Latest News
STAPLE DRIVE PLAY AREA PROJECT
Staplehurst Parish Council, in partnership with Maidstone Borough Council, is planning to renew the equipment at Staple Drive Play Area for under 8 year olds. Three proposals are currently on display at Staplehurst Library and feedback through a questionnaire is invited. Copies of the questionnaire can be downloaded from HERE and need to be returned to the Parish Office by 12th March 2010.
KENT AND MEDWAY FUNDING FAIRS 2010
30th March Sevenoaks School, Sevenoaks – 2nd June The Marlowe Academy, Ramsgate
The booking for the 2010 Kent and Medway Funding Fairs is now open. These free events will be held on 30th March at Sevenoaks School, Sevenoaks and 2nd June at The Marlowe Academy, Ramsgate. The fairs will provide opportunities to meet funders and seek advice on funding opportunities and partnership working. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. Those who have already registered an interest in the fairs will automatically be sent a booking form. Those who have not registered an interest can receive a booking form by emailing fundingfairs@ruralkent.org.uk, downloading it from www.ruralkent.org.uk or by phoning 01303 813790. Booking will close for the Sevenoaks fair on 26th February and for the Ramsgate Fair on 26th March. These have been made possible through funding from the Big Lottery BASIS Programme which is operated through Kent CAN and delivered by Action with Communities in Rural Kent.
Are you looking for funding for a group or project that you are involved in? Do you work within the voluntary or community sector? If so, then you need to book a place at the Kent and Medway Funding Fair. The 30th March 2010 sees the return of the popular fair, which takes place this year at Sevenoaks School. Funded by the Big Lottery and delivered by Action with Communities in Rural Kent, the fair will provide an opportunity to meet funders and network with other voluntary and community groups. Alison Rowe, Head of Region – South East for the Big Lottery will deliver the opening address along with Lady Colgrain from the Henry Smith Charity.
Along with Big Lottery, speakers include Lloyds TSB, Kent Community Foundation, The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, Kent Youth Service, Heritage Lottery and West Kent Housing, a local Sevenoaks funder who administer the Linda Hogan Community Fund, plus many more. Workshop titles include Better Bid Writing, Securing Funding for the Third Sector and Funding for the Arts. There will also be an opportunity to speak 1:2:1 with a Funding Buddy Mentor.
Don’t miss the chance to attend this free event, which includes lunch, but places are limited and must be pre-booked. To find out more email fundingfairs@ruralkent.org.uk, or call 01303 813790.
Ten pence a week
Council tax payers in Maidstone could be asked to pay an extra 10p a week for Maidstone council services, next year, April 2010-March 2011. The borough council's cabinet will be recommending its budget and a 2.49% increase in Maidstone Borough Council's part of the Council Tax bill to the full council on March 3, 2010. The increase works out to 10p a week for headline band D taxpayers but many people will pay less. More than 46% of Maidstone’s properties are in bands A-C. Currently about 15p of every council tax pound goes to Maidstone Borough Council. The full council tax bill also includes precepts from Kent County Council, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue, and in some areas, a parish council. The Cabinet agreed the budget after consultation with the public and the council's scrutiny committees. Council Leader, Chris Garland says the budget preserves essential services: "We had to find savings of £1.6 million to preserve essential services. Our budget consultation told us that Maidstone people were prepared to pay a little extra to keep frontline services, provided we made savings where we could, particularly in staff. The budget that we will take to the council includes £700,000 of savings in staff budgets.” “The increase is 2.49% or about 10p a week for an average taxpayer. I expect that it will be one of the lowest in Kent.”
FARMYARD FUN DOWN AT MUSEUM
Maidstone Museum will turn into an animal farm during the Easter break as part of its school holiday programme. The free event, on Wednesday, April 14, will run from 11am until 3pm and will have animals from Nepicar Farm including a rabbit, guinea pig, sheep, lamb, chicken, goose, duck, sheep dog and goat. The St Faith’s Street museum also has a whole range of arts and crafts activities to keep children entertained during the Easter break. Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, Cllr Brian Moss, said: “The museum has a very full programme this Easter which is excellent for kids, there is something to suit everyone and in particular the farm yard animals should be a real treat. They were a huge success last year and are returning to the museum again.” See below for details
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Date |
Event |
Time |
Details |
Cost |
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Friday , April 2 – Monday, April 5
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EASTER EGG HUNT
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10.30am – 4.30pm (11.30am – 3.30pm Sunday)
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Solve the clues to find 20 Easter Eggs hidden around the Museum and win a prize. |
Cost £1 per child
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Tuesday, April 6
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MR WOLF’S PANCAKES
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10.30 – 11.30am
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Storytelling and art activity for the under 5’s.
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Cost £2 (Admits one adult and up to two children) |
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Wednesday, April 7
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EASTER NESTS |
10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
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Make your own colourful Easter nest for mini eggs by weaving paper.
Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
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Thursday, April 8
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EASTER HATS
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10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
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Using the Museums costume collections as inspiration, make and decorate your own Easter bonnet or top hat.
Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
|
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Friday, April 9
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ANIMAL MASKS
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10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm |
Make your own animal mask and be a rabbit, lion, pig, monkey or even a frog for the day! Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
|
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Saturday, April 10 – Sunday, April 11
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BRASS RUBBING
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10.30am – 4.30pm (11.30am – 3.30pm Sunday)
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Create beautiful pictures by rubbing wax crayons over our amazing brasses.
Suitable for all ages |
FREE EVENT
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Monday, April 12
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POM-POM ANIMALS
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10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
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Celebrate Spring and make cute woollen chicks and bunnies.
Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
|
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Tuesday, April 13
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LITTLE OGRE’S SURPRISE SUPPER
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10.30 – 11.30am
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Storytelling and art activity for the under 5’s.
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Cost £2 (Admits one adult and up to two children) |
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Thursday, April 15
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BUTTERFLY AND CREEPY CRAWLY MOBILES
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10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
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Using the butterfly and insect collection in the River Safari gallery decorate your own butterflies and insects and make them into a mobile to hang up.
Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
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Friday, April 16
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SPRING FLOWERS
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10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30 – 3.30pm
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Brighten up someone's day by giving them a beautiful bunch of home-made spring flowers.
Recommended for under 12’s. |
Cost £2
|
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Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, April 18 |
BRASS RUBBING
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10.30am – 4.30pm (11.30am – 3.30pm Sunday)
|
Create beautiful pictures by rubbing wax crayons over our amazing brasses.
Suitable for all ages |
FREE EVENT
|
Become a councillor
If you’re committed, passionate about politics and care about your community then why not consider becoming a councillor? Maidstone Borough Council is looking for people to become councillors and is holding an information day for those interested. The event will be on Monday, March 8 at the Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone from 4pm-8pm. There will be a chance to meet current councillors and officers who will offer advice and information on what’s involved and how much commitment is required.
Whatever your background, Maidstone council always needs new, vibrant people to participate in the democratic process. Councillors need to be representative, reliable and reputable so as to harness the trust of local people, encourage them to vote and have a real voice in decision making. If you become a councillor you will receive training to help you fulfil your role, a small allowance for time spent at the council, support, advice and help from officers and IT support to help with working effectively at home. If you can’t make the drop-in session and would like more information, please call Janet Barnes on 01622 602242 or email janetbarnes@maidstone.gov.uk or visit www.maidstone.gov.uk
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE - COLLIERS GREEN ROAD
Kent Highway Services intend to carry out carriageway repairs and it will be necessary to temporarily close Colliers Green Road between Marden Road and Round Green Lane whilst these works are in progress.
The temporary closure will be in operation from Monday 15th February 2010 for a period of 3 weeks. The road will be reopened as soon as works are complete. Access will be available up to the point of closure or via a signed diversion route shown HERE
Should you require any further information regarding these works, the contact is Tony Carreck on 08458 247 800.
FREE funding sessions with MBC, KCC & KCF funding officers
David Terry (Maidstone Borough Council’s Funding Officer), Loic Flory (KCC Community Liaison Manager) and Manjit Sohal (Kent Community Foundation) give free one hour advice sessions (on a one to one basis), to local voluntary and community groups.
Spaces go fast so if interested please email: volunteers@vam-online.org.uk – it really is a case of first come, first served!
Thursday 25th February 11am or 12 noon
Thursday 25th March 10am, 11am, 12 noon or 1.30pm
Thursday 22nd April 10am, 11am, 12 noon or 1.30pm
Voluntary Action Maidstone, 39-48 Marsham Street Maidstone ME14 1HH
Tel: 01622 677337 www.vam-online.org.uk
Voluntary Action Maidstone is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England,No. 3449624, registered office: 39-48 Marsham Street, Maidstone, ME14 1HH. Registered Charity No. 1066911
LINDA HOGAN COMMUNITY FUND
Community groups across Kent who need a small amount of money to make a big difference are being given the chance to make their dreams come true thanks to funding from the Linda Hogan Community Fund run by Kent charity West Kent Extra (WKE).
The fund has just redrafted its guidelines to put more emphasis on funding small community initiatives led by local people that have a positive impact on the local community and is offering grants of up to £250 in the first round of funding that closes for applications on 15 March 2010. Further rounds (closing on 15 of June and October) will be open to bigger bids of up to £500.
Groups from across Kent are invited to apply, preference will be given to projects that benefit people living in areas where WKE and West Kent Housing Association operate. These are the areas covered by Sevenoaks District Council, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Medway Unitary Authority, Gravesham Borough Council, Dartford Borough Council, Ashford Borough Council and Maidstone Council.
The fund is particularly keen to support new and existing groups that share its own passion for getting people in the community involved and helping to build strong neighbourhoods.
Will Campbell-Wroe, Managing Director of WKE explains “Its obvious from our work in communities across Kent that there are a lot of small community groups who find it hard to raise funds, especially in the current economic climate. So we are interested in hearing from anyone who wants to help their community and get people involved. It could be anything from a local football team needing a new kit to a group of older people wanted to start a social group and anything in between. In the past we’ve supported street parties, social outings, community gardens, youth groups and community cooking courses to name just a few, the fund really highlights those special people in our communities who work hard to build that old fashioned sense of community and we’d love to help those groups out in 2010.”
For more information on the Linda Hogan Community Fund and a copy of our quick and easy to complete application pack, please contact Colleen Coode at West Kent Extra on 01732 749420 or download the GUIDELINES and APPLICATION FORM .
LDF PUBLIC MEETING - follow up
As you may be aware, the Local Development Framework process to respond to the Government's new housing targets up to 2020 is under way. Potential sites for houses have been identified and are currently being assessed for suitability by Baker Associates on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council. Much information about the LDF process and documents filed to date is available at http://www.maidstone.gov.uk/planning__building_control/local_development_framework.aspx
Once current work is complete it will be put out to public consultation in July and August 2010. However, there was an opportunity to feed in local opinion at an earlier stage at the public meeting held on Monday 16th November. Local views were invited on the currently proposed housing sites and the infrastructure that may be required to support them. From that meeting 5-7 delegates were selected to attend a more formal MBC Workshop day on 25th November and represented the majority views expressed at the public meeting. It was reported that MBC was taken aback at the strength and consistency of public feeling from Staplehurst and will hopefully have taken these on board as the LDF process continues over the next year. Residents are advised to respond to the public consultation during July and August 2010. In the meantime local representatives are working on a local survey to support the views put forward to date. Local residents' responses to a questionnaire being drawn up for the spring issue of the Village Update will be very much appreciated and help to under-pin the LDF process.
GRASSROOTS GRANTS
Funding up to £5,000 is available through the Kent Community Foundation Grassroots Grants scheme. Read the Guidance Notes, complete the application form with handy hints and then see if your group is lucky. If you are a local group, capable of delivering a practical community run activity which improves the lives of the community with a realistic budget then you may have a chance. Equipment, local events or workshops, volunteer expenses and training, staff costs, rent and overheads, costs to expand an existing project are all examples of what can be funded. What have you got to lose except a few hours in putting together a bid? Apply today!
Grassroots Application FormGrassroots GuidanceGrassroots Helpful Hints
MINUTES AWAITING ADOPTION
All Parish Council Minutes (those awaiting adoption as well as adopted Minutes) can now be found on the Parish Council/ Minutes of the Last Meetings page of this website.
PUBLIC SURGERY
There is a Public Surgery held at the Information Centre in the Town Hall every Saturday between 11am & 3pm. This is open to all members of the public no matter where you live, it caters for people shopping at the weekend who don't have time in the week to attend their local surgeries. It is attended by a PCSO who is happy to talk about any issues in any area. In addition, on the last Saturdays monthly at Staplehurst Library, Borough Councillor Richard Lusty hosts a local surgery from 1000-Noon with support from Parish Councillors and Community policing unit. They are happy to discuss any local issues with local residents.
NEW DOORSTEP REGULATIONS
Please follow the following link
Cancellation of Contracts
THE LAW ON WASTE DISPOSAL & POTENTIAL ROGUE TRADERS
The law now states that if you have your rubbish removed & it ends up being flytipped, you could be held responsible or fined. When dealing with waste removal services or tradesmen where rubbish will be generated e.g. builders, plumber, gardening contractors, always ask for a valid waste carriers licence. Householders should follow these 4 simple steps to help protect yourself and & the environment.1. Ask for their waste carrier registration number2. Check the number with the Environment Agency Click Here or by calling 3. Keep a note of all the information you receive from the waste collector/tradesman4. If they're not registered don't use them. Inform Clean Kent of the rogue trader immediately by calling 0845 345 0210.
STREET CLEANSING
During the weeks allocated for Street Cleansing in Staplehurst, MBC will provide a manual crew as well as a mechanical sweep. The manual crew will sweep the footpaths, where necessary and road channels off the larger roads. The mechanical sweeper will sweep the road channels on all the larger roads and those the vehicle can access. Please see the Calendar for dates of Street Cleansing. If residents notice an area of the village which has not been included in the sweep, please contact deanreader@maidstone.gov.uk
STAPLEHURST PARTNERSHIP/ACTION PLAN
An online survey has now been prepared for Staplehurst residents to comment on what they think about Staplehurst and its future. As well as making choices in answer to questions, the survey will give the opportunity to express new ideas and to tell the community what residents think needs to be done. Staplehurst Residents please participate in the survey, if you leave it to others your opinions and your creative thoughts and ideas may not be heard. Do the survey now at www.staplehurst-partnership.com If you know of anyone who hasn't access to the internet, kindly let them know that the survey can be accessed through the Library computers or by appointment at the Parish Office.
BUY WITH CONFIDENCE
Kent County Council have launched a new scheme, called 'Buy with Confidence. The aim of the scheme is to help consumers by providing a list of traders with proven reliability and to make life harder for the rogue traders. To find out more please visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.If you know of any reputable traders who would like more information, or may be interested in joining the scheme, please ask them to comtact Sharon Salisbury, E-mail, buywithconfidence@kent.gov.uk
SPEEDWATCH TRAINING
Several volunteers are now trained to use the Speedwatch equipment and teams are out and about with increasing frequency. Any drivers who choose to ignore the lawful speed limit will have their car registration numbers noted and details of persistent offenders will be passed to the Police for action in due course. You have been warned! If you wish to receive Speedwatch Training please contact the Clerk who will put your name down for future training events. Tel: 01580 891761 or Email: staplehurst1@btconnect.com
COMMUNITY POLICING
PC Marc Pennicott has been working in this area since September 2005 supporting Staplehurst and Marden. When on duty, he can be contacted directly by Mobile on: 07980 770575, Office Telephone: 01622 604391 or by Email on: marc.pennicott@kent.pnn.police.uk. He provides support to Staplehurst's KCC Community Warden Chris Lomax and Police Community Support Officer Pete Gardner who are regularly to be found walking the streets of Staplehurst. These officers can give advice on protecting yourself, your home and your proprety from crime and on how you can play a part in keeping your community safe.Community Warden Chris Lomax helps residents on any community matter and can be contacted on 07811 271254 or Email on: chris.lomax@kent.gov.uk. Police Community Support Officer Pete Gardner can be contacted on 07772 226134 or email; maidstonerural.neighbourhood@kent.pnn.police.ukThere is a Police and Council Surgery at the Library between 10 and 12 noon on the last Saturday of each month, where parishioners can raise issues or ask for advice.
KENTCARSHARE
This free, simple, secure, internet-based service enables people to register their car journeys on-line and find others to share the costs. Car sharing can be used to get to work on a daily basis, going to the shops once a week or even for social events that happen just once in a while. A pilot scheme has been running for 1 year and has over 1,700 registered users across Kent. There is every chance of finding a potential car sharer close to your home or place of work. New users are automatically entered into a prize draw to win one year of free car tax. Contact http://www.kent.gov.uk/carshare for full details.
ROGUE TRADERS
Trading Standards have asked all householders and drivers to be alert. There are Rogue Traders and Doorstep Criminals operating in Kent. If you are approached by anyone offering to carry out repairs to your property, turn them away and call 0845 345 0210.If you see roofers, builders, gardeners or odd-job workers acting suspiciously, call 0845 345 0210. Keep an eye open to help any vulnerable people. You can call the confidential hotline from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8pm.
NEW GUIDELINES FOR THE DISPOSAL OF TELEVISION SETS
Due to new legislation regarding hazardous waste, Maidstone Borough Council contractors SITA can no longer collect televisions or monitors in the same vehicle as other items on the Bulky Collection Service or on the Weekend Freighter Service.TV & Monitors will be collected by a separate vehicle. This will mean that:• Bulky Collection Service - TVs and monitors will be collected by the separate vehicle that collects fridges and freezers. When taking bookings, our Contact Centre will explain to residents that if their booking includes TVs or monitors (or indeed fridges or freezers) they will be collected separately from any other items.• Weekend Freighter Service - TVs and monitors will be taken separately by a small caged vehicle that currently takes other unsuitable waste that cannot be put in the back of the freighter. If the resident wishes to dispose of any TVs or monitor using this service, they will have to provide a name and address in order for SITA to be allowed to dispose of these items. If a name and address is not provided, SITA will refuse any TVs or monitors and will advise residents to dispose of them using the Bulky Collection Service.
STAPLEHURST VILLAGE UPDATE AND ANNUAL REPORTS
The next edition of the quarterly Village Update is being prepared and will be delivered, mainly by hand, to every household within this parish. If anyone wishes to help deliver the Village Update please contact the Parish Office on 01580 891761 or email; staplehurst1@btconnect.com . Copies of the latest and previous Village Updates are downloadable from HERE together with a copy of the Annual Reports of 2005-2006, 2006-2007,2007-2008 and 2008-2009 from HERE . The Parish Council hopes you will find these informative and useful.