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MP: No to boardroomquotas Request to fell trees


MAIDSTONE MP Helen Grant was at the forefront of a Commons debate on the promotion of women in business. She spelled out her views following


Lord Davies’ new report, Women On Boards, which focuses on the failure of business to address the lack of female representations in corporate board- rooms. She said: “Many people see this issue


as one of gender equality, but it is really one of business performance. Evidence suggests gender-balanced businesses are more stable, more sustainable and more profitable.” Mrs Grant, who lives in Marden and


runs a law firm with husband Simon, opposed any moves to establish en- forced quotas. She said: “That kind of positive dis-


Inspector quashes


industrial appeal MAIDSTONE Council’s deci- sion not to allow the construc- tion of five industrial units in Sutton Valence has been up- held by a planning inspector. Appellant Paice Pension


Trust wanted to overturn the council’s refusal to allow the development at the Warmlake Business Estate in Maidstone Road. But inspector Elizabeth Field-


house agreed with the council and felt the proposed new building would be unaccept- ably intrusive in the country- side and harm the character and appearance of the area. She did, however, allow a


smaller part of the refused ap- plication, which was for the partial demolition and internal alterations to existing units to form one additional unit and its associated car parking.


World Book Day BOOK tokens and books were up for grabs at Cornwallis Academy in Linton on World Book Day. There was a book treasure


hunt and pupils designed book- marks and teachers put up posters of their literary heroes. English co-ordinator Tabetha


King said: “World Book Day was a great opportunity to dis- cuss our favourite books with everyone. At Cornwallis, we’re committed to anything that pro- motes literacy outside the class- room.” Yr 7 and 8 pupils were given a £1 National Book Token.


POLICE are warning elderly and vulnerable residents of con artists, following a series of incidents where offenders have stolen credit cards and bank details. A woman in Boughton Monchelsea (aged 86) was among those who have been targeted. The victims were first contacted by phone with the caller claiming to work for ei- ther the Metropolitan Police or a fraud investigation team of a bank. The caller then asks for


14 South


MP Helen Grant speaking in the House of Com- mons


crimination can demean a woman’s real value amongst her peers, as well as alienate men.” Mrs Grant added: “This is an exciting


time for the promotion of women in business, the professions and politics. “Government has an important role


to play but legislation will not fix the problem. There needs to be a seismic shift in attitudes and behaviour, and the Davies report is a step in the right direction.” Lord Davies has recommended that


FTSE 100 companies should aim for at least 25% of their boards to be made up of women by 2015. He also suggested FTSE 350 companies should clearly outline the percentage of women they expect to see on their boards by 2013 and 2015.


‘100 bus’ marks M&D milestone


ARRIVA has unveiled a bus painted in the once-familiar green and cream colours of its predecessor, The Maidstone & District Motor Services Ltd, to mark the centenary of the company’s for- mation.


Maidstone mayor Cllr Eric Hotson and other invited guests as- sembled at the Kent Life museum at Aylesford on March 22, ex- actly 100 years to the day that M&D commenced trading from a yard in Maidstone, as the bus went on public view for the first time. M&D was absorbed into the Arriva Group in 1998, but much of the network of services still provided by Arriva have their origins in routes which were started many years ago by M&D.


Arriva’s publicity manager Richard Lewis said: “One hun- dred years is a very significant time for a company to maintain continuous trading and, whilst the buses are now blue instead of green and carrying the Arriva name, we owe the longevity of our business to the pioneering busmen of the early 20th cen- tury and to the generations of busmen and women who fol- lowed them over the ensuing nine decades. “M&D was a major employer


The company expanded rapidly after the First World War, with a fleet of 900 vehicles at one time. It employed many thou- sands of people over the years at depots stretching from Faversham in the east across to Bexhill on the Sussex coast.


that cut out light APPLICANT Tessa Blundy has applied for conservation area consent to fell four trees in front of her home at The Bridge House, High Street, Marden. She claims in the application


that the lawson cypress trees re- duce light to the front room and drive area. Ms Blundy added: “The area is not large enough to support replacement trees, but removal of the trees will allow space to plant indigenous hedge species.”


Grassland solar


panels withdrawal GMLConstruction’s proposal to install solar photovoltaic pan- els on rough grassland at Or- chard House, Westerhill Road, Coxheath, has been withdrawn. Maidstone’s planning com- mittee had previously deferred the item for an ecological sur- vey.


Return of Bluebell


Walk for hospice THE annual Bluebell Walk will be held on Sunday, May 1, beginning and ending at Harrietsham Community Centre. The event, in its 24th year,


raises money for Heart of Kent Hospice, with last year yielding more than £36,000. The eight-and-a-half mile route includes paths not nor- mally open to the public. Registration fees are £8 for


an adult, £3 for a child, and £20 for a family of two adults and two children. Register atwww.hokh.org or call 01622 790195.


Farleigh Green


in the region, as Arriva is now, and most local people probably know someone who worked ‘on the buses’.” The centenary bus has been painted in the final version of M&D’s livery, which was intro- duced at the start of 1997, a year before the transition into Arriva. The vehicle will be seen on routes around Maidstone, Tun-


From left: Arriva publicity manager Richard Lewis, KCC head of transport David Hall and Maidstone mayor Cllr Eric Hotson.


bridge Wells and Tonbridge and was one of more than 50 for- mer M&D buses and coaches on display at a Kent Showground event to celebrate the centenary.


Elderly alerted over con artists


the victim’s address and date of birth, saying that they have been the subject of fraud on their bank account. They are then told that they will receive a visit and may even be given a password.


Subsequently, they are vis-


ited by a man posing as one of the officials from these organi-


sations and are asked for their bank statements and for their cards to be taken away in an envelope, sealed by the victim, allegedly as evidence. Thousands of pounds are


then being drawn from these stolen cards. DC Donna Hop- per said: “I cannot stress strongly enough that under no circumstances would a real po- lice officer ask for credit cards or bank statements to be handed over.” Info – 01622 690690.


homes go-ahead A BLOCK of three terraced houses has been given the go- ahead for Farleigh Green, West Farleigh.


Maidstone Council granted


planning permission for the de- velopment on land adjacent to Michael House, Charlton Lane, on condition that parking/turn- ing areas will be satisfactorily surfaced.


Mixed-use plan for


Headcorn garage A PLAN has been submitted to erect a four-bay garage with a home and office above on agricultural land in Little Moa- tenden, Maidstone Road, Head- corn.


Lampard Close


THE Golding Homes devel- opment in Staplehurst will be called Lampard Close, named after the late Dicky Lampard. We stated in the headline of our March article that Dicky was a builder when, in fact, he had run a prominent garage for years.


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