Lynsted Community Kitchen Garden invites you to a free open morning on Sat 13th April between 10.30 and 12.30. This local group comprises about sixty enthusiasts of all ages who grow veg, fruit and herbs together - in a big shared patch - with two polytunnels and a greenhouse.
 
They keep bees too, and have won a couple of awards for both sustainability and community action.  They're located just outside Lynsted village in a lovely field that can be accessed via Tickham Lane or the road between Lynsted and Doddington.
 
If you are interested in joining they’d love to show you around.  No skills required.  In exchange for lending a hand (different jobs sowing, planting, weeding, biodiversity checks, all sorts of different things - something for everyone regardless of mobility or ability), you can pick fresh seasonal fruit and veg whenever you need it. 
 
For details of the community garden's free events in 2024 see HERE
A retrospective planning application has been lodged with Swale Borough Council for a change of use of the former barber’s shop at 65-67 London Road, including structural alterations.  At last night’s Parish Council meeting, councillors resolved to file an objection.  This can be read below. 
 
 

The building is located within the Rural Local Service Centre of Teynham, classified as Tier 4 in the Swale Retail Hierarchy.

Policy DM3 of the Swale Local Plan is intended to protect the rural economy and provides that "planning permission for residential development will not be permitted where this would reduce the potential for rural employment and/or community facilities unless the site/building is demonstrated as having no demand for such purposes or its use would be undesirable or unsuitable".

Clearly those mitigating factors do not apply here, as the building has been in commercial use for over 100 years.  It has variously been a florist, hat shop, wedding shop, cycle store and, latterly, a barber’s shop which was very well frequented by local residents.

The application is therefore in contravention of Policy DM3.  

Customers of the barber’s shop now have to rely on the private car to access hairdressing services in higher order settlements in the Borough.  This is contrary to the environmental objective of the National Planning Policy Framework (as set out in paragraph 8) which requires the planning system to facilitate the delivery of sustainable development and move towards a low carbon economy.

Further, the building is located in the Cellar Hill and GreenStreet Conservation Area, the majority of which lies within the boundary of this Parish.  

We draw your attention to the Character Appraisal (currently in draft form).  Para 4.3 states:

"The conservation area review also revealed that unauthorised alterations to buildings carried out without planning permission (or listed building consent) pose a significant threat to the character of the conservation area. One very recent example is the unauthorised removal of the historic shopfront on the corner of 65 and 67 London Road which was noted in the 2000 appraisal as a significant feature.  An essential component of any conservation area management strategy is an effective planning enforcement strategy which prioritises enforcement action relating to heritage conservation”.

There has, to date, been a conspicuous absence of planning enforcement regarding this development.

The alterations to the external appearance of the building, including the removal of the corner doorway and the addition of white render, are out of keeping with the character of this conservation area.  

We note that no planning application was submitted in advance of the works being undertaken, either for change of use or for the structural alterations.  In the light of the above comments, we consider it likely that permission would have been refused.  We believe the same criteria should be applied to this retrospective application.  Developers should not be allowed to flout the rules and get away with it.

Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council considers that the building should revert to business use and that the historically-important frontage should be restored. 

Residents wishing to comment on this application should visit the Swale Planning Portal and search for reference 24/500512/FULL.  

The initial recommendation of the Cellar Hill/Greenstreet review was to preserve its status as a Conservation Area with a few minor boundary changes.  However, following discussions with Historic England and the Conservation Officer at Swale Council, it has been decided to look at extending the Conservation Area westwards from Station Road to just beyond the Lynsted Lane junction.  This would encompass an area northwards to Frognal Gardens and south into Lynsted Lane - including a cluster of eight listed buildings and others which characterise the development of Greenstreet from a farming community to a commercial centre during the 18th and 19th centuries.  This is important as the aim of conservation area designation is to protect historic places and to assist in positively managing change - so that their special character is safeguarded and sustained.  A further site visit will be arranged later in January, following which there will be a second public consultation on the proposed extended area.

Swale Borough Council has initiated a review of the Cellar Hill and Greenstreet Conservation Area.  It is vital that we preserve Cellar Hill as a location of special architectural and historic interest.  The public consultation can be found here:

https://swale.gov.uk/news-and-your-council/consultations/cellar-hill-and-green-street-conservation-area-consultation

The deadline to respond has been extended until Tuesday 2 January 2024. 

The Parish Council's response can be read HERE

The Cherry Orchard Group in Lynsted has put out an urgent call for new volunteers.
 
Some members will be stepping down at next February’s AGM after years of service, leaving key positions vacant.
 
Lynsted residents are invited to step forward to ensure the programme of activities can continue.  

The Park Farm Community Cherry Orchard Group was set up to organise events to celebrate the local history of traditional cherry growing, as well as wildlife associated with the orchard habitat.

Regular events in the calendar include Blossom Day in April, Cherry Day in July and a Halloween party in October.  The group also enjoys early morning dawn chorus walks, music events and wildlife teach-ins.

Anyone interested should contact Lizzie Spilman on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 
More info can be found HERE

Congratulations to the Lynsted Community Kitchen Garden (LCKG) who've won Silver in the Wilder Kent Awards, organised by the Kent Wildlife Trust.  This recognised the work done by LCKG towards climate-resilient approaches to growing/gardening and supporting nature.

LCKG was also given an Achievement Award in the 'Growing Together Award 2023 for Community Gardening' run by BBC's The One Show and the Royal Horticultural Society.

Extra funding is coming their way with a £2,500 grant from the BUPA Foundation to support the development of the Herb Garden Project.  The involves building a dedicated herb area at the heart of their veg and fruit plot, to celebrate the culinary and wellbeing benefits of herbs.

LCKG is part of a group run from Bore Place (Kent), under the direction of Kent Food Partnership, looking into ideas and strategies to enable a shift towards healthier and more sustainable food in the county.  The end goal is for Kent to become a sustainable food place LCKG’s role is linked to encouraging community food growing and the joy of local, seasonal food.  The Community Garden presented their ‘what-why-how’ story at the Kent Food Summit 2023 held at University of Kent in early October.

For further information on LCKG and forthcoming events, please visit:  https://www.lynstedkitchengarden.com/about-us

 

Plans have been submitted to convert Berkeley House, the former care home in Lynsted Lane, into ten residential units on the site – including the erection of one new dwelling.  The plans can be viewed on the Swale Planning Portal.  Search under reference:  23/503880/FULL. 

Click HERE for the proposed site layout plan.

The Parish Council reviewed this application at its monthly meeting on 30 October and has submitted the response below to Swale’s planning department.

“In principle, Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council does not object to this application and we fully support the development of brownfield sites such as this.

“However, an impediment to our support is the number of parking bays for residents and visitors.

“Firstly, there is a lack of clarity on the number of spaces to be provided.  The application form claims 23 spaces, yet on the site layout plan there appear to be only 19.

“Lynsted Primary School is literally yards from this site.  It is on a dangerous blind bend with no footpath for access to and from the school.  Lynsted Lane and the adjacent layby are congested at school run times and there is already concern regarding the risk of accidents and injury to young schoolchildren.

“It is essential that sufficient parking is provided within the site boundary to prevent any overspill onto Lynsted Lane, in the interests of highway safety.  Our view is that more parking spaces need to be allocated.

“Another concern is the proposal to erect Cottage 1.  We are aware of the covenant that restricts the owner of Berkeley House from extending or building upon or above the garage block (now demolished) any dwelling or other building with windows in the rear or flank walls which overlook the neighbouring Holly House.  Whilst we note that the right flank elevation of Cottage 1 is shown in the plans as having no windows, it is very close to the site boundary and as a new two-storey dwelling is likely to cause loss of light and overshadowing to the owners of Holly House. 

“One simple solution to the above two issues would be to not build Cottage 1 and to utilise that area for additional parking.

“In summary, the Parish Council would support this application were the above amendment to be made”.

The Lynsted Cherry Orchard Group have reluctantly decided to cancel their annual Halloween Event, scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday 28 October).  This follows much discussion about the unsettled and uncertain weather forecast which predicts rain during the event and a cautionary Met Office Amber warning for rain/wind.  The organisers apologise for any disappointment caused, but say they have to err on the side of caution at this family event - as the worst case scenario could cause too many issues with children running around in the dark.
 

Thirty Lynsted residents attended a Heart Start training session on Saturday October 21, held in the Church.  We learnt what the signs are of cardiac arrest and how to carry out CPR with chest compressions and rescue breaths if someone has stopped breathing.  We were shown the use of a defibrillator like the one recently installed at the Black Lion.  The session also covered how to deal with choking and bleeding.  It was a highly instructive combination of theory with hands-on training using defib machines and dummies.  The course was over-subscribed, so we now have a waiting list for another session - if interested, let the Parish Clerk know.  The Parish Council's thanks go to Simon White, Heart Start Instructor, who gave up his time free of charge - but £300 was raised for the British Heart Foundation.  

Around thirty residents including councillors attended the Annual Parish Meeting, held at Lynsted Church on 25 September.  Guest speakers were PC Gary Morris from Kent Police and Simon White, Instructor at HeartStart UK.
 
PC Morris attended on behalf of the new Beat Officer for the Teynham & Lynsted ward, PC Kirsten Jones.  He explained the new policing model, which means that every Parish will have a named neighbourhood police officer to deal with on-going and long-term issues.  He emphasised that, to report a non-urgent crime, the best method was online at https://www.kent.police.uk/ro/report - or via the Live Chat button on the same page.  In an emergency, dial 999.  PC Morris encouraged residents to sign up to My Community Voice Kent - a messaging service that keeps the community in touch with their local policing teams. 
 
A discussion followed - with topics including speeding in the Parish, shoplifting and other anti-social behaviour, the recent air rifle incidents and inconsiderate parking.
 
We then had an excellent introduction to CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) by Lynsted resident Simon White.  This follows the recent installation of a defibrillator at the Black Lion pub in the heart of Lynsted.   Following this talk, the Parish Council has now organised a hands-on 'Heart Start' course, which will be run by Simon who is an Instructor/Leader at Heartstart UK.  The course covers: heart attacks, cardiac arrest, CPR, defibrillators, choking, bleeding and recovery position and will be held on Saturday 21 October.  This course is now fully booked, however residents wishing to be placed on the list for a future session should contact the parish clerk.
 
The evening kicked off with a presentation by Parish Council Chairman, Julien Speed, on recent PC activities.  The full text can be viewed HERE