Chilham Parish Council - serving Chilham, Old Wives Lees and Shottenden
 
 
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Chilham Square
Check out our whats on in the parish page to learn about events, run by village organisations and clubs in the next 90 days.
       
    Welcome to the Chilham Parish Council website. We hope you will learn something useful about what we are doing to improve the quality of life in our parish.  
       
    We recognise that most people in the parish dont really understand what we do, so this website and the quarterly newsletters printed in the Parish News is our attempt to keep you better informed so that together we can make the parish of Chilham an even better place to live in..  
       
    We welcome feedback, good or bad, so please use the how are we doing page to let us have your views on the website or, for that matter, any issue that you think the parish council should be dealing with.  
       
    If we dont know what is concerning you then we cant help to do anything about it.  
       
   

STOP PRESS - PLANS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RE CHILHAM SQUARE ENDORSED

  
    At its May meeting the parish council endorsed plans by Chilhams Future Delivery Board that the next phase in their project would be a community engagement exercise involving experts in the field of urban design and community consultation to establish the basic principles and introduce the concepts of shared space.  
    With this expert input we hope the key stakeholders can engage with each other to agree a specific scheme that achieves the aims of the project to revitalise our community square.  
       
    STOP PRESS - CHILHAM IN THE NEWS AS BBC FILM EMMA IN THE SQUARE  
    Chilham village square is the location for Highbury village in a new four part adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma for BBC1.  
    The series stars Romola Garai, Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon, Tamsin Greig, Robert Bathurst and Jodhi May. It will be broadcast on BBC One in the autumn.  
    Check out the BBC Kent website for news of what happened in the Square including Parish Councillor Alistair Ralphs daily 'spy in the square' report.  
    KMFM were first on the scene reporting on the exciting events in the Square - check out their report.  
    The BBC filmed in Chilham Square and adjoining roads from Tuesday 14th April until Saturday 18th April from 0800hrs to 1900hrs approximately every day. In order to minimise any potential disruption the dates have been selected to coincide with the Easter school holiday.  
    They used as much local resource as possible from stables to the village hall / school and got the local community involved from an interest and educational aspect if they so wished. It is expected that the filming will not only give a short term ‘boost’ to the local economy but will also have longer term benefits as a result of the ensuing publicity. They have also agreed a £500 donation to the Parish Council.  
       
    STOP PRESS - DOWNLAND HOUSING PLANNING APPLICATION TO EXTEND SHRIMPTON CLOSE IS SUCCESSFUL  
    Ashford Borough Council have granted Downland Housing planning permission to develop 11 further dwellings on Shrimpton Close to extend the Local Needs Housing in the parish of Chilham. A meeting was held with local residents on 15th April in the Methodist Church, OWL to discuss contractors proposals. Work is expected to start in June and run for 40 weeks. Check out the planning committee section of the what we are doing page for more details of their plans  
       
    STOP PRESS - TRAFFIC AND PARKING CONTROL MEASURES AROUND CHILHAM SQUARE - DRAFT REPORT PRODUCED  
    Kent Highways Services (KHS) presented a draft report to parish councillors at a special council meeting on 26th March at 730pm in Chilham Village Hall. The parish council supported the report with minor qualifications and made a formal response. The final report will be considered by KHS and if approved there will be full public consultation before any scheme is implemented. The minutes can be viewed by selecting Class4 on the our documents page.  
    We have also produced a short paper Enhancing Chilham Square - the story so far to explain the background, current status and key issues affecting the initiative to enhance the square and its environs.  
       
    STOP PRESS -CLEAN KENT TEAM CLEAR OVERGROWN VERGE IN THE AVENUE  
    At 9am on Friday 27th March The Clean Kent team cleared the overgrown verge (up to 2ft in places) from Felborough Close to the junction with A252. This parish council initiative was arranged by KCC Community Warden Marc Sluder.  
    Here they are at work. See the difference they have made ... the pathway is now at its full width and much safer for pedestrians.  
       
    STOP PRESS - RURAL OLDER PERSONS HOUSING PROJECT  
    The parish council is participating in a project instigated by ABC to explore the need for older peoples accommodation in rural areas.  
    Check out the planning committee section of the what we are doing page for more details of their plans  
       
    STOP PRESS - ABC DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR CHILHAM - 2ND COMMUNITY WORKSHOP  
    20 members of the public responded to adverts in local press, noticeboards, Parish News and the parish council website to attend a workshop on Thursday 15th January in Chilham Village Hall.  
    Its purpose was to collect local views on the site selection process carried out by the planning team at Ashford Borough Council as part of the Local Development Framework that may result in building an unofficial estimate of 30 or more homes in Chilham between now and 2021.  
    Several sites in and around Chilham village had been considered for residential and employment development. The planning team gave their views on each of the sites explaining what might be possible together with the issues that would need to be resolved and asked for views from the locals attending.  
    Whilst there was no firm consensus on preference, sites at the Old Sawmills, Branch Road, Bagham Lane (near the old telephone exchange) and Mountain Street appeared to have more potential than the others although all of these had serious issues that would need to be resolved.  
    The next step is for the ABC planning team to collate the output from this workship with that from similar workshops in other parishes and feed this into further planning that will result in a detailed proposal for developing 170 homes across 8 rural parishes between now and 2021.  
    These plans will be open to public consultation later in the year.  
       
       
       
did you know ...
 
Chilham Parish
Check out the self funding locally run Chilham Parish website to find out loads of useful and interesting information and anecdotes about the parish and its local history.
 
Enjoy Chilham
Check out the Enjoy Chilham website for more information on Chilham and its local businesses.
 
Chilham's Future
Check out the Chilham's Future Delivery Board website to find out what they are doing to revitalise Chilham Square.
 
Wealden Wheels
The parish council have funded a 12 month trial of this community transport scheme in Chilham thanks to a grant from the KCC Member Community fund. Our application was supported by Kent County Cllr Charles Findlay. Village organizations or individuals can join the scheme for an annual membership fee of £10.
There are three modern air-conditioned vehicles available with 7, 9 or 15 seats. The 15 seater is fitted with a wheelchair lift for easy disabled access. All vehicles available on a ‘self drive’ (80p per mile) or ‘driver supplied’ basis (£1 per mile).
For more details contact Wealden Wheels on 01233 840000.
 
Public Transport Journey Planner
Travelling by public transport to our from London and the Southeast - then check out the Traveline website to plan your trip using buses coaches trains or undergound.
 
Kent Landscape Information System
Want to find out more about the countryside around us - then check out the Kent Landscape Information System website and get details of access to the local countryside, its landscape and its character. There a loads options you can select. It can even show you the parish boundary.
 
WhatsOn Listing
Not sure what to do tonight, then check out our whats on in the parish page.
Our community events committee have just put this together. The aim is to promote any event in the parish so if you want your event included please contact the clerk using the feedback form on our how are we doing page.
The Whats On listing will also be posted on village noticeboards at the start of each month.
 
Recycling
Do you realise that our Parish actually receive revenue from the bottle banks and recycled paper banks situated in the car park at Taylor’s Hill in Chilham?
You could make the journey to Taylor’s Hill car park to recycle glass, bottles, paper etc. so our Parish can benefit.
Items recyclable at this site are newspapers and magazines, glass, bottles, jars (but not Pyrex), aluminium or steel cans (such as drinks and rinsed food tins)
In the past 2 years over £7000 has been raised. Check out the finance committee section of our what we are doing page to find out how this money has been allocated to village organisations.
 
Neighbourhood policing
The mobile police station visits each village once every couple of months and is advertised in KM village news and on village noticeboards.
You can also contact our Neighbourhood PC Alison Barney on 07870 252954 or our KCC Community Warden Marc Sluder on 07813 695817. PC Barney has now been trained with a speed gun and this will be used to tackle speeding in the parish.
More information on neighbourhood policing can be found on the Kent Police website or the new Neighbourhood Watch website.
 
Litter and Fly-tipping
Our litter picker patrols the centre of our villages once a week but if you see a build up of litter in your village contact the clerk to arrange for it to be cleared up. If you see litter outside the village you can also contact the clerk or contact ABC Street Cleansing on 01233-330535.
Useful information on keeping our parish clean and tidy can also be found on the Clean Kent website.
 
Potholes, Signs, Overgrown Verges
Kent Highways inspect our roads once a month but if you see a pothole, a damaged sign or overgrown verge contact them on 08458 247 800.
 
Fly Posters
Unofficial posters are becoming an increasing problem in the parish especially when they are positioned on dangerous junctions and could distract drivers and result in accidents. If you see a badly positioned or unofficial poster please contact the clerk or better still contact Kent Highways on 08458 247 800 and they will be able to take the necessary action.
 
Roadworks
Delays due to roadworks dont have to take you by surprise and delay your journey...
Kent Highways have a regular piece in Kent On Sunday providing travel advice and details of planned roadworks and you can also find more information on their website.
You can also register with the Elgin system to receive email alerts of roadworks within a specified distance from your chosen post code.
 
Traffic News
You can get up to date traffic information on the BBC Kent traffic web page. Another way of preventing unforeseen delays to your journey ...