Burham, Eccles and Wouldham Conservatives

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:43:00 +0000

LONG AWAITED TRAFFIC CALMING

Work is almost complete on traffic calming on the three roads into Wouldham. This should make it much clearer that traffic is coming into a restricted area where there are a lot of dangerous traffic hazards and that drivers need to control their speed.

Work is due to start in Burham on similar measures; there will be disruption on the local roads but it will be worth it in the long run.

Next year as a result of Peters Village road works Burham and Eccles Speed limits will start the far side of the Bull Lane Pilgrims Way Junction and there will be further measures to make local traffic safer.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:27:00 +0000

Local Conservatives Annual Dinner

During the last week I attended the Annual Dinner for local Conservatives at Wealden Hall, Larkfield. Guest speaker was David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary, who spoke about immigration, crime and drugs. These are issues close to the heart of many local people as Tracey Crouch, our Parliamentary Spokesman for Chatham & Aylesford has discovered from responses to a survey held recently. We know from experiences in our own Ward crime and drugs are problems that need to be tackled and we as your Councillors are addressing these problems. The evening was well attended with 70 people and we were honoured to be able to have such a distinguished guest in our midst.

Roger Dalton

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:14:00 +0000

Capstone Valley

On Saturday 29^th September Dave & Roger joined Tracey Crouch (our Parliamentary candidate for Chatham & Aylesford) to help deliver 22000 ballot papers across Chatham inviting them to take part in a referendum on the future of Capstone Valley. Hopefully our efforts will encourage people to put forward their views. Although the valley is not in BEW ward it is an area close by and we network with others in the Chatham & Aylesford Constituency to support each other. Tracey is always on hand to support us with any issues you might have. (Photo - Tracey, centre, with her team.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:04:00 +0000

Tour De France

What a fantastic day for Burham village on Sunday 8^th when the Tour De France passed through. The main street was lined with people watching the promotional vehicles and floats pass by as well as police, ‘gendarmes’ and other services prior to the actual race. We also enjoyed an ‘air display’ from a number of helicopters, some of which landed in a nearby field! Finally the cyclists raced through to cheers and clapping from the crowds.

It was a pleasure to see so many people, not only from Burham but from Wouldham & Eccles too, all enjoying the long awaited sunshine – it couldn’t have been better. Burham Fun Day also provided entertainment and refreshment alongside the Tour de France and on into the afternoon making a great day out for all ages. Well done to all involved for such a fantastic day.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 13 May 2007 20:22:00 +0000

TIME OUT IN BRUGES

With the elections over and a successful outcome for Dave and myself on Saturday 12th May we took a break and spent the day in Bruges along with a coach-full of friends and acquaintances from our local community.

We all arrived outside the Phoenix Surgery, bright and breezy, and at 6.30am the coach pulled away to catch the ferry to Calais and onto Bruges.

The weather was kind as we went off in groups to explore the Venice of the North and take in the atmosphere of a truly picturesque city and to sample Flemish cuisine and hospitality.

A great time was had by all and if you didn’t join us for St Omer in France last year or Bruges this year then you could be missing out so watch out for our next trip.

Roger Dalton

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:07:00 +0000

Letter from Councillor Roger Dalton to the Planning Inspector regarding Southern Water:

Dear Mrs Smith,

Ref: Appeal No. APP/W/2275/A/07-2035709

Site at Aylesford Waste Water Treatment Works, Bull Lane, Eccles,Aylesford ME20 7DA.

I am one of two Tonbridge & Malling Borough Councillors, the other being Councillor Dave Davis, who represent the residents of Burham, Wouldham & Eccles.

I know that Cllr Davis has written to you under separate cover in much more detail, I fully support his comments on this issue.

I do however need to state my support of both Kent County Council Planning Committee and T&MBC in rejecting this application, on sound, justifiable planning reasons namely:-

Policy TP15: Development Traffic & Heavy Goods Vehicles.

Policy QL: The Protection and Enhancement of Existing Community Services.

I am also in agreement with T&MBC over their concerns that the odour issues as submitted by Southern Water have not fully addressed the concerns raised by T&MBC.

That Kent Police has carried out a safety audit for Bull Lane, and I am led to believe that they are not happy with proposed traffic movements.

In light that Southern Water may or may not have explored at least two other routes into the works that by-pass the village of Eccles, I submit that there is another route open to them.

They have direct contact with the east bank of the River Medway, this river is tidal and barges still use this river to receive scrap metals from a yard further up stream to Southern Waters Works, in fact small coastal ships still collect cement products from a cement works further down stream.

Southern Water also have a treatment works further down stream on the west bank of the Medway, these works at Ham Hill are between two motorways namely the M20 and The M2 both being connected by the A 228, a mainly dual carriage roadway. I am led to believe that Ham Hill Works also has direct connection with the river Medway from the existing site.

I submit that Southern Water could bring lorries into Ham Hill, transfer to a barge, transport down stream and unload direct into Eccles works and bring back finished products by the same route.

What would happen if the new plant proposed at Ashford could not accept their quota of lorries due to the M20 motorway being closed as happened last week for some five hours due to a fatal accident?

Or Kent Police having to install Operation Stack on the motorway, shutting it down, if we have adverse weather conditions in the English Channel, or strike by French Port workers/fishermen and they shut down the port of Calais as they have in the past.

Then all these lorries would divert to Aylesford site via Eccles, the numbers of which would be un-limited. We would not have these problems if the River Medway was used.

I have attached aerial photographs clearly showing east bank Works.

If Southern water dismisses this other route that is open to them with this form of moving waste, London still move thousand of tonnes of waste by river every day, I can only conclude that the community must suffer for the profit of the company and share-holders. This cannot be fair on our residents.

In closing, I as a Borough Councillor for this Ward would like to speak at the enquiry, therefore would you please register my request to speak.

Yours sincerely

Roger Dalton
Tonbridge & Malling Member for Burham Wouldham & Eccles

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:00:00 +0000

LETTER FROM CLLR DAVE DAVIS TO THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE REGARDING SOUTHERN WATER:

Mrs Debbie Smith
The Planning Inspectorate
Room 4/04
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
BRISTOL
BS1 6PN

Dear Mrs Smith,

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990
APPEAL BY SOUTHERN WATER SERVICES LTD Ref: APP/W2275/A/07/2035709
SITE AT AYLESFORD WASTE WATER TREATMENT WORKS, BULL LANE, AYLESFORD ME20 7DA

1. I am one of the two Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council ward members for Burham, Eccles and Wouldham. I am also a well qualified Civil Engineer (Chartered Engineer , Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers). I am not a practicing UK road engineer and though I have experience of road design and construction, I am not fully conversant with current UK standards. However there are general highway engineering points that I wish to draw to your attention.

2. KCC refused this planning application for two sound planning reasons TP15 & QL11 of the Kent and Medway Structure Plan July 2006. You will be familiar with the wording of those two policies but please forgive me for restating them:

Policy TP15: Development Traffic & Heavy Goods Vehicles

Development which generates significant increases in traffic, especially heavy goods vehicles, will not be permitted if it is not well related to the primary and secondary road network, or it would result in a significant increased risk of crashes or traffic delays unless appropriate measures to mitigate the effect of the development have been secured.

Kent County Council and Medway Council will:

· Identify and signpost lorry routes so as to direct heavy goods vehicles away from rural and residential areas:
· Work with others to achieve distribution of goods by sustainable means in the urban areas in Kent.

Policy QL11: The Protection and Enhancement of Existing Community Services

Existing community services* and recreation facilities will be protected as long as there is a demonstrable need for them. Provision will be made for the development and improvement of local services in existing residential areas and in town and district centres, particularly where services are deficient. Flexibility in the use of buildings for mixed community uses and the concentration of sports facilities at schools will be encouraged.

‘community services’ includes schools and other education provision, social services, adult education, libraries, youth and community services, police and emergency services, health, culture, places of worship, recreation and amenity space, sport, local shopping, public utilities and transport.

3. Though TP 15 and QL 11 are separate reasons for refusal the two policies are linked together because it is the presence of HGV traffic that causes the degradation of quality of life. In this letter I want to amplify the reasons why these policies are critical to the well being of not only the village of Eccles but also of Burham and Wouldham. Collectively there are just over 2000 households in these villages. In the next 10 years the new village of Peters Village will be constructed adding a further 1000 houses with little upgrading of the road network. It is however the village of Eccles that is most affected by this application.

4. I have six general points that should be noted:

a. You will be aware that a number of planning applications have been refused by KCC and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council where there is an increase of HGV movement through Eccles.

b. Traffic counts by local people indicate that at present there are about 60 to 70 HGVs passing through Eccles each weekday.

c. That Southern Water has openly declared their wish to pass 128 HGVs through the village of Eccles each day effectively trebling the HGV movements to 200 movements each day.

d. That in the small print of the application Southern Water reserves the right to pass unlimited HGVs through Eccles in the event of one of their other plants breaking down.

e. I understand that the Kent Police have never been consulted on this planning application and have road safety reservations about it.

f. I believe alternative sites or alternative routes to this site could be found by Southern Water. They might not be as attractive commercially or sit as comfortably with their strategic plans but if this appeal is rejected they will still be able to meet their statutory obligations.

5. My principle concern in this appeal is that Kent Highway Services, the local roads authority, did not raise any major objections to the original planning application. This has been met with incredulity by the villages of Burham, Eccles and Wouldham. I ask you to examine this concern in detail in your inquiry and if necessary seek a second opinion on Kent Highways Services advice which the local villagers feel is so flawed. I set the case out below by presenting the following information: the lack of proximity to the primary and secondary road network, the poor parking in Eccles, the narrow road width, the road accidents figures, road wear, noise, vibration and smells. These are the main issues that affect TP 15 and hence QL 11.

6. Proximity to the primary and secondary road network. The rural road system that serves Burham, Eccles and Wouldham starts at the junction of Rochester Road and Pilgrims way at Grid Reference 745606. From there going towards the villages there is 700 metres of single lane dual carriageway road. The lanes are narrow with limited passing places and any blockage here seals the southern access and exits to the villages. From the end of the dual carriageway to the junction of Bull Lane and Pilgrims Way is a further 600 metres of two lane single carriageway road. I would particularly like you to note the bend at Hale Farm, at Grid Reference 735610. This bend is deceptive and is taken at speed by rural traffic. HGVs going east gravitate to the centre of the road into the path of oncoming traffic where the road is not wide enough for evasive action. There has been at least one fatality and a number of serious injuries well within living memory at this bend. From the Bull Lane, Pilgrims Way junction to the Southern Water’s access road to their plant at Grid Reference 725592 is another 2.2 kilometres part of it through the village of Eccles. The only other public access is via the historic part of Aylesford village which is out of bounds to HGVs and cannot be used hence the only route on the public highways is through Eccles. There other routes on private land not owned by Southern Water.

7. Parking in Eccles. The old part of Eccles was established before the car was invented to house local workers. No provision was made for parking. Subsequent development has not been generous with parking places. The public transport system is poor and therefore car ownership in the village is high. The problem is made worse by the number of trade vans that are parked by working people who live in the village. All the land to the to the west of Eccles where parking could be developed is owned by Trenport who are reluctant to sell the land. The result is that Eccles has a high rate of car ownership in a village that has not been planned to accommodate it and little prospect of improving the availability of parking spaces. Inevitably overspill parking occurs onto Bull Lane adding to the restrictions on road width and a further traffic hazard. Parking in the village in general and along Bull Lane is not good now but is going to get worse in the foreseeable future.

8. Road width. On the afternoon of 17th March, I conducted a carriage way width survey from just to the west of the dual carriage way on Pilgrims Way at Grid Reference 738609 via the junction of Pilgrims Way and Bull Lane at Grid Reference 733612 to the junction of Southern Water’s exit on to Bull Lane to the south of Eccles at Grid Reference 725592. This was done using an engineering surveying global positioning system (GPS). The results are at Annex A to this letter. Outside the Eccles 30 mph limit readings were taken were possible at about 100 metre centres and inside the 30 mph limit at about 50 metre intervals. The GPS results record the grid reference of the point being surveyed and these are at Annex A. This means that the results can be reproduced by any competent engineering surveyor. The results are at Annex A and show that the maximum roadway width is 6.48 metres and a minimum of 4.68 metres with an average width of 5.67 metres. These roads are too narrow for HGVs and the result is that many times a day on our roads there are hold-ups when two oncoming HGVs, buses or coaches try to pass one another.

9. Road Accidents. In my submission to KCC, I compared traffic accidents on a 6 kilometre stretch of the A228 with the same length of typical rural lanes in my ward. I reproduce those results at Annex B. From the results it can be seen that both roads have a similar number of accidents. However when traffic numbers are taken into account the rural roads are much more dangerous. I also make the point that there are a host of minor accidents on the rural roads, such as wing mirrors being hit and scratches, which are not reported. These do not occur on the wider secondary or trunk roads. These road accidents are aggravated by speed and the sub contactors and private hire companies running HGVs into the Southern Water facilities have a bad reputation for speeding through Eccles and for travelling at unsafe speeds on the rural roads where the maximum speed limit is 60 mph but the safe speed for a laden HGV is often less than half that speed. Many of the residents of my 3 villages feel that these drivers are on piece work rates of pay and that their vehicles are big and powerful and if somebody gets in the way their attitude is that it is just bad luck.

10. Road wear. Basic engineering road theory attributes most road pavement deterioration to successive loadings by vehicles. Each loading does a minute amount of damage which builds up over the design life of a road pavement; a phenomenon known as fatigue. It takes millions of axle loads before failure occurs. However different vehicles weights have different damaging power depending in large part on their weight. The damaging power of vehicle weight is not linear ie double the weight causes double the damage. It is in fact a function of the fourth power of the weight thus a 10 tonne vehicle does 10,000 times the damage of a one tonne vehicle (ie 104). Further rural roads are not designed to take the same number of vehicle loadings as secondary or trunk roads. Passing more HGVs down country lanes will cause those roads to fail more often requiring more frequent repairs with attendant congestion and delays for the villagers.

11. Noise, Vibration and Smells. In addition to the hazards above the HGVs are noisy with sound emanating from their tyres, engines and the metal body work. The weight and the speed they travel at through Eccles causes vibration in nearby buildings. Some Southern Water vehicles emit very unpleasant odours as they pass through the village. It is difficult for the environmental health officer to record this as it is a transient nuisance but never the less a very real one.

12. Discussion.

a. Please note that Southern Water are asking you to increase the number of road HGV movements from about 60 or 70 vehicles to about 200. This application “generates significant increases in traffic, especially heavy goods vehicles” contrary to TP 15.

b. In the evidence I have set out above it can be seen that the sewage works is not “well related to the primary and secondary road network” because HGVs must pass down 3.5 kilometres of narrow rural road and through a village where this road is degraded further by parked vehicles. This is contrary to TP15.

c. Because we are on a rural road system where I have shown the differences in accident rates from trunk roads to rural roads the application will “result in a significant increased risk of crashes” contrary to TP15.

d. The narrow width of the road where there is not sufficient room for large vehicles to pass each other does already cause traffic delays. As a result of this proposal there is “a significant increased risk of ……. or traffic delays” contrary to TP15.

e. All of the factors above plus the effects of noise, vibrations and the objectionable smells will detract from the quality of life in Eccles which is a residential village with houses on the main road. Transport will be disrupted; parents will be even more reluctant to let their child go across Bull Lane to get to the recreation ground which is one of the few facilities in Eccles. All of this detracts from the quality of life in Eccles and as such is contrary to QL 11.

13. Questions. If I can help more by answering any questions you have or providing more information I will be delighted to help.

14. Speaking at Inquiry. I would be grateful if you could note my wish to speak at any inquiry you hold.

15. Conclusions. This letter expresses the reservations the people of Burham Wouldham and Eccles have about the advice of Kent Highway Services to KCC’s Planning Committee. The Planning Committee turned the application down for sound reasons that were contrary to the TP 15 & QL 11 policies of the Kent and Medway Structure Plan July 2006. I ask you to investigate very fully the suitability of the rural road system that Southern Water wish to subject to a three fold increase in HGV traffic. I ask you to note that I believe that the Kent Police Road Safety Team have reservations about this application but have not been consulted on it.

16. Conclusion I ask you to reject this appeal on the grounds that TP 15 and QL 11 of the Kent and Medway Structure Plan of July 2006 were valid grounds for turning down the original application and to do this in the knowledge that other options are open to Southern Water albeit they are not as commercially attractive.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Dave Davis

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:26:00 +0000

COUNCIL TAX

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council collects all Council Tax. It does this for itself and for all the other local service providers. These include Kent County Council, the police, the fire authorities and your local Parish Council.

The amount each village pays varies because of the different tax asked for by your parish council.

The break down of the tax for an average Band D property is:
Kent Police £122.18
Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority £61.65
KCC £964.17
TMBC £151.98

This all amounts to £1299.98 – but then you have to add on the Parish Council tax as follows:

Burham Parish: £ 23.12 (making a total for a Band D property in Burham of £1323.10)

Aylesford Parish: £38.23 (making a total for a Band D property in Eccles of £1338.21)

Wouldham Parish: £43.79 (making a total for a Band D property in Wouldham of £1343.77)

Note that KCC need most tax as they have much bigger commitments such all schools, the roads and the disposal of all waste collected by the borough councils.

It is worth noting that TMBC have limited their Council Tax rise to 4.95% in spite of:

Increased compulsory commitments from central government to be paid for by Council Tax.
A reduction in real terms of Central Government funding to effectively 1.2%. Leaving TMBC to raise this money from its Council Tax payers.
TMBC received one of the lowest Central Government financial grants of all boroughs in Kent.
A rise in the inflation rate of TMBC services of 3.7%.

The motion, agreeing the Council Tax, was unanimously passed by TMBC at the Council Meeting on the 22 February with Lib Dem and Labour Councillors supporting the Conservative Budget.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:10:00 +0000

SOUTHERN WATER

AYLESFORD SEWAGE WORKS APPEAL

Further to our post of the 28th November below, we understand from John Walrond and Gilly Hurley, of the Eccles Village Co-Ordination Secretariat, that Southern Water has now just lodged its appeal against KCC's decision to reject their planning application for the Wastewater Treatment Works in Bull Lane.

Your letters of protest against Southern Water's plans should be addressed to:

The Planning Inspectorate
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6PN

Quoting Appeal Number: APP/W/2275/A/07 2035709

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 15:19:00 +0000

LIST OF PLANNING APPLICATIONS
SINCE 1 JANUARY 2007

The following planning applications that affect Burham, Eccles and Wouldham have been received by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council since 1st January 2007.

Details can be viewed by linking to the TMBC Search Form and inset the Application Reference at the beginning of the application below eg 07/00045/FL

07/00045/FL ; 13 Mackenders Lane Eccles Aylesford Kent ME20 7HX; Erection of a rear conservatory

07/00022/FL; 7 Cork Street Eccles Aylesford Kent ME20 7HG; First floor rear extension

06/04141/FL; Land East Of 11 School Lane Wouldham Rochester Kent; Erection of 4 no. two bed terraced houses together with garaging and parking spaces.

07/00194/A10; Unit 15 Stirling Park Laker Road Rochester ME1 3QX; Article 10 Consultation by Medway Council for installation of internal mezzanine floor including partitioning to form office.

07/00293/A10; Land Between A228 On West Bank Of Medway And Peter Hall Road Wouldham Rochester Kent; Article 10 Consultation by Medway Council: Details of water voles, construction programme, acoustic ...

07/00337/A10; Land Between A228 On West Bank Of Medway And Peter Hall Road Wouldham Rochester Kent; Article 10 Consultation by Medway Borough Council for: Details of Contamination Assessment submitted...

07/00414/FL; 28 Rochester Road Burham Rochester Kent ME1 3SQ; Front drive reconstruction and extended vehicular crossover

07/00532/FL; Scarborough House 40 Pilgrims Way Wouldham Rochester Kent ME1 3RB;
Conversion of outbuildings to provide annexe for elderly relative, with alterations to existing building

07/00529/LB; Scarborough House 40 Pilgrims Way Wouldham Rochester Kent ME1 3RB; Listed Building Application: Conversion of outbuildings to provide annexe for elderly relative, with alterations to existing building

07/00270/RD; Former Peters Pit And Peters Works Site Hall Road Wouldham Rochester Kent; Details of site investigations and remediation strategy submitted pursuant to condition 8 of planning permission TM/05/00989/OAEA (Formation of development platforms and creation of new community including residential development, mixed-use village centre (including A1; A3 and B1 use), community facilities and primary school and associated highways works) and to condition 6 of planning permission TM/05/00990/FLEA (Construction of a single carriageway road crossing incorporating segregated pedestrian and cycle way)

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 09:28:00 +0000

Fly Tipping Bad News

A lorry load of house building waste dumped on Hill Road on the North Downs Way above Wouldham.

One of the most beautiful walks in the county.

We reported this to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) on Sunday last week.

The Good News
The same site on Tuesday morning.

Well done to the TMBC officers and contractors who sorted the mess out. Hopefully the healing hand of nature will finish the job off and the North Downs Way will look stunning again as the catkins come into full bloom: they are beginning to come out there now.

What it Cost Us:

This clear up operation cost us, the Council Tax payers of TMBC & KCC, about £200. Though expensive, think of the resources involved. The cost of the lorries, the cost of the people and the cost of the equipment. A number of resources were deployed and there is the management time. Looked at that way it is lot cheaper than we expected. TMBC try and keep costs down but we still all have to pay for fly tipping like this.

Each year we, in TMBC, have to pay about £50,000 for clearing fly tipping. That is about £0.70 for each of us in the Borough.

How to Help:

Please help by reporting fly tipping to TMBC on 01732 844 522 or click here to go to the online Litter Reporter

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:00:00 +0000

Reminder:
Dave & Roger's Surgeries on 7th April.

Click HERE for times and venues.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:22:00 +0000

Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives are embracing internet 'Blogging' to improve communication with the voters!

Britain's top political Blogger, Iain Dale, visited Chatham & Aylesford Conservatives on Friday 26th January to help launch the Conservatives new "interactive" on-line diary - aimed at improving communications between local councillors and candidates and the communities they serve.

Roger Dalton & Dave Davies will be using their blog to keep residents informed about local issues and campaigns to improve services and facilities.

Thre will also be fast links on the site to enable readers to contact their councillors and other service providers such as T&MBC.

Iain Dale is the former owner of "Politicos" Bookstore in Westminster. He now writes "Iain Dale's Diary" an on-line political diary which attracts hundreds of thousands of readers every week.

Speaking at a meeting in Chatham, Iain said,

"Increasingly people are turning away from newspapers and the traditional media. The internet is a growing influence in the way people obtain their news and information. Local Conservatives deserve congratulations for the foresight and progressive outlook."

Chatham & Aylesford's Parliamentary Spokesman, Tracey Crouch, added,

"We are always looking for new ways to communicate local communities. Younger voters in particular are far more likely to join in the political debate if they can do so on-line. This is a really exciting development and indicates how the Conservatives are in touch with new developments and ideas."

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 17:03:00 +0000

On Saturday 7th April Dave and Roger will hold their normal "borough councillor surgeries" as follows:

09:30 to 10:30 – Eccles Methodist Church Hall
10:30 to 11:30 – Burham Church Hall
11:30 to 12:30 – Wouldham Village Hall

Please come along with any queries, questions, problems, issues or ideas you have or just to find out what is going on in the area.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 22:11:00 +0000

Parliamentary Candidate Chosen

Tracey Crouch has been chosen as the Conservative Candidate for Chatham and Aylesford Constitiency.

At a packed meeting of members supporters and the public, Tracey Crouch was chosen as the new Parliamentary Candidate for the Conservatives.
She, beat off 26 other hopefuls to win the nomination.

Tracey, who works in the insurance industry, is a qualified football coach and a member of Kent Cricket Club. She is the lead manager in an independent charity which aims to reduce crime and build safer communities through various projects and activities. She also works with the Citizenship Foundation, an education based charity which runs the National Youth Parliament Competition is schools.

Tracey has extensive experience in campaigning in Local, General and European Elections and is delighted to have the opportunity to fight the next election for the Conservatives in Chatham and Aylesford.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:01:00 +0000

WOULDHAM YOUTH PROVISION
Working with Wouldham Parish Council and following meetings with TMBC and KCC officers, we are delighted that a management committee has been formed to take forward provision for youth in Wouldham.

We do however need more members and volunteers to help us. Anybody who can help, even in the smallest way, please would you contact any of the following management committee members: Toni – 01634 869135 or Karen 01634 666 370.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:00:00 +0000

ECCLES YOUTH CLUB
The Eccles Youth Club made a good start in the summer and continued through until October. Sadly it has had to close temporarily because we do not have enough adult volunteers to provide a safe environment for the children. There is a strong demand from the youngsters for this much needed club in Eccles. If you are able to help with sports or arts activities, or just talking to people once or twice a month, please come forward and join in. For more details contact Dave on 01634 869650 or Neil on 01622 716012.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:57:00 +0000

RECYCLING PLASTIC WASTE
We are delighted that you can now recycle plastic bottles at 8 places across the Borough.

Sainsbury’s Aylesford Quarry Wood site is the closest, followed by Tesco’s at Larkfield. More details are available on the TMBC Website. Click HERE for details.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:55:00 +0000

BURHAM VILLAGE HALL RECYCLING POINT
All Burham residents can benefit the Parish finances by using the new Smurfit cardboard recycling facility. The bank will take cardboard, paper, newspapers, magazines, brochures and mail shots. It is not able to take yellow pages and wax cartons eg: milk and juice cartons. For every tonne of cardboard type waste, the Parish Council will get in excess of £40.00 to be spent on facilities in Burham.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:52:00 +0000

AYLESFORD SEWAGE WORKS

One great cause for satisfaction to us was working with the people of Eccles in the hugely successful team effort to persuaded Kent County Council to refuse planning permission to Southern Water for the sludge processing facility.

This would have meant a large increase in HGV traffic through Eccles. Many thanks to everybody who passed information and photographs to us which we used and relayed to Eccles Village Co-ordination Secretariat.

Southern Water has until March 2007 to appeal the decision. Looking at the evidence that we all presented to KCC, they would be well advised not to appeal. However that possibility cannot be ruled out so the team from Eccles will have to go into action again.

We are ready to support them.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:49:00 +0000

STREET LIGHTS
In our conversations with you, an important issue is street lights not working. Please report all faulty street lights to Kent County Council Highway Services on 08458 247800.

They need to know where the faulty light is. If possible, give the street light number which is on the lamp post eg: JCC 1003 is a street light in Church Street, Burham.

If the light is not repaired by KCC in a reasonable length of time, then please let Roger or Dave know.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:47:00 +0000

TRAFFIC CALMING
We share your concern about traffic speeding in the villages. Some traffic calming measures are going into all three villages. In Eccles, these were largely completed over the summer however, Conservative controlled KCC have agreed to put in an Interactive Speed Limit sign near the Red Bull Pub to indicate speed to traffic.

Burham Parish Council are putting on public exhibitions of proposed Burham traffic calming in the Old School Community Centre on Saturday, 2nd & 9th of December, 2pm—4pm. Wouldham Parish Council have already put on an exhibition of the proposed village traffic calming.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 22:44:00 +0000

PETER’S VILLAGE

Following Approval in Principle for Peters Village development, Trenport are beginning to submit more detailed plans to TMBC for approval. We will keep you informed of what is happening over the coming months.

The road works along Court Road and Pilgrims Way are due to start in autumn 2007 and finish in late 2008. The bridge works will start in early 2007 and are due for completion in autumn 2009.

Some people have asked us what the pegs in the fields along side Court Road are for. This is to show the farmers what land will be required for the construction work. It is not the extent of the finished road but where crops might be damaged by the work.

For those of you with access to the internet, much more detail can be obtained from Trenport’s Website which can be accessed by clicking HERE.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 20:57:00 +0000

Who should be Chatham & Aylesford's next Member of Parliament ?

The Conservative Party is changing - and one of those changes is in the way we select our candidates.

Until now, our candidates, (like those from other parties), were interviewed and selected by party members. We realise, however, that a future MP needs the support of the wider community. That is why we have changed the way we are doing things.

On Thursday 30th November you are invited to attend a meeting that will select the Conservative candidate for the next General Election here in Chatham & Aylesford Constituency. The meeting will start at 7pm at Lordswood Leisure Centre, North Dane Way, Chatham, ME5 8YE. For map click HERE.

The story so far:
Hundreds of approved candidates have been notified that we are looking for a candidate to fight the General Election. Those interested have submitted their CV's and a shortlist of 11 has been compiled. Over the next two weeks a series of interviews will whittle these initial 11 applicants down to a shortlist of 3.

The Final Meeting:
On Thursday 30th November the final 3 candidates will present themselves to a public meeting. Each of the candidates will make a short presentation and will be professionally interviewed by an impartial moderator. Members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions if they wish.

The Vote:
Following the interviews a vote (by secret ballot) will be taken. The winning candidate needs 50%+ of the vote to win. If none of the candidates poll 50%+ on the first vote, the third placed candidate will be eliminated and another vote will be held. The winner of the second ballot will be selected as the Conservative Party candidate to fight the next General Election.

Who Can Participate?:
You do not need to be a member of the Conservative Party to attend the meeting and vote. In fact, you don't even have to be a committed Conservative. A Member of Parliament represents the entire constituency regardless of politics and we therefore wish to include the views of as many people as possible in the selection process.

However:
To qualify to attend the meeting and cast a vote you must by 18 years of age or over and be on the Electoral Register for the Chatham & Aylesford Constituency under the new boundaries.

You Must Also Register:
If you wish to attend the meeting you must register by 24th November. To do so, simply send an email to contact@tcconservatives.com. The title of the email should be "REGISTRATION" and you need to include the name, address and telephone number of each person that would like to attend. Alternatively, you can register by post. Send the names and addresses of those people wishing to attend the meeting to:

Chatham & Aylesford Conservative Association
Freepost MA 487
91 High Street
West Malling
Kent
ME19 6NA

Further details about the meeting will be sent to all registered attendees on or about 24th November.

noreply@blogger.com (Burham, Eccles & Wouldham Conservatives) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:24:00 +0000

Roger Dalton
13 Bell Cres, Burham, ME1 3SZ.
Tel: 01634 867281. Email: rogerandhazel@yahoo.com

Roger Dalton is a local man, having lived and worked in the villages of Burham, Eccles and Wouldham for over 30 years. He is married to Hazel, and between between them they have four grown up children, all but one working, the youngest in his 3rd year at university studying law. Since 1976 has run and still runs his own Plumbing and Heating Installation Company.

For some fifteen years he has been a member of Burham Parish Council and in 2003 he was elected to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. In May 2007 he will seek re election to carry on the work on behalf of the local community.

At Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Roger is a member of the following committees.

Policy and Best Value Committee.
Building Control Best Value Sub-Committee, Vice Chairman.
General Purpose Committee.
Standards Committee.
Area 3 Planning Committee.
ICT & E-govt Advisory Board.
Strategic Housing Advisory Board.
Medway Valley Countryside Partnership Panel.
Parish Partnership Panel.
Public Transport Panel.

Outside bodies,

Malling Area Volunteer Bureau.
Maidstone Mediation Scheme.