LOCATION OF BILSINGTON

Ordnance Survey Map 189 - Ashford and Romney Marsh. Map Reference TR040344

Longitude 0.92ºE Latitude 51.07ºN

Post Code TN25 7JX

Population 274

Area 1900 acres (768 hectares)

Elevation 22m

ROAD NAME SIGNS – The naming of roads within the parish and the furnishing of road signs was one of the first tasks undertaken by the previous parish council when it was first elected in 2003. It is only now that some of the road signs have actually been erected (November 2006)

LUXMOORE BENCH

This seat has now been replaced on its site opposite the White Horse at a cost of £400, paid by the Parish Council. It has a small plaque attached recording that the original seat was donated to the parish by Lady Luxmore just after World War 2.

VILLAGE SIGN

The village sign fell down during the storms at the end of August 2006. It was erected some 50 years ago. It has now been renovated and re-framed and re-erected hopefully for the next fifty years.

CALOR VILLAGE OF THE YEAR

Bilsington did very well in the 2009 competition. We were awarded a ‘highly commended’ in the Community section and were also presented with an additional award for the excellence of our overall entry, being the smallest parish to enter, as against the other far larger villages who had much larger populations and more resources. Our award was a  cheque for £100 and a bare rooted tree of our choice (value £15) to be planted in the village.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS
The Minutes of Parish Council Meetings are available from the Parish Clerk after they have been approved by the Parish Council

LOCAL NEEDS HOUSING

 Bilsington and Ruckinge parish councils have agreed to work together to investigate the provision of Local Needs Housing to serve the needs of residents of the two parishes and their families. A survey carried out in December 2007 by Action with Communities in Kent identified a need and both parishes have identified possible sites. Two sites, one in each parish are being considered as possible locations. 

We have also received more details of Affordable Houses (two bedroomed) available at the Aldington Meadows development from the West Kent Housing Association. For a 35% shared ownership the cost is £66500 plus rent on the remaining portion at £206 per month. To find out more contact Sophie Kinzett - 01732 749411.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Information available from Bilsington Parish Council under the model publication scheme - January 2009

Notes

1. Provision of hard copies does not include packing and postage and any other production costs.

2. Pre-payment required for all hard copies .

WISH LIST
We were asked, by Ashford Borough Council, along with all the other parishes in the borough to produce a Wish List as to how the Parish Council sees its community developing over the coming years. The Wish List would then form part of the Ashford Local Development Framework and would influence the Community Strategy and Regional Spatial Strategy.

All 110 homes in the parish were sent a draft Wish List, prepared by the Parish Council,
requesting their opinion and comments. 43 replies were received and the Wish List was then amended to take account of the views expressed.

To see the results of the survey and the Wish List submitted to Ashford Borough Council click the links below. The files are in Adobe pdf format and are quite large in file size so will take a while to load.

Summary of Wish List Survey
Bilsington Wish List

PARISH PLAN

Building upon our success in the 2009 Village of the Year competition (where we were awarded a Highly Commended in the Community section) the decision has been made, in conjunction with other groups in Bilsington to produce a Parish Plan. The whole parish has an input into the Plan, from youngsters to pensioners and involves finding out the needs, issues and aspirations of the community. From this, a plan can be produced  to take actions that can bring about improvements. Many Parish Plans have already been produced by other parishes in Kent so we can benefit from their experience and we also have the support of Action with Communities in Rural Kent as to how to produce the plan and obtain grants to finance it. A major benefit of having a Parish Plan in place is that raising money to make improvements is much easier to obtain. A small steering group has been formed to start things going and it will be contacting all parishioners in early 2010 to gain their support and inform them in more detail as to how they can contribute.

"We can’t stop change but we can influence it."

BILSINGTON MAP

A few of these specially produced Bilsington Millennium Maps, which show a painting of every house in the parish, a descriptive map, notes on significant buildings and the flora and fauna of our parish are available from the parish clerk ( bilsingtonclerk@yahoo.co.uk ) on 01233 625777. There are priced at £10 unframed.

BILSINGTON PEOPLE 1800 - 1900

A well produced 32 page booklet with photographs, written by Margery Kenyon describing life in Bilsington during the 19th century. Available from Terry Tarrant (Tel 01233 720404 or Email terry@tarrants.demon.co.uk)  price £5 plus p.p

BILSINGTON PEOPLE 1900 – 2000

The Bilsington Society wishes to announce the publication in mid-December 2007 of their book “Bilsington People 1900 – 2000” based upon the memories of Bilsington residents and information gained from local and national archives. This book contains many previously unpublished photographs and provides a unique account of how a small rural, virtually self contained parish, transformed into the community that it is today through two world wars, steam to nuclear power and telegrams to emails.

Copies are available from Terry Tarrant (Tel 01233 720404 or Email terry@tarrants.demon.co.uk) priced at £7.50 plus postage and packing.

BILSINGTON RAINFALL

Despite warnings of global warming and water shortages, Bilsington has experienced above average rainfalls over the last six years - the average being about 25 inches.  In the past there have been wide variations, notably 1921, 11 inches, 1996 20 inches and 2000 38 inches.

VILLAGE ACTIVITIES

CRAFT FAYRE

Bilsington Art, Craft and Country Fayre was first conceived in 1986 as a fundraiser to replace a much needed roof to the Village Hall. That was achieved; and as it was such a great success, it was decided that it should not be a 'one off' event but should be continued; the money raised going to local charities and good causes. To date the Fayre has been held every year and has raised in excess of £150,000.

In 2006, £10,000 was given as a contribution to the William Harvey Hospital Appeal for a Cancer Diagnostic Machine in memory of Mary Webb who was raising monies for this machine before she died in January. Mary allowed her home to be used every year for the Fayre and gave it magnificent support.

The 2007 was the last fair to be held at the Priory. The Fayre, now titled 'Bilsington at the Rare Breeds' has been transferred to the South of England Rare Breeds Centre, Woodchurch, Ashford, Kent and will be held on last Saturday and Sunday in June.

For further information Tel 01233 861493

BILSINGTON SOCIETY

The next meeting, in the Village Hall will be on 16 April 2010 when there will be a presentation by Bob Fletcher of the Woodland Trust.

Further details from Eileen Mills 01233 720566.

BILSINGTON LADIES

Bilsington Ladies is a social group, unattached to any other organisation, which meets once a month. Membership is open to all ladies resident in Bilsington and neighbouring parishes.

Programme for 2010 (Village Hall at 2.15 unless stated otherwise)

Further details from Eileen Mills 01233 720566.

HASSOCKS

This group of ladies meets socially at Stephne Mytton's home to sew hassocks for use in the village church. The entry for the Queens Award for Voluntary Service has been accepted and the deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent has carried out an inspection. Results were announced in early July 2005:

‘The standard of nomination was high. While the panel that considered your nomination was extremely impressed by the work being done by the group for the local community, I am afraid it was not one of those selected this year.

I know that this will come as a disappointment, both to you and the group. I hope that it will be of some consolation to you to know how highly voluntary work is regarded by Her Majesty The Queen and the Government. They recognise that the time, talents and commitment invested by volunteers make a real difference to people's lives.'

For more information contact:-
Stephne Mytton,
Cross House,
Bilsington,
Ashford
Kent, TN25 7JX
01233 720311

TREE WARDEN

The village has a tree warden, Mike Lay (01233 720739) who is available to advise on the care of trees and woodland within the parish.

BILSINGTON CRICKET CLUB

The cricket club play on the field adjacent to the Cosway monument. For details of membership contact:-
Mrs Sylvia Leaning,
Eversleigh,
Westwell Lane,
Ashford,
Kent, TN26 1JA.
Sylvia.barry@btopenworld.com.

Website www.bilsingtoncc.co.uk

BILSINGTON ART GROUP

Beryle Bell who is the leader of the Art Group writes as follows:-

“In 1986 I retired as an art teacher at the Adult Education Centres of Folkestone and Ashford. Many of my students left with me and asked me to start a private class. I chose the village hall at Bilsington. It was a hall with good light, small, cosy and the publican at the adjacent ‘White Horse' pub allowed us to use his car park. Many of the class also lunched there.

The class is held each Monday from 10am to 3pm . We cover a wide variety of subjects and mediums including watercolour, oil, acrylics, pastel and pen & wash. Landscape painting is the most popular subject. 

We also have visits to local and London art exhibitions.

The 2009 exhibition, held over a weekend in October was a huge success with an interesting variety of paintings covering a wide range of subjects and styles. It was the best attended exhibition for a number of years, with plenty of visitors on both days. This year the group organised a raffle with one of the exhibits as the prize - a painting by their founder Beryle Bell. This raffle was very generously, in aid of Bilsington Village Hall, and the sum of £350 was gratefully received by the Village Hall Committee.

The class consists of 25 students, a class secretary and me. There is a waiting list, but because of the loyalty and enthusiasm of the students I have yet to take any one off the waiting list!”

For details contact:-
Beryle Bell,
9A Dukes Meadow,
Hamstreet,
Ashford ,
KENT TN26 2HD
Tel. 01233 732963

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

Hugh Webb has taken over the position of co-ordinator.  Recent statistics from Kent Police confirm that Bilsington is a low crime area.  The appointment of a village policeman and visits by the mobile police station has enabled parishioners to have direct contact with the police.  The parish is part of the Ringmaster email system with provides swift notification of local crime activity.

Contact Hugh Webb - hughwebb1107@live.co.uk

BILSINGTON FLOWER AND VEGETABLE SHOW

The show in August 2009 was very successful, benefiting from a revised schedule which encouraged more entries. The next show will be held August 2010.

Contact Charlotte Kerr 01233 720878

BILSINGTON VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE

At the AGM held in July, Denis and Shirley Lukehurst, the Chairman and Treasurer respectively, retired from the committee. Denis had been associated with the village hall for 60 years and Shirley for over 40 years, since she married Denis. Presentations were made to both of them at the AGM in recognition of their contribution to the parish over this long period of time.

The new committee has now been elected, with Alex Miller as Chairman (01233 720456), Hugh Webb as his deputy, Liz Webb as Secretary and Terry Tarrant as Treasurer. Improvements to the hall are going to be a priority.

Bookings for the hall should be made through Secretary Liz Webb (01233 720818) or at villagehallsec@hotmail.com

Contact Liz Webb 01233 720818

BILSINGTON PAROACHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL

St Peter & St Paul's Church

Bilsington

Church Renovation

At St Peter & St Paul's Church, Bilsington, we have recently undertaken major renovation work to the church. Fundraising began in 2007, a faculty applied for and the funds target achieved early in 2008. The renovation work then began and it was completed in June 2009.

The renovation included: re-roofing chancel, nave and porch, replacing the wooden shingles on the tower, minor repairs to windows and masonry, new porch doors, interior redecoration and resurfacing the path.

Grants and donations were received from the following organisations: Friends of Kent Churches, Garfield Weston Foundation, the Allchurches Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, the National Churches Trust, the H. R. Pratt Boorman Family Foundation and the Bilsington Society. Jefferson Engineering donated a watercolour painting of the church by Robert May, which raised funds via a sealed bid auction. Generous donations were also received from local people. Other sources of income were fund raising events, in particular, the Bilsington Flower Festival and concerts given by The Aldington Chamber Ensemble and Stan James & Maggie Denham. Huge thanks are due to all those who contributed towards reaching our goal.

Contact Linda King 01233 720554

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