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BMRA Newsletter - January 2016
A warm welcome to all residents of Badgers Mount. The aims of the
Residents Association are:
- To be the voice of the community. The
Parish Council is required by law to be neutral and even-handed. The
Residents Association can be partisan and provides a framework for
complaint and protest against outside threats.
- To provide checks and
a balance to the Parish Council
- To organise community events.
- To
produce newsletters four times per year (we hope you find these useful).
The Badgers Mount website
(address above) has a wealth of information about our community and its
surroundings.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Committee
members will soon be calling to collect subscriptions for the current
financial year which ends March 31st. There will be no change to the fee
payable - £2 per adult with a maximum of £4 payable per house.
ROAD SAFETY UPDATE
County Councillor Roger Gough
was at the BMPC meeting in January. He reported that:-
- Some funding
is available for design etc for the footpath on the east side of the
Orpington Bypass.
- Roundels are going ahead.
- The Members Highway
Fund will be implementing the speed activated sign.
POSTMAN
TONY NUTTON’S RETIREMENT
Tony Nutton retired on 31st
October after being the main postman for Badgers Mount for nearly 20 years
out of a total of over 37 years service to Royal Mail. As mentioned in
previous newsletters, we organised a collection to mark the event, and 25
people were at the coffee morning on 29th October when the collection and
a number of cards were presented to him. Tony has given excellent service
over the years, and hopefully his successor will keep it up. He has sent
the following thank you letter which he asked to be widely circulated.
I would be grateful if you will pass on my thanks to all the
residents of Badgers Mount for their kind gifts and cards received on my
retirement.
I was surprised at the amount of people at the Coffee
Morning and I would like to thank all those involved in making it such a
special day. The delivery that day was much slower due to the amount of
cake we ate.
I will miss you all after all these years, but I am
now happy to retire.
Yours sincerely, Tony
MOBILE LIBRARY – use it or lose it!!
The mobile library
visits the Memorial Hall car park on alternate Thursdays during the weekly
coffee mornings. Come and change your library books whilst enjoying a cup
of coffee or tea.
Users of the mobile library should have received
notification from KCC that they have opened a consultation on
restructuring the mobile library service. This proposal will result in
over 56% of the current stops being withdrawn because less than 2 people
use the service on each visit. The Badgers Mount stop exceeded this so
will continue to be on the new schedule with the only change being
proposed is that the arrival time will be 11.10 am instead of 10.45 am,
but still on alternate Thursdays during the weekly coffee morning. The
consultation closes on 4th March, and the results are due to be published
on 20th June. No date has been given yet for implementation if the changes
are approved. If you will be affected by this then please send in your
comments.
PLANNING
Recent planning
applications have included:-
- Merrowlea, Milton Avenue. Rear
extension. Granted.
- Kloof, Milton Avenue. Replacement house. Refused.
An appeal has been lodged.
- Haresfield, Badgers Road. Side and Rear
extensions. Refused.
- Fairlight, Badgers Road. Replacement house. To
be decided at SDC Development Control Committee on 28th January.
- The
outline application for the Fort Halstead redevelopment has been granted.
- Just outside our area, the application for a car park adjacent to
Knockholt Station has been refused by Bromley Council but an appeal has
been lodged.
DUMPING IN WATERCROFT WOODS
Anyone moving along the Old London Road will probably have noticed the
huge pile of yellowish earth and stones in the area below Watercroft Woods
on the West side just North of the Badgers Mount Village Gate. This is
part of Halstead Parish but could affect the Old London Road and possibly
access to properties in Badgers Mount if silt-laden water and mud floods
the road. At the moment we are watching the situation but would welcome
any inputs from residents who may have been affected by the dumping and
particularly if there are any apparent movements of mud towards the road.
F M CONWAY UPDATE
Site Development
Following SDC's trawl for suitable sites for development F M Conway’s
consultants were instructed to submit such an application.
The
consultants called for an early meeting with the planning department and
were told that SDC are intending to sift all the applications before
embarking on any preliminary planning discussions. The consultants are
hopeful of having that meeting in the early part of this year.
Furthermore the consultants confirmed that it remains their intention to
fully consult with the BMRA and the new Parish Council during the planning
phase.
Vehicle Movements
A further incident occurred of
lorries and cars parked in Shacklands Road on 29 October in the early
morning resulting in vehicle users passing on the wrong side of road. FM
Conway Ltd confirmed this was due to external customers collecting
material on time collection basis despite being told not to arrive prior
to allotted collection time. FMC have apologised that their instructions
were not followed on this occasion. Please do not hesitate to report any
similar incidents to a member of the BMRA Committee
Complaints of
early morning vehicle noise in late November and again in mid-December
have been received. The F M Conway vehicle logs show no significant
vehicle movements at the relevant times. We would be interested in any
further information which could indicate possible destinations and
operators for these vehicles. Are they going to the Skip site near
Knockholt station, the Oak Tree Farm site opposite the Polhill Garden
Centre, dumping at the Watercroft Woods site or just passing through?
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
Richard King has
agreed to co-ordinate the road stewards and every house should be
contacted in the coming months to gauge interest. If you are not already
receiving the bulletins, newsletters and scam warnings via e-mail contact
Richard on 533979 or e-mail
avrilandrichard@btinternet.com.
BADGERS MOUNT
PARISH COUNCIL
The Parish Council meets on the first
Thursday of each month to discuss planning applications and other local
issues. Additional planning meetings are held on the third Thursday if
necessary to suit timing of applications and the required consultation
return date. Minutes of the meetings are published on the Badgers Mount
website, in draft form until approved at the next meeting. Members of the
public are welcome to attend the meetings, and may raise any points they
wish in the public question time.
DISPOSAL OF JENKINS
NECK WOOD BY SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
The committee is
aware of SDC’s proposal to dispose of Jenkins Neck Wood, an area of
woodland alongside the M25 between Badgers Road and Shacklands Road, which
provides an essential barrier to reduce noise and pollution from the
motorway. Badgers Mount Parish Council is currently in talks with SDC in
order to keep the woods in public ownership. There is a full report in the
BMPC newsletter.
The BMRA and BMPC have some worries about the
increase in traffic noise and pollution should these woodlands be cleared
of trees. Some estimates indicate a possible doubling or more of traffic
noise from the M25, particularly along Highland Road.
The BMRA has
yet to formulate a view on the subject and is urging the Parish Council to
publish a cost/benefit analysis so that the residents can make a judgement
from an informed position.
The BMRA would hope to support the
endeavours of the Parish Council and to this end needs to have confidence
in what the Parish Council propose.
Above all the BMRA is keen for the
residents to have a voice on the issue whether it is direct with the
Parish Council, the BMRA or both.
ENTERTAINMENTS
Were you there? or alternatively,
What might you have missed?
Social activities round up
Muddy boots, rosy cheeks and no one
lost!
Badges Mount Ramblers !
1st Sunday of the month meet at
the hall at 10 o’clock
First meeting had 8 walkers and 3 dogs - great
planning by Wil and Mel no one got lost and we all retuned safely.
Good singing, good food, good company and Good King Wenceslas
Christmas Carols
Yet another fantastic social occasion; 2 dozen friends
old and new had a chance to sing some Christmas Carols.
Old friends,
old songs and auld lang syne,
New Friends, new dances and New Years Eve
New Years Eve
A lovely evening. providing another opportunity to
catch up with neighbours, there was lot of chatting until the music got us
all up on the dance floor. Most came along for the whole party but a few
took an early taxi home and joined us to welcome in the New Year.
Coming soon!
We have had great successes over the past year, and
still have plenty of ideas, activities and entertaining evenings planned;
all that is missing is you! At the moment these events are being run on
very small numbers, they would be so much better if more people could come
along.
It is a struggle to get information to everyone in Badgers
Mount, we don’t bump into each other in the pub, or at the school gate or
as we leave church, we don’t all walk our dog on the village green or
stand side by side at the playground watching our children on the swings.
The events for the coming year are a repeat of last year – there
are many more exciting things I would love to organise but it’s a little
lonely in the hall if no one comes. Please put these dates in the diary
and come along. Very few need booking but may be cancelled if I don’t get
enough interest. If anyone has any ideas as to how I can promote these
events better please please let me know.
Events co-ordinator Zena
Belton zbelton@live.com
Quiz Night Saturday 5th March Quiz starts
at 8pm. Tables of 6-8 £7 per head or we can help you make up a team. Will
include ploughmans.
Easter Egg Hunt Saturday 2nd April from 2pm for
younger children, collect a quiz sheet from Johnson Ave and return
completed for a prize! Entrance £1
Walking Treasure Hunt Saturday
18th June from 2pm start at Badgers Mount Memorial Hall.
ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR WATER?
(by the
Chairman)
The Sunday Times recently published an article
highlighting an issue whereby domestic customers were being overcharged
for their supply, sometimes by hundreds of pounds.
The article
called for consumers to check they were on the correct tariff,
particularly in cases where their water company was unable to fit a meter
for technical reasons.
This prompted me to ask the question in the
case of a property in Tonbridge, which revealed that the customer was
indeed being over charged by Southern Water.
Following this
enquiry, Southern Water quickly activated the necessary refund
arrangements.
Being on an unmetered supply myself, I decided to ask
Thames Water what I should be paying based on a two-person occupancy. They
confirmed my annual charge should be in the region of £250 to £300 per
annum.
Having been paying £571, naturally I was stunned.
I
immediately applied for a meter, which was fitted free of charge. They
also gave me a handy chart setting out the company's charging structure. I
now look forward to an annual saving of about £300. If I am unhappy with
the service, I have the added advantage of being able to revert to my
former tariff, based on the rateable value of my property, free of charge.
A good result, then, from an organisation that clearly has the
best interests of its customers at heart?
Well, err, no.
Had
the Sunday Times not have run its article, I would never have known that I
was being - and I choose my words carefully - ripped off. I would have
continued to pay over the odds for my water supply.
By my
reckoning, over the past six years I believe that I have paid at least
£1,800 more for my water supply than someone with a meter whose
circumstances are otherwise similar to mine. I expect a refund.
Thames Water claims that that they encourage the fitting of meters,
although I can find little evidence to support this, a matter which I now
intend to raise with the regulator.
If you, like me, fell asleep
while a nationalised industry quietly morphed into a hard-nosed commercial
outfit, I suggest that you contact Thames Water right away.
Tel
0800 009 3657: www.thameswater.co.uk or
PO Box 436,Swindon, SN38 1TU
I am available to research and discuss individual cases but of course
each consumer's circumstances remain unique.
Dave Woledge,
Chairman
BMRA CONTACT DETAILS
Full contact details on the BMRA Committee
page.
News Archive - started Summer 2000
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