in her absence
The big event this past year was the installation of the new mains gas heaters, funded by a grant of £3000 from the Coalfields Regeneration Unit plus "matched" funding of £2000 from Ash Parish Council. At the time of writing the report, they are still awaiting the first quarterly gas bill in order to assess the cost of running the heaters. To help make the hall warmer, the big windows which are never opened were sealed with mastic against draughts and before next winter it is hoped to install draught proof curtains over the fire exit. Members of the committee came together during the summer to redecorate external wood work and carry out internal spring cleaning.
Chalkfoot Theatre Arts Company visited twice; with a children's play, "The Sea Morgan's Child" in November, followed by "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" in March. Both were of an excellent standard and thoroughly entertaining - however it neither were as well attended as was hoped, which would also have helped swell the hall's coffers.
The hall was subjected to a bad attack of vandalism over the Christmas/New Year period when over £ 1000 worth of damage (covered by insurance) was perpetrated, firstly to the railings to the stage fire exit and secondly to the rear storeroom fire exit. The latter included attempted arson which the police took very seriously and the committee is now being forced to spend money in an attempt to protect the premises.
In February, cleaner Mrs Beryl Anderson was forced to resign due to bad health, and her replacement is Mr Martin Winstone, known to many as one of the village postmen.
The committee is about to introduce new hiring agreements which are necessary under Health & Safety Regulations. They have been based on a model from Action with Communities in Rural Kent and have caused the committee a certain amount of head scratching! They have also formed a Risk Assessment Sub-Committee and a Finance Sub-Committee.
Lettings income for 2005 was down by £183, due in part to there being no election. There was an enormous expenditure on electricity because the meter had not been read for two years and, on changing supplier, a bill was finally received! 2006 started well with a surprising increase in children's parties. Both the senior table tennis and the yoga groups are steadily growing, but the hall could still do with more daytime usage.
Mrs Ryan expressed thanks to the Parish Council for their continuing financial support to the maintenance of the complex and hoped that attendees at the meeting were warmer than they had been at the previous year’s Annual Meeting!
In response to a suggestion from the floor that the fire exit should be alarmed, it was noted that the police had advised against that.

(c) Westmarsh Village Hall – Mr C Pratt
Mr Pratt explained that the hall is very underused and the annual dance will not take place this year. He expressed concern for the future of the hall. Income was £2,337 and expenditure was £1,414. The bank account stands at £9,859.

(d) Jack Foat Trust – Mr D Downes
Mr Downes provided information about Jack Foat and how the Trust was set up and informed the meeting about some new plaques that have been purchased to indicate the land owned by the Trust. He hoped that more people would thus realise that the land was available for all villagers to use for informal recreation. Mr Downes has been in contact with the Public Rights of Way Officer and has established that the new Miners Way passes through Jack Foat Trust land.

The total value of the fund is £358,466 and this capital is maintained to ensure support to village charities. A grant of £99,617 was given towards building the Pre-school and Nursery at Cartwright and Kelsey School

Michael Stewart, Trustee and Treasurer, has resigned from the Trustees. Nina Vallack and Ian Chandler have agreed to replace him.

Mr Downes informed the meeting that further development at Millfield, to provide large houses for local families, is planned in association with Sanctuary Housing, although this may be dependent on the Parish Council approving a scheme. Mr Foat responded that the Parish Council’s assertions to the District Council about not wanting more development in Ash did not necessarily apply to social housing.

Simon Gregory asked Mr Downes about whether anything could be done about the land to the rear of Millfield, as he said it is over-run with rats and causing a nuisance to residents of the houses that back onto it. Mr Downes had no answer to the problem.

(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’. A grant of £10,000 was given to the Pre-school and the fund now stands at £295,461.

(f) Ash Educational Charities – Mr I Chandler
Mr Chandler gave a report of the Trustees of the Charity for year ending 31 st December 2005.

He explained that the Trust includes the Charity of Eleanor and Anne Cartwright, founded by 1721; the charity known as Godfrey's School Foundation, founded 1819 and by Elizabeth Godfrey's will in October 1828; and the charity known as Thomas Kelsey's Foundation, founded in 1860.) The Cartwright and Kelsey Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Ash is the property of the Charity. It is a requirement of the Scheme that the School buildings shall be so used, and that religious instruction consistent with the doctrines of the Christian faith shall be given to pupils there. After payment of the expenses of administration of the Charity itself, and the cost of maintaining the Charity's property (including the repair and insurance of buildings), the Trustees may use the Charity's income to assist the Governors of the School in discharging their obligations to maintain the School, or to provide special benefits for the School not normally provided by the local education authority, or in promoting the education (including) social and physical training) of children and younger people resident in the parish of Ash who are in need of financial assistance.

The rebuilding of the Cartwright & Kelsey School which had started in the autumn of 2004, was completed and the new building was ready for occupation in September 2005. The Trustees pay tribute to the hard work put in by the Chairman, the Governors and especially its Building Sub-Committee, and Matthew Crick, the Headmaster, in bringing this major community project to a triumphant conclusion. The Trustees fulfilled their commitment to contribute £52,853 towards the provision of nursery/computer/library facilities (which are not funded by DfES). The Trustees also contributed £4,000 towards the provision of a new Adventure playground at the school.

The Trustees look forward to being able to do something beyond token grant-aid to other educational charitable activities in the parish.

The investment policy is to maintain sufficient cash to meet present or anticipated commitments, having regard to the Charity's reliance upon rental income, and subject to that, to invest their endowment to produce a regular and increasing income stream.
The Trustees, who held four meetings during the year, have reviewed the charity’s needs for reserves in line with the guidance issued by the Charity Commission, and against the Charity's present and likely future income, net of expenditure on its fixed functional and other assets and administrative expenses. They have in consequence put into reserve their holding of 230 COIF accumulation units (valued at £15,410.23 at 31 December 2005), and similarly set aside a separate COIF Deposit Fund reserve of £10,000.

The Charity began the year with a balance of £87,294.39. It received £10,448.36 by way of rental income and repayment of insurance premiums from F H Browne (the organ company who rent the Trusts premises in The Street). Interest on investments amounted to £3,780.66. It paid out £2,645.79 in insurance premiums on its let premises and the newly built school, £812.18 in three grants, £500 to the School Governors towards a school trip to Norfolk, £4,000 towards the Adventure Playground and £52,853 towards building and equipping the new Nursery etc. This has obviously depleted the funds of the Charity and it closed the year with a balance of £38,686.61

Mr Chandler said that he would like to think that now the Charity has fulfilled its major ambition to see the school rebuilt, it could now make grants to individuals for educational purposes as laid down in the Trust Deed.

vi) Report of the Governor appointed by the Parish Council of the Cartwright & Kelsey CofE (Aided) Primary School – Mrs S Chandler
Mrs Chandler explained that this would be her last report in her current capacity as schools have been directed to reconstitute their Governing Bodies by September 2006. Under the re-constitution the inclusion of a ‘minor authority governor’ which is Mrs Chandler at the moment, will disappear so the Parish Council will no longer have an appointed governor although there is some scope for co-opted governors which can be explored.

A lot has happened since the Annual Parish Meeting last year. Last September everyone began the new school year in the brand new building, and after a lot of hard work by staff, local people were able to visit on the Open Day and see it for themselves. Children and staff are enjoying the extra space and facilities and the overall atmosphere is much calmer. Some bits of outside landscaping are still being finished off, hopefully in time for the Dedication Service on 9th June.

There are currently 156 children on the roll and the SATs results show that standards continue to improve. The progress made in Key Stage 1 is above the national average and key stage 2 pupils are well on target. A focus on Maths in the school, which included sessions for parents, has been very successful and the school is now extending the sessions for parents explaining phonics so they can be more involved in helping their children to read. Last year’s reported Silver Flair award for teaching modern languages was upgraded in July, after they had visited a few more schools, to a Gold award. The School continues to promote sport and three girls recently won places in the local football team.

Attendance levels are in the top band and the school is now beginning to welcome children from the newer parts of Ash. The school day has been extended with the introduction of a Breakfast Club and an After School Club, both of which are proving popular with parents and children.

Links with the community continue to get stronger, children benefited from an art competition run by Michael Cooper Estate Agents and groups of children have performed music and contributed to church services (as did the Headteacher on Education Sunday). The School has just welcomed the Seaside Rock Easter Holiday Club, run by both Ash churches in the school, and a new link with a community much further away in North Kenya has now been forged, as the School Council (that is two representatives from each class) decided to adopt the primary school there as their charity.

Mrs Chandler spoke of earlier hopes regarding the provision of a maintained Nursery as part of the school which would absorb the Ash Pre-School and explained the difficult procedure that had been followed to achieve that aim. The result was that in September the Nursery opened and was extended in October to include the full childcare options. She explained that Sue Knight Fotheringham leads a team of wonderful staff all of whom were part of the Ash Pre-School and that, together with Matthew Crick, they all worked very hard to turn plans into reality. There are now forty children registered in Fledglings as it is called, many of whom will move into the reception class Wrens in September, and they have just had a successful OFSTED inspection for childcare that rated the nursery as ‘good’. This could not have been achieved without the support and help that came from the community, both in terms of the generous amount of funding that we received from local trusts and individuals and the very valuable statements of support that the School was able to present at every stage in the fight. Mrs Chandler said that she would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for the part that everyone had played in making sure Ash has such very good Early Years education for its children.

3. Questions to County Councillor Leyland Ridings (in his absence answered by others)
• What is the latest news on Unitary Authorities?
Mr Whitburn explained that a White Paper is due out in June or July.
• Thanks were expressed for the improved roads since the last Annual Parish Meeting.
• Near the railway crossings at Richborough the hedges need cutting back both sides of the road as it is very narrow there.
This will be reported.
• How can speeding in the village be deterred – why no interactive signs like other villages?
Mr Whitburn explained about villages having to fund the signs and that there are strict rules about where they can be used. He said that the Parish Council is trying to get a Speedwatch scheme set up in the village and asked for volunteers. He explained about Speedwatch and which roads were suitable in Ash.
PC Wayne Wright explained that speed enforcement was not in his remit and that requests for speed traps can be made through the Area Commander but can only be provided when resources allow.

4. Civil Protection - Questions to Kent Police
PC Wright reported on restructuring of Kent Police for the area and explained that the neighbourhood policing was unchanged. He mentioned that the parish is hoping to get a Police Community Support Officer and explained that the two Community Wardens are now working part-time in Ash as the eyes are ears of the police. The overt CCTV camera has been used in various parts of the village, currently at Pound Corner/Chequer Lane.

Operations Cubit, untaxed vehicles seized, and Freedown, nuisance motorbikes, are continuing. Operation Blakey, which dealt with school run / buses was successful and the situation has improved.

The Police continue to work with Trading Standards regarding sale of alcohol to minors from local shops.

The new Victim Code was explained and the need for good evidence when trying to get a conviction. The Police do not have all the answers and rely on the public to assist.

PC Wright is now also a Wildlife & Countryside Officer.

Questions and comments from the floor:
• A man from The Rectory spoke about having been attacked three times in the village
PC Wright said that he was aware of it and would be speaking to the man at his home the next day.
• Mrs Chandler spoke about a recent incident at the school when Police Scene of Crime Officers were unable, because of Health & Safety regulations, to go up on the roof to get fingerprints from the clock which had been damaged.
PC Wright said that he would visit the school and talk to Mr Crick about it.
• Mr Potts asked if the Police were aware of ongoing conflict between local youths and the immigrant workers.
PC Wright said he was aware of an incident last year and also of speculation about the youth shelter incident. There have been incidents of abusive language to the immigrants from local youths.
• Miss Bennetts spoke about the problem for local shop workers who may feel intimidated by those trying to buy alcohol for under age drinkers.
PC Wright said that they are not intending to do a blanket hit on all shops, but will identify those openly selling to underage drinkers.
• Mrs Ovenden said that the mobile police unit was a good thing, but that it needed to be in the main village car park rather than the village hall one and that it they put cones out early they should have no problem getting in there.
PC Wright said he will see if that can be done.

5. Resolutions of which written notice had been given
None

6. Questions to District Councillors
District Cllr Mrs Willshaw reported a very busy year with at least one of the cllrs attending Parish Council monthly meetings.

KCC have taken back responsibility for the district highways and a reminder was given that , should anyone wish to contact them, the phone number is 08458 247 800.

Goodnestone, Chillenden & Staple are still waiting for the news on the 30mph speed limits. The parish councils are due to be consulted.The same goes for 50mph limits at Shatterling to Wingham.

The green waste recycling scheme was launched to 10,000 properties last August, and so far the scheme has collected more than 350 tonnes of green waste. The next phase will include Ash. The council continues to improve on recycling and reduce the amount of waste going into landfill. Mrs Willshaw said that the effort residents are putting into recycling is fantastic, and that they just need more people to use the scheme. Anyone who does not have a black box was urged to let DDC know.

Under the anti social behaviour act 2003, local authorities now have powers to intervene when neighbours cannot settle disputes over high hedges. The authority can decide whether the hedge is preventing occupants reasonable enjoyment of their home or garden, and can serve a notice on the owner. Failure to carry out the works is an offence, and can lead to a prosecution and fine of up to £1000. A fee of £350 is payable upon formal application to the council or £ 175 for those on certain benefits. To request an application form or for advice parishioners were told to ring 01304 872205

Planning enforcement continued to cause concern for parish councils and the ward councillors called the item in for the Scrutiny Performance Committee to look into. From that it has been resolved that every six months further reports on particular cases, including resolved cases will be brought to a committee. The enforcement workload remains high, with 352 new cases in 2005 and 39 in the first month of 2006. An increase of 39% over 2005. DDC have appointed another enforcement officer, Mr Don Gale, who will work with senior investigation officer Paul Francis.

Dist Cllrs were delighted to see Chillenden windmill and reopened, two years after being blown down. A team of 50 carpenters, blacksmiths and craftsmen catalogued every item recovered and then painstakingly rebuilt the mill from the bottom up. The £250,000 cost was met from insurance, as well as contributions from KCC and DDC.

DDC has just finished its consultation period on its budget proposals, with 1.4 million savings and a 4.9% council tax increase. DDC believe that the package of changes that we have developed will have minimal impact on the district, and allows us to stay within the governments stipulated 5% council tax rise. Our objective has been to ensure that we have achieved our necessary financial obligations in difficult times without cuts to essential services. DDC as in the case of the majority of councils faces budget pressure due to staffing and other costs increasing by more than the rate of inflation. Over 60% of DDC financing is determined by central government, and Dover has one of the lowest tax level in Kent.

On the 13' March DDC officially opened its new Dover area office in Castle street. The office is providing customers with face to face help and guidance across a comprehensive range of council and community services. The new office is now open from 9am to Spm, Monday to Friday. The council is taking advantage of central government funding to assist in the provision of improved technology, offering a friendly modern facility at a local level within the community. As part of its new image DDC @ Your Service quarterly newsletter is being launched.

Plans for the multi-million pound development of Aylesham have taken a major step forward. Following a special meeting Ward Homes & Hillreed Homes have been selected as the preferred master development partners. The scheme involves the development of 1,100 homes together with job opportunities, improved shopping, community services and related infrastructure on approximately 46 hectares. Southern Housing Group are to be the low cost home providers.

The concessionary Bus Pass scheme operated by DDC is being upgraded, and as from 1st April will provide Free Travel at off peak times on local bus services throughout Kent, for every resident 60 or over. For full details call the help line on 01304 872122.

Plans for alcohol exclusion zones went out for consultation and Ash and wingham are to be included, but there is still a long way to go before they are implemented.

Two DDC Officers have been attending meetings in Ash with young people and adults, which was slightly soured by damage to the village hall, to try and initiate some additional facilities for the village youth. They are hoping to set up two community events, but adult help is still needed and volunteers were called for.

Mrs Willshaw has been in touch with Environmental Health officers regarding possible additional sites for dog bins.

Following a consultation on play area strategy in the Autumn, Mrs Willshaw reported that all the town councils are considering taking responsibility for some of their play areas.

7. Any Other Business Concerned with Parish Affairs
A reminder was given about the forthcoming Art Exhibition at the Church.

Mr Whitburn thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.

……………………….
Chairman