CHIDDINGSTONE PARISH COUNCIL N E W S L E T T E R

Clerk to the Council Mrs Louise Kleinschmidt 2 Bothy Cottages Threshersfield Chiddingstone Kent TN8 7NE Telephone and Fax: 01892-871651 Email: L.Kleinschmidt@btinternet.com

No. 117                                                                                                                               July 2006

Report of the Parish Council meeting held on 24^th May 2006. Members present were: Cllr Paddy Cooke, Cllr Paul Barratt, Cllr Mike Cottrell, Cllr Bill Coulstock, Cllr Iain Durrant, Cllr Debbie James and Cllr Molly Ward.

i. Election of Officers for the year 2006/07: Cllr Cooke was re-elected to stand as Chairman of the Parish Council, and Cllr Barratt was re-elected to stand as Vice-Chairman.
ii. The Kent County Council Trading Standards office operate an email messaging system designed to alert residents about the activities of doorstep criminals and to obtain intelligence about traders and trading practices. The Parish Council has signed up to receive these warning emails, which will be displayed on the noticeboards and website. If anyone would like to have these warning emails forwarded onto them, please let me know.
iii. The Parish Council is considering setting up a courtesy car service in order to take parishioners to appointments at their doctors or the hospital. This will be on an appointment basis only, and will not be available for emergency visits. If we decide to set up the service, we will be seeking volunteer drivers and hopefully there will be enough volunteers to form a rota. If you have any comments on this suggestion, or if you would like to volunteer as a driver, please let me know.
iv. The Parish Council has a new website: www.chiddingstone.org. The website is evolving, but will soon be packed full of very useful and interesting information. There is a village diary and contact list, plus lots of Parish Council information and links to other organisations, such as Kent County Council and Sevenoaks District Council. It is hoped to have information on local clubs and organisations, with links to their own websites, and if you would like details of your club to be included, please let me know. I am also more than happy to advertise local events. We have the facility to set up email accounts, such as "your.name@chiddingstone.org". If you would like to be set up with such a great email address, please let me know. Comments and ideas on website content would also be appreciated.
v. We are very pleased that our District Councillor for Chiddingstone Causeway and Leigh, Mrs Alison Cook, has been elected as Chairman of Sevenoaks District Council for the year 2006/07. We wish Alison much success in her new role.
vi. Chiddingstone Parish Council meetings are held at 8.00pm on the third Wednesday of each month (apart from August) and are held in one of the village halls in the parish: Chiddingstone, Chiddingstone Causeway or Bough Beech. Agendas are displayed on the notice boards and on the website. All meetings are open to the public and you would be very welcome if you would like to pop in and see your Parish Council in action!

Date of next Parish Council meeting:
Wednesday 19^th July at 8.00pm in Chiddingstone Village Hall

Louise Kleinschmidt
Parish Clerk