Four Elms Pond Working Party  – Sunday 24^th November 9.00 am

You are welcome to join our group of volunteers to tidy and maintain the Four Elms Pond on Sunday 24^th November at 9.00 am. Please meet at the pond, wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear, preferably wellies or waders! Gloves will be provided. Councillor Roberts will be leading the group and would appreciate any help you can give. Many hands make light work…..

I can confirm at the HPC meeting last night it was strongly agreed the Appeal Against Enforcement should be dismissed. The formal HPC Appeal Response has now been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. A copy is attached below for your information. Please do also submit your own responses and encourage anyone you know locally to do the same by the deadline of 11^th November.  Details on how to submit your view on the Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate are below:

To submit your view on the Appeal via the Planning Inspectorate website: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3352309

You will need to submit the PINS Reference: 3352309

Hever Stud Appeal Response 7 11 24

The Hever Parish Council Extraordinary Planning Meeting where the Appeal against the Enforcement Notice served on Land West of Hever Road was discussed last night was well attended by members of the community. Consensus from those present was to support Sevenoaks District Council in the issuing of the Enforcement Notice and to urge the Planning Inspectorate to dismiss the Appeal and enforce the land being returned to its original state as Green Belt grazing land.

We would encourage everyone to submit their views to the Planning Inspectorate by the deadline of 11^th November 2024. The more voices are heard the better.

Details of the Appeal can be found on the Sevenoaks District Council Website:  https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage

You will need to select the Appeals tab and enter the reference: 24/00052/ENF

To submit your view on the Appeal please do so here, via the Planning Inspectorate website: https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?caseid=3352309

You will need to submit the PINS Reference: 3352309

Hever Parish Council will also be submitting a view which will be confirmed at the next HPC meeting on Thursday 7^th November and will also be shared on our website on the following day.

HPC are  considering offering a free session every few weeks for local people to drop in to sociailise, have a chat in the warm and meet others from the community.  At this stage we would like to establish demand. Could you kindly let the Clerk know the following:

Would you be interested in attending a day time session every few weeks for a couple of hours? If so, would you like to do an activity whilst there? Please do complete the survey on Facebook :

https://www.facebook.com/groups/8328777107176461/

Alternatively, please email clerk@hever.org with your thoughts.

Many thanks

Please note: due to the triathlon at Hever, the Hever Litter Pick has been postponed until Saturday 5th October 2024. The Four Elms Litter Pick will continue as planned on Saturday 28th September.

Community Litter Picks have been arranged  in Hever and Four Elms this Saturday 28th September. Come and join in!  It is good fun, with free refreshments and great exercise. If possible, please bring own gloves and wear appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear.  Hi visibility vests and litter pickers can be provided, however if you have your own please do bring them.

Litter Pick details are as follows:

Four Elms Village Hall – Saturday 28th September 9.30 am

Hever Field – Saturday 5th October  9.30 am

Any queries, please contact clerk@hever.org

Tom Tugendhat, MP, is running his annual School Bus Survey.  With the new academic year having now started  the 2024 survey is open to find out which services are working well, and which need improvement over the first few weeks of term. If you, or someone you know, has children of secondary school age, please ask them to complete my annual survey so they can have their say.

September is always a tricky time for any parent, with children going into a new school year and sometimes a new school entirely. This brings a change to the routine and our travel plans too. With this being the case it’s more important than ever to share your thoughts so that they can be raised these with the relevant operators and Kent County Council. Tom Tugendhat meets regularly with local bus companies and is able to raise these issues with them directly.

You can fill out the survey by clicking here. Please do share this with any friends and neighbours who have children who get the bus to school, or who might with to use one of our local bus services but hasn’t yet.

Sevenoaks District Council’s Community Grants Scheme is now open for applications.

The scheme provides funding for voluntary and charitable organisations that support the health and wellbeing of Sevenoaks District residents.

Community groups, whether newly formed or long-standing, that fall into this category can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 to support their work.

Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for People and Places, Cllr Lesley Dyball, says: “Voluntary and charitable groups do so much to improve the quality of life for so many of our residents, especially vulnerable, older and younger people. We are extremely proud that once again, we are able to support their amazing work.”

For more information and to apply for a grant, visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/communitygrants.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Wednesday 9 October 2024.

For help with an application, call 01732 227000 or email grants@sevenoaks.gov.uk.

Successful applicants will receive their funding in April 2025 and will need to complete their services, activities and projects by the end of March 2026.

Notice of the conclusion of audit for the Annual Governance & Accountability Return 2023-2024 has now been received and can be viewed on the website, together with the completed AGAR . The documents can be found by clicking this link:  http://hever.org/parish-council/financial