We would rather spend money on more positive things, but it’s a sad fact that each year the Council has to budget for vandalism. We usually set aside around £3,000, but this past year the cost of dealing with vandalism in Edenbridge has already exceeded £7,500. That’s not to mention staff time that could be better spent on providing other important services.
The more we report issues and the more evidence we have, the more likely the Police and other agencies will be able to help us tackle antisocial behaviour in our community.
Thank you to all the speakers, community groups and residents who came along to the Annual Town Meeting on Monday 11 March. It was an opportunity for us to share what the Council and local organisations have achieved over the last year and what is planned going forward.
Talks were given by:
Edenbridge Town Council
Sevenoaks District Council
Kent County Council
Kent Police -Sevenoaks Community Safety Unit
Office of Tom Tugendhat MP
Youth groups – HOUSE and Eden Christian Trust
Bridges
Eden Valley Museum
There were also exhibitions from Bridges, Edenbridge Cricket Club and Everyone Active (Edenbridge Leisure Centre).
A special mention also to Sevenoaks District Council as it celebrates its 50th year. SDC Leader Cllr Julia Thornton explained how it is the busiest planning authority in Kent and one of only two local authorities in the country to hold the Platinum Investors in People Award.
This International Women’s Day we want to help #InspireInclusion by shining a light on Girlguiding in Edenbridge and the words of Anna Segall, Chief Executive of the World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts:
“Girlguiding is slowly growing in Edenbridge,” says 1st Edenbridge Guides Leader, Steph Harrison. “We have just opened a new Brownie unit, and our Guide unit continues to grow. This has only been possible with support from the community, and the girls who want to be part of Girlguiding. Our supporters include Edenbridge Town Council, who awarded us a grant of just over £500 this year, and have also supported us previously. This supports enables girls to participate in activities that help to grow their confidence, share new experiences, learn new skills and learn that Girls Can Do Anything!”
Brownies meet from 5.15 pm to 6.45 pm for girls age 7-10
Guides meet from 7 pm – 8.30 pm for girls age 10-15
We know that girls face pressures and expectations in every area of their lives. They’re limited by gender stereotypes, and they can face barriers to accessing the things they need to be happy.
Research shows that half of girls aged 14-17 believe that girls are more likely to experience negative gendered stereotypes than boys. And over a quarter of girls aged 14-17 have had a stereotype stop them from doing something. Girls also tell us about the discrimination they face in their daily lives – our research shows that two thirds of girls aged 11 to 21 report seeing or experiencing sexism at school, college, university or work.
But we know that Girlguiding can help change this. Girls in Girlguiding are more confident than their peers: nearly 9 in 10 of them say they like being the way they are (compared with just 6 in 10 who have never been in Girlguiding).
Girlguiding offers a safe, inclusive space for all girls – one where they can try new things with friends they trust and volunteers they look up to. This will give them courage, connections, confidence, and memories they’ll never forget. And when girls feel confident, they are more likely to know that they can do anything
From 1 April, Sevenoaks District Council will no longer supply residents with black waste sacks. Residents are being asked to put their household rubbish in sacks made for waste. These could be the black or grey sacks available from most supermarkets and hardware stores.
During the autumn, the Council will also provide every household with a ‘sack for life’ for their recycling. These will replace clear recycling sacks and will cut down on single use plastics.
The Council will continue to supply residents with black sacks until 31 March and clear sacks until everyone has their recycling sack for life.
Like many authorities, Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) is keen to reduce its carbon footprint as well as tackling rising costs.
Since the pandemic, the volume of household waste and recycling collected has increased significantly with more people working from home and greater reliance on home deliveries.
This has meant the cost of providing the service has rocketed in the past four years with more staff and vehicles needed and increased visits to the waste transfer station. Residents value weekly waste collections and SDC is determined to continue to offer this service for as long as it can.
Removing free waste sacks has been shown to increase recycling rates as residents make the best use of their recycling facilities. Once fully implemented, the changes will also save 30,000 miles of driving every year to deliver sacks, further cutting carbon emissions.
Cllr Margot McArthur, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleaner & Greener, says: “As far as we are aware, we are just one of a handful of councils to still provide weekly waste collections and the last in the country to supply residents with waste sacks. We hope that residents will support these changes to deliver both cost reductions as well as helping the environment.
“We are confident that the changes will deliver environmental benefits by encouraging residents to make the best use of our recycling facilities, decreasing our use of disposable plastics and reducing travel – cutting the District’s carbon footprint.”
Black sacks will still be available to purchase from Edenbridge Town Council offices for the time being.
**Due to unforeseen circumstances, Millwall Community Trust has cancelled the football sessions in Edenbridge and Swanley for the time being. They hope to rearrange them for later in the year.**
Millwall Community Trust is offering FREE football sessions for boys & girls aged 8-16 in Edenbridge. There’s no need to book, just turn up & have fun!
Ages 8 to 11 – 5pm to 6pm
Ages 12 to 16 – 6pm to 7pm
Please use the football car park entrance on Lingfield Road, rather than the rugby car park on Coombe Field.
6.30 pm: Registration and refreshments 7.00 pm: Meeting starts
Come along to hear updates from Edenbridge Town Council as well as our partner agencies and local groups. This year there will be a focus on youth provision, what’s new at the Eden Valley Museum, and displays organised by local sports groups with information on how to get more active.
It’s also a great opportunity to meet your local Edenbridge Town councillors.
My Community Voice – register to receive alerts and share information
My Community Voice is a useful tool that lets you receive real-time alerts and share information with Kent Police. (It is not a tool for reporting crime.)
Reporting a crime
It’s really important to report crime or antisocial behaviour through the formal channels. If you don’t report it, there is no record or evidence to help the Police and other agencies tackle any issues.
You should use the official channels:
999 if it is an emergency or incident being witnessed there and then
101 after the incident or if you have information about an incident/issue
The budget outlines the Council’s income and what it plans to spend. It also includes the precept – the amount of tax each household pays towards the services of Edenbridge Town Council, which is collected via your yearly Council Tax bill from Sevenoaks District Council. Your Council Tax also covers services provided by the Police, Kent County Council and Kent Fire & Rescue.
Chairman Cllr Bob Todd said: “Our budget reflects the quality services we plan to provide while being mindful of the increase in costs we are all facing.”
Council Budget 2024-25
Expenditure: £858,575
Income (estimated): £113,390 plus the precept
Council precept: £745,185
Band D equivalent: £188.32, an increase of 15p per week/or £7.89 annually
Council Tax bills will be issued by Sevenoaks District Council in March, for the financial year starting on 1 April.
The Council is pleased to have budgeted again this year for the bulky waste collection service to operate in Edenbridge so that you can conveniently dispose of your large unwanted items for free. There will be four collections this year; the first collection will be on Saturday 10 February:
Church Street (the Plat junction) 9.15 am – 9.45 am Skeynes Road (by the green) 10.00 am – 10.30 am Stangrove Estate (Park View Close) 10.45 am – 11.15 am Spitals Cross Estate (Fircroft Way near Farmstead Drive) 11.30 am – 12 noon
Items must be under 6ft long. The service cannot take electrical appliances, metal, hard core, compostable garden waste, large panels of glass, oil or paint. No commercial/business waste allowed.
FLY-TIPPING IS ILLEGAL and those who do it can face large fines and a criminal record. Please wait with your items until the vehicle arrives.
Four 7kWh charging points for electric vehicles are now available for use at Market Yard Car Park, Edenbridge.
The Town Council is delighted to be part of a partnership project through Kent Parish Networks to install charge-points, with funding from Kent County Council, a government grant and a contribution from the Town Council CIL funds (money we have received from developers.)
As one of the car parks the Town Council owns, Edenbridge councillors identified Market Yard as a suitable site to install the charge-points. The electric points are slow-charging – ideal for residents or visitors wanting to top up their charge, or for those wanting to charge a full battery overnight. It’s great to see that some residents and visitors have already been using the chargers, which went live mid-January.
The cost per kWh for users is 50p and the charge speed is 7kWh per hour. Payment is through a mobile app, which users can access by scanning a QR code.
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