KENT Life at Sandling is offering a new home for unwanted tea cosies. The attraction’s current café is being re- vamped, with a salute to the 1950s and a more homely, pantry-style atmosphere. New site manager Emily Hirons (pictured)
said: “Nothing else can take us back to the good old days quite like seeing a steaming pot of tea with a charming cosy on. “We would love to give people’s tea cosies
a fantastic new home so please donate yours or even make us a new one, and if
Cosy up for a cuppa
they have a Kentish story behind them, all the better.” Donors will receive a voucher for a free
tea or coffee and a slice of cake in the new cafe - and the owner of the favourite cosy will win a family pass. Tea cosies must be received by 5pm on Friday, 28 February. Send them to Kirsty Vernon, Kent Life, Lock Lane, Sandling, ME14 3A.
Council chief backs KIG land defence KIG plaque on the Green
MAIDSTONE Council leader Cllr Chris Gar- land has assured worried residents that the authority is seeking to protect the KIG land from future development. Many of the 100 people who attended the
Rural North and East neighbourhood forum at St John’s Primary School, Grove Green, wanted to make clear their objections to any kind of development on the agricultural land north of Bearsted that AXA unsuc- cessfully applied to turn into a road/rail freight interchange. This stance has support from KCC Cllr
Jenny Whittle, who wants the land to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Nat- ural Beauty (AONB), which would provide it with the strongest possible protection. Yet Maidstone Council’s representative at
the meeting, planning policy and environ- ment manager Michael Thornton, would only say that the cabinet had not met to dis- cuss the matter. He drew the public’s atten- tion to a report – due to go to cabinet on February 9 – that will propose a preferred development target and distribution. Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Garland
A PLAQUE is tobe erected on Bearsted Green to recognise all those who helped todefeat the Kent International Gateway planning application. Bearsted and Thurnham Society’s Brian Clifford told members of the parish coun- cil that the olive green slate plaque would be placed on the wooden structure, for- merly the village pump, next tothe White Horse pub.
said: “I am well aware of the huge groundswell of opinion of people in the area but I think they will be supportive of the report that will come to the cabinet. “We will be pursuing exactly the same
policies that protected the KIG land at the planning appeal and we will be seeking to protect that piece of land. We now have a lot more freedom to protect the land than under the previous Government. “We vehemently opposed KIG’s plan to develop 112 hectares of warehousing and our core strategy will not encourage that
type of thing.” Dr Felicity Simpson, chairman of CPRE
Maidstone, made an emotive speech that was roundly applauded. She said: “Two things are going to be important in the fu- ture: food and leisure. That land is valuable for both. “Doing nothing about this land is not an option. Maidstone Council must see this as a positive resource. It is good farmland and does produce a great amount of food. It is significant land for this area and is deserv- ing of being preserved. “Maidstone Council spent a lot of money defending this land and we are very grate- ful, but please take on board the fact that so many people are sitting in here tonight be- cause they want this land retained as open countryside.” Denis Spooner, a planning consultant for Bearsted Parish Council, said: “We need to look very carefully at the planning inspec- tor’s decision letter, which says that the land is essential to the setting of the Kent Downs AONB and to the setting of Bearsted. That was a key factor in the decision.”
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