MARDEN
COMMUNITY PLAN
ACTION
PLAN
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Version
1(2)
25/03/2007 09:46
MARDEN
COMMUNITY PLAN:
ACTION
PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What is a Community Plan?
Community action plans are a means for local
communities to review their facilities, services and needs and develop an action plan to
improve them.
In April 2004 the South East England Development Agency
launched a Programme to regenerate ‘Market Towns’. Even though Marden has not
been a market town since before the First World War, we still come under the SEEDA’s
definition for one as we have a population across the whole area of over 4,000 people!
To qualify for grant
funding of up to £40k, or exceptionally £240k, such towns and larger villages have to
undertake what is known as a Market Town Healthcheck. Key to this is the establishment of
a partnership involving the Parish Council, people who live and work in the village, local
businesses, voluntary and community organisations.
How such a grant, which has to be matched by local
funding that we have raised from within the community, may be used is, of course, the end
result of the exercise.
How we did it
The
plan was undertaken under a formal constitution and managed as a project. Our main aims are;
·
To work
together to create a potential future policy and action plan, to be known as the Marden
Community Plan (MCP), arising from the Healthcheck consultation process.
·
To
endeavour to implement the agreed Community Plan arising from the Healthcheck consultation
process.
·
To work
together on issues of interest and concern to Marden and its surrounding communities in
order to secure its long term viability as a centre for social, business, and cultural
activities to maintain its particular character and heritage.
As above, the Marden Community
Plan is compiled to a Market Towns Healthcheck format as defined by the Countryside
Agency. This has meant that all the data
collected and compiled is analysed according to four main ‘Workstream’ headings:
MCP has set up four Workstream
groups, one for each of these headings.
These groups were all led by
volunteers. Regular meetings were held to
discuss progress, outstanding tasks and any potential difficulties.
The format of the questions
under the Healthcheck system is comprehensive but also proscribed. This means that, in some cases, a few questions
were inappropriate to Marden due, in the main, to the size of our population and
administrative status (i.e. a parish). In
other areas, we felt that the questions did not probe deeply enough or were too generic
for our needs. We needed greater definition to
the concerns and issues of people who live, work and play in the Village.
We therefore held three open
days, partly to inform people and businesses as to what the Community Plan was all about,
but also to gather additional information that would give more detailed and focussed
pictures of the current situation and future requirements and expectations.
Although the Healthcheck is
organised into the four themes already mentioned it will be obvious that these do not
stand alone or in isolation – transport and traffic issues will frequently affect the
environment through noise, pollution and quality of life aspects for example, but also
economically in terms of people’s ability to get to their place of employment and
businesses’ ability to distribute their produce. Likewise there will be social and
community considerations, especially in a rural community, regarding the provision of
public transport and accessibility to main services not available locally.
For this reason, action plan items are not grouped by topic but solely by the fact that they have been identified as important to the future needs of Marden. However, in order to help clarify how these actions have been arrived at, the findings have been presented under the original four Healthcheck headings in the next section.
Suffice to say, the plan could
not have been completed without the considerable efforts of the workstream groups and the
many others who contributed to, or provided, information.
Detailed acknowledgement can be found in the annexes to the full report.
What we’ve found out
i) Economy
The main issues in this area are:
It became obvious that the many
local businesses in Marden have only a slight knowledge of what other businesses exist in
the village or what they do. At present, there
are missed opportunities for improving the local
economy and increasing sustainability by sharing of expertise, using local suppliers
rather than going further afield or developing a local customer base, all of which
contribute to transport and environment issues as well as economy, reducing, for example,
‘food miles’ or distances travelled to work as well as answering ‘community’
issues of creating more employment opportunity through potential business growth.
.
One way of improving this
situation would be through the setting up of a Marden
business forum, meeting regularly to discuss
issues and concerns of the local business community. MCP
or the Parish Council could act as facilitators, secretariat, or provide a conduit between
the forum and appropriate local or national Government or statutory authority for the
issue in hand.
Another, larger, project would be a comprehensive business directory linked to a more frequent and greatly expanded parish newsletter. Allied to this would be a ‘local food directory’ a project that would also have both environmental and transport issues. These are discussed further in the following sections.
Both these actions, as
mentioned, could lead to an increase in the number of jobs available locally as well as increasing their
occupational range. Many local residents who
currently commute to work, whether within
Any increase in jobs needs to be matched with people with suitable skills available to fill the vacancies created. A strong message from local businesses is that providing generic training facilities would be a major asset. IT training is an obvious requirement, but, also, fork lift truck driving and materials handling; and Health and Safety legislative knowledge were mentioned.
More fundamental knowledge, the current buzz-word is ‘life skills’, was also raised as being lacking in many job applicants. These basic skills include communications (sometimes as basic as how to talk to others or answer the phone in a business environment); literacy and numeracy.
A significant contribution to the local economy is made by part-time workers. Ensuring that maximum use can be made of this resource requires flexibility from both employers and employees but also local authority. More child-care facilities are identified as one area where local authorities could help this process.
A re-developed and expanded Memorial Hall could provide a venue for many of the above actions as well as providing conference, meeting, and training facilities for communities outside our hinterland to give an additional source of income both for the Hall and as a spin-off, other businesses in Marden.
These last requirements are as much a social need as an economic one and are discussed further in that section.
Recent months have seen two significant developments in the Industrial Estate: the opening of Boddington’s plastic injection moulding factory at Wheelbarrow Park Estate and the approval of Claygate’s planning permission for a major warehousing and distribution centre. A number of additional jobs will be created and both companies are committed to the village. Tomkinson’s are also applying for permission to develop their facility.
In the interests of a
continued, sustainable economy, further expansion and development of the Industrial Estate, within its
current limits (if feasible), should be welcomed, though a range of environmental issues
such as traffic, noise and general ‘quality of life’ for local people as well as
waste management must be taken into account for any development.
More also needs to be done by
local authorities to ensure Marden businesses, established and potential, are aware of the
various grants and initiatives available for
business start-up, expansion, and sustainability.
As well as taking advantage of
such financial benefits, marketing and publicity is, naturally, vital to the success of
any business. Nowadays this is virtually
impossible without the Internet. A number of
responses to the workstream questionnaires indicated the poor, or at least inconsistent, broadband access (I can vouch for this personally
–Ed). BT needs to be lobbied by the
Parish Council to increase both the speed and the quality of service for Marden.
Shops and shopping have long been an issue for
Marden and a number of shops have closed over the years to be converted to private houses. This is not a trend, with the best will in the
world, we are likely to reverse. We can,
however, try to ensure what we have we hold. Making
retailers aware of grants and initiatives available, as above, is one way. Promoting them through a local directory, and the
website, also proposed in the action plan, is another.
Retailer’s perception of trying to negate unfair competition – for
example free buses to Supermarkets – a third.
Tourism to the area figures quite significantly in
the local economy. There is a large and
popular camping and caravan site to the south of the Village and a number of residents
offer B&B. We need to ensure that tourists
spend money whilst they are here! Things that
may help them do this are adequate car parking
(currently being resolved by the Parish and Borough Councils); a visitor’s
guide to local shops, services, attractions and facilities (an updated version is
currently in preparation by the Marden Society); and adequate public transport for those
who do not have their own vehicle.
A Heritage Centre would also encourage people to
visit the centre, hopefully using other local shops and pubs whilst they were here.
Transport and public transport in particular, is an issue affecting many aspects of current and future of Marden. But in the context of employment it is essential we have bus and train services timetabled to meet the need of those who both live and work here to get to and from their place of employment and to reach training courses, etc.
Both train and bus companies need to be lobbied vigorously by the Parish Council to ensure our services are improved to meet our needs, especially during the evenings when a ‘one an hour’ train service after 19.00 hrs is unacceptable as many local residents are still commuting home from work well after that time.
ii) Environment
Environmental issues can be
grouped into 3 main sections:
There is a further set of issues, identified at the Open Days, outside the immediate control or resolution within the village that could be resolved by the Parish Council or others taking on a lobbying role.
Taking first the current size of the village and planning matters generally, praise for the existing situation (perfect size, compactness and general pleasantness) –clearly outweighed adverse comments on over-development. The comments seeking to restrict development should be accommodated by the formal planning process.
As has been noted elsewhere, Marden’s history, heritage and culture figured strongly in people’s responses, all positively. This interest and the need for continuing preservation is at the heart of the Marden Society History Group request for support with plans for a local heritage centre.
Comments relating to open space in the village were conflicting, but it is a fact that although Marden’s open spaces are generally considered to be attractive and well maintained by 97% of respondents they are smaller in total than in other rural areas of Maidstone Borough
Looking at the area outside of the village centre itself, specific comments appreciating the surrounding countryside were the most frequent notes with no adverse remarks. From the landscape questionnaires the rural nature of the landscape was highly valued, especially orchards and hop gardens, together with old farm buildings and water features, ponds, etc. Woodlands, hedges and windbreaks were also valued.
Moving to quality of life issues, there were a number of
positive comments on the peace and quiet of the village, one that for some has no major
problems, is unspoilt and, pleasant. However,
the issues relating to speeding, heavy lorries and anti-social behaviour, detailed
elsewhere, may rock this apparent rural idyll. It
should be remembered that the situation which is peace and quiet to some may be boring to
others, for example from a younger age group (see Social and Community). There are no major pollution issues relating to
water, or air quality or noise and vibration in comparison with national standards, but
the transport issues referred to above must not be forgotten, especially for those living
on the main through routes and in
More detailed comments on certain aspects of the village included a number of strong criticisms of the appearance of the village around the Church Green area, especially the Butcher’s shop, but on the plus site, there was praise for such things as the flower troughs in the High Street and the well-conserved older buildings in the village centre.
The issue of locally produced food figures in all of the Healthcheck categories and in the Environment category, the support for ‘food grown and sold locally’ was highest scored of the nine options respondents chose as future needs. The comment ‘local foodstuffs are excellent’ was recorded in the General questionnaire together with several supporting local shops. The issues of ‘food miles’ and traceability are currently rising in national awareness and there are a number of initiatives that could be pursued
Walking in Marden, both as a means of ‘transport’ and for leisure attracted a number of comments, good and bad. These included requests for clearing the footpaths to the play area and general footpath maintenance. There were individual comments suggesting the encouragement of more walking as an alternative to driving to destinations. Amongst improvements that may encourage more people to walk are: less inconsiderate parking, better pavement maintenance and sweeping, no dog fouling, better street lighting, and less litter.
The questionnaire on the future of Marden, as respondents would like to see it, identified a number of potential actions and issues for the future and drew positive indications of support. Three quarters of those who completed the questionnaire said they would actively support, in the community, all of the nine given topics. Each individual topic was supported by over two-thirds of the respondents. The most popular were local food, sustainable employment, nature conservation, waste management and sustainable building materials. However, the most urgent, after food and employment, were said to be waste management, planning for climate change and energy conservation and efficiency in community activities.
Any of these topics could be taken as a basis for future action and it is suggested that a feasibility study be carried out of the potential opportunities for the use of locally grown materials to produce energy for local industry and domestic use. Local energy supply is identified in the target of Sustainable Prosperity for the SEEDA Regional Economic Strategy 2006-2016. It would re-strengthen village/country links and could encourage sustainable economic growth.
Last, in this section, there were a number of other issues that need support or action by persons or authorities outside the remit of the Parish Council. These include the improvements to current re-cycling arrangements; better signage (see also ‘Transport’); fly-tipping and litter problems; siting of mobile phone masts, which should be outside the village residential areas; and greater safety of the ponds behind the playing field.
iii) Social and Community
The major issues identified in this area are:
Related to these, the community
requires local venues for meetings, events and
functions that are accessible, affordable, and secure and serve the requirements of 21st
century users in terms of facilities and equipment.
The Memorial Hall is the major
venue and much work has been carried out in recent years to improve the premises, but much
more could be done to enhance the Hall that would in so doing address the Community and
Social issues mentioned.
As well as answering the needs
of the general community, the development of the Hall, including major structural
improvements, would also help address the needs of the business community as regards
meeting and conference facilities; as well as providing training rooms and possibly
equipment.
The need for a youth club and
improved youth facilities generally, was
strongly identified both through the workstream questionnaires and the open days. The Memorial Hall could provide this too, on a
regular and permanent basis, if facilities were improved.
The running of such a facility is, obviously a separate issue, but one that
may well be much easier to resolve if the premises were there.
Allied to youth issues, the
need for ‘Life skills’ training was
also raised. This type of training would not
only benefit the youth of the village themselves (or other disadvantaged people of any
age) but would also help the local economy and was similarly raised by local business
community (c.f. Economy section above). Again,
this could be held in an improved Memorial Hall.
Some of the skills required,
such as numeracy and literacy could be honed by greater liaison with local schools,
especially at secondary level. A Business
Forum could develop this link with the potential for developing job-specific or technical
modules for scholars during their last few months of formal education if a job-offer was
guaranteed.
There was also mention, in a
number of responses, of the need to improve other
meeting facilities and venues in Marden. Luck’s
Way and Cherry Orchard play areas are both thought to be in need of upgrading and
maintenance, as is the Scout HQ; however the status of these venues in terms of
availability to the general public would need to be clarified.
Although some playgroup facilities are currently available,
these are either pre-school (mornings) or only in the summer holidays for older children. There is a need for all day childcare, especially
for younger children or during all school breaks. Again,
this links to local economy issues and would enable parents who currently have to work
restricted hours to be more flexible and attractive to local employers.
The issue of affordable housing is a national one that is
particularly acute in the South-East of
Crime and fear of crime is a major issue for many
in the area. In ‘central’ Marden
there is considerable concern about vandalism, damage to cars and property, threatening
and generally anti-social behaviour. Several
responses, not just from the elderly, feel the village is unsafe at night. The Playing Field and adjacent orchards; around the
Railway Station and Chantry Road and Pattenden Lane/ West End junctions were singled out
for mention.
In more rural areas of Marden,
farmers and landowners complain of theft of equipment and machinery and, again, damage to
fences and property.
The rural policing issue is well known but despite
strenuous efforts by the Parish Council over the years remains largely unsolved. The appointment of Community Wardens appeared to be
a solution but they never seem to stay long in post!
There is an urgent need to ensure Marden has the police cover it needs
by lobbying Borough and
Whilst the Parish Council have
attempted to tackle this, and many other community problems, the public awareness of what the Council and other organisations are doing to
improve matters is not as good as it should and needs to be.
This links to an overall issue
of improving communications and information.
The Parish Council produces a
quarterly newsletter, theoretically delivered to every house in the parish and yet 25% of
respondents say they are unaware of it.
Likewise, as has already been
mentioned in the Economy section, discussions at the business open day revealed that
companies in Marden have little or no awareness of other producers, suppliers, retailing
or support businesses locally.
There are currently a number of
sources of information, both hard copy and electronic, but no single publication or
website that meets everyone’s needs. It
is, perhaps, businesses that are the least well served.
Consideration should therefore be given to:
i) Producing a directory of
Marden businesses, giving details of products and services (and obviously contact names,
addresses and phone numbers and/or websites) that could be circulated to all households
and businesses in the Village. It would need to be periodically updated – perhaps
twice a year and would also be available electronically.
ii) Developing local communication media by increasing the frequency of the Parish Newsletter, currently quarterly, to bi-monthly or monthly depending on resources available. It would be professionally produced and edited and distributed by a commercial company to all households and business locally as well as published electronically.
As well as Parish Council information, (and Borough and KCC data relevant to Marden), it would carry details of all forthcoming events in the village and could also include, for example: situations vacant; launches of new products or services by local firms; meetings of local clubs and organisations; train and bus information; and updates of progress towards meeting the actions from this Plan!
As well as increasing public
knowledge of what’s going on, such a publication could increase people’s
awareness of the system of local Government and the political system generally at Village
and community level. Several people mentioned
this lack of awareness as an issue for them.
The sports and leisure activities available are a vital part of the social aspect of any community. Marden is pretty well served here but never-the-less a number of potential actions have been identified.
The Marden Festival held in 2002 was rightly popular and hugely successful in bringing the community together. Another event would be much welcomed if volunteers could be found to organise and run the event. Similarly, guided walks around the countryside on public footpaths are requested by a number of people. Organising volunteers are again needed, though the Walking Group have recently initiated such events.
Other improvements to sports
and leisure facilities noted in responses were improvements to tennis courts in
More sensitive issues that need to be resolved, presumably led by the Parish Council, are the parking of cars when the Bowls Club are ‘at home’ and noise an nuisance to Stanley and Albion Road residents from the Russett’s Cricket and Hockey club as well as from youths on that ground when the club is unoccupied. Damage to cars has also been reported.
Preserving Marden’s culture and heritage for future generations is also an issue for many. The Marden Society History Group has been very active in this area and has held a number of exhibitions showing the history of the village, as well as researching various aspects of our history; developing a detailed and comprehensive website, and been involved in preserving various artefacts and structures.
They have acquired a vast
amount of information mainly, but not exclusively, written or photographic and now need a
secure environment where it can be stored and displayed to the public. A Heritage Centre could be established, either at
the rear of the Public Library (discussions on this are currently taking place) or in the
Memorial Hall.
We also have a number of pieces
of historic street furniture still in situ,
including milestones and finger posts. Until
recently the telephone boxes were of the old red type and a number of open day respondents
asked that the new glass one in the High Street revert to this original type, as has
happened in other Conservation Areas around the country.
iv) Transport and Accessibility
As has been emphasised throughout this document, many of the issues and actions are inter-dependent on each other and those in the Transport workstream are no exception. All who live, work and play in the village need transport, whether car, train, bus or the humble bicycle to get to work; for shopping; to visit friends and family; to reach important services such as the Medical Centre or the dentist’s surgery.
When it comes to leisure, transport and accessibility issues can take on significance: that of being used as a form of recreation in their own right, cycling and walking in the countryside whether on (as appropriate) cycle ways, quiet lanes, bridleways and footpaths. The use of bikes and ‘Shank’s Pony’ can also have environmental ( and health) advantages, though there have been complaints in the past (and on the Grumpy Board) of cycling clubs, who use the village as a base for road racing events, being unmindful and inconsiderate to other road users and residents. Never-the-less, there is much scope for improving the facilities for both cyclists and walkers throughout the Parish.
Virtually all the proposed actions in the Transport and Accessibility section will be the responsibility of higher authority at Borough or County Council level, or public transport service providers to implement. However, the Marden Parish Council has a vital and on-going role to play: that of lobbying these organisations and/or their officials’ political representatives to ensure they are so implemented. None of the actions will happen without the Parish Council’s impetus and persistence.
It may be appropriate to set up a Marden transport users’ group if volunteers to run such an organisation could be found.
Highways issues have been a major concern for Marden for a number of years. This concern has a number of aspects, chiefly: traffic calming; road signage and excessive heavy goods vehicle traffic.
A comprehensive consultation over traffic and highways issues has recently taken place, initiated and led by Cllr. Richard Adam, with the support of Marden Parish Council. A number of public meetings were held resulting in a number of recommendations and proposals that were subsequently adopted in full, or in part, by the local highways authority. Their implementation was afterwards suspended or postponed following a petition from people who objected to some aspects of the proposals.
A few of the recommendations
have at least been commenced, namely: improved signage for heavy lorries (HGVs)
approaching Marden from the
The Parish Council continues to
push for the non-controversial aspects to be
carried out and for further design work to continue to address the
The movement of HGVs is a problem throughout the area. Lorries are becoming increasingly larger and heavier and totally unsuitable for country lanes and roads built for the horse and cart and poorly maintained. Yet lorries need to use these lanes as, as well as farms, there are many other businesses located in rural areas. These businesses all contribute to the local economy but the vehicle movements to and from them create major environmental problems. There is a need to restrict lorry movements to suitable routes and define a ‘Quiet Lanes’ network, a scheme already in consultation. The Parish Council will need, as mentioned above, to continue to support this initiative and lobby Borough and County Council members accordingly.
Whilst restricting large lorries, whether by better signage or legal exclusion may partly help, some will perforce need to access the village centre to deliver goods and supplies. A large wagon trying to negotiate through the High Street, or by the Primary School at the start and finish of the school day, will frequently cause traffic jams because of inappropriately (and thoughtlessly) parked cars. Train commuters who are unwilling to pay the station car parking charges and use, instead, unrestricted roads in Marden to leave their cars also add to the problem.
Lastly in this section, speeding through the hamlet of Chainhurst is a problem and needs to be tackled by introducing speed limits there and subsequent enforcement.
Car Parking is, therefore, a major problem. The Parish Council are currently working with Maidstone Borough Council (who own the village car park behind the Library) to implement a solution that will be fair and reasonable to everyone; the economic well-being of local shops a significant consideration. Punitive restrictions could drive customers away (literally!) and residents and businesses alike naturally wish to park as close as possible to their own premises. Yet, questionnaire and open day feedback indicates a need for improved, more frequent train services, something that will not be achieved if passenger – commuter - numbers fall.
The Police also have a role to
play in ensuring parking restrictions are enforced, including the illegal parking of cars
on pavements, a situation that occurs ad nauseum
especially outside the Tandoori restaurant and around the
Bus services to Marden are limited to those that
start and/or finish in
A lot of effort has gone on
over the years to improve Marden’s train
services but equally there remains scope for improvement. The two main areas of
concern are the train services themselves and, second, customer service issues. Trains need to be more frequent, especially in the
evenings. At present, services are reduced to
one an hour after 19.00 hours, a daft situation when many commuters are still home-bound. Modern work ethics mean that the ‘rush-hour’
is still evident until much later. A better
evening service would also improve local’s ability to reach leisure activities in
towns on the rail route as well as
Customer service at Marden has come in for considerable and justified criticism over recent years and many letters written by both the Parish Council and individuals to the Train Operating Company (TOC), so far to no avail. These complaints involve both the infrastructure of the station and the customer service received from station staff.
The station needs improved passenger shelters and seating as well as improved (or even fully functioning!) train information and clocks. People with mobility restrictions need improved access to the ‘down side’ platform (i.e. towards Ashford). As already inferred above, the cost of parking at the station is considered by many to be excessive and South Eastern, its franchised car park operators, Meteor Parking plc, need to be pressurised to review what may be done.
In staffing the station, responses show a need for longer opening of the booking office. As well as improving the service generally, this could help increase revenue by reducing ‘fare-dodgers’ as well as improving security and passenger well-being. A more sensitive and subjective problem is that of the TOC providing helpful, informative and courteous staff at the station, not always the case at present.
Proposed actions
A list of the proposed actions, based on the findings of the Healthcheck, evidence from the questionnaires and Open Day feedback, as summarised above, follows.
They are shown in 3 groups:
Group A: those that will require considerable time and resource, both financial and in terms of people’s time and commitment to resolve. A number of these will not be resolvable completely from within Marden, but will be up to the village, to initiate, lead and manage. The main point is that they are considered highly important in meeting the future needs of Marden and its surrounding area;
Group B that will be less costly in resource terms, could be resolved fairly quickly and simply, or can be taken forward in conjunction with other, larger, projects. These issues will not always be mentioned specifically in the foregoing text but their link to a major item will, hopefully, be obvious; and
Group C: Lobbying Items that cannot be resolved locally or by direct action from within the community, whether by the Parish Council or others, but where it is considered that the Council has a vital role to play in lobbying those responsible, e.g. Borough and County Councils or public transport operators, for the required improvements.
The items have not been ranked in order of importance and priorities will be determined by consultation.
An indication of who may take responsibility for leading the action is suggested for discussion in the second column.
Annex 4 of the full action plan
carries more detail on these proposed actions.
Group A
Item |
Lead Responsibility |
Maintaining
good local employment opportunities by promoting benefits of village and ensuring
potential employers are aware of grants and incentives. |
Local
authorities and local businesses |
Initiate
and develop local business support e.g. local
business forum or Chamber of Trade; small business service |
Local
businesses/ MCP to facilitate |
Major
development and refurbishment of the Memorial Hall,
including re-roofing, expanding public rooms and car park in order to develop meeting,
conference and training facilities available locally |
Memorial
Hall Management committee/ Parish Council |
Ensure adequate vocational training is available for local residents and employees, including training to ensure potential employees have sufficient numeracy and literacy skills to meet employer’s requirements and possibly setting up local IT and e-business training facilities (possibly in Memorial Hall). This also links to the need to ensure the provision of adequate generic skills appropriate to local employment needs, including the provision of local facilities for generic skills training as well as Local ‘life skills’ training facilities for young people. |
Local
businesses/local education authority/ Parish Council/ Memorial Hall Management committee |
Support the recognition of the
importance of historical and cultural heritage for example by seeking financial support
for a village heritage centre. |
Marden Society History Group/ Marden Society |
Support the enhancement of and
increase in public open spaces, nature conservation designated areas, and areas of valued
landscape. |
Marden PC/ Borough Council/ conservation groups |
Ensuring continued viability of local shops etc that could include promotion and publicity for local businesses, production of local food directory and village guides (the latter is already in hand). Shops should also encouraged to review opening times, especially on Saturdays to prevent village becoming commuter/ dormitory only |
Local
businesses supported by Parish Council and grants and initiatives available through KCC
and national Government bodies |
Improve car parking facilities, including changing library car park restriction (N.B this is in hand); disabled parking in the High Street |
Marden
PC/ |
Improvements
to communication of matters of interest to the community, both from the Parish Council and
other local authorities as well as businesses, voluntary organisations and clubs and
societies (e.g. by producing regular business directory, set up Business forum and develop
regular parish news letter). The Parish Council Quarterly Newsletter awareness needs to
improve |
Parish
Council/ MCP to facilitate |
Address
problems of dogs, litter and vandalism on playing field and anti-social behaviour and
vandalism generally throughout the village (see also below) |
Kent
Police/ Community Warden |
Loitering/noise
at night/motorbikes in orchard behind playing field. Anti-social behaviour/threats. Action on crime, vandalism, litter (cf. other comments
above). |
Kent
Police/ Community Warden |
More
youth activities/facilities required including permanent youth club, especially for those
of secondary school age |
|
More affordable housing |
Parish
and Borough Councils/ housing associations |
Carry out a review of the opportunities to encourage walking and cycling for journeys to reduce the impact of the private car on the village. This could also include improved facilities for
the disadvantaged (young/ old/ disabled) on foot or in wheelchairs/ pushchairs and for
local cyclists. |
MCP to facilitate |
Review the feasibility of producing sustainable local energy for efficient local use |
MCP to facilitate with local
businesses |
Group B
Item |
Lead Responsibility |
Develop
childcare facilities to assist in enabling parents to undertake employment, vocational
training, plus Childcare facilities for afternoons and holidays |
Local
businesses/ Parish Council/ Primary School |
Ensure
adequate access to internet is available through offices to the public |
KCC
Library Services/ Parish Council/ Memorial Hall? |
Consider the conservation of the
individual character of Marden village and any opportunity for central village features. |
Marden Society/ History Group |
Address the perceived eyesores and
encourage the retention of the attractive, peaceful situation through the local planning
process. |
Parish Council planning committee/ Borough Council planning dept. |
Review the opportunities to encourage and assist. The mutual support of local food producers, retailers and consumers. |
MCP to facilitate / local businesses |
Develop
links between school learning and further (continuing) learning |
Local
education authority/ employers |
Encourage future changes in the
use of the surrounding country which respect the overall landscape interest and value,
whilst contributing to the economic and amenity benefit of the Parish as a whole |
Parish Council planning committee/ Borough Council planning dept. |
Cherry
Orchard play area needs maintenance. |
Developer/Parish
Council |
Lucks
Way play area needs equipment. |
Borough
and Parish Council |
Marden
Minors field needs proper parking area. |
Landowner/ Parish Council |
Scout
Headquarters needs updating & maintenance. |
Scouts |
Tennis
Club - courts need improvement. |
Tennis
Club |
Memorial
Hall and Vestry Hall hire charges considered too high and needing review |
Memorial
Hall/ Vestry Hall committees |
Parking
problems caused by Bowls Club visiting teams. |
Bowls
Club |
Hockey
Club – perceived difficult attitude to neighbours and damage caused to cars. |
Cricket
Hockey Club |
Reinstate
Marden Festival. Also revive/incorporate
Carnival, Fête, Picnic-in-Park, Saints v Sinners |
All
the Community |
New
community events etc ideas: - organised footpath walks - Farmers Market |
|
Red
telephone box for village centre. |
History
Group |
Improved
awareness of political procedures (also linked to communications issues) |
Parish
Council/ MCP to facilitate |
Tackle pavement parking
in problem areas |
Kent Police |
Review the current
sustainability agenda for the future of Marden and enhance as necessary |
Parish Council/ MCP to
facilitate |
Group C
Item |
Lead Responsibility |
Encourage active involvement in
the current changes to the local planning processes to ensure future development proposals
take account of the community views and are beneficial to the Parish. |
Parish Council |
Ensure adequate high sped internet access is available throughout the village and hinterland |
British
Telecom |
Ensure adequate public transport is available to enable people undertaking vocational training outside of Marden to attend courses (linked to Transport issues) |
KCC,
South Eastern, local bus companies |
Encourage appropriate staff development, appraisal, better retention rates in local workforce |
Local
businesses |
Comprehensive traffic
calming scheme, including lower speed limits on village approaches and HGV signing
improvements |
|
Introduce speed limit
through Chainhurst |
|
Restrict HGVs to
suitable routes and define quiet lanes network |
|
Enforce existing yellow
lines |
|
More frequent bus
services during the day and provide evening and Sunday services |
KCC / Arriva /
Nu-Venture |
More frequent train
services, especially in the evening |
Southeastern |
Better connections at
Paddock Wood |
Southeastern |
Improved platform
shelters and seating |
Southeastern |
Improve accessibility
to/from down-line platform |
Southeastern |
Increase ticket office
opening hours |
Southeastern |
Provide better customer
service |
Southeastern |
Reduce cost of station
car park |
Southeastern / Meteor
Parking |
Improvements to local and national Waste management
policies for both business and domestic users. |
Local businesses |
What Next?
The draft plan is being sent to
the Parish Council asking them to comment by
A final version of the plan will then be issued and an Open Day held to promote the Plan and its actions and to gather comments and views of the whole community.
Once this plan has been accepted, primarily by the Marden Parish Council, our main sponsors who commissioned it, then action towards the implementation of some or all of the entire proposed action plan can begin.
This implementation is not the responsibility of the Marden Community
Plan group. Their responsibility is to monitor the progress of any implemented proposal
against the plan; to facilitate and/or liaise between people or organisations; and to
identify how to ensure effective achievement of the action plans. This could include helping to identify sources of
funding for projects or best practice management techniques, or networking with other
communities to share experiences of similar situations.
Graham Tippen
Project
Co-ordinator
March 2007