A happy New Year to you all and a warm welcome to all new residents of Badgers Mount.

COMMITTEE NEWS

Since our last Newsletter Joyce Pitt-Payne has retired from the Committee.
Joyce was an active Committee Member for many years and we wish her well in her retirement.

Dr. Mary Bliss was co-opted to the Committee at our last meeting. However, to fulfil our Constitution we still need further members. If you are interested in issues within your community and can spare one evening a month to attend Committee Meetings in the Hall please contact Gordon Plumb on 534279 or Tracey McCartney on 534471 or alternatively, send an e-mail to our website (shown above) and we will get in touch with you.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place on Thursday, 13th May 2004. More details on this to follow in our next Newsletter. Please make a note of this in your diary.

OUR WEBSITE

This is proving to be very popular with just over 7,500 visits to date. The website offers full details of forthcoming events, links to other Badgers Mount Associations, the Parish and District Councils and a house locator map and much more besides…so please take a look for yourself.

The recent Broadband Internet access campaign was successful and this service is now available in Badgers Mount.

PLANNING MATTERS

As advised in our last Newsletter the Local Government Ombudsman agreed that Sevenoaks District Council had not followed correct planning procedures but that Orange would have won an appeal anyway. We were not satisfied and had further discussions with the Ombudsman but to no avail. The Ombudsman’s original decision was therefore, upheld.

Another application for a similar mast, approximately 100 yards north of the Orange mast, has now been made. The Committee has sent a letter of objection to Sevenoaks District Council and we will keep you informed on this matter.

Another recent application has been made for the demolition of Broom Cottage, Orpington By-Pass and the erection of 3 detached houses on the site. The Committee will, of course, strongly oppose this application and keep you further informed.

The appeal by the owner of the Travellers site next to Knockholt Station will take place in February. We will let you know the outcome of this once it is known.

SOCIAL EVENTS

The Residents Association will hold a Whist Drive on Thursday, 26TH February 2004 at 8.00 p.m. in the Memorial Hall. All residents are welcome. An entrance fee of £1.50 will be collected at the door. Light refreshments will be served.

The Association are considering other social events - quiz night, family race evening and a barn dance. If you have any suggestions for events please contact any Committee Member or e-mail the website.

MOBILE LIBRARY

The Mobile Library now stocks a comprehensive range of books and also has videos and CDs for a minimal hire charge. The Library stops outside Tudor Lodge, Orpington By-Pass on alternate Thursdays between 10.45 am and 11.00 am. The next visit will be on Thursday, 22nd January 2004.

At present, this service is used by very few people and could be lost if more support is not forthcoming.

ROAD ISSUES

In attempt to lobby for a speed reduction on the By-Pass Chris Lucas (534143), current Treasurer of the Committee is collating an accident record. Chris is obviously not going to be aware of all incidents and needs your help. If you witness an incident please try to record the following details - registration number(s) of vehicles, if emergency services attended and any details. If the Police attend it would be helpful if you could note whether they are Kent or Metropolitan Police as each area collates separate incident records. As we are near the boundary with Bromley either force could attend.

The Committee have been in contact with the area Footpath Officer from Kent County Council with a view to installation of a Handrail down the side of the steep path beside Fox’s Garage. It has been agreed that this is necessary and will hopefully be installed shortly.

FREEVIEW DIGITAL TELEVISION

Residents that have shown an interest in receiving FREEVIEW television channels may have found that the service does not cover Badgers Mount.
Some of the commercial channels do not cover our area, but the good news is we can receive all the additional BBC channels.

PARISH PLAN

The Parish Plan Questionnaire has now been prepared and is about to be delivered to all residents. It is important to know the needs/opinions of all residents and we hope you will take time to complete the Questionnaire when it arrives.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Finally, Committee Members will shortly be calling to collect the 2003/4 subscriptions. These currently stand at £1 per adult, with a maximum of £2 payable per house.