The Parish Council meets at 8.00pm on the third Wednesday of the month. A list of meeting dates, plus meeting agendas and minutes can be found on the website www.chiddingstone.org. and agendas are displayed on the parish noticeboards in Chiddingstone, Chiddingstone Causeway and Bough Beech. All meetings are open to the public, and there is an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions to the Parish, District or County Councillors.

The Parish Council would like to expand the website to include contact details and information on as many of the parish clubs, groups and societies as possible. If you would like your club and/or event to be included, please contact the Clerk. This information will be displayed free of charge for local groups, and can be regularly updated.

The Kent Freedom Pass, offered to all children at schools in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, appears to be working well. For an annual administrative charge of £50, children can use any bus in Kent at any time, including weekends and school holidays. For more information, please contact the Transport Integration department at Kent County Council on 01622-605540.

Don’t forget that the Youth Zone will visit Chiddingstone Sports Field on Wednesday 8^th August from 11am to 3.30pm. This is a free, fun-packed day for children and young people aged 8 and over who, once registered with the trained staff, can be left for the day. Children under 8 years old must be accompanied by a parent or carer at all times. There will be a wide range of equipment and resources, including circus skills, arts & crafts, sports, face painting and a special clay sculpture workshop. Put the date in your diary; there is no need to book – just turn up! Don’t forget a packed lunch and waterproof or sun cream! For more information phone Sophie Lord at Sevenoaks District Council on 01732-227492 or go to the ‘In the Zone 2007’ page on www. sevenoaks.gov.uk/youngpeople.

Highways: The Parish Council has been badgering Kent Highway Services for many months for a second interactive speed sign in Chiddingstone Causeway near the church or Knotley Hall. We have now been told, not surprisingly, that if the Parish Council contribute towards the cost there is a greater chance of being successful. Similarly, repair to our wooden fingerposts will be much quicker if the Parish Council help with funding. You will be pleased to hear that rumours regarding traffic lights on the Bough Beech railway bridge and sleeping policemen in Chiddingstone village were firmly denied by Kent Highway Services!

Affordable Housing: The contractors are on site in Chiddingstone Causeway but have been held up due to the terrible weather! Hopefully, we shall soon see work progress. There will be seven units for rental and three units for shared ownership. Don’t forget to register with West Kent Housing if you are interested in one of the units. Please phone 01732-749400 and tell the operator that you wish to be added to the housing list for Chiddingstone. The contract is for forty-two weeks and, eight weeks before completion, a notice will be sent to all applicants on the housing list asking them to re-confirm their interest. Preference will firstly be given to applicants who live in the parish, and then to applicants who have family living in the parish. Only when all the applicants in the Chiddingstone parish have been considered will West Kent widen the net to the surrounding parishes, so the houses really are for local people.

The planning application for four units of Affordable Housing in Charcott Green has encountered a delay, but we are still hopeful of a successful outcome. These units will be shared with Leigh parish.

The Parish Council is considering taking on a parish handy-person to carry out some odd jobs in the parish, such as emptying over-flowing litter bins and cutting back overhanging vegetation from some of our well-used paths. Initially, we will ask the handy-person to work just 5 hours a month, to be reviewed in six months’ time.

After being approached by a couple of local people, the Parish Council investigated whether it would be possible or indeed viable to erect one lantern-style street light in Chiddingstone village in order to improve the external lighting for users of the hall and school. However, due to objections from local residents, plus the prohibitive cost of erecting just one light, the Parish Council has now voted not to proceed further. The Chiddingstone Village Hall Management Committee will be asked to alter the existing lighting on the hall, which should be a good compromise.

Are you fed up with the excessive noise from continually low-flying aircraft? There is an action group in Hever, called GANG (Gatwick Anti-Noise Group), which is led by Mr David Baron. If you would like to show your support, or offer help in any way, please contact Mr Baron on 01732-862171, or by email on davidbaron@aol.com.

SOS (Save Our Services) – the Parish Council has supported the campaign to save the Minor Injuries Unit at Edenbridge Hospital. Have you? It’s not too late … please write to David Griffiths, Chairman of West Kent PCT, Wharf House, Medway Wharf Road, Tonbridge, Kent. TN9 1RE. You can give your letter to the reception desk at Edenbridge Hospital for copying and posting.