Mountfield

EXTRAORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: This will be held on Tuesday March 7th, at 7.30, in Mountfield Village Hall. The single subject of the meeting will be Southern Water’s forthcoming planning application (see Background below).

At the meeting, Southern Water will be invited to present their proposed planning application. This will be followed by an opportunity for questions and answers, discussion, comment, etc. Finally the public part of the session will end. Thereafter, only councillors and Clerk will be allowed to speak while the Parish Council formulates its initial response to the imminent planning application.

Both our District Councillor, Eleanor Kirby Green, and our County Councillor, Kathryn Field will be attending.

BACKGROUND: A few years ago, in response to serious sewage contamination issues, Rother District Council invoked an Act of Parliament and appointed Southern Water to negotiate, design and implement a sewerage system (the pipes), with ancillary pumping and access arrangements as required, and to link that sewerage to a waste water treatment plant consisting of a large collection tank and an associated treatment plant which would produce clean water into the River Line and approximately one tanker of post-treatment sludge per fortnight. They are now seeking a variation so that they only construct the sewerage, ancillary features, and the collection tank but, for an interim period, not the treatment plant. During that interim period, the collection tank would act as a giant village cess pit which would require emptying of pure sewage by tankers much more frequently.

Southern Water say they need this interim period as they cannot know at the outset what the throughput — i.e. the number of connections to the system — will be and the system requires a minimum throughput to provide a necessary degree of pressure and to guarantee a continuity of bacterial activity in the treatment plant.

MOUNTFIELD CLUB: Mounfield snooker team still lead Division 2 of the Hurst Green League by 2 points following their 3-2 home win over Hawkhurst. There were frame wins for Pete Last, Kevin Gray and John Shaw. Mountfield are hoping to make it a league and cup double having reached the final of the Plate cup coming back from 2–0 down to beat Burwash Common A the previous Thursday. There were frame wins for Kevin Gray, John Shaw and Colin Elmes. They will now play either Hawkhurst or Burwash Common on Tuesday 21st at Battle in the final.

On the previous night, Monday 20th March, Mountfield Club had the honour of being chosen as a venue for this season’s Don Blinks Cup Final between Staplecross A and Battle. Member Pat Sargent was the lucky winner for February’s members’ draw and wins a Mark & Spencer’s voucher. A date for the clubs Easter Quiz will be confirmed next week. And the Club’s AGM has been set for Monday 3rd April at 8.00 pm where all members are welcome.

SOUTH EAST WATER: Peter and Jim from MPC are meeting the project manager for the new water main along the A21 through John’s Cross today (March 3rd) and will share any information such as starting dates in next week’s Village Voice.

CONTACT: As ever, we can be contacted on 880614 (if no reply, just leave us your details on the answerphone) or via [email protected]. We always welcome contributions and feedback.

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