Goodnestone Parish Council report for the Annual Parish Assembly – April 2024
A new council was elected in April 2023. Thanks go to the retiring councillors:- Kevin Philips
- Nick Turner-Brown
- Lidia Long, who retired in late 2023
A big thank you to the retiring Clerk Christine Plummer.
your new parish councillors are:
- Karen Stamford
- Sue Baker
- Paul Allen
- Francis Plumptre
- Jon Aldington
Jo Jones joined as Clerk in November 2023 with a wealth of experience acting for three other councils locally.
A further big thank you to Karen Stamford for acting as clerk in
the interim period between Christine’s retirement and Jo joining
the council.
Income
All of the Parish Council’s income comes from council tax. In 2023/24, the contribution from council tax to Goodnestone Parish Council’s income was £42.20 for a ‘Band D’ property. This gave a total income of £7,436 for the year. A more detailed financial breakdown can be viewed on the council website.
Links to Dover District Council and Kent County Council
Martin Porter and Trevor Bartlett from Dover District Council and Sue Chandler from Kent County Council regularly attend Goodnestone Parish Council meetings. If you have things you wish to raise with Martin, Trevor or Sue, this can be done at a Parish Council meeting.
Regular Activities
The council organises and funds a number of regular activities within the Parish. These include:
- Mowing the Millennium field, Fairfield and on occasion, the area surrounding Chillenden Mill
- The council provided and maintains the defibrillators at the Fitzwalter Arms and the Griffin’s Head
- Maintenance of Goodnestone Church clock
- Maintenance of the Millennium Shed
- Checking footpaths and liaising with Kent County Council where there are problems
- Dealing with highways issues (e.g. street light issues, potholes etc.), again liaising with the County Council
- We are a statutory consultee on all planning applications
within the Parish
- Paying for the printing of ‘The Messenger’ parish newsletter
- The council manages the speed indicator device that you will sometimes see in Claypits and Chillenden
2023/4 Activities
As well as the regular activities, the following have taken place
over the last year:
- The council gave a grant of £1,000 to Goodnestone summer fete to fund entertainments.
- We objected proposed development adjacent to Fitzwalter Meadow
- We objected to the proposed development in Chillenden adjacent to Short Street and Station Road
- We objected to the proposed redesignation of the footpath from
Claypits to Staple as a bridleway
- There were strong local feelings about this change
- The Council produced multiple objection letters and a representative walked the path with the inspector on 12th December
- We were pleased to see the Kent County Council decision overturned – the footpath will remain as a footpath
- We provided support to Friends of Chillenden Mill as part of the Kent County Council consultation to dispose of the mill
- Broadband – the Parish Council is liaising with Kent County Council, who awarded a contract to City Fibre on 6th February to improve broadband in ‘not spots’ and ‘slow spots’ across the county. Work being done to assess which areas will get investment. We will provide an update when we know more
- The Chillenden noticeboard was moved to a better spot and to address the problem of it leaning forward.
- A new noticeboard will shortly be installed in Goodnestone (opposite the village hall)
- New litter bin for Goodnestone (can also take dog waste), also to be installed shortly opposite the village hall
- Investigation of the ‘on demand’ bus service (covers Chillenden, not Goodnestone) as to whether the service area can be extended to include Goodnestone
- The pole in Chillenden for the speed indicator device is to be moved to a point on Griffin Hill outside the new 20mph zone
- We provided a grant of £50 in support of work to monitor and eradicate asian hornets.
- We organised 20mph posters and wheelie bin stickers and 20 mph
- The Chair attended a service for the Installation and Celebration for our new vicar Caroline Turvey
- We are working on a ‘Highways Improvement Plan’ – a particular concern is road safety at the junction near Copmans Hall.
Other Items
The council holds a ring-fenced budget of over £4k for spend on
“environmental initiatives”. Please bring ideas forward.
Thank you to the Beech Grove community for their support and assistance with community projects (e.g. moving noticeboard).
Holy Cross Church, Goodnestone
Report for the Parish Council 2024
During 2023 we were without a Vicar — we were in Interregnum. A lot of effort went in to preparing a Parish Profile to attract applicants to fill the vacant post of Vicar to the Canonry Benefice (which consists of Ash, Goodnestone, Chillenden, Nonington, Elmstone, Preston and Stourmouth), so quite an area to cover. We were very fortunate that we were in interregnum for only 15 months — some parishes are without a Vicar for years! During the Interregnum period we were very well looked after by Nigel Hale and several other excellent retired clergy. Many thanks to them all. We were delighted that The Reverend Caroline Turvey was installed as our new Vicar on 20 March this year, and moved in to The Vicarage in Ash. Her first service in Goodnestone on Easter Sunday was inspiring and joyful. She looks forward to getting to know us all. She is here tonight, so please say hello. Nigel will continue to assist with the service rota as it is obviously impossible for Caroline to be in six places at once!
The choir has continued to lead our services on the first Sunday
of the month, supported by organist Malcolm Kittle. The choir also
led the Advent and Christmas carol services and sang a choral
evensong. Thanks to Denyer Kittle for all the hard work he puts
in. We are very fortunate to have such a good choir, which is
widely recognised for its performance. They have once again sung
Evensong at both Canterbury and Rochester Cathedrals.
It is not easy to find the money for the Parish Share but we did pay it in full (£11,578) for 2023. Despite our best efforts we finished the year with a deficit of £1,268. The 2024 share has gone up to £12,321 (£1026.75 per month). Just like everyone else, all our costs have gone up so it continues to be a challenge to find the funds!
We celebrated 2 baptisms and 5 weddings during the year and 2 funeral services were held.
Thanks to James Loder-Symonds for providing a lovely Christmas tree and as always thanks go to all those who provided fresh flowers for the church, to Bridget Hawkins and Fiona Larkin for opening and closing the church each day and to Christopher and Natasha Carter for keeping the clock wound. Thanks to members of the PCC and others in the village who do all sorts of tasks to keep the church in good order — especially during the Interregnum period.
The church has been used weekly by the School, for a programme of concerts organised by Goodnestone Music (more from Denyer shortly) and the outreach Post Office continues to open on Monday mornings.Going forward, we really hope to get the church path re-surfaced and the handrails by the steps replaced in 2024. It has taken us a year to get the necessary permissions from the Diocese and Dover District Council but | am pleased to say that we can now go forward with applying for grants and raising funds. We were able to start off the fund with the generous donation from the Fete Committee following the 2023 Village Fete — thank you!
Sue Palmer (Treasurer, Goodnestone PCC)ALL SAINTS, CHILLENDEN
ANNUAL PCC REPORT
OVERVIEW
The previous incumbent, David Moulden, left the Benefice at the end of 2022 and was formally thanked after his last service on 1%t January 2023.<br> For the rest of the year we were in interregnum. A working rota to cover the Sunday services was established by the Benefice Administrator for which we were extremely grateful. Nigel Hale continued to take a number of our services. We were also pleased to welcome several retired clergy who stepped in to cover the rest of our services. We were delighted to receive some very kind comments from these members of the retired clergy, who enjoyed coming to All Saints to take our services.
Regular services continued on the 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month. We continued to keep All Saints open on Saturdays & Sundays for private prayer, contemplation and general visits throughout the whole of the year. For the second year running in recent years, the Remembrance Sunday service was held at All Saints. Our traditional Carol Service took place on Christmas Eve, with a full church of around 60 attendees.
The PCC, comprising five members, held five meetings during the year.ELECTORAL ROLL, FABRIC & MAINTENANCE
There were 19 parishioners on the electoral roll in 2023. There were no baptisms or funerals.
On 30th December 2023 some damaged plaster on the inside of the roof collapsed, causing debris to fall on and around the pulpit and around the first 2 pews on the southside. The area was cleared of plaster and debris and cordoned off to make it safe for the Benefice service on 31st December. The damage has been assessed so that repairs can take place, and claimed under insurance. In other areas, some of the paintwork to the walls is starting to flake off and there are pockets of plaster damage. Apart from the paintwork and plaster damage, there has been no further deterioration or dilapidation to the building, contents or churchyard during the year. The next Quinquennial was due in 2023 and must take place by October 2024.
The church’s silverware, linen, hymnbooks, organ, service sheets, kitchen and other contents are adequate for its needs. Some of the silverware is held in the safe at Goodnestone.
VILLAGE HALL
The village hall in Chillenden is owned in trust by the PCC. The hall is maintained and operated by the hall committee and is let out for private functions, village events and meetings, including the PCC and Parish Council. The condition of the hall continues to deteriorate and considerable work is required to remedy the damp in the ceiling and walls and to finish off the plasterwork around the window frames. Repairs to the electrical system were undertaken in 2021.
Continuing into 2023 the wild garden project at Hall remained a regular feature of village life led by Maria Himsworth and with help from many willing volunteers.
The Hall 100 Club small society lottery (set up in October 2022) has continued to grow with around 40 participants. 50% of the takings are allocated to prize money based on a monthly entry of £5, and 50% is available to the PCC to use for the running costs of the Hall with any surplus revenue going towards capital works. The 100 Club continues to be administered by the Rainbow Appeal Committee (see below).
FINANCE
The PCC Accounts for the year are reported separately. The PCC operates within the informal parish share arrangements established at Canonry Benefice level and works collaboratively with other PCC treasurers from across the Benefice to reach agreement on the fair apportionment of the collective parish share costs.
It was noted that in 2023 regular planned giving had increased as well as donations received from a generous anonymous donor and other donors. Collection money was down slightly, however gift-aid had resulted in more tax back this year than last year. Other income included £1000 from the 100 Club.
At the beginning of January 2024 the cash position was £9,382 with a small profit of £724 recorded at 31st December 2023.
Payment of the 2023 Parish Share of £6,114 was achievable, as it was generously subsidised by Ash. The Parish Share assessment for 2024 is around £8,013. As Ash is no longer in a position to subsidise us, it will be necessary to find an additional £2k in 2024.
RAINBOW APPEAL COMMITTEE
The Rainbow Appeal Committee was re-started in 2022 to manage the 100 Club finances. A new bank account receives funds from and operates the 100 Club and make grants to the PCC for hall operating costs.
VILLAGE WEBSITE
The Chillenden village website and Facebook group are regularly maintained and kept up to date at least every two weeks by Dave Hampson-Ghani, Churchwarden. The Chillenden village website can be found at www.chillenden.org.uk.
Ros Beeching
PCC Secretary
Goodnestone Village Hall report 23/24
The Village Hall continues to play its part in all things community for the Parish.
2023 was a year of continued renovations to complete the front garden and landscaping to the rear. Our grateful thanks to Chris and his team. A fire escape route is still to be completed in 2024 and this work will hopefully be in place by late summer. The hall has suffered from dampness over the wet winter period but with some repairs to the front drainpipes the main problem has been solved.
We are grateful to the school and its continued use for breakfast club. The income keeps us afloat and the community aspect fulfils our role as a space for all to enjoy. Alongside this use we open the doors for regular WI meetings, winter film nights for the Church fund and our successful community hub which creates a warm space for one and all.
The summer fete of 2023 was a success and all proceeds were distributed between the Village Hall the School and our Church. Over £1000 each. The hard work was worth it. This year a more low key event. A Street Party with a 40’s theme and will include the school fete and a raffle and stalls and music. All welcome to enjoy this celebration on Sunday 21° July.
Christmas Day was a great celebration and lunch was served to one and all. Good fun had by all.
A Successful grant applications to Dover District Council has Share allowed us to purchase a new cooker, various kitchen items and create a welcome space for community use . So much more to look forward to including jumble sales afternoon teas quiz nights and bingo!
We came into 2024 with a healthy budget to support the year ahead and be in a position to finance possible repair and maintenance projects. Following an unfortunate episode early in the year we found we needed to use some funds on emergency oil replacement for the heating and replacement heating pump. Such a sad time when the oil from the tank was stolen after a delivery. We replaced the oil, got great advice from the Rural Police, held a fab jumble sale, received generous donations from residents, have ongoing support with outside maintenance work from Matt at Bruderhof, and we recovered from our disappointment and we are now going forward.
Onward and upward.
Always grateful for the attendance and donations at our events and the bookings made by other organisations to use the hall we thank everyone for continued support.
The coming year will hopefully see an active and welcoming Village Hall. And there will be a Pantomime once again! Ohh yes there will.
Christine Viv Heidi Paul and Bridie
Chillenden Mill Report for Goodnestone APM 2024
We were again open to the public in 2023 (our second full year since Covid) and we had the enthusiastic help of many volunteers including several new ones. A big thank you to Sue Baker for finding all these wonderful people. We had a total of 232 visitors and took £303.44 in voluntary donations. Both figures were the highest for many years.
The sweeps have continued to be regularly turned. This is thanks to KCC sending a young Millwright, Cameron Southcott, down to the Mill once a month for that purpose. By turning them once a month, water cannot settle in any one position and do damage. The sweeps contain less than a quarter set of shutters but, with fixed wind boards on their leading sides they develop more than enough power to idle in the breeze. It is a wonderful sight that | hope many parishioners will have seen at some point.
A big thank you once more to Luke Bonwick, the heritage specialist at KCC, for all that he has organized and in particular for sending Cameron to visit us. Unfortunately he is moving on to pastures new in 2024, a post with English Heritage looking after Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. I simply cannot praise Luke more for all the work he has done on the eight windmills owned by Kent County Council. He has left them all in a far better position than when he arrived five years ago, with work either done or arranged to be done.
Unfortunately all the news from KCC is not good. In October 2023 the then Cabinet Member responsible for the Environment advised us that KCC were proposing divesting themselves of the eight windmills in their ownership. By selling them KCC would lose the financial responsibility of maintaining these Listed Buildings. This was in response to the then predicted £37m budget deficit. By their own figures they would have saved £10,000 over a six year period on maintaining Chillenden Windmill. So you can see a mere drop in the ocean towards solving their financial problems. As a body the Friends of Chillenden Windmill do not feel in a position to take on the financial responsibility of owning the Mill. It is also a very unique Mill being in the middle of a field with no power or water available. It is also a post mill so not really able to be converted to living accommodation. KCC would struggle to find a buyer I would suggest.
As this was a change to the Heritage Strategy the proposal went out to Public Consultation. This was over December and January. We encouraged as many people as possible to respond, as did the other Mills in Kent. I understand there were over 2,300 responses, a very high figure. The last time the Heritage Strategy was consulted upon the response rate was about 300. All of us involved in Chillenden Windmill would like to thank all those in the Parish who took the time and effort to respond. We publicised it by leaflet drop, by leafletting at Gibsons Farm Shop, and by putting up posters in shops at Wingham and Sandwich.
We do not know the results of that consultation as it has not been published. It has to be published at least 7 days before the Environment Committee debates the issue again. That has been set down for 21st May, however I am led to believe that it may well now not be debated until their July meeting. It will be an interesting test of democracy when the results of that consultation are known. We will be lobbying all KCC Councillors when the results are known and before the debate. It would be good to be given more than seven days’ notice. We will also be contacting the Media. We would remind everyone that once heritage is lost, it is lost forever.
The cutting of the hedges around the Mill has kindly been coordinated by lain Moss, a Farm Manager who lives in the village.
We have agreed with Goodnestone Parish Council that we will continue to cut the grass around the mill this year.
Volunteers to open the Mill on Sundays and Bank Holidays, 2:30 to 4:30pm, May to August, are always needed so anyone interested should contact Sue Baker. Our first opening this year will be on Sunday 5th May.
Paul Allen (Mill Manager)
Gabriel Richards Charity Report – Goodnestone Annual Assembly 2024
The Gabriel Richards Charity looks after two Almshouse properties in The Street. Goodnestone. There are currently two beneficiaries known as Alms people who reside in the flats. The main income for the Charity is from the rental of The Cottage adjacent to the Almshouse and from 16 Acres of farmland owed by the Charity.
This Charity is probably one of the smallest Almshouses in the country but it continues to tick along in the same way since its foundation in the 17th Century.If anyone would like further details please contact the Clerk to the Gabriel Richards Charity Trust (Merrilyn Lee) on 07811429297.