Thurnham Parish News


Church ‘hangs on by thread’ but is not to close – just yet


THURNHAM’S historic, though poorly at- tended, church is “hanging on by a thread” – but the vicar has denied there are plans to shut it. St Mary the Virgin has faced crippling mainte-


Meetings normally held on the third Monday of each month at the Marriott Tudor Park Hotel. Public welcome.


CHAIRMAN:Richard Morley CLERK: Sherrie Babington 01634 867173


Consultant is


in the frame THE new council agreed to recommend to the Joint Parishes Group that consult- ant Richard Eastman is se- lected to present the JPG view to Maidstone Borough Council on the Local Development Framework proposals, shortly to be opened for public con- sultation. The Thurnham budget con- tribution of £265 was ap- proved. The total cost of the project will be £5,000, repre- senting a cost per household of 64p.


nance and repair bills for many years. Architects have warned that the roof needs replacing but, in the meantime, tile repairs are to be carried out to prevent it leaking. Rainwater gutters and drains will also be repaired this year. Vicar Rev John Corbyn admitted it is a “sticking plaster” approach but that the huge expense of a new roof is beyond the church’s means. Access to heritage funds is a possibility but


terms and conditions are a stumbling block. The church would have to be open to the public at published times about 40 days a year. “If we had to do that who would be there to keep it open? If it’s open and unsupervised there are all sorts of issues.” The last big bill for St Mary’s was £150,000 of repairs to the tower and clock two years ago. But the demands of maintaining such an old Grade I listed building are endless. Rev Corbyn said: “St Mary’s continues to just


hang on by a thread. It continues to be the case. “There are different issues from time to time but


PETER Waite is the new chair- man of Thurnham Parish Coun- cil. He was formerly vice- chairman. He thanked Richard Morley,


the retiring chairman. “Richard has been a very able and hard working chairman. Although his health has not been good for


who knows what will be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Average congregations for the weekly Sunday services (11.15am) are in the “high teens” and most of those are from Bearsted. The Thurnham ecclesiastical parish consists of only 60 houses and 200 people. Rev Corbyn said the church would have been closed years ago if it had not been for the Bearsted attendees plus income from Thurnham Church Estate–acharity that owns four cottages and al- lotments near the golf course, offWare Street. He said the last “boom time” at St Mary’s was


when a former head of Roseacre School was the choirmaster. He had recruited pupils to the choir, and their parents came to support them. “That gave them [St Mary’s] a shot in the arm,” he added. “But it’s one of those things that don’t go on forever.” Rev Corbyn said the church had been in a


“use it or lose it” position for a long time but he denied making any specific comments about clos- ing it.


Thurnham Parish Council has responded to St


Mary’s requests for grant funding and been sup- portive over many years.


Peter steps up


the last year he could be relied upon to bring in the big guns when needed. “He and the other retiring members Anna Broomfield, Pat Sandford, Richard Jacques and


Paulina takes KCC chair


THE new chairman of Kent County Council is for- mer Maidstone mayor Paulina Stockell. She is only the third woman in KCC’s history to hold the post. Cllr Stockell is the county member


for Maidstone Rural West divison and has served as the chairman of its strate- gic planning and regeneration commit- tee. She has also been a borough councillor for 21 years, representing Sutton Valence and Langley. She has chosen Macmillan Cancer Support and The Children’s Society as her charities during her year of office. She said: “I will promote and uphold thevaluesofmyhomecountyand bang the drum for Kent wherever I can.


Team’s hat-trick


MAIDSTONE Ladies hockey team celebrated winning the Kent Cup for the third year in a row.


The final, held at Polo Farm, Canterbury, ended with a 7-3 win against the home side. A hat-trick was scored by Maidstone’s Jess Cremin. The three consecutive wins were all played on the opponents’ home turf. The team also won the East round qualifier for the Na- tional indoor competition. The team are looking for re- cruits. For details contact Chris Daniels on 01622 743171. Male players should call Matt Evans on 07825659344 and juniors, Mick Emery on 07779341912.


36 East “As amother and a school teacher, children and


young people have been an important part of my life. During my chairmanship I want to celebrate the contribution that children and young people make to the county.” Cllr Stockell has been a school gover-


nor for more than 20 years. She was ap- pointed to the Kent Police Authority in 2009. She was borough mayor 10 years ago.


Her vice chairman will be Cllr Richard King (Ashford Rural West), a retired broadcasting executive, who has been a director of both the Kent and Maidstone Chambers of Commerce and chairman of Maidstone Enterprise Agency andMaidstone Business Point.


Museum goes green with heating system LARGE holes are being dug under Maidstone Museum as a way of heating the building. The museum, situated on St Faith’s Street, is having 15 bore-


holes dug under the EastWing extension, each 120metres deep. Several ground heat pumps are to be installed, which will allow the museum to create its own low carbon energy source, result- ing in reduced heating costs. The work was partly funded by the EDF Energy Green Fund, which contributed £30,000 to the eco-friendly project.


Temporary move for information centre MAIDSTONE’s Visitor Information Centre has temporarily moved to Maidstone Museum. The information centre will be at the Brenchley Gallery, near the museum’s cafe, until it moves permanently to the new East Wing extension. Former cabinet member Cllr Richard Ash said: “The purpose of


themove is to offer a full leisure and tourism service in one place.” The centre is open between 10am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday and from noon to 4pm on Sundays.


Jeff Pilkington will be much missed. I am pleased Anna is to remain as Thurnham represen- tative on the King George V hall management group and that Pat hasbeenco-optedontothe new council where his plan- ning know-how will continue to be used.”


Voters say ‘no’ to AV ALMOST three-quarters of the borough came out against the proposed Alternative Voting system. Only 26% voted in favour,


with 74% opposed to AV – 4% higher than the national aver- age. The turnout was 42%, the same as the rest of the country. Of the Maidstone electorate


of 111,990, 47,327 people voted – 35,113 ‘yes’ and 12,214 ‘no’.


Hotfoot is good THE council-run Hotfoot Easter playscheme has received a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted. Inspectors gave Hotfoot a


good report regarding children’s behaviour, healthy eating habits, safety and wellbeing, as well as the strong relationship between the children and staff. To apply for the scheme, visit


www.maidstone.gov.uk/sports or call 01622 602222.


Rotary charity walk THE Rotary Club of the Weald of Kent is sponsoring this year’s North DownsWalk. The event on Sunday, July 3


offers a free ploughman’s sand- wich, strawberries and a jazz band at the finish at Harriet- sham VillageHall. Starting from the hall there will be options to walk five or 10-mile routes. A minimum donation is £10.


For further details contact 01622 890650 / www.weald- ofkentrotary.org.uk.


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735


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