Eling Court can be approached from either Broadoak Avenue or Mayfair Avenue.
Broadoak is a turning off Cripple Street.
Valley Conservation Society
Holder of the KCC Award for Volunteering Excellence
www.valleyconservation.co.uk
Notice of
Annual
Meeting
THE Annual General Meeting of the Society will take place at the Eling Court Community Centre off Hilden Shaw, Maidstone, on Saturday, February 20, starting at 10am. All members are invited to attend.
The main item will be the appointment of the new executive committee for 2010. Under the terms of our constitution, all the existing committee members will step down, although they may seek re-election. The format is that Members will first be asked to vote by a show of hands on the appointment of the four officers of the Society: the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary. Then the meeting will elect up to, but no more than, eight other members to sit on the executive committee.
Nominations in advance please
Any full member can stand for office, but the Secretary must receive nominations in writing (an e-mailed nomination is acceptable) no less than 14 days before the AGM, ie by 10am on Saturday, February 6, 2010. No nominations can be taken at the meeting.
Only those who have renewed their membership for 2010 can vote or stand for office. However, you may renew your membership at the meeting on the day. Please arrive by 9.30am, if you intend to do this.
If you wish to nominate a Member for the committee, please check that he or she is willing to stand first. It is permissible for a member to nominate him- or herself. It is NOT necessary to obtain a seconder. Send your nominations to The Secretary, Valley Conservation Society, Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6DN, (or email to a128smith@btinternet.com).
Meanwhile, anyone considering standing might like to attend the next executive committee meeting on Wednesday, 3 February, in order to get a feel for what their duties might involve. It will be at
Flat 3, The Manor, Hayle Place, starting at 7.30pm.
Other items on the agenda will include reports on the Societys activities in the past year and an open forum discussion. If any member would like a particular topic discussed at the AGM, please notify the Minutes Secretary, Maggie Davis, on 01622 674001, or by e-mail to Maggie_davis@sky.com so that it may be placed on the agenda.
Remember this is your AGM and your chance to raise any issues of concern. The meeting should last no more than two hours. Please make an effort to come.
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Eling Court can be approached from either Broadoak Avenue or Mayfair Avenue. Broadoak is a turning off Cripple Street.
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AGM
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Membership renewals
WHETHER or not you are coming to the AGM, it is now time to renew your membership for 2010 unless you joined as a new member within the last two months of 2009, in which case your membership is automatically carried forward for 2010.
Your committee has decided to keep the annual subscription at £2 per adult, or 50p for children aged 14 to18. We do so secure in the knowledge that many members will make a donation above this amount. At that same time, we wish to maintain as large a membership base as possible. When we negotiate with the borough council over planning issues, or seek grants from funding bodies, the larger membership we can claim the more likely we are to succeed. It is for that reason that we ask you once again to make sure that you sign up each member of your household individually - the more the merrier!
An application form can be found on the back page.
*THE Society ended the year 2009 with 470 registered members.
Sad losses
IT IS with great sadness that we report the deaths of a number of members since the last newsletter.
| Victoria Brown | |
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Victoria or Vic as she was known - was one of the 12 founding members of the Society, and also one of the valleys longest residents.
Born the youngest of six children to Albon and Sarah Esland on 19 December 1915, she grew up at Bockingford and attended Maidstone Girls Grammar School, She moved away to Bower Street, Maidstone, and to Sheerness during her early married life, but returned to live at Bockingford from 1958.
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She spent the major part of her working life as a nurse, first at Maidstone Opthalmic Hospital, and later at Hillingdon Hospital, Keycol Hospital and Linton Hospital, where she ended her career as Sister Tutor teaching others in the classroom.
She could often be seen walking her dog in the valley, pottering in her garden, or in later years simply sitting at the open door of her home in Bockingford Mill, from where she could feed the ducks from the Loose Stream. She died on 23 December, aged 94.
Michael Tillet
Michael had been a member of the Society for six years.
A talented musician, he worked closely with the similarly named British composer Michael Tippett, editing his scores and transcribing them for piano. He taught music at Rugby School and Highgate School and was known locally for his work with Sutton Valence Choral Society and his piano concerts at All Saints Church. He was an enthusiastic letter-writer and would often write to the committee with praise or advice. He was particularly vexed with Maidstone councils sanction of garden development, from which he personally fell victim at his home in Loose Road. He died on 21 December, aged 87.
John Smith
John was a member of the Society since our first year despite living in Rochester. He won a crooning competition during the Second World War and was always keen to demonstrate his fine singing on any occasion, particularly the annual VCS barbecue. He was a keen supporter of the Societys social events and was often part of the team of helpers that would set out tables and chairs etc in readiness.
He spent his entire civilian career as an electrician and works planner with Burroughs Welcome at Dartford, but was always most keen to talk about his service in the Royal Navy, which began in 1928 with his entry to the Royal Naval Hospital School at Greenwich aged 12 and ended when he was de-mobbed after the war. He died on 27 November aged 93.
David Johnstone
David was a recent recruit for the Society, joining only last year, after learning about us from his daughter, a member from Postley Road. David threw himself energetically into the Tuesday work parties, journeying from his home in Snodland to take part. A former ex-London firefighter, like our chairman, he enjoyed the comradeship of the team. He died in November, very soon after learning he had bone cancer. He was 79.
The Fire Service Museum
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AS we go to press, we are still waiting to discover whether we will yet be mourning the loss of another long-standing valley resident the Kent Fire and Rescue Service Museum. Housed at the services headquarters at Godlands off Cave Hill, the museum has been a little known gem for four decades.
The Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority is considering closing the museum and distributing its collection of fire service memorabilia across a range of other locations.
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The museum costs the authority almost nothing, since it is staffed by volunteers, but the building is required for other uses.
The museum holds records and artifacts dating back even before the foundation of the Kent Fire Service in 1948 to the days when towns and villages ran their own brigades. It has a collection of historic vehicles including a steam fire engine, a 1939 open fire engine and a Second World War utility fire engine.
It would be a great shame if this collection were now dismantled and a sad loss for Tovil where the museum has been situated since 1969.
To follow the latest on this issue, check Roger Mardons website: www.romar.org.uk
New road in the Valley
A NUMBER of members have contacted us to complain about the new road in the Valley at Bockingford Stables.
Maidstone council is aware of the situation. Their enforcement officers say the owner should have applied for planning permission since the field falls within the Conservation Area. Officers also have some concerns about a large pile of spoil and several structures they discovered during their investigation. Maidstone council is currently considering whether to invite the owner to submit a retrospective planning application to regularise the situation or to begin enforcement action.
If members have views, the MBC case officer is Mrs Hardeep Matharoo, contactable via email on HardeepMatheroo@maidstone.gov.uk and the reference number is ENF/10908
Busy season for the work party
DURING the bird-breeding season, the work party have to curtail their activities somewhat. Conversely the winter has been a busy time for them despite the unfavourable weather.
Since our last newsletter, the team have completed a number of projects.
The Societys two ponds have been treated for the second time with Siltex, a compound that encourages the biological break-down of silt in the water. The crew had to row across
the water speading the Siltex over the side of our boat. We are very gratefyul to the North Loose Residents Association for a donation of £100 towards the cost of this project.
A Saturday work party at the end of November was well attended with volunteers planting 550 anemone, bluebell and snowdrop bulbs in Treacle Wood.
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A section of new fencing has been erected to mark the boundary of the VCS land, a little up from the new seating bench previously installed by the ponds in Cave Hill. The fence has been re-enforced by the planting of 25 hawthorn saplings given us by KCC, which hopefully in time will grow to make a more natural boundary margin. Snowdrop bulbs were also planted around the bench, and the first ones are just now beginning to sprout through. The team also began the re-pointing of the ragstone wall bordering Treacle Wood in Hayle Mill Road. About a third of the length was completed before the onset of frosty weather forced a postponement of the rest of the treatment. |
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The new fence |
The snow around Christmas caused some casualties among our trees, with two coming down into the ponds and another falling across the public footpath off Cave Hill. The team had to drag the trunks out of the pond and cut them up.
Future projects
As well as the completion of the ragstone wall re-pointing, the team have two projects in mind. The replacement of the boundary fence between our land and the public footpath leading up to Mount Ararat and the erection of a fence along the top of Treacle Wood at its boundary with the Hayle Place Stud Farm.
Two of the team are also booked to go on a comprehensive chain-saw course at the end of March.
The Society believes it is essential that our volunteers are well trained to carry out the tasks they undertake. To that end a number of members attended a practical hands-on course in ragstone walling last summer. Altogether nine volunteers including two representatives from the Loose Swiss Scouts successfully completed the full course and they were invited to a reception at our chairmans house in December where they were presented with their certificates by the course tutor Paul Reed, from Hastings.
Our thanks to Paul and to all those who took part, including a number of members who attended the course for single days.
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The lucky nine were: John Beeching (Swiss Scouts), Grahame Brownless, Bryn Cornwell, Tony Day, Denver Hope, Bob Jesshope (Swiss Scouts), Mick Lamb, John Smith and Dennis Usmar. |
Sorry Jacquie
IN AN article in our last newsletter about the Loose Amenities Associations decision to abandon its footpath project, we wrongly attributed the remark: Youve put peoples backs up over this. to Jacquie Day, the secretary of NLRA. Although Jacquie was at the meeting as a LAA member, the remark was actually made by another member of the audience. Sorry Jacquie.
Beauty and the Beast
ALL those who attended our production of Beauty and The Beast in October thought it was an excellent show at times moving, at times hysterically comical. Congratulations to the cast on some fantastic acting, singing and musicianship. We were supported on the night by many members of the Boughton Monchelsea Scout Group. Sadly, even with an audience of 76 people and adding in the money from snack bar sales and a raffle, we scarcely covered our costs.
Yoga
MEMBERS may be interested in joining this yoga class, which is being run by former executive committee member Jim Williams:
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Feeling your age? Getting too inflexible for comfort?
Trying to keep that New Year Resolution to stay healthy?
Try some gentle Yoga to improve your Quality of Life.
Join a local group that meets weekly to stretch, relax and feel better
together.
Interested? Call Jim Williams on 755022 or email mountararat@btinternet.co
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SDS Recycling
THERE is some concern regarding a planning application shortly to be submitted by SDS Recycling for development on the former paper recycling site, close to JB Garage Doors, on land off Straw Mill Hill.
During a pre-application discussion with Tovil Parish Council, the companys representatives told councillors that they expected their plans would result in around 80 lorries a day accessing the site, which they want use for recycling building materials. Rubble will be brought by skip, sorted, Crushed and then taken elsewhere on much larger lorries.
Because the sight lines at the entrance are acknowledged to be inadequate, the junction would have to be remodelled.
As the site had a previous industrial use, the application could skate through the planning process, but that use ceased before the new housing estate was built close-by at Passmore Way.
There could be noise and dust disturbance for residents there, and the lorries could prove a traffic hazard close to the difficult exit from Cave Hill.
There is also concern that drivers following Sat Nav directions will attempt a short cut to the site through the Loose Valley. Although a weight limit exists on the lanes, HGVs still occasionally try to force a passage. The latest incident was around three weeks ago, when an articulated lorry became stuck on the bends of Teasaucer Hill and had to reverse up Cripple Street, a process that took around 45 minutes, the whole time blocking the road for other users.
| Welcome tourist | |
| THE white egret has made a welcome return to our ponds in Cave Hill, although so far we have not spotted his mate. A tube of Smarties awaits the first person who photographs both birds together and sends the picture to: a128smith@btinternet.com |
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| Muddy Walk | |
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THE public footpath across the Loose Amenities land through the Loose Valley has not been a joy to walk recently. Thick mud has made it almost impassable in places, as these cows discovered.
Work party: A reminder that the work party meets every Tuesday. For times and location, call our chairman Bryn Cornwell on 01622 746514.
Website: The Societys website can be found on www.valleyconservation.org.uk
VALLEY CONSERVATION SOCIETY
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 2010
I/We should like to join/renew our membership with the Society:
(Please include your title and first name)
Name: 1) ........ ..
2) ....... ...................... .......
3)
4) .
5) .
Address:
Postcode
Phone: E-mail: ..
Mobile:
I would prefer to receive newsletters by e-mail: Yes/No
Signature(s) ..
..
Membership is £2 per year (or 50p for young people aged 14 to 18). Send your application form and your cheque made payable to Valley Conservation Society to:
Colin Holman, Membership Secretary, Flat 3, The Manor,
Hayle Place, Cripple Street, MAIDSTONE, ME15 6DW
I enclose a cheque/cash for £ .. (Donations welcome)
If you are able to play an active role in the Society, tick the box you are interested in:
Leaflet delivery work parties fund-raising
________________________________________________________________________
Office use only:
Issued: Donation: £ Membership Nos
Printed and published by Alan Smith, Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone, ME15 6DN.