Parish Cake - Spring 2020

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CHAIRMAN’S VIEW
A LETTER published in Parish
Cake suggested that Philip
Mummery should become the first
mayor of Cranbrook.
This letter galvanised the parish
to create a new role of Honorary
Mayor and Phil is the first person
to hold the post, complete with
gown and medallion.
His inauguration on February
14th was a fitting tribute to a
local man who has made so many
community events happen over
very many years. Thank you too
to the community for raising this
and getting it done and thanks
to Phil for his dedication to
Cranbrook.
It is 20 years since the
millennium celebrations kickstarted
a project to build a
community centre in Cranbrook.
The plan was to raise £100,000
to build it, difficult to believe in
these days.
A few stalwarts have stuck with
the project, the main issue being
where to put it and how to afford
the land.
Through the generosity of a
businessman Guy Johnson and
his wife, the parish has been
gifted a large plot of land on
Wilkes Field, by the bridge
to the Frythe. Tunbridge
Wells Borough Council
has also gifted us the
public toilets and the
parish is purchasing
the old Tanyard Dental
surgery.
This gives us a
substantial piece of land
on which to plan a new
multi-GP medical surgery with
a new library and community
centre. The contracts have been
signed and exchanged and the
land is ours. This is something
the Millennium Trust members
dreamed of all those years ago!
We have a multi-talented team
which has offered to help with the
planning and construction of the
site, but we will need your input,
skills and support to get it done
on time and in budget. See a later
article in this edition of Parish
Cake.
The 800 or so new houses that
are planned in Sissinghurst and
Cranbrook will be adding more
change to our community. The
Neighbourhood Development
Plan group is trying hard to
ensure these are built to a high
ABOVE: Cllr. Kim
Fletcher.
standard, in the least damaging
places, and will make nice
neighbourhoods with good links
into town. There is a piece later
in the magazine about the group’s
activities.
There will be upheaval, and
some neighbourhoods will be
affected more than others. The
Parish Council will do its best to
minimise and mitigate changes,
but the parish will change.
We hope the new buildings
planned by the parish will
facilitate the new residents to
integrate, while offering muchneeded
space for improving
health provision, recreational
and meeting space and a library
open for longer hours than
currently. These changes will need
parishioners to be considerate, as
we will continue to be neighbours,
with many common goals.
We have adopted a new
saying in the parish office: ‘You
can disagree without being
disagreeable’.
In this spirit, I wish you a great
spring, there is so much to look
forward to.
Cllr. Kim Fletcher.
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