Community spirit is needed following resignation
RESIDENTS were urged to show community spirit following the resignation of the parish handyman. In January, once his notice period has been completed, the parish council may look at a dif- ferent approach to deal with litter and other odd jobs. Cllr John Hughes said: “We need to get the community on board and push people to volun- teer.” Vice-chairman Cllr Paul Young said: “It would
The Villager Lighting scheme in doubt
be great to tap into the community spirit as BearstedWoodland Trust has. Obviously we are a different type of organisation, but if we can get a bit of their spirit, it will help a lot.”
A PROJECT to resurface and provide lighting along Church Landway is in doubt following a funding mix-up. The parish council was led to believe that the long-awaited scheme would be paid for by a £37,566 Section 106 contribution from the devel- oper of the 22-home Bell Lane scheme that was given planning permission in December 2005. But this money was instead used to pay for the completed installation of a play area at Bearsted Woodland Trust, which the council understood would be covered by a £40,000 grant from Maid- stone Council. Cllr Paul Young said he was “livid” about the
situation. Cllr Richard Ash, who also serves as a cabinet member of Maidstone Council, said the scheme might still get the go-ahead through a £31,500 Section 106 contribution payable from
Members in the
Christmas mood PARISH councillors will be out in force to mark the special farmers’ market at The Green next month. The market has been hosted
by Madginford Hall since it began in the spring, but the council has decided to host a special Christmas-themed event at The Green on Sunday, December 12. Members will run a stall offering tea, coffee, mulled wine and mince pies.
Bearsted stays safe BEARSTED remains a rela- tively safe place to live, re- ported Cllr Richard Ash. Out of 27 wards in Maid-
stone, only eight had lower crime figures. He said most types of crime had declined, but there were rises in drug of- fences and burglaries.
Rave halted A ‘HALLOWE’ENRAVE’ on Bearsted Green, advertised on Facebook, prompted local com- plaints. PCSO Jim Stevens said: “Teenagers were worse for wear after drinking alcohol and we took them to their parents.”
Salt move The salt bin on the junction of Royston Road and Spot Lane, is to be moved to a site in Mer- ton Road.
the development of 20 flats on the site of the for- mer Lipscomb Volvo car dealership on the junc- tion of Ashford Road and CavendishWay.
Call for meeting to discuss cuts THE parish council was
urged to hold a public meeting as it looks to retain services ahead of inevitable cuts. With Maidstone Council’s concurrent functions grant due to be reduced by as much as 50% next year, members will have to make tough deci- sions on how to maintain its core services. Roger Vidler, representing
the Bearsted and Thurnham Society, told the parish coun- cil: “Once you have plans, if you could bring those to a public meeting it would en-
able the public to hear your thinking. The Government’s idea is to get communities more involved in decision- making.” Vice-chairman Paul Young,
who chaired the meeting in the absence of Chris Dyke, said that residents were in- vited to attend all finance committee meetings, but did not rule out the idea of a spe- cial public meeting. He said: “We are trying to be more open and accountable to peo- ple in Bearsted, so we will look at it.”
THE parish council has made its stance on the fu- ture of the KIG land by backing local politicians in getting the area protected from any future de- velopment. KCC Cllr Jenny Whittle, KCC leader and local
ward member Cllr Paul Carter and localMP Hugh Robertson are trying to protect the land, which AXA unsuccessfully applied to turn into a road- rail freight interchange, by bringing it into the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The trio also want Maidstone Council to no
longer have the land included as an area of search within its Local Development Framework, which is currently being developed. Following planning consultant Denis Spooner’s advice that the parish council should stand against anything other than the retention of the land for agricultural purposes, the council pledged its support in achieving this aim through
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The issues of dog mess and litter were ear- marked as needing particular attention. Cllr Hughes added: “When I walk my dogs, I always pick up rubbish I see along the way. It’s something instilled in me as a child. “I can’t understand why people pick up dog
mess in a bag but then leave it in the hedge. We need to figure out who is doing this. We need to get these people prosecuted.” Cllr Fabienne Hughes said: “It may be embar- rassing for some people to pick up dog mess, but it would be even more embarrassing for them to have someone down the street asking if they for- got to use their bag.”
All in a name
for Morlings THE council backed a devel- oper’s recommendation over the naming of four new homes at 25 The Landway. The Morlings, to mark the
memory of Morris Morling, a renowned tailor from Maid- stone who once owned the land, was the housebuilder’s choice, but two councillors felt this might cause confusion, as there is a Mallings Lane and Mallings Drive in Bearsted. Cllr PatrickWalton suggested
Morris Morling Close and Cllr Michael Stark put forwardMor- land Close (a mixture of Mor- ling and Landway). The majority of members, however, went for The Morlings.
Rabbits at large A RAPIDLY increasing rabbit population is preventing Bearsted FC from playing games on the pitch next to the play area at BearstedWoodland Trust. Myxomatosis was intro- duced three years ago to deal with a similar situation, but BWT members have yet to de- cide what action to take.
Fireworks profit THIS year’s fireworks event made an £11.75 profit, follow- ing the decision to change the charging structure. Last year’s event incurred a loss of £880.
Council wants the KIG land to remain as it is
backing the politicians. The concern was now what neighbouring parish councils were discussing in terms of the use of the land, but local resident Peter Willson intervened: “It’s a joke that Maidstone Council, the parish councils, the joint parishes group, Stop KIG etc all have their own agendas. “For goodness sake, get together. This is where
we went wrong before with KIG, until we had a strong leader to fight it in Richard Ashness. “As soon as he got hold of it we had a case. Had
we not got together and worked as one, KIG would definitely have gone ahead. I’m worried that we’re seeing the same divisions as before.We need another Richard Ashness and we need an- other united front.” A meeting is to be held with Bearsted and
Thurnham Society and Stop KIG to explore the ideas further.
Council Office: Madginford Hall, Bearsted Telephone: E-Mail:
01622 630165 Chairman:
clerk@bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk Chris Dyke
Clerk: Helen Elstone
MEETINGS HELD SECOND TUESDAYOFMONTH (7.30) AND THE PUBLIC IS VERYWELCOME
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk East 21
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