The Parish Council has approved Sevenoaks District Council’s request for the provision of an advisory disabled parking place opposite No. 1 The Village, Chiddingstone. There will be a white dotted line painted around a box on the road, with the word Disabled. White lines as opposed to yellow signifies that it is an advisory space. This will assist any disabled residents or visitors to park in the village, and have easier access to the village amenities.

The Parish Council has now taken on a parish handy-person to carry out some odd jobs in the parish, commencing in January.

The Police Officer covering our parish is PC Neil Ingram (07800-675334). The Parish Special Officer is SC Graham Eade, and our PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) is Anne KingScott (07772-226239). All three can be contacted via email on edenbridge.neighbourhood@kent. pnn.police.uk, or via the Edenbridge Police Office on 01732-379361. Emergencies, or when a crime is in process, should still be reported on 999 and all other incidences should be reported to the call centre on 01622-690690.

Affordable Housing: The houses are going up very quickly now, and are due to be completed during March 2008. The Parish Council had the opportunity to visit the site early in November, and we were very impressed by the high standard of the houses so far. The units are timber framed, and are extremely well insulated, with triple glazed windows and, therefore, the houses should be very economic to run. The style of the properties is very much in keeping with the area.

If a person is in privately rented accommodation, it would not limit them from applying to the register if the accommodation no longer meets their requirements. However, if a person’s financial situation is such that they are able to remedy their housing difficulties through their own resources then an applicant will be awarded less priority and would be encouraged to pursue other options that may be available to them. For more information, or to register with West Kent Housing, please phone 01732-749400.

Planning: Central Government is seeking to increase the use of information technology in planning services. In line with Government targets, Sevenoaks District Council is encouraging the submission of online applications. The Government has developed a new electronic planning application form, called 1 App, which has to be implemented by April 2008. Sevenoaks District Council has adopted the paper version of this form and will adopt the electronic version when it is available. Also, from next spring, the District Council will be introducing an online planning system, which will assist the public to determine whether planning permission is required, and to provide information on all planning appeal decisions. Although this new process could exclude residents without internet access, a paper system will still be available.