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Thurnham Parish News


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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


Conversion backed PLANS to knock two cottages at White HorseWood into one res- idence have the support of parish councillors. Maidstone Council’s plan-


ning department was due to de- cide on the proposals for Nos. 1 and 2 Cottage Wood, Castle Hill, as the DownsMailwent to press.


Jubilee beacon THE parish plans to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by fir- ing up a beacon, either at Thurnham Castle or at the Ord- nance Survey trig point in the middle of White HorseWoods.


ORRIED parish council- lors have come up with an alternative to M20


junction 8 as an employment lo- cation in the area. Thurnham opened its month-


ly meeting to the public for a debate about Maidstone Coun- cil’s draft Core Strategy, which will provide a blueprint for the borough’s policies until 2026. The document identifies an un- specified 11 hectares of land near J8 as a “strategic location for employment development”. It has dismayed Thurnham councillors and other groups that fought so hard to fend off Kent Interna- tional Gateway’s propos- als


for massive


warehousing at a public inquiry two years ago. Though 11 hectares is


far smaller than KIG’s planned 112-hectare road- rail interchange, there is a


Council’s alternative to J8


fear that, once established, an employment site would expand beyond its original footprint. That concern is shared


by StopKIG and the Bearsted & Thurnham Society, whose rep- resentatives Mary Richards and Roger Vidler were at Thurn- ham’s September meeting. Chairman Cllr Peter Waite


said: “We are all alarmed at the Core Strategy. John Horne and I met officers recently when they


stated, ‘If you don’t want junc- tion 8, come upwith an alterna- tive’. I believe we have that.” He would not specify where


but said it was in Thurnham and was “approaching” 11 hectares in size. Cllr Waite also believed


CHAIRMAN PeterWaite said the Core Strat- egy consultation questionnaire was “not fit for purpose”. He said the questions did not line up with


the strategy document. “They ask questions but they don’t seem to be in a logical order re- lating to the document.”He added he needed to have three computer screens open at the same time to cross-reference the strategy, the questions and the appendix.


Planting help for BWT CLLR PeterWaite will help the BearstedWood- land Trust in its extensive planting scheme. An 800-metre hedge along Ashford Road and


down Roundwell will mark the boundary of land Pauline Moore plans to leave to the trust in her will. A total of 4,000 bare root hedging specimens


will be interspersed by trees at least every 50m. About 100 volunteers will be involved on No- vember 26 and 29. “I will go with a spade on the Saturday and


do some planting,” said CllrWaite BWTlife president PeterWillson outlined the project at the parish’s September meeting.


that plans for a vehicle sign- writing business at the former Poundstop site in Crismill Lane should be included in the bor- ough’s calculations for employ- ment land. He said Thurnham would make its main points through the Joint Parishes Group. JPG’s con- sultant is due to give his views to members before the deadline for views on the Core Strategy.  Politicians against J8 development – page 33


Planning system objections THURNHAM Parish Council is objecting to the Gov- ernment’s moves to streamline the planning system. Members fear that the proposals elimi-


nate parish councils from the decision-making process. They also say the lack of specific protec- tion for ANOBs, such as the North Downs, is a “se- rious omission” and that new developments in rural areas should be a “last resort”. They have told the Communities Department, which is seeking public views, that the proposals:  Encourage speculative development by not re- quiring a “proof of need” Give an unfair advantage to developers at the ex- pense of local opinion.


01227 774999 22 East Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735


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