The Otford Society NewsLetter

Transcription

1 The Otford Society NewsLetter Registered with the Civic Trust Affiliated to the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Kent Federation of Amenity Societies JUNE 2008 Summer Garden Party On Saturday, June 28th 2008 at The Corner House, The Green Otford By kind permission of Rod & Marianne Shelton 6.00pm pm Tickets 5.00 Carol Griffiths Tel SOME THOUGHTS FROM THE CHAIR In recent w eeks I have attended three significant meetings. I accompanied Jeff Lee and Rod Shelton to a meeting w ith Michael Fallon. A copy of Jeff Lee s traffic report had been sent to him and he had found it very interesting and informative. He lives locally and is w ell aw are of the local traffic problems. Clearly the traffic problems w e face in Otford are reflected across the Sevenoaks area. The problems can only increase as nearby development take place. It is pleasing to know that w e have an M.P w ho is keen to be involved w ith the very complex and vexing traffic issues. During our meeting he made several observations and asked some penetrating questions. I took the opportunity to congratulate him, on behalf of the Otford Society, on being voted Parliamentarian of the Year - a significant honour, as it comes from his colleagues from the floor of the House. The second meeting w as in the Sevenoaks Tow n Council Offices in Bradbourne Road. This w as organised by Michelle Low e, our SDC councillor w ith Michael Fallon in attendance, as w as John Allen, Chairman of the Parish Council. Michelle had made an impassioned speech on our behalf, at the Well Road appeal hearing, but, as w e know, to no avail. When the appeal w as rejected she asked Jaqui Lait MP, w ho is spokesperson for Planning Matters for the Conservative Party to come and speak to local councillors and other interested parties about the Conservative ideas on planning. In a nut shell, the Conservatives if returned to power would return planning matters back to the local authorities and parish councils. This w as music to our ears! Pow er back to the people! I came aw ay looking forw ard to the next election.

2 SOME THOUGHTS FROM THE CHAIR (cont) Carol Griffiths accompanied me to the final meeting w hich w as w ith Dave Birchall (Community Support Officer) and Paul Robertson (KCC Community Warden). The subject was vandalism, anti-social behaviour and their w ork w ith the local teenagers. I w as pleased to hear how these tw o men w ork w ith the young people trying to steer them into more positive pursuits. They do follow up serious issues and give clear w arnings, and w here problems continue after their warning, take action. One message that I took from this meeting w as that we must not feel intimidated by young people w e must try to be positive in our response w hen dealing w ith them. The Otford Society makes every effort to represent the views and core values of our community. We must all make an effort to be positive and pro-active in keeping Otford the kind of place w here we want to live. Tony Wiltshire Chairman Otford Fete 2008 The w hole village and especially the Fete Committee w ere hoping that after last year the w eather w ould be kind to us. But unfortunately it w as not to be! High w inds and rain w ere the order of the day - but people turned out in great numbers and the day was a success despite the w eather. Betw een June 2007 and May 2008, the Fete Committee distributed funds to eight village associations including :- Otford & District Wine Club to help purchase a generator, Otford Tw inning tow ards set-up costs, Otford Oast WI to purchase table cloths & jugs, Otford Design Statement, Daisy Fearfield to help w ith a international guiding tr ip, Otford Gardeners, RADIO for Car Stickers and finally Christmas Gifts to Otford Elderly. They w ill be distributing fete funds again this year w hen all the monies have been received. Bud, Mr Morris's stunning 2 year old Visla who won Most Handsome Dog and then w ent on to w in Elands Veterinary Clinic Best in Show 2008 judged by Vet Philip Lher mette. 2

3 New Exhibition at the Otford Heritage Centre How many children have asked you... What s an oast house for? The new exhibition titled From Poke to Pocket tells the story of how hops, the mainstay crop of our village for centuries, were dried, pressed and stored for market, in the village oast houses. Old and new photos of all the Otford oast houses are on display - also old and new parish maps showing the location of the old hop gardens. Centre of the exhibition is a doll s house-style model of a working oast house where children and adults can look inside to see how the whole Poke to Pocket took place. The Heritage Centre is open 9.30am 1.00pm and weekends from 2.30pm 4.30pm Well done We sometimes complain about things that need doing in and around the village and why don t they (w hoever they are) do something about it. But in the last month they the KCC Footpaths Agency have excelled themselves. Those residents w ho use the footpath from the station to the churchyard and to Well Road are delighted to see that the overhanging trees and shrubs have been cut back,and also the path has been restored to its original w idth. Finally, the w hole path has been resurfaced. Many thanks to the Footpaths Agency for an excellent job w ell done! Palace Field Recently I took a w alk around Palace field. It had just been mow n and looked absolutely splendid! I had never realised quite how large an area it covered. That morning it looked lovely w ith the trees in full leaf. Part of the field has been left uncut as a w ild life meadow and the meadow sweet was in full bloom. We hope to establish a Bugs and Butterflies area in the corner of this green space. Tony Wiltshire 3

4 THE ROLE OF THE PCSO Otford Society committee member explains the duties Training This consists of an eight w eek course at the Kent Police College and then a further tw o weeks in a local area w ith a mentor. The course includes drugs aw areness, officer safety training, race relations, a fitness test and finally a w ritten examination. An officer carries an Airwaves radio, which is a national encrypted secure radio that is also a phone and even GPS. They carry mobile phones to call for assistance if necessary and w ear a protective stab proof vest. Powers There are a range of pow ers which included confiscation of alcohol and tobacco, entering premises to save a life and they can demand the name and address of person(s) acting in an anti-social manner. Additional pow ers, which will be adopted shortly are seizing drugs, requiring name and address for road traffic offences and controlling traffic at road traffic collisions. Hours of duty and a typical day PCSO s w ork a 37 hour w eek in a variable shift pattern, most of this time is w orking alone in their dedicated parishes. A typical day would begin w ith checking police systems for recent incidents and crimes that had been reported. Make follow-up visits to victims of crime, possibly burglaries to give them assurance and advice and liaise w ith neighbouring police services about cross border offenders and emerging crime trends. Contact local parish clerks to give and receive updates on local issues. Visit outlying farms or properties and inform them of any suspicious vehicles/persons that have been seen around the area. Visit local crime hotspots (e.g. local railw ay station which had several cars broken into) and show a hi-visible presence. Assist w ith the local Speedw atch scheme by undertaking roadside checks either w ith another colleague or w ith members of the dedicated scheme. This has been a brief outline of the role of the PCSO in the community, and I trust you have found it both useful and informative. Dennis Glasspool Meeting with our PCSO and Community Warden When the chairman and myself met w ith Dave Burchall and Paul Robertson, w e were very impressed w ith how very committed these tw o officers are in their w ork. Road safety has been a priority and they have been at Russell House School and Otford Primary School at peak times. Paul has been cleaning up the graffiti on fencing and road signs w ith the help of Sue Stephenson, our deputy parish clerk and cleared up the footpaths near Tudor Drive - not really their job, but they did it! Dave w ould like to remind everyone that this is the time for opportunist thieves - especially Sat Nav stolen from cars and he reminds people rub the suction mark off the windscreen as this is a tell-tale sign, it takes seconds to to remove and could save you hundreds of pounds. They are both involved w ith teenagers and arranged the 5-a-side football tournament in April, which was a great success. They have been involved w ith the Young Achiever Award and are both taking part in the 3 Peaks challenge, w ith Sue Stephenson, in July. C.G. 4

5 CALMING OTFORD S TRAFFIC With your Newsletter, you may have received a sticker for your car w indow to act as a reminder to all traffic about the need to keep to the speed limit in the village. Of course, at some times and places even this speed w ill be too high for everyone s comfort and safety: please use your judgement w isely. If you have received a sticker, please display it in your car. If you do not wish to use it, please pass it to another resident w ho w ill. If you have not received a sticker but w ould like one, please either: contact your Otford Society Liaison Officer, or Andrew Barber (tel ), or Jeff Lee (jeff.lee@waitrose.com; tel ). We w ill then get a sticker to you as soon as possible. Roads and Highways Update Notes from OPC Highw ays Sub-Committee meeting on 2 June. Present: 4 councillors, Parish Clerk, Rod Shelton, Jeff Lee. All road drain/gully positions now mapped. Blockages reported to KH. New 30 VAS on PW West still not activated; foliage to be trimmed. Shoreham Rd VAS suggested, costs mentioned. Shared funding? Damaged footw ay/verge at Frog Farm entrance reported to KH. Rebuilt/ resurfaced corner beyond railw ay bridge on PWW still w eak; safety barrier not yet repaired. Miracle spring in Park Lane (!) being further investigated by w ater board. Contractors lorries in Evelyn & Well Rds: contractor told to keep lorries on site at all times. To be monitored. Surface water on Shoreham Rd draining into gardens & drives. KH notified. No footw ay signs on Shoreham Road poor condition. KH to be notified. Refuse bin on Green at church path still not replaced. SDC to be notified. Press reports of a possible M26 slip road at Otford are not supported in any w ay by official govt plans. KH w ill use silent-running materials on M26 near Otford at next resurfacing. Supported by Mike Fallon and KCC councillor Nick Chard. Otford Society to be asked to help carry out a traffic survey at A225/Bubblestone Rd junction, to support ideas for improvements. KH Community Liaison Officer designated for the Otford area, to w ork w ith OPC and residents on roads/traffic matters. (Hurrah! Could be good news.) Car park potholes to be repaired w hen dry spell forecast. Materials ready. New (one-way) layout for the car park presented/discussed. Perhaps for 2009 resurfacing. 5

6 Kent Downs Area of Outstanding National Beauty At our AGM in April, Nick Johannsen, the Director of the Kent Dow ns AONB gave an illustrated talk about the w ork of this organisation. He explained how the Kent Dow ns AONB w as formed and then told us about their latest project AONBs are landscapes which are as important as our National Parks and have the same legal standing in terms of planning and the protection afforded to them. The primary purpose of AONBs is to conserve and enhance natural beauty. The North Dow ns extend from Farnham in w estern Surrey to the Kent Coast at Dover,. In 1968 the Kent section of the North Dow ns, stretching from the White Cliffs at Dover to the London/ Surrey border was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to protect this nationally important landscape. As well as covering all of the Kent part of the North Dow ns, the Kent Dow ns AONB also includes the delightful landscapes of part of the Greensand Ridge, Romney Marsh and Heritage Coast. This amounts to 878 sq km (nearly a quarter of Kent). It has a management plan w hich involves 12 local authorities w ho formulate policies. It is review ed every 5 years and takes into account local views and concerns. Roads and paths are inseparable part of the landscape and the plan tries to give guidance and help to local councils. The Kent dow ns AONB have produced a Streetscape Design Handbook w hich looks at a different way of tackling problems w ith roads and highw ays. It puts forw ard the idea of a Shared Space approach - take all the traffic signs away and make drivers, cyclists and pedestrians aware of each other and take appropriate action. It has been put into practice in Europe, especially Holland, w ith positive results. This also includes using different types of surfaces to define pathw ays, pedestrian crossings.and roads. Highw ay engineers are being encourage to implement local pilot schemes w ith guidance from information in the Design Handbook. It is suggested that a partnership w ith Holland, France and Belgium w ould help to obtain development money from the EC. It w as a very interesting and informative presentation and maybe some of the ideas might be used in Kent in the future. Dates for your Diary 21 June St Bartholomew s Church Fair 28 June Gardeners Society Rose & Summer Show 5 July Otford Primary School Fete 27 July Rude Mechanical Theatre Company - Recreation Ground 6 September Gardeners Society Autumn Flowers & Craft Show 4 October Elizabeth I Remembered 16 October Otford Society Autumn Meeting 6

7 The background THE FUTURE FOR FORT HALSTEAD A report on the open day and workshop, 3 May 2008 This w as the second of three public consultation days held at Fort Halstead about the Hines UK proposals for a new development at the site w hen the Ministry of Defence leaves it. There was an exhibition and presentation and a small-group w orkshop session of about 10 people w hich I attended. The event About 200 people attended from Otford, Shoreham and Badgers Mount. Looking round the display gave a chance to raise issues informally w ith the Hines staff, and many animated exchanges w ere taking place. At a.m. the Hines team (led by Simon O Donnell, UK Director) talked about the consultation process and set out their priorities for the development in terms of design, scale, features, environmental and sustainability factors, links w ith the local area and neighbouring communities all the time stressing the need to take account of local sensibilities. There w ere some forthright questions from the audience about for example the impact on existing communities and the local environment, issues of school places and health facilities, transport and traffic, and the two firms planning to stay on site. Fifteen years w as the period mentioned before any likely completion of the phased programme. Construction traffic will therefore be around for much longer than usual. At about 12 noon the w orkshop began. We w ere asked to say what matters to us about w here we live, and to comment on some draft plans. Mr O Donnell and his chief architect seemed to take our responses very seriously. On the first task, we said it is vital for villages to retain their separateness and for the surrounding countryside to be carefully protected. We commented under a range of headings (w elfare, education, recreation, shopping, transport, buildings and the environment, provision for the elderly and disabled, etc.). Hines w ere clearly trying to show they were taking all these aspects into account. We thought it best to assume that the development would go ahead at some stage and to work to ensure that the best job would be made of it. Work on the Otford Village Design Statement (soon to be published) proved invaluable here. The draft plans w ere very interesting. Hines have thought hard about things such as building and locating different types of residential and commercial accommodation (not much of the latter, by the w ay), access, and communal features. Pedestrian safety is central and distances betw een locations are w alkable w ithin ten minutes or so. So overall not bad, though w e offered a few ideas on details of access and building placement. So what next? The impact of the development on Otford is difficult to predict, though the major threat is traffic increase in the lanes and through our High Street and beyond. The Otford Society w ill w atch things very closely. Please contact the Committee if you notice anything new or interesting in relation to this development. There is a Hines w ebsite devoted to the Fort Halstead proposals at Jeff Lee An Extra Diary Date! Otford and District Historical Society - Full day outing to Faversham, Kent July 5th 2008 Leaving Otford Pond at 9.00am. Cost A day in this historic Kentish tow n which has a plethora of interesting historic houses. 25 of these w ill be open on this day and the follow ing Saturday. There w ill be a conducted tour of the tow n centre in the morning and free time after lunch to visit as many of the open houses that you can! Your ticket for these house w ill allow you to return the follow ing Saturday. Contact Cliff Ward - Otford

8 IN MEMORIAM Wally Kirsch - An Appreciation Wally had a long and varied life, born into a poor home in East London, he w orked hard to better life for himself and his family, starting and building up the East Dulw ich Plating Company. He married Rene in 1940 and they lived in London until 1958 w hen they moved to Otford. Wally loved the countryside, his home and garden, village life and especially his fellow gardeners. He joined the Horticultural Society (now the Gardeners Society) and w as Chairman for 40 years and in later years became President. He encouraged young people and in 1985 established the Kirsch Cup. This w as for the young person who had made a Major Achievement in Sport, and is presented annually..otford has lost a great servant w ith the passing of Wally Kirsch. With good humour and generosity he supported, undertook and encouraged the improvement of our environment. Roses near the Darent, spring bulbs along the w ayside, and the establishment of shrubs at the Station approach. His childhood recollections, w ritten for our Newsletter, of the Sunday treat of jam at teatime, drew a graphic picture of a bygone, less affluent age. And his description of a visit to Bethlehem as a young 24 year old soldier serving in the Middle East in 1942, taken from a letter he w rote to his w ife at that time, brought a tear to the eye, illustrating as it did, the separation and loneliness of war. K.L.G. Lyn Metcalfe Lyn Metcalfe, know to many of our members as one of our first Chairman ( ) had lived in Otford for over 40 years. He w as an amusing and able speaker, and at the 25 th anniversary dinner of the Otford Society, he told the story of how he came to live in Otford. He w ent to Emmanuel College in Cambridge and in the w ar joined the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot and in latter years w as alw ays ready to recall the stories from that era. In later years he w ithdrew, to some extent from community activities, although he loved to attend the Thursday luncheon club, w here he could meet old friends. He w as a founder member of the Otford Society and never failed in his support for the improvement of our village. Subscription Rates Senior Citizen 2 Senior Citizen (Couple) 3 Adult (Single) 4 Adult (Couple) 5 Next Otford Society Newsletter October 2008 Chairman: Tony Wiltshire , 111 Evelyn Road, TN14 5PU Newsletter Editor: Carol Griffiths , 11 The Old Walk Newsletter Distribution: Andrew Barber Membership Secretary: Vincent Tilley Web: otfordsociety@otford.net Printed by British Heritage Print, Otford 8