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  • Agenda and minutes
  • Agenda and minutes

    Venue: Fulston Manor School, Brenchley Road, Sittingbourne.

    Contact: Bill Ronan  01622 696889 or 07710 339894

    Items
    No. Item

    1.

    Apologies For Absence

    Minutes:

    SITTINGBOURNE LOCAL ENGAGEMENT FORUM

     

     

    MINUTES of the Meeting held in the Design Studio, Fulston Manor School, Brenchley Road, Sittingbourne on Tuesday 19th January 2010 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

     

     

     

    PRESENT: Councillor Derek Conway (Vice-Chairman), Councillors Dave Banks, Monique Bonney, Simon Clark, Sue Gent, Gerry Lewin, Elvina Lowe, Brenda Simpson, Ben Stokes, Adam Tolhurst, Roger Truelove, Ghlin Whelan, Nick Williams and John Wright. Kent County Councillors Mr Bowles (Chairman), Mr Mike Whiting and Mr Alan Willicombe. Kent Association of Local Councils: Mr Don Jordan (Rodmersham Parish Council).

     

     

     

    OFFICERS PRESENT: Philippa Davies, Kirsty Gaunt, Ian Lewis, Brian Planner, Bob Pullen, Pete Raine, Jill Read and Jean Wood (all Swale Borough Council) and Geoff Mee and Bill Ronan (both Kent County Council).

     

     

     

    ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Matthew Arnold, Arriva Buses and Mike Gibson, Southeastern Trains. Sylvia Bennett, Mr Davidson, Mr Eglinton, Mr Gent, Mr Grubb, Mr Ivell, Mr Lowell, Mr Nevols, Mr Rowles, Master George Williams (local residents), Ms Mitchell, James Walker and Sarah Williams (Swale Council for Voluntary Services), Christine Locke (Diversity House) and Chief Inspector Tony Henley (Kent Police).

     

     

     

    APOLOGIES: Councillors Duncan Dewar-Whalley, Nicholas Hampshire, Mike Haywood, Gareth Randall, Manuella Tomes and Jean Willicombe.

     

    2.

    Minutes

    Minutes:

    648    MINUTES

     

    The Minutes of the Meeting held on 27th October 2009 (Minute Nos. 446 - 455) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

     

    3.

    Declarations of Interest

    Minutes:

    649    DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

     

    No interests were declared.

     

    4.

    Public Session

    Minutes:

    650    WELCOME TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND OPPORTUNITY FOR QUESTIONS

     

    The Chairman welcomed all those present to the meeting and introduced representatives from Arriva Buses and Southeastern Trains and Officers from Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council.

     

    There were no questions at this stage; the Chairman invited members of the public to speak and ask questions on the agenda items below.

     

    5.

    Transport Issues

    Minutes:

    651    TRANSPORT ISSUES

     

    The Chairman invited the guests to make a presentation and brought the Forum’s attention to a tabled paper, which highlighted the transport issues that were raised at the previous meeting on 27th October 2009.

     

    Mr Geoff Mee - Director of Integrated Strategy and Planning, KCC

     

    Mr Mee gave a presentation on the Integrated Transport Strategy and explained that it was hoped to have ‘growth without gridlock’ in Kent. The Strategy was a 20 year sustainable vision for all transport. Mr Mee advised that consultation was currently being carried out which would feed into the statutory Transport Plan. The Plan would provide the blueprint for local district plans that would feed into the Local Development Framework (LDF). He emphasised the need for an integrated strategy, as transport needs and populations increased.

     

    Mr Mee gave an overview of road, rail and bus transport in Kent and explained that proposals included completion of essential infrastructure, maximising the benefit of highspeed trains and the provision of an integrated bus network. He reported that north/south links in Kent were not as good as the east/west links.

     

    Mr Mee stressed the need to improve outdated railway stations and explained that as Kent was 85 per cent rural, with infrequent bus services, it was proposed that bus networks were improved in order to decrease congestion levels.

     

    Mr Mee concluded that the aim was to achieve and fully integrate door to door services by a choice of transport modes, with a frequent and reliable service, including cycling options and more information in town centres on transport options.

     

    Mr Mee thanked Southeastern Trains and two of the bus companies in Kent for their help with the Integrated Transport Strategy. He encouraged members of the public to respond to the consultation which was available on line at : http://www.kent.gov.uk/roads_and_transport/transport_policies/our_transport_vision/integrated_transport_strategy.aspx

     

    Mr Mike Gibson - Public Affairs Manager, Southeastern Trains

     

    Mr Gibson gave an overview of Southeastern Trains. He explained that the service specification and timetable was set by central Government. Mr Gibson spoke about the new High Speed train service to London. He considered the service to be beneficial to the regeneration of parts of Kent and brought Kent closer to London. He explained that car parking at some stations was inadequate. He stated that it was important to make rail stations more attractive and make it easier and more convenient for passengers to buy rail tickets and make off-peak travel more attractive and improve passenger information, especially in adverse weather conditions.

     

    Mr Matthew Arnold - Business Development Manager, Arriva Buses

     

    Mr Arnold gave an overview of Arriva and explained that Arriva hoped to develop and maintain a profitable and sustainable network. He stated that Arriva was a business that provided a public service, often in partnership with Local Authorities.

     

    The Chairman read out comments that had been made at the Council meeting on 13th January 2010, as below:

     

    ‘Members made the following comments: Southeastern needed to consider investment to cope with inclement weather conditions;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

    6.

    Partners Update

    Minutes:

    652    UPDATES FROM PARTNERS

     

    James Walker, Community Development Worker, Swale Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), reported that the CVS were working with ‘Ambitions for Swale’ to come up with new projects to empower communities.

     

    Chief Inspector Tony Henley, Borough Commander for Swale, gave an overview of Police matters in Swale. He explained that since November 2009, an Anti-Social Car had been utilised by Police Community Support Officers and Street Wardens to look into anti-social issues, especially noise nuisance, in the Borough.

     

    Chief Inspector Henley reported on Operation Abbey which aimed to decrease road casualities. It concentrated on hotspots in Swale, especially before and after school and he highlighted measures that had been taken.

     

    Chief Inspector Henley reminded the Forum of the successful 'Have your say days' that had taken place where local residents were able to talk about issues which were important to them. He considered public confidence in the Police and Local Authority was increasing. He advised that peoples' perception of speeding cars did not match the reality. Precursory checks were made and if a high level of speeding incidents were detected, an enforcement campaign could be carried out.

     

    Councillor Willicombe thanked Chief Inspector Henley for the work that had been done outside schools regarding parking enforcement. Inspector Henley agreed to raise an issue from Councillor Willicombe with the Police and SBC Officers at the Community Safety Unit in Swale House.

     

    Councillor Lewin asked, on behalf of Master George Williams', what impact the Alcohol Control Zones (ACZ) had and raised concern on drug abuse and binge drinking. Inspector Henley advised that ACZs had a contributory factor in reducing crime in town centres. He explained that action was taken against drug misuse and enforcement measures were in place. He advised that drug misuse in the Borough was at a stable level.

     

    7.

    Funding for Community Projects

    Minutes:

    653    FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY PROJECTS

     

    The Policy and Performance Officer referred to the tabled paper, which provided information on the applications received for grants for community schemes. Annex A listed the projects which had received pledges of support from SBC Councillors and Annex B listed those that still sought support from SBC Councillors.

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    (1) That the projects in Annex A, which had received a pledge of support from a Borough Councillor be approved en bloc.

     

    (2) That the project applications received which were still seeking further support from Borough Councillors, in Annex B, be noted.

     

    (3) That delegated authority be given to the Vice-Chairman to approve projects on behalf of the Forum to ensure that applicants receive funding for their projects in a timely manner and before the end of the financial year, for reasons stated in the report.

     

    8.

    Venue and Date of Next Meeting

    Minutes:

    654    VENUE AND DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

     

    RESOLVED:

     

    (1) That the next meeting be held on 2nd March 2010, venue to be confirmed.