Cllr Steve Bailey, Chairman Chestfield Parish Council annual report for 2020-2021:
Chairman’s Annual Report 2021
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
It goes without saying that this has been an unprecedented year in the history of not just this village but the whole world, where everyone has pulled together – no more so than our own parish council and parishioners.
Our annual electors’ meeting originally scheduled for April 2020 was cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Similarly, our May parish council meeting was also cancelled, although we then dipped our toe in the water and embraced virtual technology by holding our first virtual meeting on ‘Zoom’ on 28 June 2020 – this also became the annual meeting of the parish council, albeit a month later than normal.
At that June meeting last year, I was again honoured to be asked to be Parish Council Chairman for another year – but as I have said before, although it is my name at the top of the page, every member of your parish council is as important as the other.
It goes without saying that things have tended to slow down over the past year in general – which I hope you will all agree serves to put things into perspective given the world that became the ‘newer normal’.
But we did manage to maintain an equilibrium in many ways, and I would like to take a few minutes to highlight our successes achieved during what has been a very trying and unpredictable year for the Parish Council :
Following the announcement of the first lockdown in March, we followed government guidelines in closing off the outdoor gym – I am sure that you will agree that the mere sight of that yellow and black hazard tape certainly gave a stark reminder of how things had suddenly become a reality. But our efforts to combat coronavirus didn’t stop at simply binding tape around things – did you know for example that throughout the whole period our clerk Amanda has diligently been carrying out coronavirus risk assessments?
Ironically, and perhaps because of the fact that many people staying were staying at home, we received an unprecedented 63 planning applications this year – a record number, and my thanks to all councillors who were involved with these, although I would like to take this opportunity to single out Cllr Fitzpatrick for all of his assistance and expertise with these.
We do of course keep a very close watching brief on the emerging Grasmere Pasture new development, which is moving slowly to breaking ground – we expect works to start in the second quarter of this year – although the first aim of these efforts will almost certainly have to involve the flood attenuation issues that so clearly need a lot of thought from the developers. Whilst we are not of the mind to say “we told you so”, it does make us hark back to the Inspectorate Inquiry when we first mentioned the unsuitability of the land for the very reasons that are being experienced at the moment …. hindsight is a wonderful thing, but one can only wonder which direction the Inquiry may have taken had site inspection been carried out during a wetter, more inclement period??!
We have not been able to carry out any Speedwatch checks since first lockdown, although I am pleased to announce that these will be returning in the next few weeks as lockdown eases and indeed traffic flow increases – good timing really!
We have also been exploring the possibility of 20mph roads in the village – this was at the suggestion of our KCC Cllr Robert Thomas who agreed to be the scheme sponsor. As a result of direct and indirect consultation with our residents we resolved at our parish council meeting earlier this month to commission week-long 24/7 traffic data surveys for Molehill Road, Share and Coulter Road, Grasmere Road (the adopted highway section), Plantation Road and The Ridings. We will also commission another survey for Chestfield Road while doing this, not because it will be possible to get a reduction to 20mph on Chestfield Road, but to be better informed on traffic statistics for other areas of work, not least, planning applications.
We are also helping to play a part (albeit small) in environmental matters around the village.
We have so far had four new trees planted in the village and a further two residents’ requests for two more are about to be ordered. We would be happy to look into possible sites where trees could be considered, provided the relevant permissions were forthcoming.
We have agreed a focus on climate change and produced an action plan that can be read in full on our website. We hope to soon have news on the planned wild-flowering of some of the highway verges, and possibly also on the actual village green in Molehill Road. This will help pollinators – something vital to our food sources.
The key message to achieving net-zero is that everyone can play a part – and even a small thing helps.
We have agreed a grant for the creation of a Petanque Court for use as a community facility for all residents, to be built at the Chestfield Cricket Club. This should be installed in the next couple of months, and we will add details of this to a subsequent magazine.
One very contentious issue that emerged in the past year, was Canterbury City Council’s resolution to remove a parish councils’ right to call in any planning applications, and further to remove the ‘trigger of 4 or more objections’. Whilst this move has somewhat diminished the way we had previously dealt with planning applications – we will look to our Ward Councillors to act on our behalf, as it is they that will now assume the sole right of call-in. Please be assured that we will continue to work closely with our elected City Councillors in this regard – we are fortunate that we have always had a good working relationship with them, and we see no reason why this should be otherwise!
A classic example of this concerned the newly granted Vattenfall Solar Farm bordering Chestfield, where we successfully negotiated a condition through our city councillor Cllr Ben Fitter-Harding that pre-works inspections of Molehill Road will be undertaken and any damage post works will be made good at the developer’s expense.
One thing that we did not stop was the production of our quarterly magazine – understandably and with many of our valued volunteer distributors being deemed in the vulnerable category, the members of Chestfield Cricket Club had no hesitation in volunteering their help in delivering several rounds for the last four editions. My thanks to all involved.
I was still able to lay a memorial wreath on behalf of the village at St. Johns Church on Remembrance Day, although this in itself was a very unique yet poignant service, attended by just myself and Father David, aided by two church wardens. However, this did give me an opportunity to see that the part-parish council funded repairs to the church bell had been completed.
Because of the lockdown situation, we unfortunately had to cancel our planned art out-reach project, as well as our very important volunteer thank you get together events, although we most certainly hope that these will be back in our diaries for 2021.
We also had to cancel the Carols Around the Christmas Tree gathering, and again let’s hope that we will once again to hold this in December. We did however, think it appropriate for us to erect the tree – I suppose it was our way of showing that you were all still firmly in our minds!
Moving forward, we do have a few exciting projects in mind, and hopefully you will enjoy them also. Look out for a Seed Swap box alongside the village herb planters at the Women’s Institute hall later in 2021 – and hopefully vinyl film panels on the bus shelter near Maydowns Road to help combat any future graffiti.
With regard to the flooding events throughout the parish in December 2020 and January 2021 we have now created a photo and video library of badly affected areas. I am pleased to advise that the Environment Agency has agreed to meet virtually with the parish council and present information and for us to ask wider questions. I have personally written to our Member of Parliament, Rosie Duffield voicing general concern about the introduction of new-build sites onto tired and aged infrastructure – not just in our own village but all other surrounding areas. I have requested that she broach the subject with her other ministerial colleagues within the housing and environmental areas. Shall we just say that I have received a form of reply from her office, but I feel that the whole point has been lost along the way – so I will be questioning this again, as I feel that this is an important and relevant topic that needs addressing.
These have been just a few of the issues that the Parish Council has tackled this year, there are many more that I could mention, but the list would be endless!
The question of when face to face meetings and the monthly residents’ surgeries can resume in the WI hall remains unanswered at present but we will keep all residents updated through our magazine and the village noticeboards.
Believe me, and for reasons that many of you will be aware, I have tended to rely on my fellow councillors and Amanda more than ever this past year – for it is me that was forced to take a slight step back from things, and for that I can only thank everyone, including many parishioners for their messages of support.
At this point, I usually convey my thanks to all Parish Councillors (and of course our very knowledgeable and hardworking clerk Amanda), and lead a round of much deserved applause for them.
As every year I would also thank our army of volunteers in various spheres for their efforts on behalf of the village this year, and for making this the special village that is Chestfield!
But this year it will be a virtual, but heartfelt thank you for your efforts this past year!!
Steve Bailey, Chairman, Chestfield Parish Council, 2020-2021