Protesters carry on the fight after woods decision blow Continued from page one


Secretary of State's say-so and he may decide to call it in for a public inquiry. More than 70 members of


Save Oaken Wood Action Group heard the debate at County Hall. Afterwards, group founder Sarah Cooper said: "We have lost today's battle but have not lost the war. We have not lost our will to carry on. I still feel passionately about saving the wood."


Meanwhile, Gallagher's


team were pleased to have got over amajor hurdle. Sev- eral county councillors said it was a finely balanced issue and the outcome had been uncertain until the vote. The company said it will backfill and replant after each work- ing phase; will move pro- tected creatures to alternative reserves; and will create an area of managed woodland twice the size of that lost. Nick Yandle, Gallaghers' chief executive (pictured),


said afterwards: "We set out to be good at whatwe do.We are not one of the multi-na- tionals who slash and burn. This is our patch,we are not going to soil our patch. The promises we have made will be upheld." Earlier, Barming parish councillor Peter Budgen said the walls of his house in North Pole Road have cracks as a result of blasting.He said noise and animal habitat is- sues needed looking at again before residents were sub- jected to "25 years of pure hell".


Another parish councillor,


Chris Hall, said: "We can't understand how, with such overwhelming opposition from residents, that the ap- plication can proceed." KCC received twopetitions signed by nearly 1,200 plus 1,400 letters of objection. In sup- port, there were 24 letters and a 61-name petition. Harry Rayner, chairman of the Tonbridge and Malling committee of CPRE Protect


Operating limits CONDITIONS imposed on Gallagher's exten- sion would include noise and dust controls; the same operating hours as at the existing quarry - 7am-6pm, Mon-Fri and 7am-1pm on Sat; and the same lorry movements - an aver- age 300 per day and no more than 600 on any one day. There would be a tree screen 15m- 70maround the proposed site.Amanagement board would oversee the site’s restoration.


Kent, said Gallagher's plan was "the least worst option available in the circum- stances". Hebelieved it was better to extend Hermitage Quarry, with all its existing infra- structure, than to set up an isolated alternative. He added he would rather have conditions imposed by KCC than by the government's Planning Inspectorate.


‘We’re sick of it’ MAX and Val Power have lived in Barming for 46 years - within earshot of the quarry op- erations for half that time. Mrs Power, of North Pole Road, said there


are occasionswhen the settee shakes and the TV wobbles after a blast of explosives. "To be quite honest we're sick of it," she said. Another resident, Patricia Blackshire said:


"A lot of people have moved here because of where it is situated (near Oaken Wood), but the company just wants to take more and more ragstone. In my opinion, this (applica- tion) is more about lining someone's pocket."


GALLAGHER was pleased with the outcome. Its website reported: “The de- bate was thorough and lengthy culminating in a decision between ‘need’ and jobs versus ecological harm and mitigation. “During the debate no-one was other than complimentary about the Gal- lagher operation and our track record for doing things to a high standard.”


Guys in gear for charity ride! THESE three 16-year-olds are cycling the length of mainland Britain to raise money for Diabetes UK. The trio are training hard for the 900-mile ride from John O'- Groats to Land’s End in July. One of their re-


cent training trips was from Maidstone to Brighton and back. They did that in one day - but itwill take 11 days to reach Land’s End. The three are


all senior rugby players at Maid- stone Grammar School. One of them, Jon Mills (picturedl left), of King Edward Road, is himself a diabetes suf- ferer. "I've been doing gym and I'm quite sporty so I know how to handle it. But this is a different sport so it will be a big challenge," he said. Jon and the other other two, Ed Oram, of Paynes Lane, Loose,


and Jake Davison, from Rolvenden, have been taking advice from their PE teacher Ollie Rogers, who did the marathon cycle ride last year. The lads have already raised £2,200 from a party they organ-


ised at the town's Babylon Live Lounge, where owner Kirit Ve- lani allowed them to use the club at a minimum rate. More funds are expected from a bumper raffle. Anyone wishing to donate online should visit http://chari- tyjogle2011.blogspot.com/


Burglary attempts across Maidstone


THERE have been a number of attempted burglaries across town.


Thieves tried to raid sheds in Heathfield Road and Bell Road, Park Wood. There was an at- tempted break in at Zenith Sur- vey Equipment, Phoenix Park,


6 Town


Coldred Road, ParkWood. Properaies in South Park


Road and in Tonbridge Road, where the building was being renovatad, were targeted. And in Buckland Road, an at-


tempt was made to force the lock of a white Fiat Ducato van.


Demand for new tip Continued from page one


member Ian Chittenden said: "A lot of people are coming from the other side ofMaidstone to dump their rubbish at the tip. It's worth us arranging a meeting with KCC to discuss getting a tip elsewhere. " In 2008, when KCC made improvements to vehicle access at the


tip, it announced it had a £2 million budget to fund a facility else- where in Maidstone. It undertook a feasibility study but con- cluded there was no suitable site. Cllr Chittenden added: "The money thatwas in a budget was re- moved a year ago, so any project would have to be included in a future budget and would not be available in the current financial year." Tovil Parish Council is seeking to arrange a meeting with KCC members responsible for transport and waste to discuss the feasi- bility of a new tip on the other side of Maidstone and improve- ments that could ease the queues and traffic congestion emanating from the Tovil site. A road rage incident occurred in Burial Ground Lane, Tovil, which saw a bus driver and motorist receive penalty notice or- ders.


Congestion problems extend to


villages south of Maidstone TRAFFIC congestion from the tip has not just been affecting Tovil. “It’s causing problems in East Farleigh and Coxheath with peo-


ple trying to get through,” said Cllr John Wilson, the borough member for those villages. “The problem is getting from Dean Street into Farleigh Hill, into


town and then coming back. If you have traffic queues both ways you just can’t get through. I have been queued up there for 15 min- utes. “I have no idea how the buses are able to get through. It is caus-


ing traffic to go to town through the back of Tovil.” CllrWilson, amember of the Conservative-run cabinet, believes


the rise in congestion has been too recent to be explained by the borough council’s waste management changes. He thinks a recent Maidstone Council clampdown on flytipping “seems a more log- ical” explanation. He added: “We have got a refuse place in Allington [on the


20/20 estate] but there isn’t the ability for the public to access the site. “If you were to open that up you would have a public tip in the


north of town as well as in the south. It would stop the cross- Maidstone traffic and I don’t think the cost would be that great. It would cause less impact for the people in Allington than the cur- rent arrangement does to the people of Tovil and East Farleigh.”


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