Council Blog
This Blog contains contributions from members of Eynsford Parish Council. Any opinions expressed are their own, not necessarily representative of other councillors.
Previous posts (up to December 2014) were made by ex-Chairman, Clive Stanyon.
Full Parish Council Meeting
20th November 2014
Chaired a full council meeting. It was agreed to seek some quotations from professional tree service companies to survey the condition of trees on parish council land, mainly to ensure that they are all safe. It was noted that a response had been received from Network Rail regarding the timing of lighting at the railway station. The response was that the lights are on from dusk until dawn. We will be writing back to ask for the lighting to be turned off 15 minutes after the last train has passed through. A written report was received from Theresa Durrant on the recent meeting of the consortium of local parish councils. It was agreed to seek a meeting with Rick Bayne, from the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership, recently awarded £2.3m, to talk about possible improvements that could be made within the Eynsford stretch of the valley. Phil Ward gave a report on London Paramount, a huge leisure complex being proposed for Swanscombe. It was noted that Malcolm Richardson will be meeting representatives from South Eastern on 10th December to discuss the installation of cycle racks at the parish council's expense. District Councillor, Michael Horwood, reported that a grant of £1,500 from Sevenoaks District Council, as well as use of £500 from Michael's own allowance, will enable Speed Watch equipment to be published for Eynsford. This will make Speed Watch sessions much easier, there no longer being a need to collect and return the equipment. A report was received from PCSO Tim Darling on recent police matters within the village. It was agreed not to pursue Christmas lights for the village, given the lack of any positive responses to the idea. Andrea Cornwell reported on an NHS meeting that she had attended, the main thrust of which was to get health delivery agencies to work more holistically to enable people to recover in their own homes. It was agreed to pay £220 to the North West Countryside Project to do some clearance work on the Castlefield Nature Area. It was agreed to purchase 4 new waste bins for the Common Meadow, at a cost of circa £500. as well as to purchase a new gate for the cricket pavilion end of the Common Meadow fence, at £450.
Full Council Meeting Preparation
19th November 2014
Prepared for the full council meeting tomorrow evening. There will be some interesting reports on: the recent consortium meeting of parish councils, attended by Theresa Durrant and myself; a London Paramount exhibition, attended by Phil Ward; and an NHS event, attended by Andrea Cornwell and Theresa Durrant. We may agree to spend £220 to open up a footpath at the Castlefield Nature Area, to allow for more public enjoyment; to purchase some new litter bins for the Common Meadow, the old wooden ones in place being well past their best; and to spend £450 on replacing the Common Meadow gate at the cricket pavilion end, which is also in a poor state of repair. Why not pop along at 20:00 tomorrow evening to see how it all works, and remember that we may well need a few new councillors in May!
Budget Meeting
17th November 2014
Chaired the annual budget meeting, when a draft budget was produced for the 2015-16 financial year, starting April 2015. This budget will be presented to the full council meeting on 18th December for approval, and so may be altered. The headline, as far as the council tax is concerned is that the council is proposing to increase the precept from £67,800 to £68,800, a small increase of just under 1%, following no increase between 2013-14 and 2014-15. This amount, combined with an estimated carried forward figure of circa £84,700 and £3,500 in expected income, brings the total budget for 2015/16 to circa £157,000.
The council is proposing to put another £4,000 into a fund for the village hall Rescue and Renewal Project, to bring this fund up to £59,000. The next biggest budget item is for the clerks salaries, plus PAYE/NIC and pension contributions, which amounts to £28,200. The playground replacement fund has been increased by a further £1,500 and will stand at £8,700. Street lighting repairs and replacements will attract £6,400, this for the replacement of all lanterns in Old Mill Close. Other items over £3,000 include our car park maintenance fund, increased to £3,200, office running costs, at £3,900, and street lighting energy, at £3,100. In terms of completely new items, we have set aside £500 to put in some cycle racks at the railway station, subject to permission being granted, £1,000 to contribute next year to the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership, who have many exciting plans, and web site maintenance, at £250.
