Present: David Meade (Woodlands Trust), David Thomas (Dartford Borough Council), Eric Tomlinson (Dartford Paper Mill), Barbara Judge (Dartford UNA), Steve Weiss (National Power), Malcolm Still (Tredegar Allotments), Julie Morton (Newtown), Richard Wiltshire (QED Allotments), Alan Cremer (Dartford Borough Council).

David Meade took the position of Chair

1) Apologies for Absence:

None received.

2) Matters Arising from the Notes of the Last Meeting:

Darenth Valley Leap: Nothing further has been received. Information may well not be available for a couple of months. David to request half a dozen copies for the group.

Pumpkin Competition: The seeds and the video are ready to go out. To-date only 4 schools are involved. The National competition, for Children in Need has been mentioned in an article in Garden News.

Welcome pack: A few groups have responded so far. The initiative requires a sub group to over see the project which Mike Pratt will lead. The Waste groupís entry is to be produced by Julie. It was noted that a similar pack has been produced by Bexley which was thought to be a useful source of reference.

Information display and literature: Progress with Dartford Girls Grammar school is slowly proceeding. There has been a lot of interest in the material shown from outside the borough and it was felt that a central location was the most suitable. As such the material will stay with DBC and the bibliography will held on the web site.

Allotments: First deliveries of barrels from Akzo Nobel have gone to Tredegar and Wilmot Road sites. The nominal charge for these raised £66 and was presented as a cheque to the Tredegar group. About 100 pallets were collected from Littlebrook Power Station. These have gone to the Tredegar site to be used in the construction of sheds and compost bins etc.

Light Pollution: A recent meeting had about 20 attendees. There was a presentation by the Association of Dark Skies. Most of the street lights in the borough are about 30 years old and nearing the end of their designed life. The subsequent replacement of these lights could give the council the opportunity to demonstrate more sensitivity to this issue. Included in the presentation were sections of the actual effectiveness of different types of "intruder/security lights"and the noticeable effect there has been to the detriment of a large range of forna and flora that require the dark. Julie to continue with the flow of information, this to include circulation to DBC who are also in the process of producing a leaflet.

3) National Spring-clean: This year this is to be extended to the whole of April. It was agreed that the Group/QED would offer to give support to Dartford Heath Ranger in clearing up an area on Dartford Heath - Alan Cremer to contact the Ranger to ascertain whether he would like support from the group.

4) Dartford Festival: It was unclear how much space was to allocated to QED - Alan Cremer stated that it was imperative that proposals for inclusion from the group be available at the Steering Group meeting - items proposed include

• Light pollution.
• Display of air monitoring equipment.
• Possibility of holding a competition for schools on waste recycling/reuse with prizes for different age groups.
• A theme based on "Global Harmony".

5) Future Projects:

• Examine and comment on DETR Air Quality Strategy document.
• Monitor Web Site for DETR documents issued for comment which are appropriate to QED groups ñ Richard Wiltshire agreed to undertake this task.
• Explore the possibility of production of an information sheet on light pollution with B&Q.
• Current tasks to be reviewed at the end of the summer.

6) Any Other Business:

Terms of reference: There is a need to incorporate "Pollution"i nto the current terms of reference of the group - it was proposed that a future meeting be devoted to this topic. A copy of the draft terms of reference of the defunct Pollution group to be supplied by Alan Cremer.

Doggy Do Bags: These have now been produced in a biodegradable plastic with the QED logo printed on.

Waste collection leaflet: This has no reference to QED. Dave Thomas to correct on the next set.

Trees: 280 trees have been delivered to the Swan Valley Community School. Planting taking place on March 30th.

Reports to committee: In line with the philosophy of "Corporate Agenda 21" they should have an input from QED. This is in line with previously stated intentions of the Council ñ there is some evidence that this beginning to happen.

7) Dates of Next Meetings: May 26, June 9 (provisional), July 7, September 15 and November 24.

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