Latest news from the Annual Parish Meeting

It was great to see residents attending the recent Annual Parish Meeting (APM) held on the 28th March at St Martins Church. Far from being a 'stuffy affair' there was quite a vibrant atmosphere as residents had the opportunity to discuss their concerns within the village with their local councillors. 

Sarah Boyle, Chairperson for the Parish Council, introduced members of the council and highlighted just some of the projects that councillors have been working on during the past twelve months, such as; 

• starting a Dementia Cafe, which is now into its second year
• creating a community Speedwatch group
• liaising with the village hall trustees around the new village hall project
• the replacement of the street lighting, which in the long term will save money for the village
• working on the school safety campaign to make Eynsford a safer place
• tree planting
• working hard to get water leaks repaired
• working with DVLP to improve the wider landscape
• liaising with other groups such as; the Community Rail Partnership, Lullingstone Liaison Group 
• plus being very much 'hands-on' with maintenance at the allotments

All of which, is in addition to responding to planning applications, maintaining opening spaces and recreation areas and liaising with third parties such as Kent Highways, KCC and SDC over various issues. 

Alongside the Parish Council, the meeting was well attended by various organisations such the Citizens Advice Bureau, Kent Air Ambulance, Kent Fire & Rescue Service, the Village Society, Farningham & Eynsford History Society, Eynsford Village Hall project committee and our local PSCO. We can't thank the volunteers enough for giving up their free time to come along and tell us more about what they do. Clerks and councillors alike, also took the opportunity of raising residents concerns about an increase in crime with the PSCO. 

The APM was also a wonderful opportunity to present Sally Coston with her Community Award for her outstanding contribution to the village over the last 26 years. The award was presented by Chairman, Cllr Sarah Barker, of the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC). Just hearing the list of accomplishments and projects that Sally has been part of was exhausting and judging by the smile on her face, I would say that the award was very much appreciated. 

Whilst the APM does have to follow a fairly formal structure, the parish council has tried to keep precedings as informal as possible, with some light refreshments and good conversation. However, we always welcome thoughts from residents on how the meeting can be improved, to ensure we attract as many attendees as possible, as we are keen to hear thoughts and input from all demographics and groups within the village. If you do have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to email the parish council. 

On a final note, we wish to thank the Clerks, Holly and Naomi, for their hard work in organising the meeting.