Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council
Residents' survey

1.Boughton Monchelsea is a diverse parish, with residents living on the urban edge as well as in the village and more rural areas. The Parish Council works hard on your behalf to make sure Boughton Monchelsea is as nice a place as possible for us all to live and work in, wherever in the parish that might be. We also work hard to protect the parish, as far as possible, from inappropriate development

Which of the following areas do you feel you belong to?
2.Once devolution is underway in Kent, Maidstone Borough Council (and Kent County Council) will cease to exist and there will be just two tiers of local government - large unitary authorities at the top and Parish / Town Councils beneath. It is important to note that Town Councils have no more powers than Parish Councils other than the authority to elect a Mayor. The same as Parish Councils, Town Councils are funded by 'precept' which is collected as part of your overall Council Tax. Parish and Town Councils have the authority to set their own level of precept.

When unitary authorities come into being, some of the assets of Maidstone Borough Council would most likely become the responsibility of any new Town Council to maintain. The cost of maintaining these assets would need to be met by the precept raised by the Town Council.

If you live on the urban edge (Joywood, Thomas Rider Way, Roman Way or Langley Park developments) do you think the development in which you live should be incorporated into any new Maidstone Town Council area and removed from Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council's jurisdiction?

If you don't live on the urban edge please skip this question
3.Boughton Monchelsea Parish Councillors and staff have the time and local knowledge to help residents with various parish based issues, on an individual basis when needed. If we can't help directly we can signpost you to the relevant authority and lobby on your behalf, where appropriate. We are always here to talk to you or respond to your e-mails.

We question whether any future Maidstone Town Councillors would have the time and commitment to work so hard on your behalf at a local level when they would have the whole of Maidstone, including the town centre, to worry about.

Do you want to keep your Parish Council, with its local representation?
4.Do you think any new Maidstone Town Council should represent the unparished urban area / town centre only?
5.Boughton Monchelsea Parish Councillors are trustees of BMAT (Boughton Monchelsea Amenity Trust). BMAT owns and manages nearly 100 acres of public open space in and around the parish, including Furfield Park, Salts Wood, Walk Meadow and Lyewood. We also own the freehold of Langley Park country park and have been active in ensuring the management company maintains it as they should.

BMAT also owns a further 250 acres of land within the parish which is leased to farmers and restricted to agricultural uses.

Which of the following BMAT public open spaces do you visit?
6.We are very grateful to the Friends of BMAT volunteers who help maintain our public open spaces. Have you helped out at any of our regular events?

If you haven't and would like to get involved or just find out more, please join the 'Friends of BMAT' Facebook group or visit the BMAT website www.bmatkent.org.uk
7.Which of the following community facilities do you use?
8.Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council communicates and engages with residents via the following methods. Which ones do you use, access, attend or participate in?
9.As a statutory consultee, the Parish Council reviews and responds to all planning applications in the parish, based on what is right for the whole community. Where appropriate we can call applications in to MBC planning committee for decision rather than leaving them to be decided by delegated authority to MBC planning officers.

The Parish Council produced a Neighbourhood Development Plan several years ago which carries full legal weight and the unique policies contained within it were written with the best interests of the community in mind. These policies must be complied with, alongside Local Plan policies, when MBC are deciding on planning applications within the parish.

Do you feel it is important that any planning applications in the parish are reviewed and responded to by Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council's planning committee?
10.The Parish Council lobbies Kent County Council, the local highway authority, for road safety improvements and, where possible, we initiate and fund small scale projects, including a reduction in speed limit on Heath Road, from 40 to 30mph.

We also co-ordinate the local Speedwatch group. Gathered data is passed to the Police and thanks to the group's efforts the Police are now carrying out regular speed enforcement in the parish.

Do you think lobbying and involvement in highway issues is an important part of the Parish Council's role?
11.This survey is anonymous but to help us analyse the results, please let us know whereabouts in the parish you live