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Maidstone & Malling’s
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Maidstone South Edition
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Maidstone Town | Maidstone East | Maidstone South | Malling
September 2015 No. 221
Bid to end ‘phoenix’
firms tax loophole
News
THOUSANDS of pounds of tax is going unpaid because of entrepreneurs
who claim their Maidstone-based businesses are bankrupt, only for their
assets to be transferred to a company with a different name.
The recipient is known as a
phoenix company and although the
practice is legal, Maidstone Council is lobbying for a change in the
law after recently writing off
£636,883 in unrecoverable business
rates from 18 failed public limited
companies, accumulated during
seven years.
Downs Mail can reveal that Mark
Wilson (52) and his brother Robert
(56), who live at separate addresses
in Discovery Road, Bearsted, have
continued to run Strawberry
Moons despite being directors of a
string of companies registered at
the nightclub's address of 28-32
Gabriel’s Hill that wound up with
debts of £2.89m.
This figure includes more than
£630,000 owed to the taxman and
£63,895 to Maidstone Council.
The brothers were additionally
directors of two Ashford-based
companies – one previously trading as Strawberry Moons Ltd – that
went under with debts of £1.4m, including £327,000 to HMRC.
In all, one or both of the Wilson
brothers have served on the boards
of 10 companies that have folded in
the past seven years, owing £4.29m.
One of their failed companies
was 1MK Ltd, which had the same
address as the nightclub and went
under in May last year, owing
Maidstone Council £15,403. The
council’s policy and resources com-
Luke’s degree of success
A STUDENT from Maidstone who
was turned down for his 11-plus
exam is hoping to inspire others
after picking up a first-class honours
degree.
As pupils across the borough
received their A-level results, Luke
Coomber (21), from The
Hedgerow, Grove Green, proved
that academic success can be
achieved without attending a
grammar school.
Luke (pictured) said: “You are
very young when the choice is
made as to whether or not you are
good enough to go to a
8
grammar school. At that
YOUR LOCAL PROPERTY EXPERT
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mittee recently agreed to write off
this debt.
However, since October 2014
they have been directors of Club
Trading Ltd, for which the registered address is 28-32 Gabriel’s
Hill. The following month Strawberry Moons issued a health and
safety statement that confirmed the
brothers remained directors of the
nightclub.
Robert Wilson said: “It is with
deep regret that these companies
went into liquidation due to the recession. It is also unfortunate that
Maidstone Borough Council has
had to write off £15,000 in rates.
“Everything has been
done in the correct and legal 12
Villagers’ bid
to buy up land
RESIDENTS in Bearsted and
Thurnham are trying to save part of
the former KIG land from possible
development.
Two large plots of greenfield land
totalling more than 43 hectares
have been put up for sale at Bridge
Farm, bordering Water Lane and
Crismill Lane.
The site has remained under
threat even after the Kent International Gateway road-rail freight interchange proposal was refused
five years ago.
As Downs Mail went to press,
more than £500,000 had been
pledged by locals towards the purchase of the land.
More than 100 families have contributed £1,000 each, in addition to
two lots of £50,000, five of £10,000,
10 of between £2,000 and £5,000,
plus 30 smaller amounts.
The two plots advertised for sale,
with guide prices of £550,000£600,000, and £300,0004
£325,000, are at the western
Harvest festival
CLIMATE change has caused the
date of next year’s Kent County
Show to be changed to a
14
week earlier.
Art stalls in town
A NEW art market containing 80
stalls is coming to
15
Maidstone.
End of market era
MAIDSTONE Country Market has
closed just months after
22
its 70th anniversary.
Students celebrate
SCHOOLS across the borough
have reported
strong exam results. 28-29
Village repair hope
A DEVELOPER may pay to
repair the roof of
Marden memorial hall. 30
Grounding out
MAIDSTONE Rugby Club
may be on the move.
Crime Reports
34
32
POLICE were appealing for information on the theft of two large
wooden gates from the entrance
to homes in East Farleigh.
Comment
46-47
34
Obituaries
36-37
Parish Councils 46-47
A NEIGHBOURHOOD plan
referendum might take place in
Broomfield and Kingswood
early next year; a Christmas fun
run was supported in Coxheath;
East Farleigh opted not to try to
buy the Old School Hall;
motorists were being harassed in
Headcorn; a wasps’ nest had
emerged in Langley; cold callers
had been arousing suspicion by
offering cut-price furniture and
enquiring about parked cars in
Loose; illegal bird-trapping was
reported in Marden.
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Third theft of
pub tables
A PUB in East Farleigh says summer is officially over after thieves
stole tables and chairs from its garden for the third time.
Kelly Richards, the manager of
The Horseshoes in Dean Street says
it is unlikely the furniture will be
replaced until some way of keeping
it secure can be found.
She says four rattan tables and 16
chairs were taken overnight in the
latest attack, the third since June,
taking the total haul to several
thousand pounds.
Police are looking for three men,
one wearing a tracksuit and hoodie,
after examining CCTV footage.
The manager said: “What’s is
more alarming is that it was
straight after we left at around 1am.
“Knowing someone is watching
is a scary thought.”
She added: “We have pulled
some heavier benches around from
another part of the garden but at
the end of the day it is our customers who lose out to this kind of
thoughtless theft.”
Anyone with information is
asked to call 101 and quote the
crime report number YY/016370/15.
For more local news
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Ruby’s thanks after
Scout trip to Japan
YALDING Scout Ruby Haigh has
said a big thank you to all the supporters who enabled her to spend
three weeks travelling in Japan.
Ruby (14), from Vicarage Road,
was one of 108 Scouts and Guides
from Kent and East Sussex chosen to
represent the UK in the 23rd World
Scout Jamboree in Kirara-hama.
Of the 4,000 youngsters who went
from the UK, other locals included
Nicole Finch from Marden, who attends Invicta Grammar School;
Charlie Arthur and Robert Latchford, both from Marden; Maidstone
Grammar School student Ollie
Knight; and Kings Hill’s Dom
Phipps and Emilie Tenbroek.
A member of the Yalding Beult
Scout troop, Ruby had to find £2,500
to finance the trip and spent a busy
few months bag-packing at a supermarket and holding fund-raising
events in and around the village, as
well as at Maidstone Girls’ Grammar
School, where she is a student.
Ruby was a member of the
“Rolling Scones” unit, which visited
Japanese families, sampling their
Scout Ruby Haigh with Hollie Honeyman from Upchurch and Nicole Finch
from Marden, who also travelled to Japan
way of life as well as their food and dropped.
customs.
Each unit had made origami peace
One highlight was going cor- cranes, which were left at the site as
morant fishing; a downside was the a mark of respect to those who lost
extreme heat – mid 30s – and exces- their lives in the atrocity.
sive 95% humidity.
Following the camp, where many
During the 12 days of the Jam- new friendships were made, the unit
boree in Yamaguchi City, Ruby en- travelled to the capital city of Tokyo
joyed many camp-based activities, where Ruby visited the Sky Tree
including concerts and cooking, Tower and other famous landmarks.
sampling food from around the
She said: “I was really proud to
world.
represent Yalding, Kent and UK
She also got to travel on one of the Scouts and I know I could not have
country’s high-speed bullet trains enjoyed this amazing trip without
and visited Hiroshima just a few the generous support I have had
days before the 70th anniversary of from so many people in and around
the first atomic bomb being Yalding.”
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News | Woodcut Farm
Farm earmarked for business use
MAIDSTONE Council still believes land at Woodcut Farm, near
Bearsted is suitable for office and
commercial use – despite residents doing everything within
their powers to prevent it.
The council’s strategic planning
committee has designated the land,
north of the A20 Ashford Road, for
mixed employment in its upcoming local plan – this still has to go
out for public consultation.
The land is part of the site of the
Kent International Gateway freight
proposal, refused on appeal in 2010.
A report to the committee states:
“There is a unique opportunity in
the borough to provide a presti-
gious business park at Junction 8 of
the M20 that is connected to the
motorway network and that can
provide for a range of job needs up
to 2031.”
Bearsted Cllr Val Springett said
the decision would make the council a laughing stock, having fought
off Kig and, more recently, two applications to develop land south of
the A20 at Waterside Park.
She said: “You cannot mitigate
development on this site in any
way whatsoever. You cannot hide
any development from the North
Downs – it will be visible for
miles.”
Planning chief Rob Jarman said
he believed it was possible to minimise the disturbance to the topography and exercise strict control
over any permitted development,
insisting on enhancements to both
the landscape and the biodiversity
of the A20 corridor.
He said that although planning
inspectors had refused to allow Kig
and Waterside Park, they had not
vetoed all types of development.
Council leader Fran Wilson felt
Woodcut Farm was the “lesser of
two evils” as it did not involve cutting deep into the landscape, as did
the proposals for Waterside Park.
She said: “This is another of the
awful decisions we have to make.”
Woodcut Farm now joins a site at
Mote Road in Maidstone, Barradale
Farm in Headcorn and two in Pattenden Lane, Marden, as sites “suitable and available” for future
economic development.
The committee heard that Eclipse
Park was already “accounted for”
and there had been no proposals
put forward for Detling Airfield.
Cllr Springett stressed that developers must be prevented from buying up private land in the area to
give them ease of access to the site
and it was crucial development was
not allowed to “creep” to the west,
towards Bearsted and the land
which was now on the market.
Residents pledge cash to buy development land
Continued from page one
end of the former Kig site and form
a sizeable green belt between residential development in Bearsted
and the M20.
The new Kig – Keep It Green – together with the Bearsted Woodland
Trust and Bearsted and Thurnham
Society were hopeful enough
pledges would enable them to put
in a bid prior to the closing date as
we went to press.
If the bid is successful, the team
will launch a full-scale appeal for
donations – both large and small –
as well as making approaches for
grants and organising fund-raising
events.
Mary Richards, from the
Bearsted and Thurnham Society,
said: “I would urge and encourage
as many people as possible to take
part, however small. Fighting Kig
was a real community effort and
this could be similar.”
Richard Ashness, feasibility
study co-ordinator for the Bearsted
proposal, said: “It is a tribute to our
sense of community that so many
people are prepared to be so generous.”
The parish council has agreed in
principle to give £80,000 from its
land and buildings fund towards
the purchase, if residents are willing to stump up the remainder.
Half would be met during the current financial year and the remainder in April 2016.
Cash reserves
WHILE agreeing to pledge
£80,000 towards the appeal,
Bearsted Parish Council agreed to
retain some funds in case other
land in the village was to come on
the market.
Within hours of its August meeting, land at Banky Meadow and
Fauchons Lane was advertised for
sale with a guide price of £80,000.
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Help charity to
bridge shortfall
MAIDSTONE Mencap is hoping
locals will dig deep to help the
charity keep its historic base in the
town’s Mote Park.
The charity, founded 47 years
ago, runs a popular playgroup, as
well as holiday and youth clubs, at
its base in the park’s Cobtree Hall.
But the former church is falling
into disrepair and now needs
£160,000 spending on the roof, guttering and stonework to ensure its
survival.
Maidstone Mencap is £52,000
short of funds for the first phase
and would need an extra £30,000 to
complete the second.
At a time when the charity is already struggling to stay solvent,
the news has come as a bitter blow.
The group is loathe to relinquish
the historic building in a picturesque setting where the children
can play safely both inside and out.
Consequently, it has launched a
campaign to raise funds and secure
any appropriate grants and dona-
tions toward the cost of the work.
Maidstone Mencap caters for
children and young people with
both learning and physical disabilities. Many of them also have additional medical needs, are autistic
and have difficulty communicating
or challenging behaviour, any of
which may mean they are excluded
from other clubs.
The playschool runs each Tuesday and Thursday in term time,
from 10am to 2pm, catering for up
to 25 children aged two to five from
Maidstone, Malling and the Weald.
A team of volunteers means the
children get one to one care.
The charity gets no government
funding so is entirely dependent
upon donations.
For more information on how to
help, donate or volunteer, visit
www.maidstonemencap.org
For more local news
www.downsmail.co.uk
www.stonegreennurseries.co.uk
STONE GREEN NURSERIES
Bowls club tournament
MARDEN Bowls Club was host to
The winners came from Canteran open mixed triples tournament bury Bowls Club. Captain David
sponsored by Homeleigh Timber Todd is pictured receiving a cheque
Supplies.
from Marden president Ken Collins.
Ancient hall is re-opened
A 12TH-century hall in Maidstone,
mothballed for 15 years, is to open
to the public after a renovation.
The Corpus Christi Hall in Earl
Street is now available for private
hire. It was home to Maidstone
Grammar School for 300 years, from
1549, and housed the Whitbread
brewery. Part of the building was
most recently used as the reception
for Avis Rent-a-car, while the rest
lay empty for 15 years.
The hall still has original features
including two crown posts with
chamfered tie beams, a passage with
five stone arches, and traces of a
wooden partition that originally divided the hall in two.
The renovation has restored the
building, with its original sprung
floor and vaulted ceiling. Now, the
hall boasts a bar and kitchen.
The public can view the premises
from noon to 4pm on Sunday, September 13, as part of Maidstone
Council’s Heritage Open Days.
Plan submied for mobile homes
A GYPSY has lodged a proposal for two mobile homes in Chart
Hill Road, Chart Sutton.
Maidstone Council will decide the part retrospective planning
application for Horseshoe Paddock, which includes hardstanding,
boundary wall and gates.
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Protests fail to
stop homes
A DECISION to allow 220 new
houses in Headcorn was underlined by Maidstone Council's
planning committee.
In April, the committee backed
the outline proposal for Hazelpits
Farm, between Ulcombe Road,
Kings Road and Mill Bank. The
scheme was already the subject of
an appeal for non-determination.
Now a re-submitted planning application, by Crabtree and Crabtree, has been given the same
backing – despite 250 public objections on grounds such as drainage,
highways and sustainability as well
as policy queries, given the proposal had neither featured in Maidstone Council's local plan nor
Headcorn's neighbourhood plan.
Cllr Martin Round, a local ward
member, said: “It is a disproportionate plan for the village. Why for
a development that increased the
size of the village by almost 20%
are there no requirements for layout, scale, parking and landscaping?
“Also the traffic details concern
me. It will also affect the Ulcombe
and East Sutton parishes as well as
Headcorn.”
Cllr Paulina Stockell, a member
of the committee, said: “This is a
massive application at the entrance
to the historic village of Headcorn.
We are subjecting this village and
others to town cramming.
“Residents don't want it, the
parish council doesn't want it,
members don't want it, it's contrary
to the local plan … we could go on.”
However, a motion to refuse by
Cllr Stockell and Cllr Richard Thick
foundered by six votes to five, with
one abstention. A motion to grant
planning permission was voted
through by the same margin.
Cllr Tony Harwood, who supported the scheme, said: “This local
authority can't provide a five-year
land supply as is demanded by the
Government.
“This committee has already
agreed an identical application to
this very recently because of an appeal for non determination.
“If this is approved by an inspector they are very unlikely to attach
the conditions we want.”
Picnic goes on as lights fail
TALENTED local youth proved the answer to prayers when the
lights went out at the Vicar’s Picnic music festival.
Rain plagued the second day of the two-day festival at Yalding
Lees, causing the generators to cut out during the performance of
headline act Cast.
As many festival-goers
began to head home,
local band Burn Marilyn
took to the bullet stage
and kept the remaining
crowds dancing to covers
from Robbie Williams,
the Eagles and Daft
Punk.
Band members Charlie
Robinson, James Martin The Wildflowers at the Vicar’s Picnic
and Jack Flann are all
past pupils of Yalding Primary School, as is Liam Hannigan, another singer-songwriter whose bullet stage performance drew rapturous applause from fans.
This year’s Vicar’s Picnic was the third – and largest – to take
place in Yalding, organised by local people for local people.
Other local bands taking part included the popular Parkas and
CoCo and the Butterfields.
Warning after chimney fire
FIREFIGHTERS were called to a chimney fire in Dean Street, East Farleigh.
Crews extinguished the small fire and checked the loft space and chimney breast for hot spots.
People are reminded that the chimney and the flue that lines it carry
dangerous gases from the fireplace, wood stove or other appliance safely
out of your home, and that chimneys should be swept and regularly inspected by a certified chimney sweep.
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Home agreed
Crime spree ends in jail
COUNCILLORS overruled officers and granted planning permission for the erection of a
single-storey home in Dean Street,
East Farleigh.
Officers from Maidstone Council felt the development, behind
Barker Cottages in New Cut,
should be refused because it was
outside the village envelope and
therefore contrary to a countryside
protection policy.
But Cllr Ian Chittenden, who
led the calls for it to be allowed,
said: “It is one house, it's low and
it is surrounded by hedges. With a
bus service nearby and a new footpath into East Farleigh I don't
think it is unsustainable at all.”
The planning committee narrowly voted in favour of the proposal, with six votes for, five
against and one abstention.
A STRING of crimes over five days
has put a Sutton Valence thief behind bars for more than three years.
Lee Cuthbert
(37) from The
Harbour, Sutton
Valence, pleaded
guilty to four burglaries and three
charges
of
shoplifting
between April 27
and May 31, when he appeared at
Maidstone Crown Court.
Cuthbert, who was sentenced to
three years and six months in jail,
targeted a variety of homes and
businesses across the Maidstone
area, starting with a mobile phone
and tablet worth a combined £700,
time I was a very different person,
more interested in my friends.”
Luke left St John’s Junior School
in Grove Green
for Cornwallis
Academy. It was
there, says the
student – who
has hopes of becoming a university lecturer – that
stolen from a pub in Bearsted.
Three days later he distracted a
woman who was in her front garden. While offering to do some
work in exchange for cash, an accomplice went into her house and
stole a purse which contained bank
cards and £5 in change.
Later that day he tried to snatch a
purse from a handbag in the staff
area of a fish and chip restaurant but
stumbled and dropped it as he tried
to quickly walk out of the store.
On Saturday, May 9, Cuthbert
stole £30 from a school accommodation block and on Saturday May 30,
he stole goods worth £124.98 from a
petrol station in Lenham. He returned the next day and took items
worth £84.44.
Luke’s first-class reward
things began to change.
He said: “The teachers were excellent. They got me interested in
science and the different processes
behind how things work.”
Luke’s hard work secured him
eight GCSEs, many at A grade, and
a Btec in business. He could have
transferred to a grammar school at
this stage, but decided to stay on at
Cornwallis to sit his A-levels.
He said: “When I began my Alevels it was a wake-up call and I realised I had to knuckle down.”
Now home after three years at the
University of Essex, in Colchester,
Luke’s degree in biomedical science
takes pride of place.
In between, he stole food valued
at approximately £100 from a petrol
station in West Malling.
DC Raj Dusanjh said: “Cuthbert’s
crimes affected numerous victims
whose evidence was crucial when it
came to putting this man behind
bars. I would like to thank them for
their assistance.
“Burglaries often leave victims
feeling violated and uncomfortable
in their own homes and Kent Police
will thoroughly investigate all reports to ensure men like Cuthbert
are not allowed the freedom to target members of the public.
“I hope he spends his sentence reflecting on the impact his actions
have had on the people and businesses he targeted.”
He said: “As well as the teachers,
my parents were always there if I
needed support.”
Luke now hopes to study for a
PhD. He said: “I’m particularly interested in the development of antibiotics and, one day, hope to
become a university lecturer.
“If someone had told me at junior
school I would go on to be a scientist I’d have been lost for words.”
Exam results – see pages 18-19
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Business Focus
downsmail.co.uk
WDA celebrates a successful year
Saturday morning is growing in popularity, as
parents drop children off at 9am and pick up at
1pm. Adult classes are growing busier too with
ballroom and latin classes seeing some real
contenders for next years Strictly!
If you don’t want to learn to dance, there are a
growing number of other classes including
Zumba, Fitsteps, Yoga and Pilates, so pick
whichever suits you best, or maybe to them all!
Teachers and pupils of Warmlake Dance
Academy would all agree, a very successful first
year!
In September 2014 Warmlake Dance Academy
opened it’s doors with classes from Ballroom to
Street, Ballet to Yoga! They have it all. A lot can
happen in one year and it certainly has at WDA!
In November last year bad luck caught them
with a fire, however they brushed themselves off
and have hosted 4 parties, endless social events,
a summer camp and have ever growing classes.
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Visit our website for further details
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9
News
downsmail.co.uk
Fishing ponds scheme approved
PLANNING permission has been
granted for a private syndicate
lake with two breeding ponds and
11 fishing pegs in Boughton
Monchelsea.
The scheme for Boughton Bottom
Farm, which will include a new access from Lower Farm Lane and a
barn with a ridge height of 8m, was
criticised by the parish council for
posing a possible threat to the flow
of the River Beult.
Cllr Stephen Munford, a local
borough member, told Maidstone
Council's planning committee: “We
have the Kingfisher Club, Linton
Club, public runs at Monks Lakes
and Chart Hill; I have described
about 100 swims. We are talking
about 11 swims here.
“My concern is that it is a site of
special scientific interest (SSSI).
There are too many scarce invertebrates to justify this.”
Bellringer moving on
A MAN who rang the bells at Ulcombe church to mark the death of
Winston Churchill is on the move.
Patrick (Pat) Davis has been a bellringer at All Saints’ since 1965. He
rang for the funeral of Churchill and,
more recently, for the 50th anniversary of VE day.
The congregation turned out to
wish Pat, his wife Jean and son
David all the best with their move to
the Isle of Wight, where they will
live closer to their daughter.
Team captain Charles Tassell
thanked Pat for his service, recalling
his patience with new ringers, and
presented him with a hand bell
made by the Whitechapel Foundry.
Cllr Paulina Stockell said: “Babylon Lane has a fish farm. This is a
speculative application. I don't
know if there is a huge demand for
it – I don't see much going on in the
ones we have at the moment.”
However, Cllr Tony Harwood
was encouraged by the 15m buffer
strip on the west side of the site and
the provision of woodland copses.
He said: “It is seeking to restore
ponds and woodland cover, which
is the key character motif of the
Low Weald.
“Getting tree cover back on to
land increases flood storage by 67
times over grazing land, which
means there will be a significant
amount of water held back.
“This is a pleasure to recommend
for approval.”
The committee granted permission through nine votes in favour
and two against.
Bears take plunge for charity
Jean, who has been involved with
All Saints’ for a long time, helping to
clean the church and having organised and arranged the flowers for 40
years, was thanked by church warden Rita Strutt, and was presented
with a card and cheque for the family. Fellow warden John Goode
added: “Pat will be particularly
missed at carol concerts, when he
would join in enthusiastically. The
family has made a wonderful contribution to the church.”
Jean’s departure means the church
is now looking for someone to lead
the flower-arranging team. Anyone
interested is invited to contact Rita
Strutt on 01622 844325.
A BUNCH of brave teddies will
make a leap of faith when they
parachute from the top of a
church tower at a village fete.
As well as the usual stalls,
games, sideshows and attractions
at this year’s Yalding Church Fete,
the church preservation society
has organised a sponsored parachute drop for any teddies who
want to take part.
Owners are asked to get at least
£5 in sponsorship (£10 for adult
owners) and there will be prizes
for the best dressed teddy and
most impressive parachute.
The big plunge will take place
at 2pm, when the fete is in full
swing.
A trial run was held in May
without any serious casualties, so
the YCPS hopes to attract a good
crowd of daring bears.
Sponsorship forms are available from the village tearooms
and the post office.
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Facelift to boost
“twilight” zone
WORK to revamp The Mall in
Maidstone could see a new “twilight” shopping facility to bridge
the gap between day and nighttime activities.
Work on a £5m facelift, most of
which will take place during the
night, will see new flooring, lighting and entrances installed to the
town centre shopping outlet in a
bid to encourage more shoppers.
Longer-term, owner Capital and
Regional plans to spend £100m
on creating a cleaner, brighter
centre that will encourage shoppers to stay longer in town – and
spend more money.
New leisure facilities and additional food and drink outlets are
planned to bridge the gap between daytime shopping and the
town’s busy night time economy
– restaurants, bars, cinemas and
nightclubs.
The trademark canopy in King
Street will be taken down as part
of the first phase, being replaced
with a bright new glass entrance,
along with changes to the other
main entrance at the bottom of
Gabriel’s Hill.
Capital and Regional says improvements to another of its outlets have seen a 2% increase in
footfall.
Access threat helps to
scupper homes scheme
THE owner of a dance and events
venue in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone says she was prepared to refuse developer access had a scheme
for five homes been approved.
Margaret Preedy (pictured) lives
at No 33, from where she has run her
dance studios for 15
years. She strongly
objected to a proposal to develop on
the former Budget
Rent-a-Car
site
nearby, and told
Maidstone Council's
planning committee, before its decision to refuse the
scheme: “The only access to this proposed site is across private land,
owned by me. There is no independent access.
“I have the right to move this access at any time with two months’
notice, which I could be forced to do
to protect my business, thus making
these plans non-viable.
“I run classes six days and
evenings a week for adults and children as young as four years old. I
run school holiday clubs with children on the premises all day. I have
The premises in Tonbridge Road
party and wedding bookings in for
every weekend this year, and into future years.
“It would be wrong to accept that
any of these events could be watched
by overlooking residents. This past
week, in excess of 1,400 people came
through my front door. Over a year
there could be 100,000 visitors.
“The front windows of the proposed development will be less than
2m from my busy car park with my
guests leaving late in the weekday
evenings and past midnight at the
weekends.
“I will not be prepared to accept
any complaints that may arise from
this and will insist on no windows
facing my premises and full sound
insulation used in the build.”
Mr Atkins, representing the applicant, said the site had been marketed
for business use for two years, but
had no takers.
However, Cllr Stephen Paine, a
member of the committee, said: “I
think I have supported every brownfield regeneration scheme since I became a councillor [in 2008].
“But for this one I really do have
concerns. The layout is very dense
and there is a lot of overlooking. It
has happened before, when we have
had housing next to a business, the
residents start a campaign. Before
you know it, a successful business
will have an enforcement notice,
which is the last thing we will want.”
Cllr Brian Clark, also on the committee, said: “It is ironic that a Renta-Car site caused less harm than
housing but we are shoehorning in
large family homes. I can see some
great problems if this goes ahead.”
The committee voted to refuse due
to the proposal's cramped design
and its lack of amenity area.
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11
News
Business rates | downsmail.co.uk
£100k debt wrien off
MAIDSTONE Council has written off more than £100,000 in unpaid business rates associated with the recently closed Wonderland nightclub.
Stephen Charles Thomas (62),
who is registered at a Milton
Keynes address, was a director of
two separate companies based at
Lockmeadow that have gone bust.
He was the sole director of NSG
(Maidstone) Ltd, which went into
liquidation in January this year
owing Maidstone Council £56,705
in business rates.
Mr Thomas was also one of two
directors of TMH (XL) Limited,
which went into administration in
July last year, owing the council
£59,318.
The council’s policy and resources committee agreed to write
off the £116,000 debt.
Going back to the 1990s, not long
after the Lockmeadow complex
was built, the premises has seen a
variety of clubs – including Jumpin
Jaks, Liquid and Envy and Ikon –
come and go.
For the past three years, its reincarnation as Wonderland had
young clubbers flocking to the west
side of the Medway. However,
Maidstone Council has approved
an application to turn part of the
club into a trampolining centre, to
be run by Gravity Fitness Ltd.
Wonderland closed its doors this
summer for the final time with a
foam party for under 18s.
WHEN a company goes bankrupt, a
second company can start up
overnight with the same directors –
but without any obligation to pay
for the failed company’s losses.
This is because they appear to be
different entities. The new firm is
known as a phoenix company.
Fraud happens when directors
abuse the phoenix company
arrangement by transferring the assets of the failing company below
their market value before insolvency, which reduces the funds
available to creditors.
There is no suggestion of any illegality in any of the companies we
have featured in our investigation.
Wonderland nightclub in Maidstone’s Lockmeadow complex could
become a centre for trampolining
Call for legislation to close loophole
manner. We are currently employing over 100 people full- and parttime in Maidstone town centre.
“We have been operating in Maidstone for over 22 years, contributing
millions in taxes and rates and will
continue to do so in the future. We
personally took heavy losses (approx £1m) but have continued to
reinvest into the Maidstone economy that is now coming out of one
of the worse recessions in history.”
Despite the debts already accrued
in charge of businesses that went
into liquidation, the Wilson brothers
were able to launch The Brenchley
in the High Street two years ago. At
the time their failed companies
owed at least £667 to Maidstone
Town Centre Management, who
still promoted
the opening of
the pub in its
summer 2013
newsletter.
The council
has sent a letter
to the Local
Government
Association calling for a change
Mark Wilson
in the law regarding
the
ease in which debts can be written
off and phoenix companies created.
The leader of the council Cllr Fran
Wilson (no relation to Mark or
Robert) would not comment on individual cases but said: “If a company known to us closes and
reopens under a different name
there is absolutely nothing Maidstone Council can do about it, other
than collect business rates in the
normal way. Until the Government
decides to legislate against it there is
little we can do.”
Cllr Steve McLoughlin, a member
of the policy and resources committee, said a possible solution was to
demand the payment of business
rates upfront from companies considered a risk.
Of the business rates that Maidstone Council successfully collects,
it gets to keep 40%, with 10% given
to KCC and the remainder to the
Government. Although more than
97.6% of Maidstone businesses pay
their rates on time, the council is
currently owed more than £1.5m in
unpaid rates.
Government and council both big losers
IN the past half-decade eight public limited companies, of which either or both of Mark and Robert
Wilson have been directors, have
gone bust with huge debts.
Documents seen by the Downs
Mail confirm that they are all
linked to Strawberry Moons’ registered address of 28-32 Gabriel's
Hill, Maidstone. They were liquidated on the following months:
February 2010 Wilson Fun Company owed £1.1m, including
£130,962 to HMRC.
March 2010 Partner Club owed
£703,842, including £82,305 to
HMRC and £32,937 to Maidstone
Council.
12
January 2012 Big Fix (Robert Wilson only) owed £104,679, including £82,771 to HMRC and £3,611
to Maidstone Council.
April 2012 Kent Nightclub (additional director June Wilson (83), of
Oak Croft, Bearsted) owed
£188,142, including £101,971 to
HMRC and £8,163 to Maidstone
Council.
May 2013 Mad Star (minus Robert
Wilson; additional director June
Wilson) owed £102,863, including
£78,969 to HMRC and £3,500 to
Maidstone Council.
May 2014 Kent Club (additional
director June Wilson) owed
£317,495, including £24,553 to
HMRC and £281 to Maidstone
Council.
May 2014 1MK Ltd (additional director Valerie Cradduck (62), of
Penenden Street, Maidstone)
owed £141,737, including £41,452
to HMRC and £15,403 to Maidstone Council.
March 2015 Openscore (additional
director June Wilson) owed
£318,705, including £88,323 to
HMRC.
Ailing pub
kept alive
A MARRIED couple have been able
to keep hold of The White Horse
pub in London Road, Maidstone
after being forced to put their
struggling company into liquidation.
Palmers Pub Company Limited,
owned by Lee Palmer (58) and his
wife Sandra (56), went into liquidation in November 2014, leaving a
£34,000 debt in business rates that
Maidstone Council has written off.
Due to difficulties in meeting
running costs of The White Horse,
which the Allington couple have
run since 2009, they lost their home
but remain the pub’s landlords
after a family member took it over
under a new company name.
Lee said: “It is unfortunate that,
despite all the hard work and effort
we have put into this business, we
were advised to go into liquidation
due to ever increasing outgoings
that we could not keep up with.
The biggest losses were ours, over
£100,000, forcing the sale of our
home, which has now all gone. We
did not let any local suppliers go
unpaid at any stage.
“Thankfully, a family member
was able to buy what was left and
allowed us to continue to stay at
the pub. We put our heart and soul
into what we do here to offer a decent and safe environment for people to relax and enjoy themselves.
“We are great supporters of local
music and of local charities. We
have helped to raise over £3,000
this year alone for various causes.
We will continue to provide a service to our community for as long as
we can.”
OTHER failed companies whose
unpaid business rates were recently written off by Maidstone
Council:
Farmshop Restaurant Ltd, operating as Turning Tables, 62-63a
High Street (£57,609).
Virgo (London), Ltd, 365/366
Dukes Walk, The Mall (£56,705).
Saffron (London) Ltd, 68 Week
Street (£53,279).
Super-Fly Clothing Ltd, 23 Fremlin Walk (£40,761).
Invent Events Ltd, 34c Gabriel’s
Hill (£30,883).
Infinite Leisure Hospitality Ltd,
15-17 King Street (£18,936).
Wimpy Maidstone Ltd, 5
Gabriel’s Hill (£16,915).
STC Fashions Ltd, 51 Week
Street (£12,720).
Footchain Ltd, 17 The Mall
(£419 – previous debts already
written off).
WHAT are your views on phoenix companies? Have you lost money in
unpaid debts because a company went under, only for its owners to
continue to trade the same as before? Should there be a change in the
law? Contact the editor on [email protected]
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13
News
downsmail.co.uk
FISH poaching on the River Teise
near Marden has been halved following intervention by bailiffs and
the police.
Each year, the river is stocked
with trout by the Teise Anglers and
Owners Association, whose members fly-fish on an eight-mile section
between
Marden
and
Goudhurst.
The association found it was losing large numbers of fish to poachers, and the police rural liaison
team was approached by the head
bailiff about the problem, which
had seen some frightening confrontations with some of the offenders.
Chairman of the TAOA Roy Harris said: “The results of the co-operation between the bailiffs and
police have been dramatic and very
visible.
“Poaching numbers are down by
50 per cent on the previous year,
confrontations with poachers and
members are minimal and evidence of poaching is much reduced.”
Police have followed up on people reported to be poaching by contacting the registered keepers of
vehicles.Three people were also reported for summons for theft of
fishing rights.
County show brought
forward to help farmers
CLIMATE change has had an unexpected knock-on effect on one
of Kent’s longest running events.
The Kent County Show, historically held on the second weekend
of July, will take place one week
earlier in 2016, to help accommodate the farmers’ harvest.
Organiser of the show, the Kent
County Agricultural Society, has
several reasons for choosing the
new dates of Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, July 8-10. However, the
driving factor has been the effect of
climate change in the South East on
the timing of the arable harvest.
Kent is one of the warmest counties in the country and generally
the first in England to start the harvest.
Several of the show board members who are farmers pointed out
that the show nowadays was in
danger of clashing with the first
week of combining, as the harvest
has gradually moved forward with
the changing weather.
Kevin Attwood, Kent County
Agricultural Society chairman and
an arable farmer said: “Ensuring
The Kent County Show will be earlier next year, to accommodate the harvest
that our farmers can attend the
show without compromising the
important first few days of harvest
was a big consideration.”
Historically, agricultural shows
have followed a calendar going
back several decades, ensuring that
both exhibitors and competitors are
able to attend sequential shows
without a clash of dates. The closure of the Royal Show in 2009,
which took place on the first weekend in July, opened up a space in
the calendar, which the Kent show
has now taken the opportunity to
use.
Organisers hope the revised date
will also prove better for schools.
Show manager Lucy Hegarty
said: “We are trying to encourage
more schools to visit and engage
with the show. It became apparent
that the final week of term was not
a good time for schools to organise
a trip. We hope that by moving the
show to earlier in July, Kent schools
will be in a better position to bring
their students.”
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News
downsmail.co.uk
Art market to wow town
A VIBRANT art market is set to
shake up Maidstone’s Lockmeadow, where the market hall
will be turned into a colourful
fantasia of fascinating art and
music.
The first Maidstone Art Market
takes place on Saturday, September
19, in the historic Lockmeadow
Market Hall.
The market, from 9am to 4pm,
will feature some 80 stalls with
artists from across Kent and the
South East.
Exhibitors include Emily Tull,
one of the national finalists in the
Sky Arts portrait artist of the year
competition; street artist Hannah
Adamaszek; award-winning musician Rennie Pigrim and Ieuan Edwards, a printmaker based in
Broadstairs, who has produced
stunning artworks for album covers and books.
There will be singers, poets,
dancers and performers to provide
entertainment throughout the day.
A charity art auction will raise
funds for Maidstone and Mid Kent
Mind and The Foundling Museum
in London and donations have already come from artists including
Ralph Steadman, Gavin Turk, Stuart Semple (ambassador of Mind),
Tessa Farmer, Nick Veasey, Sadie
Hennessey and comedian Micky
Flanagan.
Secret bids for the auction can be
made at www.artmarketme14.
wordpress.com and the auction
will be hosted by Raj Bisram from
Channel 4’s Four Rooms.
Project manager Ali Farmer said:
"We wanted to deliver an event that
was unique to Maidstone and
with a number of other groups and
organisations, including Cruse, for
breavement support; Maidstone Day
Centre, to assist the homeless; and
the Listener scheme in local prisons.
This year it also piloted a referral
scheme with a GP practice.
Founder members Laurel and Bill
Cooper, Mandy Perrin, from Samaritans Central Charity, and the deputy
mayor of Maidstone Cllr Derek Butler were among the guests invited to
celebrate the branch’s 40th anniversary at its AGM.
For more local news
www.downsmail.co.uk
Order issued
to stop felling
Helpers listen in – for 40 years
MORE than 14,000 people in distress
turned to the Samaritans in Maidstone for help last year.
The figures were reported at the
annual general meeting of the local
branch, which has been offering support for 40 years.
The Maidstone centre’s 70 volunteers spent 224 hours a week listening to people’s problems. With
out-of-hours calls diverted to other
branches, the Samaritans were able
to offer help all day, every day.
Maidstone Samaritans also works
something nobody had put on before. We hope that it puts Maidstone back on the map and injects
some vibrancy back into its artistic
culture."
“I want to champion the arts –
making them more accessible locally. We have had such a massive
response from everyone that I hope
in the future it will become an annual or a two-day event."
Deputy mayor Derek Butler presents a long-service award to retired Samaritan Daphne Earnshaw
MAIDSTONE Council has acted
to halt the destruction of trees in
Boughton Monchelsea by issuing
a tree preservation order.
In February 2015, the council
was alerted that 20 trees had been
felled, including nine mature
oaks, on land west of Gandy's
Lane.
The planning committee decided to invoke a TPO “to prevent
uncontrolled clearance of the rest
of the site”.
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Best quality local produce variety of stalls including:
• Fruit • Vegetables • Fish & Meat • Game • Eggs
• Local crafts • Garden plants & trees
• Conserves & pickles • French delicatessen • Jewellery
• Gifts & cards • Art • Ceramics and much much more
Enquiries Tel: 01622 679709
32 High Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1JF
T:01622 670533 E:[email protected] www.fortifycafe.co.uk
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We deliver fresh local
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Mon - Fri 7.30am - 5.00pm & Sat 7.30 - 1.00pm
Order online at:
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Find us on
15
News
downsmail.co.uk
Mountain trek boosts quake fund
STAFF at Sutton Valence School reached new heights to support pupils in their generous pledge to
raise £58,000 for youngsters hit by the earthquake in Nepal.
Eight teachers and members of
staff braved snow, fog, and rain on
Britain’s highest mountains to complete the Three Peaks challenge to
raise more than £5,000 for the
school’s Nepal fund.
School expeditions to Nepal in
2008 and 2014 left a deep impression
on staff and pupils, leading them to
pledge to rebuild The Shree Tamang
Kharka Higher Secondary School in
Dhading, which was all but demolished by the earthquakes.
Working with the UK-based Pahar
Trust, the Sutton Valence School
community plans to raise the funds
to rebuild the school’s18 classrooms,
which serve more than 600 students.
The team walked 27 miles over
Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snow-
Prison needs
monitors
VOLUNTEERS are needed to help
make sure that prisoners at East
Sutton Park prison are being
treated fairly.
Members of Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) come from a
variety of backgrounds and are appointed by government ministers
to check that prisoners are treated
with respect.
Monitors also make sure that
prisoners are adequately prepared
for their release, given help where
necessary with literacy and numeracy as well as drug, alcohol and
anger problems.
Being part of an IMB is a unique
opportunity to act as a watchdog
for your community and to speak
out about issues that are of concern
to us all. The voluntary role takes
up about two or three days a
month. Each member of the team of
upwards of 10 people will make an
inspection visit, answer any questions or complaints from prisoners
and write up the observations.
To find out more, call IMB chair
Clare Hudson on 01622 814027 or
send an email to [email protected].
Roof repairs
MILLWOOD Designer Homes has
pledged £20,000 towards the repair
of Marden's memorial hall roof.
The money will be part of the developer's contribution after it was
given permission in August last
year to build 85 homes at Stanley
Farms in Plain Road,
Other money will be spent on extensions at Marden Primary School,
Marden Medical Practice and
Maidstone Grammar School, books
for Marden library and improvements to the village railway station.
16
don, in 23 hours, 55 minutes, running the last two miles to cross the
finish line in time. In total, the group
climbed 3,407 metres on foot and
drove 1,235 miles to successfully
complete the challenge.
David Sansom, assistant head and
leader of the walkers, said: “It was a
fantastic effort from a very strong
team. The challenge was one of the
most physically demanding things
that many of us have ever done. The
team all showed tremendous spirit
and determination throughout, as
well as great dedication in helping to
raise funds from many different
sources for this worthwhile cause.”
To sponsor the group visit
www.uk.virginmoneygiving.com/s
The fund-raising team from Sutton Valence School
vs3peaks.
Thriving village pub takes on more staff
THE landlord of The Anchor at Yalding has taken on 10 new members of
staff and says he is looking to take on
more to cope with demand.
Chris Peach (pictured), who took
over the 14th century riverside pub
a month ago has taken on a head
chef, sous chef, assistant manager,
two supervisors and four front-ofhouse staff.
Mr Peach (34), who previously
managed the Manor Farm Barn, another Shepherd Neame pub in
Southfleet, said: “Business is going
really well. Our new menu is proving
particularly popular, and we have introduced a children’s menu, which
has been a real hit. All our food is
cooked on site, using local produce.”
The pub serves freshly ground coffee and a selection of other hot
drinks, along with Shepherd
Neame’s renowned Kentish ales, a
wide range of international lagers
and a list of carefully sourced wines
from family-owned vineyards. Customers can relax in the comfortable
bar and restaurant, or enjoy the extensive terrace overlooking the river
when the weather is fine.
Mr and Mrs Peach, who is living on
site with their baby daughter, said:
“The villagers have been really welcoming and we are really confident
that the business is going to go from
strength to strength.”
Focus on rural crime
KENT Police is teaming up with
farmers and other villagers to
tackle rural crime in the Maidstone area.
In the first of a series of highvisibility campaigns, regular officers, PCSOs and special
constables patrolled Marden
and Yalding, deterring would-be
offenders and providing crime
prevention advice to members
of the rural community.
Landowners and residents
who attended a pre-campaign
briefing were provided with a
dedicated mobile telephone
number, allowing them to be
the eyes and ears of the operation by reporting suspicious activity and providing valuable
intelligence to officers.
During the evening officers
FREE
arrested a man wanted on suspicion of causing criminal damage
to a property in The Cockpit,
Marden and issued a 48-year-old
man with a cannabis warning
after being found with a small
quantity of the drug in Chantry
Road, Marden.
Officers also gathered information and spoke to a number
of known offenders, while providing reassurance and crime
prevention advice to residents.
Further
operations
are
planned targeting other rural locations in the Maidstone district.
Anyone interested in getting
involved is invited to email
[email protected] and include Op Innovate
in the subject title.
Read all the latest editions of the Downs Mail at
www.downsmail.co.uk
Vicar’s post
REV Philip Goodey will take over
the post as vicar of Boughton
Monchelsea church.
It is expected that Mr Goodey,
who is currently working in Hull,
will start at St Peter’s Church in October. He was ordained in 1992
after a career as a computer programmer.
Mr Goodey, who is married with
two grown-up daughters, has experience serving in rural and urban
benefices. He was born in Devon.
Police appeal
OFFICERS investigating a serious
assault in Maidstone High Street
are appealing for witnesses to come
forward.
Police dealt with a disturbance
involving a number of people near
the pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the High Street shortly after
2.40am on Sunday, July 26.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call 01622 604100
quoting reference YY/014714/15.
downsmail.co.uk
Sarah Ferrell – The Friendly Face Of Finance
If sorting out your
finances has been on
your “to do” list for
some time but never
gets done then local
financial expert Sarah
Ferrell is on hand to
help you.
Sarah has been a
mortgage adviser for more than 20 years and
has worked both as a broker and for lenders at
both branch and regional level.
Given her wealth of experience as a broker, she
knows exactly what lenders are looking for so
can point you in the right direction of who best
to approach to suit your circumstances.
Based in Bearsted Park, Sarah can visit you at
home and guide you step by step through a
complete review of your financial situation –
tailoring solutions to suit your own individual needs.
Finance can be a minefield even for the most
experienced of us, especially with so many
changes to regulation and criteria, so getting a
helping hand from someone who knows the
market can be invaluable in saving you both
time – and money.
Although the word ‘mortgage’ is synonymous
with house-buying, it can be a means to a variety
of ends. Some people re-mortgage to
consolidate their finances and pay off credit card
debts, others to pay for an extension to their
home or a new kitchen. In many cases people
change their mortgage just to get a better deal.
Contrary to popular belief, you are never too
old to get a mortgage and increasing numbers
of people are looking at lifetime mortgages to
ensure they have a comfortable retirement.
Equity release no longer holds the stigma – and
risk – it once did.
Sarah takes great pride in her work and is
willing to go the extra mile for all of her clients.
Being home-based means she can even work
evenings and weekends when necessary to fit
around her clients.
Be it a mortgage, re-mortgage, equity release,
life insurance, writing your will or whether you
would just like to improve on your current
financial setup then Sarah can help you. In
essence, she will be your very own personal
financial problem solver.
Sarah said: “Whether you are 18 or 81 (or older!)
you don’t need to worry about your finances. I
will explain things clearly and simply to make
sure you get the best deal which is right for you.”
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if
you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other loan secured on it.
Equity Release is a lifetime mortgage or home reversion scheme. To understand the features and
risks, ask for a personalised illustration.
FREE CONSULTATION
AVAILABLE FOR:
Mortgages for First Time
Buyers, re-mortgages, capital
raising and house purchases
Mortgages for buy-to-let and
second homes
Will writing
Equity release for retired
home owners needing to
release a cash sum
Life insurance,
Critical Illness cover and all
general insurances
Call Sarah at
Professional Mortgage Services
M: 07789007447
T: 01622 631372
E:[email protected]
Professional Mortgage Services is a trading style of Sarah Ferrell an appointed representative of Intrinsic Mortgage Planning Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
A fee of £249 for mortgages and £995 for Equity Release is payable on full application only.
West Malling Garage Limited
£20
Vehicle Air
Conditioning
Service
OFF MOT
£49
*
When booking
made via email
* Not to be used in conjunction
with any other offer.
inc Vat
Quote
MAIDSTONE SOUTH
for discounted offer
Call us now to
book your car in
FREE COLLECTION & DELIVERY within 10 miles
West Malling Garage have a fully qualified
team of technicians, who can service,
repair and MOT all makes of car.
[email protected]
www.westmallinggarage.co.uk
Fixed Price
Servicing
from
£95
01732 874350
High Street, West Malling, Kent ME19 6QN
17
Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th September
The Walnut Tree
Yalding, Kent
A charming 15th Century Pub and
Restaurant serving fresh food cooked
to order by our head chef
Good food at
its best
It may be September now but summer is not quite over
so while the weather is still warm why not get out and
about and visit some of the great pubs restaurants and
eateries that the local area has to offer.
A la Carte and pub classic dishes
STEAK NIGHT
- 2 steaks & bottle of wine
every Wednesday & Thursday £29
25% OFF
for senior citizens at lunchtime
for booked tables
(Soon to be announcing more promotions, please see our
website and check out trip advisor for latest reviews).
Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6JB
01622 814266
Follow us on
www.walnuttreeyalding.co.uk
HAVEN
Local and Organic
farm shop
North Street,
Sutton Valence ME17 3HS
(Opposite the village Hall)
Try venturing to The Walnut Tree
in Yalding, you will not be
disappointed. All the food is freshly
cooked using the best ingredients,
many sourced locally, to ensure the
perfect taste. The scallops are from
Rye Bay and the Lamb from the
Romney Marshes. The fish is direct
from Whitstable and the beef from
Sussex. The cheeses are English and
the seasonal vegetables are sourced
from local farms. To find out more
about their menus and to book a
table - please go to their website
www.walnuttreeyalding.co.uk
produce on offer there is also a great
selection of local juices, pies, quiches,
ice creams and sorbets plus fresh
bread and cheese.
Haven Farm Shop in Sutton
Valence offers a great selection
of local and organic produce which
is sourced direct from Kent Farms.
The farm shop is currently selling
Kentish Cobnuts and new season
apples. In addition to all the fresh
The Anchor Inn at Yalding is ideally
located adjacent to and overlooking
the River Medway, great for
watching the world go by. The
popular pub which is now under
new management with Shepherd
Neame and undertaking a makeover
Wendy' s Tea Room, Sutton Valence.
Discover a good old-fashioned
tearoom – just like they used to be.
Sit in a quiet, relaxing atmosphere
and enjoy a refreshing cup of tea
with a bite to eat. Meet with friends,
family and colleagues while
admiring the beautiful, unique
artwork all created by local artists
and all available to buy.
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+/Ū"%2ŪāĂŘĆ)&
Selling a great selection of local & organic
produce sourced direct from
Kent Farms
bnuts
New
&
o
C
Sale
h
n
s
o
i
t
w
n
o
e
N
K
Apples
n
o
s
a
e
S
incorporating
BREADCheeseMILKEggsCEREALHoneyFRUITPasta
Nuts & Raisins CHUTNEYSVegetables PRESERVES
‘COOK’ FROZEN FOOD & much more
Wendy’s Tearoom
Haven Farm Shop, North St,
Sutton Valence ME17 3HS
Now Serving
ALL DAY KENT BREAKFAST
using local Kentish Produce
Now open from
8am – 2pm Monday to Saturday
10am – 3pm Sunday
Call 01622 844789
20
681'$<52$67
SUTTON VALENCE
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+DPSVWHDG/DQH<DOGLQJ
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Good food at
its best
NOW OPEN IN
TENTERDEN
COME AND
TRY US
TAKE AWAY
AVAILABLE
Mediterranean Restaurant
has introduced a new menu which is
proving very popular. All the food is
cooked on site using local produce.
Customers can relax in the
comfortable bar and restaurant or
soak up the last of the summer sun
on the terrace overlooking the river.
Meat in Flame,
Tenterden, has
r e c e n t l y
opened
and
a l r e a d y
has an amazing
reputation in
the area for
traditional,
h o n e s t ,
good Turkish food and drink, with
outstanding service in a warm and
clean restaurant. Try somewhere
different, come for lunch, dinner or
take away if you prefer an evening at
home. Go to trip advisor to see the
most recent feedback or come in and
see for yourself.
Aunt Sally's Kitchen in Allington
offers you a warm welcome.
Whether you are looking for
breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea
Aunt Sally's has something for
everyone. Where possible, all food
is sourced locally and the
majority of it is homemade. Even the
baristas have been trained by
Roasted of Brighton. The kitchen
prides itself on offering excellent
customer service. So feel free to pop
in and try what Aunt Sally's has to
offer.
Although September may seem a
little early to be thinking about
Christmas, early booking is essential
for the very popular ladies nights at
The
Krishna
Restaurant
in
Headcorn. The 15th Century Tudor
building with low oak beams,
decked with twinkling lights,
candles on the tables and a
decorated tree at the entrance offers
the perfect ambience for celebrating
this Christmas. Liz the proprietor
says ‘Christmas is always a jolly time
for us, our parties are great fun – a
selection of little cocktails sets the
mood, followed by good food and
some dancing’
Excellent Food, Friendly Staff, A Great Local Restaurant
Opening Hours: 7 Days A Week, 12 Noon - 11pm
New restaurant opened in Tenterden!
Come and try this fantastic Turkish
restaurant, offering freshly home-cooked
traditional food and drink. See our trip
advisor reviews online to see for yourself!
Book through tastecard to get
50% off food during the week.
(Booking at weekends advisable).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
01580 764 290
11 Grange road, St Michaels, Tenterden, TN30 6DL
www.meatinflame.co.uk
AUNT SALLY’S KITCHEN
Family Run Cafe
Mid Kent Shopping Centre - Allington
Come and visit our friendly family run
cafe. Serving good quality home cooked
food in comfortable surroundings.
We pride ourselves on using locally sourced
food including Rickwoods of Bearsted.
We offer a full range of breakfasts, light
lunches, home cooked hot meals, homemade
cakes, snacks and much more.
To top it all our customer service
is second to none.
Saturday 5th December
Friday 18th December
Macmillan Coffee Morining
Friday 25th September
• Free Wifi
• Free Parking
• Take Away
Opening Times
Monday to Saturday
8.00am til 4.00pm
Sunday
9.00am til 1.00pm
01622 297271
Find us on Facebook
21
News
downsmail.co.uk
giant
‘Wartime’ market closes Coffee
is moving in
after 70 years of trading
A GROWERS’ local co-operative which traded successfully in Maidstone
for 70 years has become a victim of the times.
Maidstone Country Market celebrated its anniversary in April.
However, with fewer producers
and customers the market committee could no longer make ends meet.
Difficulty parking near the hall
and the pressure on producers to
cut costs to compete with nearby
cheap supermarkets were factors
which led to the market’s demise,
according to former secretary Sue
Chartier, pictured inset.
As producers retired, it became a
struggle to replace them.
Sue said: “Unfortunately the outgoings became more than the income, and even though the hall
rental was not expensive by today’s
standards, we could not make ends
meet.”
“Although all our produce was
home-baked and home-made, shoppers will only pay so much – especially when they can buy similar
things cheaper at a supermarket.”
The Maidstone Country Market
began in April 1945 with surplus
fruit and vegetables grown as a result of the war effort and soon became popular with housewives. Its
previous name was the WI market.
Selling cakes and bread, preserves, crafts, plants and local produce long before the trend for
farmers’ markets, customers flocked
to the Maidstone country market
from neighbouring towns.
Held in the United Reformed
Church Hall, Week Street, one lady
said she had been a regular customer every week for 27 years.
Sue was a customer in the 1980s,
when she worked at the police station in Palace Avenue, and became
a producer, selling plants after her
retirement in 1993.
A resident of Otham, she also participates in the Bearsted country
market, which she hopes will now
benefit from additional custom.
The Bearsted market takes place
in the WI Hall, The Street, from
10am to 11.15am each Saturday.
Sue said: “The members wish to
thank all their customers and
helpers for their support over the
years.”
Other local country markets can
be found at www.country-markets.co.uk – the next nearest are at
Rochester and Tenterden.
Friends’ gift boost to cancer centre
MAIDSTONE Hospital’s League of
Friends has donated equipment
worth £10,000 for cancer patients.
The league presented staff at Kent
Oncology Centre with the nasendocope and light source to assist with
the diagnosis and treatment of patients with head and neck cancer.
The department’s head of outpatients, Jayne Goddard said: “We are
thrilled to have received a flexible
nasendoscope and light source from
“We can’t thank the League of
the League of Friends. It will be of Friends enough for their continued
huge benefit to the department and, support and generosity.”
most importantly, those we care for.
Joyce Langton, chairman of the
Driving ban
AN EAST Farleigh man who
pleaded not guilty to drink
driving has been banned from
driving by West Kent magistrates.
The court heard that 56-yearold Shaun Elliot of The Priory,
East Farleigh, drove a Mercedes
A180 in Dry End Road, Larkfield, and gave a breath test of
69mg of alcohol in 100ml of
breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Magistrates banned Elliot
from driving for 40 months. He
must also pay a £900 fine, £700
costs and a £90 victim surcharge.
22
The
equipment is
handed over
to staff at
the Kent
Oncology
Centre
Maidstone league, said: “We are delighted to be able to donate this
equipment to the department and
we hope it will be of great use.”
Metro Bank moves in
A PRIME town centre building has
been demolished to make way for
a new “hole in the wall”.
The former Burger King building, on the corner of the High Street
and Week Street, and its fast food
franchise, has been razed to the
ground in readiness for another
bank.
The fast-expanding Metro Bank
is in the throes of redeveloping the
site, along with that of the former
Peppermint fashion store, to house
the latest in its chain of high street
banks.
Launched in 2010, Metro Bank
was the first new high street
bank to open in the UK for 150
years.
The branch intends to be open
before Christmas.
Meanwhile, Burger King is doing
a roaring trade further along Week
Street in the former C&H Fabrics
building.
Elsewhere, major structural work
continues to take place on the
buildings that were destroyed and
damaged in the blaze that ripped
through part of Week Street earlier
in the summer, meaning scaffolding seems set to be a part of the
town centre landscape for many
months to come.
IF Britain is a nation of tea drinkers,
why is Maidstone’s King Street set to
become the coffee capital of Kent?
US coffee giant Starbucks has announced it is to open its latest shop
in Colman Parade – in direct competition with other leading coffee
brands Costa Coffee (opposite) and
Caffe Nero (two doors away).
The coffee shop will be open from
7am-7pm, in a bid to entice workers
at both ends of the day (and from
8.30am-5pm Sundays). It will also
offer free pre-bookable meeting
rooms with wi-fi as another inducement to business customers.
The Starbucks will create 20 full
and part-time jobs in the town, 95%
of which will go to local people, according to Leon King, operations
manager for Cobra Restaurants,
which manages the 15 Starbucks
franchises in Kent and Sussex.
As well as being home to several
independent eateries, King Street
also houses the Heart of Flavour cafe
bar and deli run by the Heart of Kent
Hospice.
Now, crepe, waffle and sundae
speciality dessert franchise Creams
Café is to open in the former Yates
Wine Lodge/Ink Bar building at the
corner of King Street and Church
Street.
In Market Buildings, another popular coffee shop is to change hands.
Harper’s, with its distinctive decor
and style, has been based in the
town for more than 22 years, selling
glamorous gifts and unusual artefacts, as well as coffee and snacks.
Proprietor Kate Joy, who has
owned the business for eight years,
wants to concentrate on business
commitments in France, and has
sold the outlet. Harper’s has always
supported local artists and will continue to feature quirky and unusual
pieces.
As for the current complement of
coffee in the town? According to
Leon King: “There are plenty of coffee-drinking customers to go
round!”
Student-style
store to open
TOP British design brand Jack
Wills has decided to give Maidstone a go.
The student-style fashions will be
going on sale in the former La
Senza store in Fremlin Walk for a
trial six-month period from August
21, creating 18 full-time and parttime jobs.
Previously, fans of the clothing
chain have had to travel to Bluewater, Tunbridge Wells or Canterbury.
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at www.downsmail.co.uk
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continued to be cheeful in spite of the torrential rain.”
Mr How, Bearsted
Call 01622 670562/663350
[email protected]
www.brayandson.com
Unit 15 Heronden Road, Parkwood, Maidstone
23
News
downsmail.co.uk
Postman cycles
to help homeless
A RETIRED postman from Headcorn hopes to raise £2,000 for the
homeless by cycling to almost two
dozen churches across the South
East.
Brian Ledger’s sponsored bike
ride for Porchlight has seen him
pedal to 21 parish churches in some
of the hottest temperatures this summer. The cycle ride is the 72-yearold’s tribute to a homeless man,
Trevor Hillman, whom he met at his
village church in 2011.
Brian recalls: “I met Trevor when I
took over the job of unlocking and
locking the church each day. One
evening, I could smell alcohol, and
there was someone sitting at the
front of the church. I must admit, at
first, I thought the worst, but before
I could speak, Trevor apologised
and said he shouldn't be there.
“Over the next three years he became a good friend, and we spent
many hours chatting.”
But in October 2014, Trevor’s body
was found in the church porch and
Brian vowed to raise funds for the
homeless in his memory.
However, hot weather and the distance, took their toll on Brian, who
Trevor Hillman and Ruslan Piktorov
has been raising funds with his cycling for many years.
He said: “By the time I reached
Saltwood, I was getting behind
schedule and dehydration forced me
to take the train at Bekesbourne.”
In fact, Brian had become anaemic.
He added: “I hope to finish the ride
as soon as I am 100% fit, but I don't
know when yet. Everyone is telling
me that I have done enough, and I
do not need to visit the remaining
seven churches, but for my own satisfaction, I must.”
He thanked everyone for their
support.
Sponsor Brian at virginmoneygiving.com/brianledger.
In April, homeless Ruslan Piktorov was jailed for a minimum of 18
years after pleading guilty to
Trevor’s murder.
Pick-up your
FREE copy
of the
Sign ‘a matter of perspective’
IS this a sign of the times?
Eagle-eyed photographer Lester
Cunningham from Marden was one
of several motorists who thought this
road sign, near the Stile Bridge on
the A229, had been repaired with a
piece made and fitted to the wrong
size.
But a spokesman for KCC said:
“This is an issue of perspective. Both
sections of sign are actually the
same size – it’s just that the lower
part has been damaged and tilted
forward, making it appear larger.
“We rely on members of the public
to tell us about things like this and
Kent wines take to the seas
SPARKLING wines from Staplehurst are now sailing around the
world with Saga.
At a recent tasting event, Saga’s
Britannia Club members selected a
bottle of Balfour 1503 rosé as their
favourite.
The wine, named after the year in
which Hush Heath Manor was built,
will now be available in cabins
booked by Britannia Club members
– Saga’s elite class – on board the
company’s cruise liners.
Hush Heath’s iconic Balfour
sparkling wine was the first English
sparkling wine to be served on First
Class British Airways flights world-
New Avenue Stores – Charlesford Ave, Kingswood
Haven Farm Shop – North Street, Sutton Valence.
Boughton Service Station – Heath Road, Boughton Monchelsea.
Stanley's of Marden – Albion Road, Marden
Post Office – High Street, Yalding ME18 6HS
Station Newsagents – Station Road, Staplehurst
24
wide and is also enjoyed by passengers experiencing luxury rail travel
aboard Belmond British Pullman
trains (formerly known as the Orient
Express).
Hush Heath producer Richard
Balfour-Lynn said: “We are delighted to be working with Saga
Shipping and Travel Retail, and
duty-free distributor Red Zero 7 to
supply Saga’s exclusive Britannia
Club members with our award winning English wine.”
Visitors to the Hush Heath Estate
in Staplehurst can enjoy free tastings
and self-guided walks on the estate
which is open seven days a week.
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LEARNING
FOR LIFE
11+
open
events
2015
Parents and their daughters are
warmly invited to our 11+ Open Events.
Open Evening
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Open Mornings
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7(RI¿FH#LQYLFWDYLDWRUJXN
www
www.invicta.viat.org.uk
.invicta.via
i t.org.uk
For many of us, September is
synonymous with the start of a new
academic year. Little ones start
nursery, older ones move from
primary to secondary – and the
teenagers fly
the nest for
university or
further
education.
Although we tend to link
the concept of education
with schooling, in reality it’s
something that begins at
birth and continues until the
day we die: we never really stop
learning.
The trick is how to maximise the
resources that are available to us!
It’s well documented that
learning becomes more difficult
as we grow older. With preschool children soaking up
knowledge like tiny sponges, the
choice of a nursery or play group
should be just as important
as their eventual choice of
university.
Open Evening: Tuesday, 22nd September 2015, 5.30pm-8.30pm
Open Mornings: 22nd, 24th, 25th, 28th and 29th September 2015
25
LEARNING FOR LIFE
It’s also a good time to start
thinking about teaching your
toddler a second language –
picking up vocabulary is so much
simpler for children under the age
of 7.
When you tot up the costs of
extra-curricular classes, however,
- whether in French, music, ballet
or football - you may want to
consider investing in private
education. With bursaries and
scholarships available at most
schools, it needn’t be as costly as
you think.
A well-run nursery, whether in
the state or private sector, should
combine the various aspects of
learning – cognitive skills,
thinking and reasoning, motor
skills, good habits and social skills
– with structured play.
A motivational curriculum
structured around play will teach
a whole host of skills to your preschooler, without them even
realising.
The first day at ‘real’ school is
always emotional for mums and
dads but here in Maidstone we are
fortunate to have a wide choice of
good schools, both in the state and
private sector.
Most people will opt to send
their children to the primary
school closest to their home – but,
increasingly, popularity and oversubscription mean some children
are having to go elsewhere.
So, moving house to be close to
your preferred choice of school
might not be such a good plan
these days!
But all is not lost. Small, rural
schools might be favoured by
parents wanting a ‘home from
home’ environment, but the bigger
schools tend to have better
facilities – particularly for sport.
Free schools and academies
likewise have more freedom in
how they use their budgets and, at
senior school level, can be a good
choice for those wishing to pursue
a vocational career.
Kent is one of the few places in
the UK still to have grammar
schools – although many parents
choose for their children not to sit
the Kent Test and go to the school
of their choice, which may offer a
curriculum more tailored to their
abilities and future career path.
Although a string of good
grades at GCSE and A level is still
considered the prime route into
University, well-rounded students
with a broad-based knowledge
tend to be highly sought – hence
the introduction of the IB
(International
Baccalaureate)
which is now available in several
Maidstone sixth forms.
It’s a system which has
worked well in Europe for
many years and one which
WE
ARE
NLL
26
enthusiastic, good ‘all-rounders’
find especially attractive.
Students who are still struggling
to reach a career decision are
generally advised to follow the
subjects they enjoy. There’s little
point headscratching with maths
and further maths if you’re more
of a wordsmith; likewise, unless
you’re keen on science with a bent
towards medicine or veterinary
work, you may want to think
twice before battling with biology
and chemistry.
You’re more likely to get good
grades from subjects you enjoy
than those that you find mentally
draining.
No career path runs smoothly,
however, and all is not lost if those
keenly-sought exams fail to make
the grade.
Adult education classes offer a
wealth of options for academic
and vocational study – and there’s
always the Open University for
those who want to combine a
career with further education.
Increasing numbers of retired
and semi-retired people are
signing up for the OU as well as
the University of the Third Age
(U3A) proving you’re never too
old – or too young – to learn!
St Simon Stock Catholic School
“A very good school with outstanding features”
(Offsted Report 2010)
You are warmly invited to our
Open Evening:
Tuesday 6th October 18:00-20:00
Headteacher’s address at 18:00 and 19:30
Open Mornings:
Wednesday 7th & 21st October
Commencing at 09:00
Sixth Form Open Evening:
Thursday 19th November 18:00-20:00
Headteacher’s address at 18:00
A Christian learning community with high academic standards and excellent pastoral care.
Oakwood Park, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 0JJP www.ssscs.co.uk 01622 754551
One School
many journeys
Open
Morning
Preparatory School (Nursery to age 11)
Friday 2nd October 2015
T: 01622 842117 | E: [email protected]
www.svs.org.uk
An Independent co-educational
day and boarding school for
pupils aged 3-18 in the
heart of Kent
27
News | GCSEs
downsmail.co.uk
Exam success for pupils
THERE was plenty of celebrating in schools this week as GCSE students picked up their results.
Cheers of joy could be heard at
Cornwallis Academy, in Hubbards
Lane, Linton, as students opened
their envelopes to find top GCSE
grades.
Aisling Hunt achieved an impressive eight A*s and As, including biology, chemistry, English
language and literature, maths and
physics; Toby Newman and
Phoebe Cox both collected six A*s
and As; Ashleigh Burr five A*s and
As and Joseph White and Zach Stiff
both secured three A* and As.
The school’s overall pass rate, for
five or more GCSEs, was 93%.
Months of hard work and determination paid off for students collecting their GCSE results at New
Line Learning Academy, in Maidstone, with Cameron Croucher and
Shannon Ashby leading the way,
with six A*s and As each.
Laura Valach secured five A*s
and As; Emily Morrison, four A*s
and As and Liam Boellitz three A*s
and As.
Overall, 93% of students
achieved five or more GCSEs.
Four students at Sutton Valence
School broke all previous records
by achieving 43 GCSE A* and A
grades between them.
The teenagers will continue their
studies at the independent school
with the hope of achieving similar
success at A-level.
They were Emelia Browning,
William Grabowski, Sam Gray and
Jessica Grindlay, all of whom outperformed their predictions, with
Jessica coming top of the class with
12 A*s. In addition to the individual successes, overall results saw a
third of students achieving five or
more A* or As. In fact, 93% of
pupils achieved five or more A*-C
grades, while the national figure
was nearer two-thirds.
At Maidstone Grammar School
more than 50% of all subject entries
were graded A* or A – 1% higher
than last year.
More than 98% of students
gained five A*-C grades including
maths and English, with almost
one in five achieving five or more
A* grades.
Sixty per cent of students gained
five or more A*/A grades and 87%
of the year group were awarded the
English Baccalaureate.
Twenty-two students achieved
six A* grades or better, with five –
Samuel Baxter, Max Green, Saurav
Parmar, Joshua Shaw and Lewis
White – earning at least 10 A*s.
Thirty per cent of students at
Maidstone Grammar School for
Girls achieved 10 or more A*/A
grades and 66% at least five at the
same grades.
Deborah Stanley, Headteacher
28
and
Clockwise from above, Cornwallis Academy principal David Simons
with student Phoebe Cox, Cornwallis Academy student Ashleigh
Burr with teacher Mark Lay; Sutton Valence School students Jessica
Grindlay, William Grabowski, Emelia Browning and Sam Gray got 43
As and A*s between them; and Aisling Hunt, who got 8 As and A*s
said: "Particular congratulations go
to Emily Saunders and Bethan
Gilmore, who each achieved at
least 12 A*s."
At Oakwood Park Grammar
School more than a third of students achieved at least five A*/A
grades and an average point score
per entry of 10 As.
Outstanding performances came
from Benjamin Gowers who
achieved 12 A*s and Cameron Gibson who earned 10 A*s and two A
grades.
Other students gaining A*/A
grades in 11 or more subjects included Isaac Bourne, Kamal El
Badawi, Jonathan Hook, Daniel Inglis, Neil Langridge, Callum MacGregor, Josiah Mulabi-Kalete,
Rohan Raju and Alex Sheppard.
At Invicta Grammar School,
every student achieved at least five
A*-C grades and 62% of all grades
were A* or A.
Of all 173 students, more than a
quarter achieved straight A*/A
grades.
More than a fifth of all students
achieved at least 10 A*/A grades
nearly half gained eight A*/A
grades. Notable achievements
came from Claire Tipton, who received 13 A*/A grades and an A in
AS maths, which she took a year
early; Pratima Gurung, Molly
Reeves, Jessica Gladwell, Natalia
Nadolska, Rhiannon Thomas,
Jessie Hammond, Molly Mackay
and Abigail Vant, who achieved 12
A*/A grades; Verity Adams,
Phoebe Dow, Emma Collier, Kiera
Phillips and Jessica Thornton, with
11 A*/A grades and an A grade at
AS level. Kerry Finch also achieved
12 A*/As and an A in her AS maths,
in which she scored almost full
marks in all modules.
Top performer Claire Tipton will
be returning to the school to study
A-level maths, chemistry, English
and politics. She will also be among
three Invicta students representing
the UK at the World School Forum
in Italy in October. Claire is hoping
to study law at Cambridge.
Classmate Kerry Finch hopes to
study maths at Cambridge after she
finishes year 13 in Invicta.
An overjoyed Molly Reeves will
continue her studies with maths,
classical civilisation, English and
history at A-level and is hoping to
study history at university.
Students at Valley Park School
are celebrating another recordbreaking set of GCSE results, with
59% achieving the gold standard of
five A*-C passes, including English
and maths – 3% up on the previous
high of last year.
With 208 students sitting GCSE
exams this year, the overall pass
rate of A*-C was 67%, with 13% of
grades at A* and A.
High achievers were Bilson Gurung, Hannah Everest, Nicole
Kakel, Josie Edwards, Harry
Wheelwright, Stefan Crowhurst
and Alexander Roberts, who all
achieved at least six A* grades.
At Swadelands School in
Lenham, special mention went to
Christine Bordean, who achieved
three A*s and seven A grades; Ella
Ottoway, who achieved 10 GCSEs
including four at A grade and
Caitlin Spiers who earned 11, three
at A* grade and eight at A.
A-levels | News
downsmail.co.uk
Cornwallis students Annie Miller, Purdy Hood and Elliot Coveney
Dual success for girls from Invicta Grammar School, which also raised more
than £43,000 for charity
Students make the grade
MANY youngsters across Maidstone have been celebrated their strong A-level results.
Sixth-formers at Future Schools
Trust, which covers Cornwallis
and New Line Learning academies, set a new record with this
year’s A-level results, with 75% of
all grades being A*-C.
Head girl Rebecca Hubbard is off
to the University of Greenwich to
study event management after securing A* grades in travel and
tourism, and business. She was also
awarded a B in design technology.
Cara Brown achieved an A* in sociology, an A in RE, and Bs in English literature and history. She will
study sociology at Bath University.
Deputy head boy Philip Hollamby secured the grades he
needed to enrol on a primary
teacher training course at Canterbury Christ Church University. He
leaves with an A* in business, a B in
English literature and a C in geography.
Students heading off to Russell
Group universities include Layla
Richardson, who is going to Cardiff
to study archaeology and Amber
Rose Mckenzie, who will study
English literature at Liverpool.
Students at Sutton Valence
School celebrated some excellent
results, with 17% gaining As or A*s.
For the second year, the A*-B
pass rate was 70%, despite Ofqual
limiting grade inflation by reducing the number of A grades
awarded since 2010.
Every candidate passed their
exams, with 86% gaining A*-C.
The independent school had 44%
achieving the top ABB results required by the UK’s leading research universities (the Russell
Group).
Results from Maidstone Grammar School were even better than
last year, with just under 60% of all
A-level entries graded A*-B and
nearly one in three grades at A* or
A. Twenty-five students achieved
at least three A grades or better,
while 14 gained two A* grades or
better and nine achieved three A*s
or better.
Top scholars were Sam Coward,
with four A*s and William Grace,
with four A*s and top grades in all
three Step exams for entry to Cambridge for mathematics. This was
the first time any MGS student had
gained top grades in all three Step
papers. The school also achieved its
best AS-level results yet.
At Maidstone Grammar School
for Girls, 98.9% of pupils achieved
five A*-Cs including English and
maths. Sixty-nine per cent of pupils
scored five or more A*/As, with
60% of grades either As or A*s.
At Invicta Grammar School, students achieved 69% A*-B grades,
alongside raising more than
£43,000 for charity.
Head Julie Derrick said: “The students have achieved 200 A* and A
grades and from our 160 students,
100% achieved A*-E grades, 90%
A*-Cs, with 12% A* grades.”
The number of students achieving an A*-B grade in two or more
subjects rose from 21.7% to 42.5%.
Lisa Phipps earned a place to
study veterinary science at Edinburgh as did Kate Boniface at the
Royal Veterinary College and Beth
Rose at Bristol; Charlotte Summers
will go on to study medicine in
Birmingham and Katie Driver, the
same subject in Bristol.
Kiera Doughty, with five A*s,
will study mathematics at Cambridge; Lauren Satchwell, five A*
and As, management, Bath; Lisa
Phipps, five A* and As, veterinary
medicine, Edinburgh; Mercedes
Brown, four A* and As, physics
with astrophysics, Bath; Felicity
Murray, four A* and As, psychology, Bath. Head girl Katie Driver
will study medicine at Bristol after
gaining four A*/As.
Valley Park School had a record
set of results, with its 80 Year 13
students achieving a 57% pass rate
at the top A and A* grades and 87%
at A*-C.
Fourteen gained A and A* in
three or more subjects. High performers were Briony Everest,
Ayesha Cooper, Poppy Harris, Rojina Giri, James Kiell, Titas Kuprys,
Zoe Noble, Emily Nurden, Nelson
Rai, Mitchell Ranger, Sam Read,
Harry Simpson, Danielle Spry and
Kim Warren.
Eighty per cent of sixth-formers
at Swadelands, in Lenham, celebrated gaining an A grade in at
least one of their subjects, with 69%
achieving top grades in two. A
record number secured places at
university in subjects including occupational therapy, criminology,
dance, media and sport.
Shannon Higerty, Harvey Willis
and Danny Cook gained five A-levels. All three plan to attend university in September.
At St Simon Stock Catholic
School, students notched up a
100% pass rate in their A-level and
vocational examinations, with 92%
achieving two or more A-levels and
43% the top A*-B grades. This is a
rise of almost 10% on the previous
Cornwallis
students
Amy
Pearce,
Harry Gollop, Shottie
Hopkins,
and head
girl Rebecca
Hubbard
year.
The highest performing students
were Sarah Pattinson and Clara
Senior, followed by Grace TashieLewis, Lara Epsley, Mikaela
D’Souza, Matthew Brown, Domas
Dregva and Daniel Ellesmere.
Head Brendan Wall said: “The
highest achieving students gained
grades equal to our best in 2013
and will be attending the top Russell Group.”
A third of sixth-formers at Oakwood Park Grammar School
achieved A*-A grades.
Rabey Chowdhury will take his
place at Cambridge, studying natural sciences, after gaining three
A*s and an A.
James Handy, Nelson Talukder,
Ivan Pilfold and Andrew Collins all
gained two A*s and two As. James
and Ivan will do mathematics at
Warwick University, while Nelson
will study physics at Imperial College, London.
Great Britain fencer Simon Dacey
managed to combine the rigours of
training with his studies and after
achieving four As will be taking a
gap year prior to studying chemistry or biochemistry at a university
in London. After his A-level results
and a rigorous selection process,
Nelson Sinclair Strong has been
awarded a scholarship at the Royal
Academy of Music in London.
Maplesden Noakes School, in
Maidstone, reported “outstanding
results”, showing “year-on-year
improvement” in its results.
Michaela Porter earned two A*s
and an A, securing a place at Warwick University; Jordhan State
earned a Distinction*, two A grades
and a place at Surrey University;
Charlie Powell earned two As and
a B and a place at the University of
Kent; Mukeh Lansana an A*, A,
and B and a place at the University
of York; Amie Hine gained a Distinction*, two Bs and a place at
Southampton. Jack Batters, Tom
Calvert, Ellis Rose and Josh Gilbert
all achieved Distinction* for their
BTEC in sports studies.
29
News
downsmail.co.uk
Call for help
to repair roof
MARDEN Parish Council hopes
that a developer will agree to help
pay for the repair of the village's
memorial hall roof.
In August last year, Millwood
Designer Homes was given planning permission to build 85 homes
at Stanley Farms in Plain Road.
Developer contributions include
money towards extensions at Marden Primary School, Marden Medical Practice and Maidstone
Grammar School, as well as additional books at Marden Library and
improvements to the village railway station.
However, the parish council felt
repairing the roof of the hall should
also be included. The planning
committee agreed to defer a proposal to discharge developer contributions to enable Maidstone
Council to ask the developer if it
would undertake works to repair
the roof.
But James Bailey, development
manager for Maidstone Council,
warned: “I can put the question to
the developer but repair of the roof
is not supported by adopted or
emerging policy.
“If the developer is not prepared
to make this contribution then we
will have to look at mechanisms
outside the planning system instead.”
Villagers fight
for broadband
EXASPERATED businesses and
residents in East Farleigh are fighting to get better broadband speeds.
There have been long-standing
problems with the speed of the internet connection in the village and
residents had been promised fibre
broadband this September.
Now, they have been told it
won’t be upgraded until March
next year.
Sue Morris, who runs the East
Farleigh Farmers’ Market and has
been campaigning for better broadband in the rural areas, said: “The
delays have apparently been going
on since 2014 and we are fed up.”
She has emailed householders,
urging them to get in touch with
broadband provider Open Reach
by completing a simple survey and
said: “The more people who send it
the more chance we have of success.”
The form is available to view at
https://www.formwize.com/run/su
rvey3.cfm?idx=505d040e0b080d.
Car wash signs
AN application has been submitted
for signs advertising a hand car
wash at Boughton Service Station,
Heath Road, Boughton Monchelsea.
30
Fields protected from
development by plan
TWO more pieces of land in Loose are to be protected in the council’s
emerging local plan.
Lib Dem councillors for the area
fought to get the two fields either
side of Cripple Street included by
the strategic planning sustainability
and transportation committee.
Members reviewed a report
showing six areas of local landscape
proposed as Landscapes of Local
Value (LLV) which included Loose
Valley, Len Valley, Medway Valley,
Greensand Ridge and the Area of
Outstanding National Beauty.
Cllr Brian Clark asked the committee to consider the two fields
near Broadoak Avenue and Westward Road for inclusion in the
Loose Valley protected landscape.
Cllr Derek Mortimer said: "My
colleagues and I had been concerned that the fields in the valley
alongside Busbridge Road and
Stockett Lane were not included in
the conservation area, so we put forward a joint case for the unprotected
areas of the valley.
“We came to Tuesday's meeting
having secured much of our proposal and tonight we gained further
protection.”
The fields are beyond the developed edge of Cripple Street, bordered by the footpath from Old
Drive to Postley Road, and Cllr
Clark said: “Development at this
point would lead to significant
harm to the Loose Valley. Further to
securing the western side of the valley, I am delighted that the committee took on board the points raised
and endorsed inclusion of these
Cripple Street fields in the Landscape of Local Value.”
Revised plan for home extension approved
A REVAMPED proposal to extend a
home in Sutton Valence has been
accepted.
In October last year, a planning
application to build side and rear extensions at 2 Boyton Court Cottages, Boyton Court Road was
refused because it would “visually
overwhelm” a pair of semi-detached
cottages.
But a resubmitted planning application, which included the demolition of an outhouse, contained
lower rear extensions “amended to a
contemporary flat-roofed design”.
Sutton Valence Parish Council
maintained its strong objection,
claiming there was “no material difference to what was turned down”.
Cllr Barry Armstrong told the planning committee: “The scale and de-
sign overwhelms and destroys the
character of the original property.
“This is detrimental to the quality
of life of the family living at No 1.”
Sam Graves, the applicant, said:
“Both extensions are smaller than in
the original application.
“The comments [from the parish
council] are over-protective and
MP joins parking bale
MAIDSTONE and The Weald MP Helen Grant visited Staplehurst
to highlight the problems caused for residents by drivers parking on
the pavements.
She joined residents and volunteers from the Leonard Cheshire disability home Sobell
Lodge and parish
councillor
Peter
Spearink in Staplehurst High Street,
waving
banners,
leafleting
cars
parked inconsiderately and talking to
passers-by.
Helen said: “I
think drivers are unaware of problems
caused to pedestrians when they park
on the pavement.
The practice can force pedestrians into the road .”
Campaign leaflets were prepared jointly with Sobell Lodge and
Helen hopes the publicity will help educate drivers to recognise the
impact of their actions on pedestrians.
over-zealous with regard to the rear
extension, which is a simple singlestorey. We have pulled the development away from the neighbour's
property.
“The development is needed so we
can have a sustainable family home.
We intend to make this a forever
home for my family. We are having
our second child in December and
without planning permission we will
outgrow the building with its low
ceilings.”
Cllr Tony Harwood said: “I just
can't see how this will cause any
harm. The changes, particularly its
roof, are the sort of design we encourage.”
The committee voted to accept
the proposal as well as a similar application.
Keeping watch
HUNTONWATCH membership
has grown steadily to 124 households with new members, including Hunton Engineering.
With a larger network of co-ordinators and members to cover the
whole village, communication of
incidents is very rapid.
Huntonwatch is encouraging
anyone who has not yet joined to
do so. Call 01622 820403.
Storage scheme
PLANNING permission was
granted for a vehicle and plant storage building to be replaced by two
detached homes in West Farleigh.
The proposal for Farleigh Green
Yard in Lower Road also included
the conversion and extension of
oast stowage and frontage garage
buildings to provide two homes.
FREE
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downsmail.co.uk
Protest over traveller site plan
RESIDENTS in Staplehurst are campaigning in a bid to prevent the creation of a traveller site on
the outskirts of the village.
An application has been lodged
with Maidstone Council for change
of use to gypsy/traveller accommodation, mobile homes, utility
rooms and touring caravans on six
acres of land at Folly Farm, Frittenden Road.
Locals say the borough already
has more than its fair share of traveller sites and have formed a campaign group with their own
website – www.savefollyfarm.com
– to get the application thrown out.
Concerns raised included flooding and traffic safety on the A229
through the village.
The site at Folly Farm was put
forward when Maidstone Council
made its speculative call for sites to
landowners earlier this year.
More than 50 members of the
public attended the parish council
meeting which voted to oppose the
application.
County has history of itinerant workers
MAIDSTONE has more traveller sites than anywhere else in Kent. But the
council says it has historically had more itinerants, due to the hop and
fruit picking trades.
The borough accommodates almost a third of all the traveller sites in
Kent. Residents fear Folly Farm could end up similar in size to the notorious Dale Farm in Essex, scene of riots against police and bailiffs in 2011.
A spokesman for Save Folly
Farm said: “MBC’s approach appears to be driven by its desire to
meet stretching targets to accommodate more gypsy/traveller sites
in the borough. However, it already has 66 permanent and 31
temporary gypsy and traveller
sites – which together meet its target.
“If Folly Farm is developed to its
maximum capacity it would have
more pitches than the number in
the entire borough of Ashford.”
Folly Farm has an agricultural tie
for the house and land – a reason
used by Maidstone Council in the
past for rejecting development applications.
Although the number of units is
not specified within the application, the plan shows at least 20 utility rooms and 20 mobile homes –
but no details of how many touring
caravans will be catered for.
Frittenden Road floods during
periods of heavy rain and residents
fear further development will ex-
acerbate the problem.
They argue that the proposed
septic tank will also be vulnerable
to flooding, with a high risk of raw
sewage contaminating the local
area.
They add that the blind corner
on Frittenden Road would make
the proposed access to the site very
dangerous.
“Users of the proposed site will
have large caravans and associated
vehicles for towing and will be manoeuvring in and out of the site
onto a narrow, fast moving, busy
rural road with a blind bend thus
presenting a significant hazard to
other users of the highway.”
More than 60 letters of objection
have been sent to the council regarding the application, including
one from MP Helen Grant. The
issue will be decided by the planning committee on September 10.
Life-saving gift Cyclists invited to join air ambulance ride
WEST Farleigh Sports Club, in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation, is donating a life-saving
defibrillator to the village.
The sports club has raised more
than £2,000 to buy the defibrillator,
used to re-start the heart in cases of
cardiac arrest.
However, rather than confine it to
the sports club, the club has donated
it to the whole village.
The device will be handed over by
sports club chairman Paul Baines on
Saturday, September 12 at the Good
Intent pub, West Farleigh Green.
The licensees have offered to
house the equipment on the outside
front wall of the pub.
No training is necessary to use a
defibrillator. However, it is designed
to be used whilst giving good quality CPR, so the sports club will be
using the British Heart Foundation’s
training package to offer free basic
life support sessions.
KENT, Surrey and Sussex Air
Ambulance is appealing for cyclists
to enter its annual bike ride on
Sunday, September 27.
More than 300 riders entered last
year’s Double 100 Cycle Challenge
and helped raise a record £45,000
for the helicopter emergency service,
which relies almost entirely on
donations.
The 100-mile and 100km rides
start and finish at the helicopter
bases at Marden and Redhill and will
this year include a 25-mile route to
celebrate the charity’s 25th
anniversary.
Among the riders taking part are a
number of former patients and
paramedics who work for the service.
Several Kent companies have also
signed up teams to take part.
The Double 100, now in its fifth
year, has been sponsored by Howard
Cundey Chartered Surveyors and
The riders
set off on
last year’s
Double 100
Cycle
Challenge
Estate Agents, and supported by
Halfords, Warburtons and Bobby’s
Foods.
The ride is open to regular,
occasional and sportif cyclists with
free lunch and refreshments
provided at feeding stations along
the scenic route. The registration fee
is a minimum of £15.
Riders will set off between 7am
and 9am with free parking, changing
and toilet facilities available at both
starting points. Motorbike marshals
will ride the course throughout the
day and there will be mobile
mechanics and a breakdown
recovery vehicle.
To register go to
www.kssairambulance.org.uk/involve
d/Double100. For details call Julie
Clare on 01622 833833, or email
[email protected]
Cancer sufferer fulfils wing walk for charity
A MUM-of-three has fulfilled her
dream to ride on the wings of a
plane over Headcorn.
Rebecca Scott described her
100mph wing walk,
500ft above her former village home,
as “thrilling, if a little scary”.
Rebecca is “making every day
count” and raising
funds for charity after learning in
September 2013 that she has breast
cancer, which has since spread to her
spine, bones, brain and liver.
As well as starting a “bucket list”,
the 39-year-old wanted to thank her
friends in Headcorn who ran her
children – Thomas (10), Rosemary
(seven) and Montgomery (two) – to
and from school while her husband
was at work, and staff at Maidstone
hospital.
She said: “I am well enough at the
moment to do so much, although I
suffer with pain in my bones and fatigue due to anaemia.
“My children inspire me to get up
in the morning and live each day like
it’s my last and the people I meet
who encourage me to keep going:
My family, friends, school, the hospice, my church and, of course,
Maidstone Hospital, where the staff
are amazing. They are so busy but
always have time for you.”
Rebecca, who recently moved
with her family from Headcorn to be
near Maidstone Hospital, said:
“After Christmas 2014, I began experiencing headaches and flashing
lights in my vision. In March, scans
revealed several brain tumours.
Miraculously, steroids reduced the
swelling on my brain and I was able
to have radiotherapy. I remember
waking up in hospital each day and
saying ‘I am still here!’ I was told I
had four months and have been
blessed with five.”
Her wing walk for Breast Cancer
Kent has raised £2,500 for equipment to detect breast cancer earlier.
Rebecca said: “Next I’ll be doing a
paraglide for the Heart of Kent Hospice, which has supported us immensely.”
She is currently putting together
memory boxes and letters for each of
her children.
Rebecca added: “The important
thing for me is to live life to the full
and to keep giving back.”
31
News
downsmail.co.uk
Preparing shelter for homeless
PLANS are being prepared for the Maidstone Churches’ Winter Shelter scheme.
The scheme, launched two years
ago, offers overnight accommodation for the homeless during some
of the coldest nights of the year,
supplementing the services offered
by other homeless charities in the
town.
In 2013/14, seven churches offered a welcome to 10 guests each
night for eight weeks; last winter,
this was extended to 15 guests for
12 weeks.
The plan is that this model will
be replicated in winter 2015/16,
starting on Monday, December 14.
Last year, more than 200 volunteers helped to run the scheme,
which hopes to get a similar – or
greater – amount of support this
year.
Bill Miller, the minister of Maidstone
Baptist
Church
in
Knightrider Street, has taken over
as chair of the Maidstone Churches
Winter Shelter from Major Grayson
Stolen vehicle
THE police have released this picture in a bid to track down a red
Land Rover
stolen from
Headcorn.
The vehicle, registration
P735
MSJ, was in
the car park off the High Street
and is thought to have been
stolen between 8.30am and
6.30pm on Friday, July 31.
The Land Rover was fitted with
a galvanised roof rack, with a ladder at the back.
Anyone with information should
call 01622 604100, quoting crime
number YY/015200/15, email
west.division.media.appeals@kent
.pnn.police.uk or call Kent
Crimestoppers, anonymously, on
0800 555111.
Crime reports
32
Archdeacon leads the way
A SLEEP-OUT is being held in Maidstone at the end of September to
highlight the plight of the homeless
in the borough.
On Friday, September 25, the
Maidstone Deanery is hosting a
sponsored sleep-out, led by
archdeacon Stephen Taylor.
Each church in the town is being
asked to nominate one representative prepared to sleep outdoors from
10pm to 8am, with only a sleeping
bag and cardboard box for comfort.
Williams, who has retired from the
Salvation Army in the town.
Pastor Miller was chair during
the first season so is already well
used to the work involved and
there are a number of new trustees
coming on board.
There will be a limited amount of
shelter if it rains.
The event is being organised by
Heather May and Diane Enfield on
behalf of the deanery.
Spokesmen Andrew Sewell said:
“We want to raise awareness of the
homeless in town and the services
available and to launch the recruitment of volunteers for the winter
shelter, as well as raising funds to
support the homeless in Maidstone.”
A small number of staff co-ordinate the work of the many volunteers and the scheme is now
actively seeking funding from a
range of sources, including charitable trusts.
Mr Miller said: “Until we secure
enough funds to employ the workers we cannot recruit, but we are
hoping to have our first worker in
place earlier in the year than was
possible in 2014.
“This will help greatly with all
the necessary preparations and engagement of volunteers.”
Even now, volunteers are working to get funds for the ongoing
work of the shelter scheme.
Mr Miller said: “We have a plan
in place and are working towards
another winter when a warm welcome can be offered to those who
would otherwise be sleeping rough
in our town.
“The outcomes in previous years
have been amazing – often lifechanging.”
The trustees hope each church
can appoint a volunteer representative to help communicate and coordinate volunteers and church
congregations.
Ploughmen compete for title
THE nation’s top ploughmen will
be converging on Marden to compete in the 2015 National Ploughing
Championships next month.
About 250 top ploughmen are expected to take part in the event –
with up to 15,000 spectators.
The event will take place at Moatland Farm in Howland Road, courtesy of Pat Burke, who hosted the
event in 2008.
It will take place over two days –
Saturday and Sunday, October 10
and 11 – when there will be a host of
contests of different types of plough
and styles of ploughing.
The event will climax with the
two top ploughmen being selected
to represent England at the 2016
World Ploughing Contest in York
next year.
News of the event has already
AN intruder stole a phone/pager from a home
in Church Street, Boughton Monchelsea.
Two large wooden gates were stolen from
the entrance to homes in Dean Street, East
Farleigh.
Heating oil was tolen from a tank at a
home in Lughorse Lane, Hunton.
A child’s bicycle was stolen from the front
of a property in Pippin Close, Coxheath.
A vehicle was stolen from a car park in
High Street, Headcorn while the owner was
at work.
A strimmer was taken from a commercial
premises in Chegworth Road, Ulcombe. A
man described as white about 5ft 10in, of
slim build with dark brown hair was seen
with the strimmer and gave it back when
challenged. He was seen driving a white
Vauxhall van.
A window was damaged at a property in
Hampstead Lane, Yalding.
drawn plenty of interest, and executive director of the Society of
Ploughmen Ken Chappell said: “We
are looking forward to a first class
event.
“Visitors will see not only the
highly-skilled competition ploughing and an extensive trade stand
area but also attractions such as vintage tractors, ploughs and equipment; steam ploughing engines; a
craft marquee with a wide variety of
stands; and demonstrations of the
latest tractors, farm machinery and
equipment under working conditions.”
On the first day the ploughmen
will compete in two classes: reversible and conventional. The first
day also sees the final of the National Young Farmers' Ploughing
Championships.
On the second day, lovers of classic machinery and equipment will
enjoy three classes for vintage tractor ploughing while horse ploughing is one of the major family
attractions, with about a dozen pairs
of heavy horses at work each day.
With their ornate brass and
leather harnesses, these true farm
workhorses will be seen competing
to produce the best general purpose
ploughing on the first day and the
stylish traditional high cut work on
the second day.
Local and national companies will
be showing and demonstrating the
most up-to-date machinery for sale
to farmers.
Admission to the event is £10 per
day for adults, £5 per day for children over 11, and free of charge for
children under 11.
Neighbourhood Watch
Working to reduce crime. Call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 or local police
A shed was broken into in Marden Road,
Marden and tools and equipment were
stolen.
A padlock was damaged on the garage of
a property in Symonds Lane, Yalding but
nothing was taken.
A stone was thrown at a window in The
Cockpit, Marden, breaking it.
A vehicle was broken into in a car park in
Cranbrook Road, Staplehurst and an
iPhone was stolen.
A small yew tree was stolen from the
front garden of a property in Station Road,
Staplehurst.
Two chainsaws were among tools stolen
from a van parked in Gallants Lane, East
Farleigh.
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33
downsmail.co.uk
Comment
Mote Park well worth a quid
R E C E N T Maidstone Council invest-
ments have improved Mote Park magnificently to make it even more popular locally
and see it rated second best in the nation.
Purchased for £50,000 from the Lord
Bearsted family almost 100 years ago, Mote
Park has proved a wonderful council investment and residents will want it preserved and improved for years to come.
I think few will complain about a proposed new parking fee of £1 for six hours,
especially as the income will be used to
maintain and further improve the park.
Government has imposed massive financial restrictions on local authorities in the
troubled economic times and funding nonessential services is a great problem.
I think most of us who pay to park will
appreciate its great value.
Ramblin’ Man
I WELCOME Maidstone Council’s
policy to increase attractions (and
income) from Mote Park – but I expressed
fears about noise from the big two-day
Ramblin’ Man music festival.
I was close to it for two days at The Mote
cricket ground and was impressed. The festival was professionally organised and the
large audience was mostly mature, friendly
and responsible. The nearby roads were
busy at times, but with visitors arriving over
a long period, and leaving at non-peak
times, I was not aware of serious problems.
MailMarks
DENNIS FOWLE President
[email protected]
How about the noise? On the cricket
ground side it was no problem at all when
I was there. The wind was blowing from
the west and I am sure this helped. Friends
living in Downswood, Vinters Park, Grove
Green and Bearsted heard much more, but
I believe there were few complaints. Noise
levels were monitored and limits were not
breached. Perhaps limits could be reduced
somewhat in future.
The festival brought a lot of people and
money to Maidstone and I believe there
were many happy visitors and businesses.
I understand it could well return.
Political football
THE political football of Maidstone’s
local plan is being booted in the direction
of the right goal at long last.
When the Tories were in control they
commissioned an expert independent report on the evidence-based need for more
than 19,000 new houses in the borough for
the period 2011 to 2031. They knew this evidence would be tested by a Government
inspector and if it failed, the desperatelyneeded local plan would be rejected.
Bypass v old firs
bypass if the planners would let him build
a village in Kingswood.
Dear Sir – In the August Downs Mail a
This would make sense – pulling out old
mention was made about who was going to fir trees instead of building on the Green
finance the Leeds-Langley bypass.
Belt.
Mr Schroeder says he would finance the
David A Last, by email
This figure was strongly challenged as
massively over the top by local political opponents in the build-up to May’s general
and borough elections. I always felt they
were playing to local voters worried about
the level of development, especially in
some rural areas, rather than working to
meet Maidstone’s greatest need.
And KCC leader Cllr Paul Carter (Con)
was still more vociferous in damning the
number – even after KCC commissioned
its own independent report which, to his
fury, largely mirrored the report commissioned by Maidstone Council.
These long delays may well cost Maidstone dear, as we currently have little protection against developers with their own
ideas for using greenfield land for housing.
It is not a good scene – and sadly Maidstone Council is now subject to ridicule.
New Lib Dem leader of Maidstone
Council Cllr Fran Wilson is working well
to bring together all politicians, including
KCC, to finally get the local plan on the
road. Tough decisions must be taken in the
face of continued local resident opposition.
If not, the borough’s housing target could
well swell under government pressure to
beyond the current evidence-based 18,560.
She has accepted she has “failed” to reduce
the target substantially.
The Tories will have a wry smile – but
hopefully they will continue to play a leading role to see past wrongs righted.
For more local news read the
Downs Mail online at
www.downsmail.co.uk
Contact our team ...
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Rugby club to make fresh start
MAIDSTONE Rugby Club look
set for a new ground – leaving
The Mote after more than 50
years in the centre of town.
The move follows a successful
season on the pitch for the club,
but disagreement with The Mote
Cricket Club, which own and
share the ground.
Earlier, the cricket club had suggested houses would be built on
part of the rugby club’s training
ground to finance developments
that they say would transform the
ground’s sports facilities.
However, the rugby club were
not happy with having to relinquish part of their training
ground, forcing cricket club chair-
34
man Glen Aukett to say that these
plans were “on ice”.
Now the rugby club’s vicechairman, Paul Firmin, appears to
have offered a way out for both
sides by allowing them to move
elsewhere in the town. Up to three
potential sites are under discussion with Maidstone Council as
part of a larger development plan
concerning Mr Firmin.
The rugby club say the opportunity to move away from The Mote
has received the backing of the
club committee and the membership will be presented with the full
details shortly. They say initial
discussions between the club, Mr
Firmin and Maidstone Council
representatives have been positive, although they recognise significant hurdles need to be
overcome before a more formal
confirmation of the details can be
released. Maidstone Rugby Club
remain a significant tenant of The
Mote and their lease agreement is
up for renewal next May.
The Mote Cricket Club will consider in the next month their policy regarding the lease. Dennis
Fowle, chairman of The Mote CC
development committee, said:
“We have delayed any new lease
offer to rugby since the end of
May until the rugby club’s plans
are a little clearer. Our priority is
to safeguard the cricket club and
this magnificent site for local sport
and the community. Building a
new pavilion and improving facilities are integral to that.”
The rugby club’s Jim Tinsley
said: “Regarding the ongoing saga
on development at The Mote, the
protracted discussions which involved the rugby club, the cricket
club and Maidstone Council were
not able to be resolved as we in the
rugby club are not prepared to
sacrifice playing and training
space to allow development on
our 1st XV pitch.
“Our proposed exodus from
The Mote should allow both clubs
to realise their full potential as important sports centres in Kent.”
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downsmail.co.uk
Ronald Godden
Obituaries
RONALD Frank Godden (80) of Langley
was well known from more than 50 years as
a self-employed engineer.
Prior to living 31 years in Langley he had
lived in Brooklands on the Chatham Road,
Aylesford and Sandling.
Ronald learned his trade in the Army during national service and returned home to establish a noted local business in which his
talents extended to machining and making
car parts when the manufacturers own parts
were unavailable.
With wife of more than 60 years – Rosemary – Ronald raised children Marion and
Paul. Daughter Marion said: “My father’s
work was his hobby, he was a very giving
person, the kind who would do anything for
anybody. His love of his work meant he
never wanted to stop and he was involved in
everything from towing, spraying, welding,
providing MOTs and the engineering work
that allowed him to sort out all kinds of
problems.
“One thing he excelled in was being able
to keep old cars on the road for loyal customers, and services like that meant he kept
his customers and never needed to advertise
because most new business came by word of
mouth.”
Ronald was still working in his 80th year.
He leaves his widow, children, five grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
“Her teaching and communication skills
were exceptional, she got excellent results
with challenging pupils and authored a
series of “How To…” books which sold
nationally and were aimed at helping
youngsters who struggled.
“My mother was always resourceful and
inventive; along with her writing skills she
was also a skilled artist.”
Mary – who was widowed in 2012 –
leaves her daughters and four
granddaughters – Natasha, Farrah,
Madeleine and Alana.
Roy Manser
ROY Manser (81) of Charlton Lane, West
Farleigh was one of the best known and
longest serving members of San Fairy Ann
Cycling Club.
His membership of the club went back 68
years and he achieved national recognition
as a racing cyclist.
Barming-born Roy followed his father
into the blacksmith trade and went on to
start his own engineering business –
Andian Construction. The company was
named after his sons, Andrew and Ian, who
he had with his wife Pamela.
Many of his former club mates, friends
and family have commented on his
achievements and passion for cycling.
Among his early feats was a fifth place in
the national 25-mile championship in 1958.
In 1989 Roy and Anthony Wallis set a
national 10-mile tandem record of 18min
Mary Black
17sec. Roy also won the Kent Cycling
MARY Black (84) lived in Bearsted from
Association’s Best All Rounder
1986, and previously lived in Bower Close, Competition four times between 1959 and
Maidstone from 1976.
1969. He remained competitive in the sport
She was a Lib Dem and for the San Fairy Ann club well into his
councillor for
old age. Roy famously ended his stint of
Allington and mayor national service in Cyprus by cycling home
of Maidstone
from the island. He also enjoyed other
between 1990 and
active sports including diving and skiing.
1991.
Roy’s engineering skills were applied to
Born Mary Penrice cycling and he built bicycles for fellow
in Glasgow, her
cyclists. Roy was taken ill on a “Wednesday
previous homes
wobblers” ride with San Fairy Ann on
included a London
August 5 and his condition rapidly
hostel where she
deteriorated to the point where paramedics
stayed while working could not save him.
for the Civil Service.
Roy leaves his wife and son Andrew. Son
Mary married Robert, “Bob,” in 1957 and Ian pre-deceased him when he was killed in
the couple raised daughters Deborah and
an accident while out cycling some 18 years
Shauna. They moved to Cuxton when Bob’s ago.
career with HM Customs and Excise took
him to the Medway towns. Mary taught in
Strood and for a number of years at Clare
Amanda Miller
Park in West Malling. Prior to becoming a
AMANDA Jane Miller (50), of Hunton, was
councillor Mary stood for parliament as a
Liberal Party candidate in the Medway area well-known locally from the work she did
setting up and running the county-wide
in 1974, coming close to securing the seat.
property
Daughter Shauna said: “My mother cared
management
passionately about education and had a
business Simon
strong sense of fairness. She was the kind of
Miller and Company.
loyal friend who would always step in and
Born Amanda
help others, and was also quick to laugh.
Smith in Essex, she
trained as a secretary
and worked as a
medical secretary in
Memorials. Any natural stone supplied,
Marble Arch.
lettered and installed anywhere.
Amanda met
Inscriptions added to existing memorials husband Simon at a party in 1980 and the
couple were married in January 1984. Prior
Renovations and memorial
to Hunton their homes were in Gillingham
cleaning
and Larkfield.
The Stone Shop
Amanda was baptised as a Jehovah’s
Station Hill, East Farleigh, Kent.
Witness in 1981 and remained dedicated all
her life. She was mother to Lauren,
01622 726633
Alexander, Constance and Morgan.
The Stone Shop
36
Simon Miller and Company was
established in 2000, growing to a wellknown and county-wide operation. The
company’s website paid a fulsome tribute:
“Amanda was characterised by her
seemingly inexhaustible cheerfulness and
enthusiasm for life. She was considered one
of the most modest and humble women
who, despite tremendous ability, always
shied away from publicity and praise.”
Amanda had baled breast cancer since
2007, a fight notable for the positivity and
determination she brought to it.
She leaves her husband, children,
grandchildren Hamilton and Fox-Belle,
parents, one brother and one sister.
Neville Phillips
NEVILLE Phillips (84) was well known as
a housebuilder and farmer.
Born in Chatham
he moved locally as a
boy and aended
Maidstone Grammar
School. His homes
included about 30
years in
Hollingbourne, time
in Bearsted,
Willington Street,
Barming and 25 years
farming near Marden.
Neville was married to Bey for more
than 55 years and was father to twins Mark
and Sarah. Son Mark said: “My father will
be clearly remembered by many people
locally. He was a master builder involved
in house building from the 50s to the 70s, a
time in which he built houses in places like
Lenham, Spot Lane, Willington Street and
many locations around the Maidstone area.
“He had talent as a sportsman and
played rugby as a boy. He opened both the
bowling and the baing for Rumwood
Cricket Club in Otham and in his 30s took
up golf, playing at Bearsted and
Ringlestone and playing his last round at
the age of 84.
“People will remember my father as a
larger-than-life character; intelligent,
interesting and funny.”
Neville, who was widowed in 2013,
leaves his twins and grandchildren James,
Alice, Sophie and Tom
Bernard Head
BERNARD Head (78) devoted much of his
time to helping the community of Bearsted,
his home for more than 40 years.
He served as
treasurer of the Holy
Cross Church and
was also treasurer
and trustee of
Bearsted Woodland
Trust, which protects
26 acres of woodland
and meadow. He was
a founder member of
Bearsted and
Thurnham Tennis Club; a founder member
and trustee of Bearsted Bowls Club and a
founder member of the badminton club.
Bernard was an examiner of local
organisation accounts, including Bearsted
Parish Council and Bearsted’s annual
carnival and fair. He was employed by
local company Marley and after retirement
in 1990 he set up his own accounts
downsmail.co.uk
rep and manager meant he travelled
widely. He ended his career as general
manager at Aylesford Priory.
He had many interests and belonged to
the Association of Kentish Men and Men
of Kent’s Maidstone branch, where he was
chairman and president. He organised
many outings for members and friends.
He also belonged to Bearsted History
Society and more recently was a member
of the U3A.
He leaves his wife Rosemary and sons
Christopher, Anthony and James.
Allan Willett
Norman Harlow
N O R M A N Harlow (79) lived in Bearsted
for more than 50 years. He was born in
Margate, was educated at Dover College
and lived in Kent all his life.
Throughout the
war, he and his
parents lived in The
Victoria Hotel in
Maidstone, where his
father was a hotelier
and publican. Later
he lived at the
Masonic Hall in
Bower Terrace.
His work as a sales
ALLAN Robert Willett CVO, CMG, KStJ
(78) of Chilham was a former Lord
Lieutenant of Kent and a company boss
known for donating
about £4m to charity.
Born to a Kent
family who were
working as tea
planters in India, Mr
Willett returned
home and spent most
of his youth living on
farms in Thanet. He
excelled at rugby as a
boy and joined the Buffs (Royal East Kent
Regiment). After working in Canada and
in the packaging industry he founded
Willett International Limited, which grew
into one of the world’s largest companies
involved in electronic coding and labelling
of information.
Mr Willett sold the company in 2002,
launching a charitable foundation which
benefited Kent causes.
Many public figures have paid tribute to
Mr Willett, including former Mayor of
Maidstone Cllr Dan Daley who said:
“Allan was the truest of gentlemen and so
dedicated to whatever he did. He valued
people, in every way, and encouraged
whatever they were engaged in doing.”
Obituaries
business.
He became a respected school bursar,
notably with Red Hill special school (he
was also a trustee of the Red Hill Trust)
and a business manager and governor of
Roseacre Junior School, which he helped
guide to grant-maintained status.
He joined the Rotary Club of Maidstone
in 1995, was treasurer for five years and
president in 2004. Last year he was
honoured with a Paul Harris Fellowship.
Bernard is survived by his wife Helen
and sons Graham, Michael, Tim and
David and grandchildren.
Damen Crompton
MAIDSTONE’s Damen Crompton (36)
died in a motorcycle accident.
Damen was heading to his home in
Reculver Walk, Senacre on the A229 Loose
Road when he lost control of his
motorcycle. Damen’s partner Lianne
Farrow paid tribute at the scene of the
accident.
Damen worked for the past four years at
Dempson Ltd, a packaging company in
Hermitage Lane, Maidstone. The company
has supported his family through the
tragedy.
There is no charge for our obituary service. Call Neil Nixon on 01622 630422 or email [email protected]
JOHN
MUNSON
SHOW
TIME
Feverish end
to the season
Hay Fever, Changeling Theatre at
Monchelsea Place.
THE play’s theme is a nightmare
weekend at the Bliss country house.
Mother, father, sister and brother
have each invited a guest for the
weekend, without telling the others.
Felicity Sparks as mother was absolutely fantastic as the over-the-top
resting actress. Her richly dramatic
voice and her pretence at a brokenhearted sympathy for the suffering
of others was worth 10 times the
ticket price. Jessica Rose Boyd was
equally brilliant as the daughter.
Emma Rose Lowther was the catatonic Jackie. Ben Wiggins, as Simon,
just didn't care what others thought.
Peter Dukes was wonderfully “too,
too polite” as diplomat Richard and
Holly Piper was the convincingly
up-for-it Myra.
Sam Haywood was admired by
Mrs Bliss for his boxing prowess and
Bethany Forsey was the maid to end
all maids. David Whitney as the father and alpha male in this crazy setup was so distinguished in his
dressing gown. Rob Forknall the director had cooked up this riotous,
comedy in the Changeling style.
A terrific way to end the season.
Thank you, Noel Coward.
Book your place on music train
LOCAL band CoCo and the Butterfields will be playing at a charity gig,
raising money for the Kent Community Rail Partnership.
Colourful, energetic and crowdstamping, CoCo and the Butterfields
express the vibrance of a village folk
fair with powerful vocal melodies.
They will perform aboard the
KCRP’s Music Train on Saturday
September 12, which leaves Maidstone West Station at 14:27 for a twohour stint on the Medway Valley
Line, returning to Maidstone West at
16:27.
Travellers can join the train at any
of the stations. It leaves Maidstone
West at 14:27 to Tonbridge (15:04),
then back to Strood (16:04), then
back to Maidstone West for 16:27.
Light refreshments and real ale
will be available on board.
Tickets for the event are free, but
places should be reserved – go to
www.eventbrite.co.uk and search
for Music Train. You will need to
buy a train ticket for the journey
(Tonbridge to Strood return).
The Kent Community Rail Partnership brings together a range of
local community groups to help
support improvements to local rail
links
and
facilities.
www.kentcrp.org.uk
It includes Sustrans, KCC, Swale,
Medway, Maidstone and Tonbridge
& Malling Councils, Southeastern
Railway, Parish & Town Councils
along the lines, Nu-Venture Coaches
and others.
Sustrans is a charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public
transport for more of their daily
journeys, encouraging smarter
travel choices.
Mike FitzGerald, chairman of the
Kent Community Rail Partnership,
said: “I am very excited to have
Coco and the Butterfields fronting
the Medway Valley Line Music
Train this year. This will be huge
and I look forward to welcoming a
capacity train, full of people just
coming to enjoy this special gig.”
Trust to welcome visitors Bank to close
A WEALDEN charity which is almost half a century old is opening its doors in a bid to attract
more volunteers.
The Yalding-based Kenward
Trust has been at Kenward
House, Kenward Road, since
1968, helping isolated and disadvantaged people to recover from
addictions.
The charity is opening its magnificent Georgian house and gardens to the public from 10am to
2pm on Saturday September 19,
offering visitors the chance to
pick their own dahlias from the
magnificent collection, and also
to visit the pottery painting studio.
The charity has a thriving nursery and garden centre, as well as a
shop selling produce and various
crafts produced on site by residents, staff and volunteers.
Although the Yalding house is
the trust’s headquarters, it runs
outreach projects and has satellite
centres around Kent and East
Sussex, with a variety of opportunities for volunteering.
For further information, telephone 01622 814187.
For more local news www.downsmail.co.uk
HEADCORN is about to lose its last
village bank. NatWest is to close its
High Street branch at the end of
November, leaving customers with
a journey of more than four miles to
the next nearest branches in Tenterden and Staplehurst.
NatWest has been based in the
village since 1955 but says current
banking trends mean fewer customers visit a branch. Transactions
at the premises have dropped by almost a quarter in four years.
Customers will be able to pay in
and withdraw money at the Post
Office, as well as checking their balance and the bank is looking at the
possibility of introducing a mobile
banking service on one or more
days each week.
37
H & C Motors Ltd.
Independent BMW & Mercedes Specialists
Why pay main dealer prices?
Affordable, advanced technology servicing
01622 752364
www.handcmotors.co.uk
19-25 Rawdon Road, Maidstone, ME15 6PT
38
Servicing & Repairs while you wait,
close to town centre
Dealer Level Diagnostics
MOTs by appointment
Free Courtesy Car by
Appointment
Air Conditioning Specialists
Convertible Hood Specialists
Over 70 years’ of combined
experience and accredited
training with local main dealers
We service all makes & models
Approved by Trading Standards
Classifieds
downsmail.co.uk
Reach more people than ever before www.downsmailbusinessdirectory.co.uk
Contact our sales team…
Natasha Bastone
Teresa Jeffery
Amy Bonney
Classified Team Leader
Classified Sales Executive
Classified Sales Executive
E: [email protected]
T. 01622 630330 ext. 224
T. 01622 630330 ext. 227
T. 01622 630330 ext. 234
Building Plans
Appliance Repairs
ALL DOMESTIC APPLIANCE
REPAIR SERVICE
Business Directory
with fully qualified engineer
All makes of washing machines,
fridges, freezers, vacuum cleaners,
t/dryers, dishwashers, elec ovens.
Advertise from as little as
01622 673113
Anytime: 07831 557677
www.downsmail.co.uk
✓ All work guaranteed
✓ Free estimates and call out
£3.00 per month
Call 01622 630330 or visit
our website for more details
Carpenters
Bathroom Installers
Wood Works
The complete Bathroom
Maintenance Company
NO CALL OUT FEE & FREE QUOTES
Supply • Install • Repair
Floor & Wall Tiling • Full Plumbing Services
Call Gary 07738 902116 • 01622 736266
ALL WORK GUARANTEED
FULL CARPENTRY
SERVICE FROM
DECKING TO DOORS,
KITCHENS & FLOORS.
ALL JOBS BIG & SMALL.
MAKING THE BEST OF WOOD
IN AND AROUND THE HOME
All aspects of
CARPENTRY
Doors, Windows, Kitchens
supplied and fitted, Loft
Conversions, Doors hung,
Locks fitted, Skirting,
small alterations,
Plastering and Tiling
All work guaranteed.
FREE ESTIMATES
Family business established 21 years
CALL Cliff on
01622 743648
Mob: 07711 291921
07940 854927
01622 729092
31, Sheppey Road, Loose, Maidstone
Building
PAUL BEST
Brickwork
Extensions
General Builder
25 years Experience
01622 891960
07748 630747
MD Building & Services
Specialists in
• Extensions • Refurbishments
• Plastering (All aspects)
• Electrics • Modernisations
• Kitchen & Bathroom Installations
• Driveways, Patios & Repointing
• Fencing & Blockpaving
FULLY INSURED
Tel: Mark 07841 409061
e: [email protected]
www.mdbuildingservices.co.uk
KINGSGATE CONSTRUCTION LTD
Reliable, Local Carpenter
FOR FREE ESTIMATES CALL GERRY
01622 631149 / 07929 522990
Bedrooms - Wardrobes Wooden flooring
custom made & fitted
Kitchens custom made & fitted
Door framing & hanging
Internal alteration
Security Lock fitting service
Fences & Gates
Windows including sash
Staircase Renovation & repair
Repairs & Velux
Property Renovation
Architraves & Skirting
Chimney Maintenance
Extensions & Conversions Specialist
No upfront costs - No deposit taken
• Conservatories • Kitchens • Bathrooms
• Driveways • Landscaping
ALL BUILDING WORK UNDERTAKEN
Fully Insured. References Available.
Call Mark 07976 264231
01622 736127
[email protected]
H & G Chimney Services
Chimney sweeping service
Long established
ICS registered • All types of flu
All pots-cowls supplied & fitted
Complete re-builds
Re-pointing
Guttering, roof & valley repairs
01622 739439 07860 318166
[email protected]
The Fireplace & Chimney Specialist
Stove Installations Chimney Linings
Fireplace Installations
Manufactured, Twin-Wall Chimney Construction
Cowls & Birdguard Fitting Chimney Capping
Clean, Reliable, Fully Insured
Free Quotations
Call 07877 031580
39
Classified
downsmail.co.uk
Cleaning Services
Fencing continued
Kent Carpet Cleaning Company Ltd
Professional Carpet Cleaning
"WE CLEAN
OVENS!"
Using van mounted cleaning tanks,
your oven hob and extractor is
cleaned to showroom shine without
smell, mess or fuss. 1000's of
delighted local customers.
Oven cleaning from just £49
Looking for a professional, local, family run
carpet cleaning company?
Then give Chrissy and John a call
• Upholstery Cleaning • Leather Suite Cleaning
• Stain Removal • Stainguard Protection
Special Offer
Free bottle of Spot & Stain Remover
01732 872 199
Please call James on
07860100295 John 07801 561696 Chrissy
[email protected]
www.kingshillkentcarpetclean.co.uk
01622 616168
www.ovenwizards.com
David Matthews
Fencing
• Free estimates & friendly advice
• All types of fencing at
competitive prices
• Fencing supplied and erected
• You talk directly to David at all
stages for your fencing
• Go on, give him a call on
Phone: 01622 755342
Mobile: 07749 202140
www.wrightsfencing.co.uk
No1 Locally Since 1996
Garden Services
ARBOUR
Forestry First Ltd
TREE SURGERY
Tree Surgeons & Landscapers in Kent
All arboricultural tree works
undertaken. Fully insured.
www.forestryfirst.co.uk
01622 616133
Drives
DRIVEWAYS
Block Paving
Patterned Concrete
Tarmac Driveways
Shingle Drives Patios
Electric Rewired
The new 17th Edition wiring regs are applied
We are Part P Certificated
For all your Electrical needs
01622 850491
Mobile: 07885 253623
Warren House Headcorn Road
Sandway Maidstone
From extra sockets to house rewiring
Replace old light fittings with new fittings
Call Alf for your free quote
Ring 07831 247843 or 01622 738680
www.electricrewired.co.uk.
[email protected]
Fully Insured and Qualified
Free No Obligation Written Quotation
01622 759119 07771 970570
EPIC
www.arbourtreesurgery.co.uk
No job too big or small
• Fencing • Treework
• Turfing • Decking
• Levelling Ground
• Jet Washing Service
• Water Features
• Astroturf • Patios
• Clearance • Driveways
For a free site survey call:
01622 527106
07788 532926
ALL TYPES – REPAIR/RENEW
Est. 25 YEARS
FREE ESTIMATES
01622 844956 07931 368710
www.IWallondfencingcontractors.co.uk
Fence me in & alot more
All types of Fencing & Gates
Installed & Repairs
All Aspects of Garden Services, Landscapes,
Decking, Patios, Paths & Paving.
Regular Contracts, Lawn Mowing,
Hedge Cutting etc.
Call Colin on 07521
377306 or 01622 853978
(
40
Call our sales team now - 01622 630 330
TANTONS
Tree Surgeons
ad ad ad ad ad ad ad
I.WALLOND FENCING
ad ad ad ad ad ad ad
ad ad ad ad ad
Fencing
All Aspects of Tree Work
Felling • Pruning
Hedge Cutting
Stump Grinding
LANDSCAPES
Electricians
BUTLER
‘Trust your local experts’
Maidstone Medway Surrounding Areas
TREE FELLING CHIPPING
CONIFER TOPPING
CLIMBING/DISMANTLING
SITE CLEARANCE SPECIALISTS
HEDGE TRIMMING LOGS
POLLARDING FREE ADVICE
STUMP GRINDING SPECIALISTS
Clean & Tidy Friendly Service Guaranteed
Public Liability Insured/
Approved Contractor
01622 630312
JB Landscaping
Landscaping
Drives, Paths, Patios, Fencing,
Turfing, Shed Bases, Decking
All aspects of treework &
garden clearance
Fully Insured
For a free estimate
or advice
please call Jim
www.tantonstreesurgeons.co.uk
and find us on www.yell.com
ad ad ad ad ad
L.W.LANDSCAPING
Fully Insured
Tel: 01622
Mob: 07772
Tel: 01622 828036
Mob: 07763 905464
Fencing Treework
Turfing Decking
& Reliable Levelling Ground
Washing Service
260149 JetAstroturf
Patios
231419 Clearance Driveways
Classified
downsmail.co.uk
Garden Services continued
Metal Works
FAIRVIEW FARM
TREE MAINTENANCE & GARDEN SERVICES
for a helping hand with:TREE SURGERY:
CROWN REDUCTION, FELLING,
PRUNING, HEDGE & SHRUB TRIMMING, CLEARANCE
SEASONED LOGS SUPPLIED,
MOWING (lawns)
FULLY INSURED (City & Guilds
For a friendly & NPTC qualified)
professional service & advice
Please call:- 01622 743428
Mob:- 07817 517 733
TaylorBrooks Metalworks Ltd
Blacksmiths &
Metal Fabricators
TBM
High quality bespoke
ornamental and architectural
ironworks.
gates, railings and balustrades
www.taylorbrooks.uk
Shaun Taylor: 07747 443 278
[email protected]
IRELAND LANDSCAPES
Painting & Decorating
All Types of Hard & Soft Landscapes
Natural & Concrete Paving & Patios
Block Paving, Fencing, Concrete Bases
Turfing, Groundwork, Jungles Cleared.
PAINTING & DECORATING
SERVICES
Ring Paul on 01622 844605 or 07767 683747
or email: [email protected]
for free estimate
0$,'6721(
20%
discount*
/$1'6&$3(6
on production of this advert
* not to be used in
conjunction with any other
offers
3523(57<
6(59,&(6/WG
LANDSCAPING - Drives, Patios, Pathways, Brick/Stone Walls, Block/Stone Paving,
Tarmac, Decking, Fencing, Turfing, Ponds, Water Features, Garden Clearance,
Sheds/Summer & Play House Bases, Tree Surgery etc
BUILDING WORKS - Extensions, Porches, Conservatories, Garages, Groundworks,
Roofing, PVC Windows, Doors, Soffits, Fascias, Floor/Wall Tiling, Decorating etc
FULLY INSURED/WORK GUARANTEED, VERY PROFESSIONAL/FRIENDLY SERVICE
Top Quality Materials/Workmanship from design to completion - FREE ESTIMATES
Tel: 01622 851222 Mob: 07786 07 01 07
www.maidstonelandscapes.com
LOOK: Please check our reviews and other
companies you may use at www.uktc.org
Established 1990 Director: M Potter
continued
LEE Hughes
Interior & Exterior Work
Undertaken
OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE
City & Guild Qualified
Tel: 01622 759040
• Quality Decorating at a
fair & competitive price
• Fully insured &
references available
• Dulux approved
Tel/Fax: 01622 737225
Mobile: 07816 149502
www.sr-interiors.com
email: [email protected]
MALCOLM ROBERTS
Over 25 years’ experience of
maintaining people’s homes.
A friendly, reliable service.
Painting & decorating,
Wall Papering, Tiling
and all aspects of DIY.
CALL MALCOLM
ON 01634 308067
Mob: 07788 142576
FOR A FREE QUOTATION
Rathbone Decorating Services
Interior & Exterior
Works Undertaken
No job too small
with special rates
for pensioners
• Free Estimates • Friendly Personal Services
• Domestic and Commercial • Qualified Tradesman
Tel 01622 721491 or Mobile: 07753 487796
Pest Control
FEN PEST CONTROL LTD
Specialist in wildlife management
Handyman
Locksmith
HANDYMAN
No job too big or too small.
Painting & decorating,
all roofing works & repairs,
chimney’s, guttering & gutter
cleaning, pressure cleaning,
fencing & brickwork & driveways
ALL PESTS CONTROLLED Wasps nests
Specialising in Moles. Rats, Miace, treated from
References Available
Squirrels, Rabbits & Foxes.
£30+
vat
Boar & Deer control Free of charge
Over 30 years
experience
For free consultancy call:
Maidstone & Kent
T: 01622 755750 M: 07738 658751
07554 267087
0800 4748750
3 Plains Avenue, Maidstone ME15 7AT
www.yourmaidstonelocksmith.co.uk
24 hour service locks opened
new locks fitted security checks
emergency work undertaken
01580 754839
Kent Wildlife Control
Pest Control/Mole/Rabbit/Rats
Wasps same day service from £25
07580 884053/01622 814112
www.kentwildlifecontrol.com
Plastering continued
D K PLASTERING
Call our sales team now -
All plastering work carried out
• Excellent Work • Excellent Prices
• FREE Quotes
LOGS LOGS LOGS
01622 630 330
Call David 01622 727534
Seasoned Logs
Suitable for Wood Burners and Open Front
Fires at Credit Crunch Prices.
Plastering
Plumbing & Heating
Free from landlines
Logs
R K Plastering
Full loads now only £100
Half loads now only £60
Bulk bag was £60 NOW £50
Free Delivery • Free Stacking
All Aspects of Plastering
Internal / External
Plastering Over Artex
Coving
Free Estimates
Clean & Reliable
Mobile: 07854 615687 Office: 01622 813750
Call Rob on: 07984 609133
www.rkplastering.co.uk
Mobile: 07974 891795
NO CALL OUT CHARGE
& FREE QUOTES
For all your
PLUMBING
plumbing needs
New Taps • Toilet & Cistern Repairs
Bath & Shower Installation
Leaks & Fault Finding • General Repairs
Call Gary
07738 902116 / 01622 736266
41
Classified
downsmail.co.uk
Plumbing & Heating continued
Chris Bourne Plumbing Services
making water work
Heating
Wall & Floor
Plumbing
Tiling
Complete 25yrs experience
Bathrooms
01622 747272 /
07885 950959
Larkrise, Green Lane,
Boughton Monchelsea.
Roofing Services continued
M B Plumbing and
Heating
Boiler repairs and installs
Leaking taps
No Job too small, No call out fee,
Free estimates
All types of plumbing work.
25 years & 25,000 roofs
& all our guarantees are
insurance backed for the
full 30 years
Please call Matthew on
07929 544 856
30
All gas appliances installed, serviced and repaired
Boiler installations & breakdowns
Solar installations & maintenance
Gas cookers installed & repaired
Power flushing
Landlord gas safety checks
All plumbing work undertaken
City & Guilds and A.C.S qualified
218594
For a
Call Neil Tel: 01622 683476
Mobile: 07725 696030
Benjamin Terry
!
NOsW
L
v
r
L
u
A
C e home ey
GAS, HEATING, PLUMBING & RENEWABLES
Plumbing and Heating
• Free Quotations for all your plumbing and heating requirements
• All calls handled promptly and efficiently.
• No job too small
306005
fre
0800 0434 342 / 07899 905 301
The Fibreglass Roofing experts
See the working display we created in Notcutts 25 years ago
www.flatroofcokent.co.uk
Skip Hire
Heating Bathrooms Plumbing Boiler Servicing
Landlord Gas Safety Certificates
LPG, Air Source Pumps and Natural Gas
01622 725558
[email protected]
07968 424228
Gavin Francis
Central Heating Installations ex British Gas
• New Boilers
• Noisy Boilers and repairs
• Burst pipes & leaks
• Bathroom & shower installations
• FULLY INSURED
• ALL WORK GUARANTEED
& AT COMPETITIVE RATES
199173
NO CALL OUT CHARGE FREE ESTIMATES
Your local plumber
07860 174959
01622 721779
Forge Lane, East Farleigh,
Maidstone, Kent ME15 0TH
E:[email protected]
Roofing Services
A.P.S Ltd
COMPLETE ROOFING SERVICE
Roofing & Chimney Services
• Full Roof Installation
• Tiling & Slate Roofing
• uPVC Fascias & Soffits
• Chimney Repointing or Removal
• Roofing Repairs & Maintenance
• New roofs & repairs
• Slating/Tiling/Lead work
• Chimney rebuild/repairs
• Pointing
• Guttering Services
www.apolloroofing.co.uk
07808 414965
Free estimates & all works guaranteed
0800 0232665/01622 729600
or 01622 853601
for a free, no obligation quote
Vicarage Lane, East Farleigh
[email protected]
• Re-roofs
• Leaks
• Fascias & Soffits
• Roof repairs • Felt/Flat Roofs • Gutter clearing
• Tile Changing • Sheds and Out • High Quality
buildings
materials used
• Lead Work
st ry
Falive
e
D
Over 20 Years Experience
Prices from £110+VAT
01622
Contact Ben or Phil on
973176 / 07877 031580
Over 12 years experience • Fully Insured 07949 e-mail:
[email protected]
42
P
C
o rom
D.T
lle
ct pt
io
SKIP HIRE
n
843511
South Belringham Yard, South Lane,
Sutton Valance, Kent ME17 3BD
Skip Hire 3, 4, 6
& 12 Yard Bins
Covering Maidstone
& The Weald
EA Registered
Fast & Prompt Service
Commercial
& Domestic
Classified
downsmail.co.uk
Skip Hire continued
Window Repairs
Friendly • Effecient • Reliable • Competitive
P
I
N
B
I
N
S
Commercial and domestic
1-14 day hire
Same day delivery
2-4 yard mini skips
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Parish Councils
46
Broomfield and Kingswood
Lane, Coxheath.
Neighbourhood plan Some progress had
Police report Two crimes were reported –
been made in discussions with Maidstone
theft from a motor vehicle at Gravelly
Council over the progress towards
Boom Road and criminal damage in
independent examination of the Coxheath
Charlesford Avenue. Anti-social behaviour
neighbourhood plan. It was now hoped that
reports within the park could not be
the examination would take place in late
accessed as they fell under a different ward. October or early November.
The clerk was asked to write to Anne Barnes, Heath Road The parish council was
Police and Crime Commissioner, regarding
continuing to press Kent Highway Services
the lack of reporting of other local crime
to complete the outstanding tasks in relation
issues as had previously been available, and to the revamped Heath Road traffic calming
appeared still to be available to other local
scheme. The balance of the parish council
parishes.
contribution towards the scheme is being
Neighbourhood plan The proposed
withheld until all work is completed.
schedule, leading to a possible referendum
Festive lighting The parish council has
in January/February, was discussed. The
agreed to purchase four additional festive
clerk was asked to contact Designscape and
lighting units so that the number of
arrange a meeting to discuss the outcomes of streetlight displays can be extended.
the parish public consultation as soon as
Conservation A site meeting would be held
possible.
with Conservation Landscape Services to cut
Sports field Work on the removal of the
back the overgrown brambles in the
Levercrest area would commence at the end protected wildlife/nature area to the north of
of September. A revised quote for the
the Beacon Field and to agree the materials
fencing from Jacksons had been received
to be used in constructing new pathways.
which had increased the cost of the
Charity run It was agreed to support an
installation considerably. Councillors agreed initiative by Beginners2Runners to organise
to order the fencing from Jacksons but to ask a charity fun run in Coxheath during the
John Baker to install it. The annual safety
Christmas period.
report had been received but the clerk had
been unable to circulate it by email as was
requested. There were many queries as to
East Farleigh
the accuracy of the reporting for which the
clerk was still awaiting replies. The clerk had Police report PCSO Mahew Judges
reported four crimes in the last month – a
also requested to be informed when the
burglary (non dwelling) and thefts of garden
inspection would take place so that she
could aend, but for the third year running, furniture and gates, all in Dean Street.
Cherries were stolen from Gallants Lane
Playdale had not complied. She
before they were ripe and neing was
recommended another company be used in
damaged. The PCSO would welcome any
future.
information from the public in connection
CCTV A meeting had been held with
with this. He can be contacted on
Maidstone Council community support
[email protected]
officer regarding temporary installation of
CCTV at the sports field. However, a camera Bridge A councillor had met with Sarah
Hobbs, a resident who was keen to see some
could not be supplied due to the lack of an
progress on the traffic issues on and around
adequate secure electricity supply. A quote
the bridge, and proposed that she be invited
would be obtained to install the required
to join the bridge working party. Council
power supply.
agreed.
Padlock Additional chains and a padlock
Return The annual return was received from
would be bought for the main gate of the
PKF Lilejohn. No issues were highlighted.
sports field as the chain had been stolen.
Old School Hall As the building had now
Handyman There had been three
been put up for sale, the council considered
applications for this post. It was decided to
whether it wished to pursue its community
appoint John Baker. Regulations required,
right to bid and agreed that it did not.
where possible, the employment of local
Village car park There had been no
tradespeople and the other applicants did
response from TripleM following the clerk’s
not come from within the parish.
last leer asking them to inspect the surface
Tall Trees The cost to the parish council for
with a view to rectifying the problem. Three
the sale of the Tall Trees leased area and to
councillors were given delegated powers to
relinquish the lease would be £500 plus
obtain quotes up to £1,000, order the
disbursements plus Vat for each piece of
aggregate and get the work done as soon as
land. The costs for the purchase of the land
were similar. The tenants had offered to pay possible so that the delineation bays could
be repainted before the start of the autumn
£3,500 each on the basis that the parish
council pay all costs. The clerk was asked to term. The clerk would write again to
TripleM informing them of what was
contact the tenants and inform them that it
happening and that the bill for the work
was now the parish council’s intention to
have the land valued as per legal advice and would be sent to them. Photographs would
be taken before work started.
that due to anticipated costs, it would
Broadband Following enquiries from a
require all costs to be paid by the
resident. The council had made enquiries
purchasers.
with BT Openreach about the continuing
delay in faster broadband coming to the
area, but had had no response. The maer
Coxheath
was now on Streetlife if residents wanted to
Resignation The parish council regretfully
get involved.
accepted the resignation of Cllr Bill Milner
who is moving away from the area.
Housing The parish council was resisting
Headcorn
efforts by Maidstone Council to impose
additional housing numbers on the potential Hazel Pits Following discussions with
development site at Linden Farm in Stocke Maidstone Council about the planning
application for 220 houses, the appeal was
due to be held in the village hall on August
12.
Lenham Road site The application for 48
homes north of Lenham Road was being
considered by Maidstone Council in spite of
the parish council objections.
Summer playscheme This was to run at the
primary school until August 14.
Harassment of motorists There had been
reports of motorists being harassed in
Lenham Road. Anyone suffering similar
issues was advised to contact police on 101.
Adopt a street Parishioners were asked to
keep their streets or areas free from lier.
Anyone who could help was asked to
contact the clerk.
Assistant maintenance person The vacancy
was for 10-16 hours per week and the
successful applicant would work with the
lengthsman to keep the public spaces clean
and tidy.
Langley
Speed Watch The equipment had been
purchased and received by the clerk.
Play area The gym equipment had been
repaired.
Wasps The clerk reported that a wasps’ nest
at the allotments had required urgent
aention and delegated powers were used
to authorise this work.
Development Chairman Cheryl MaggioTaylor reported on the strategic planning,
sustainability and transport meeting at
Maidstone Council. Following lengthy
discussion, it was finally agreed that
development should be focused towards the
existing new sites along the Suon Road and
to allow a green buffer zone to be placed
from opposite New Road to St Mary’s
Church, which it was hoped could be
encompassed into an amenity trust to
provide protection against any further
encroachment of development in perpetuity.
Unfortunately the number of houses for the
site was still agreed as up to 800 dwellings
along with a school site, if needed, which the
parish council felt was too high a density. It
would like to see the housing number
reduced by more than 50%, to be sited closer
to the Langley Park site on the urban edge of
Maidstone. A spokesman for KCC had
confirmed that a school on this site had not
been agreed or even discussed. Given the
close proximity of a similar school being
built at Langley Park, next to the site,
another was unnecessary as the Langley
Park school could be enlarged in future, if
required. It was agreed that borough Cllr
Paulina Stockell should take this decision for
review at the next available full council
meeting, possibly on September 16.
Car park Suon Valence Parish Council had
asked whether the parish council would
consider contributing £250 towards a
maintenance payment for its village hall car
park which is used by school parents. It was
felt that this was an issue between the school
and Suon Valence Parish Council and
therefore the request was declined.
Play area The Maidstone Council monthly
report was noted. Quotes would be obtained
for the repair of the wooden slats on the
benches. An independent safety check
would be carried out on both goal posts.
Loose
Police maers Five crimes had been
reported in the previous month. These
downsmail.co.uk
support a lower housing figure in the
borough.
Nelestead
Chaerbox It was hoped to have a party at
the village hall to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of VJ day.
King George V field The field and the
churchyard had been recently cut. The clerk
was to try to apply for loery funding for
the replacement of the play mat surface
under the fitness equipment and also repairs
to the BMX area.
Highways and footpaths A member of the
public had reported fencing along the
Greensand Way. This would be looked into
by Katie Cullen from the public rights of
way office. The clerk was asked to speak to
the owners of the School House regarding
the clock as it was their responsibility.
Staplehurst
Neighbourhood plan The clerk reported
that gross expenditure to date on the
neighbourhood plan including the Feria
invoice was just over £30,800 and net
expenditure after grants of £9,500 was just
over £21,300. Feria’s fees for the final stage
would be £3,900 plus expenses. The
chairman of the rural selement group said
the expenditure should be seen in the
context of not only the time and activity
involved but also the long-term nature of the
plan itself. He believed Feria had provided
much support over and above the contracted
and charged activity. Members agreed to
submit the Staplehurst Neighbourhood Plan
to Maidstone Council for regulation 16
consultation.
Developers A meeting was to be held with
Marden
Redrow Homes to discuss its proposals for
Police report Five crimes had been reported Fishers Farm. The company would be
– three thefts from motor vehicles which had holding a public consultation event in the
been left unsecured, one criminal damage
village on September 10.
and one theft of garden furniture. CCTV had Plumbing Some plumbing work was
now been installed outside the shops in
required in the Surrenden Field pavilion.
Church Green and all shop owners had been Bins Two post-mounted lier bins would be
advised to report any issues regarding
purchased for the Jubilee Field at a cost of
youths. A fire had been reported at Marden
£129.98.
railway station and British Transport Police
Parish surgery A resident had complained
was aware. An email was to be sent to
about vegetation in Nicholson Walk, which
Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators
had been reported to Maidstone Council.
advising residents to lock vehicles. Posters
Another resident had complained about the
would also be placed in the village.
parish council not supporting solar farm
Warden’s report The community warden
proposals.
reported that the dog show went well. There Planters All planters were now painted
had been incidents of trapping wild birds in cream.
the area, which is illegal. Any suspicious
Public forum Ma Blythin of DHA Planning
activity should be reported.
and Roy Morgan discussed proposals to
Business Several councillors had aended
build 10 houses at Woodford Farm,
the Marden Business Showcase and felt it
Maidstone Road and took questions. A
was a good way to make Marden aware of
planning application had been submied to
what businesses were within the parish.
Maidstone Council. Permission was already
Lay trail This was being installed in
in place for a large replacement commercial
Southons Field next day and work would
building, but the existing business could use
take about two days.
more space.
Pillars The pillars had been erected at
Highwood Green and the “pineapples” had
been installed. The clerk would contact the
Suon Valence
site manager as it was said that these would
Local plan The parish council raised
not be used. The clerk was asked to retrieve
concerns about the delivery of the local plan,
the agreed plans regarding the pavements
the numbers and the lack of consultation.
outside the development and the proposed
The clerk was to write to borough Cllr
parking area.
Housing numbers Kent Association of Local Paulina Stockell to ask for a public meeting.
Trees Another two trees had been lost in the
Councils (Kalc) had circulated a proposed
orchard at Bowhalls due to the prolonged
motion regarding housing numbers.
drought, this time two pear trees. The parish
Councillors felt they could not agree with
council was asked to budget for two
the motion as there was no evidence to
replacement trees in the autumn at £25 each.
Car park It was agreed that £250 be
requested from neighbouring parish
councils if they agree to contribute towards
maintenance of the car park.
Maintenance The beech hedge around the
village green needed to be cut. Lambes
Garden outside the Kings Head both in
High Street and Lower Road needed to be
cut back. The clerk would contact the
contractor.
Path The path on Tumblers Hill was
narrowed by growth and making it difficult
to pass. Kent Highway Services would be
contacted.
Lacrosse National Lacrosse Day is on
September 19. They would like to celebrate it
by hosting an event at the recreation ground.
More details would follow.
Harbour play area The ditch had been
cleared by the tenants renting the adjacent
field. Willow slips and plants had been
removed. Fencing had been erected by the
tenants to make the area safe. A parishioner
had requested that the fence between 13,14
and 15 The Harbour be repaired. Quotes
were being obtained.
Operation Stack Chairman Eileen Riden
requested that a leer be sent to the Prime
Minister and local MP complaining about
the disruption that Operation Stack had
caused to the local parishes.
Crime figures Three crimes had been
reported – making off without payment in
Suon Road, criminal damage in South Lane
and in Maidstone Road.
Parish Councils
were one theft in Linton Road and four
incidents of criminal damage in Leonard
Gould Way, McAlpine Crescent, Well
Street and Loose Road.
Warning Cold callers had been knocking
on doors locally offering cut-price furniture
and enquiring about parked cars. This
would be published on the website.
Neighbourhood plan A government grant
had been secured ensuring the project
could continue into 2016. There had been
lots of interest and feedback in the
neighbourhood plan at the stall on Loose
Duck Race Day.
Fall A fall had been reported by a member
of the public at an entrance to the King
George V Playing Field and damage had
occurred to a wellington boot. Kent
Association of Local councils (Kalc) had
been consulted and the clerk would be
writing to the resident in due course.
Green and blue Cllr Peter Rigby gave
feedback following the Maidstone Green
and Blue Infrastructure Workshop. The
meeting was headed by a consultancy and
not Maidstone Council. It was felt overall
that the meeting was unproductive and no
immediate progress had been made. There
was also no indication of how it was likely
to progress. It was agreed to make a formal
complaint to Maidstone Council.
Pavilion and playing field A new CCTV
camera would be purchased to replace the
broken one, and the gate entrance at the top
of the playing field would also be removed
and replaced with a single central post.
Roads Complaints had been received
about the road surfaces lifting around
Loose. Kent Highway Services was aware
of this and was liaising with its contractors
West Farleigh
Co-option Jill Morgan was co-opted onto the
parish council.
Highways The lier issue in Teston Lane
had been cleared but the lier bin on the
footpath was obscured due to vegetation.
The clerk would contact Maidstone Council.
Cllr Swan queried the diversion route for the
forthcoming road closure for water mains
work around the Thatched House. Vehicles
would be diverted down Charlton Lane
which was unsuitable for large lorries. There
was no further update on this and the clerk
would contact KCC. The 20mph sign by the
Thatched House was obscured by
vegetation.
Tickled Trout Cllr Swan reported that the
Tickled Trout public house was originally
called The Chequers and wondered whether
the new owners could be asked to change it
back to this. Cllr Merri thought it was not
for the parish to get involved. It was agreed
that a piece could be put in Life-Line giving
the history of the pub and asking residents
to contact the pub if they thought that the
original name should be used in future.
Coffee morning Cllr Swan suggested that
the parish council could hold coffee
mornings every so often to give residents the
opportunity to meet councillors informally,
the PCSO and borough councillors could
also be invited. It was agreed that a coffee
morning could be arranged for late
September/early October to gauge residents’
interest.
Borough report Borough Cllr John Wilson
said that a group of borough councillors
were forming a rural alliance to ensure that
there was a voice for villages. A meeting was
being arranged with MP Brandon Lewis,
which Cllr Wilson would be aending with
MP Helen Grant and borough Cllr John
Perry to raise concerns over the local plan
and the issues in rural villages.
47
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