CONSENT was granted for a two-storey rear ex- tension at a home in Ulcombe – despite it being more than double the size of Maidstone Council’s policy guidelines. The proposal for Candle Cottage, off The Street,
was criticised for being, at 11.4m at its longest, well in excess of the council’s 4m advisory. Candle Cottage is one of three detached homes
built in the same development in 1998. Parish council chairman Geoff Beales said: “Not a lot happens in Ulcombe, but when this development was given planning permission it was controver- sial as it was on a partial brownfield site.
Woman’s suicide
a ‘desperate’ act A MIDDLE-aged woman had been contemplating suicide for 20 years, an inquest heard. Last November, Julie Roberts
(45) was discovered dead at home in Merton Road, Bears- ted, by her mother. A note in the kitchen from her daughter said: “There is no future for me”, and that she had used he- lium and a plastic bag to end her life. Det Insp Nigel Douglas found
on her computer a file marked ‘suicide’. He told the hearing there was evidence it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but something she had been thinking of for 20-plus years. Coroner Roger Sykes said as- phyxiation was the cause of death and that the note she left, plus similar drafts on her PC, indicated a state of desperation.
Ulcombe extension gets the go-ahead “It was very carefully designed and the space
was well thought out. We have reservations over this extension as it will cause a change of the orig- inal design concept and the scale is excessive.” Local ward member Cllr Richard Thick recom- mended refusal on the grounds of loss of outlook for neighbours and being contrary to planning guidelines. But development control manager Rob Jarman
COMMITTEE member Cllr Richard Thick left Town Hall straight after the decision with- out offering an explanation. He failed to return after the in-
said: “That’s a bit naughty, espe- cially when we are being watched on webcast.”
terval to take part in the rest of the planning committee meeting. Chairman Cllr Richard Lusty
said: “It is very difficult to come up with a guide- line for the maximum length of a two-storey rear extension, simply because each location is differ- ent. You might have a 10m-long two-storey ex- tension but there may not be a house for 20m so there may not be a loss of light.” He said the proposal had satisfied a national loss of light test and refusal would be hard to defend on appeal. The committee voted against Cllr Thick’s motion for refusal and resolved to grant planning permission, with seven votes for, four against and one abstention.
Oldest abseiler in town?
Cllr FitzGerald after the abseil.
AT the age of 73, borough Cllr Mike FitzGerald can lay claim to being one of Maidstone’s old- est abseilers. The Independent member for Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton ward, raised money for Maidstone Christian Care - a charity for which he is chairman of the trustees - by ab- seiling down FremlinWalk into Earl Street. The Maidstone Christian Care team, which supports homeless and vulnerable people. raised around £1,500 in individual sponsor- ships.
Village set to cash
in on green scheme VILLAGERS at Detling could benefit from a green energy scheme being considered by the parish council. Following a feasibility study,
the council has asked for formal quotes for solar panels at the village hall. It is also investigat- ing discounts for residents should they wish to have pan- els installed at the same time. Two options had been consid-
ered for the hall – a 4kW output scheme, costing £15,000, and a 10kW scheme costing £35,000. Councillors were told that,
based on a current electricity price of 15p per kw/hr and compounding a price rise of 2.5% over 10 years, the return on the investment for the smaller unit would be £17,000 with a total repayment achieved in about eight years. The feed-in tariff was guaran-
teed for 40 years and the life ex- pectancy of the units was 40 to 45 years.With nomoving parts, maintenance would be minimal. For those living in the con- servation area, the equipment would have to comply with rel- evant requirements.
Mobile homes hit ELEVENmobile homes were broken into at the Hogbarn car- avan site in Harrietsham. In a separate incident at the site a caravan door was damaged.
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