Fiesta time as Louise is crowned rally queen


AYLESFORD-based Louise Cook has been crowned British Rally Ladies Champion – in her first season of trying! Her triumph followed amaz-


ing twists and turns of for- tune before and during the last round that also saw the 24-year- old claim second place in the Fiesta Sport Trophy Champi- onship. “You could not have predicted


it at all. It was a great end to the season,” enthused Louise, whose boyfriend, Stefan Davis, of Rochester Road, is co-driver. Things began to go Louise’s


Man rally, was being axed. That meant Yorkshire was the final round, which worked to Louise’s advantage under end- of-season drop-scores rules. But it also caused a lot of ten-


way the day before what should have been the penultimate rally in Yorkshire. It was announced that the scheduled last round, this month’s Isle of


AYLESFORD Parish Council is considering the purchase of a 22-acre plot of farmland close to the centre of Eccles. The site, which partly borders


Bull Lane opposite the sports ground, was due to go under the auctioneer’s hammer on Wednesday, October 19, with a guide price of £130,000 to £150,000. It was suggested that the parish could buy the plot for use as allotments, recreational space and/or continued farm-


THIEVES attempting to steal metal from electrical or tele- phone cables have been warned by police that they are risking death or serious injury. The warning was issued after


a two-week crackdown in West Kent that yielded eight arrests. These included a 31-year-old


man Gravesend man charged with criminal damage following attempted theft of cable from the SouthernWater site at Snodland. After an incident at the UK Power Network site in Ditton, a


Rally champion Louise Cook


Council eyes up farmland


land, which would safeguard it for the future. Councillors agreed to progress the issue in commit- tee and report back to the next full council meeting on Octo- ber 18, when decisions could be taken regarding the auction.


Festival raises £40k


MORE than £40,000 was raised at the first Music on The Hill event for Demelza Hospice Care for Children.


Warning for cable thiefs


21-year-old East Malling man, was charged with attempted theft of cable. And a 38-year-old Aylesford


man was arrested following at- tempted theft of telephone cable from PaddockWood. The police campaign involved checks on scrap yards, targeting known offenders for metal theft and offering crime prevention to businesses. Supt Adrian Futers said many cables were live and thefts had already led to loss of life elsewhere.


Residential proposal for nursery THE OWNERS of Aylesford Nursery in Rochester Road have in- formed the parish council they intend to seek permission to build a residential property on the site. Julia Ambler explained that this wasmainly to improve security


for the business, as it had suffered from break-ins and thefts. Aylesford Council chairman Joyce Gadd thanked Mrs Ambler


and her husband for offering the opportunity to discuss their pro- posals but said the parish could not respond or discuss thematter until a formal application had been received through the borough.


Continued from page one


“not be the most effective use” of Trust funding. He added: “With low current


and projected patronage it be- came clear that running high- frequency services to these areas would be inappropriate and unsustainable. “Instead, by targeting im- provements on the town centre corridors from Tonbridge, Tun- bridge Wells and Maidstone more people would benefit from increased accessibility to the hospital.”


6 Malling


sion. “As soon as I got the email I spent an hour with a spread- sheet working out every possi- bility. I realised if Iwon the rally outright I could not finish any higher than fourth in the Fiesta SportTrophy, thesameasifI just got the car to the finish. But I would fall further down with- out the finish.” In the event, the unexpected happened. Her two closest ri- vals, the 2010 Finnish champion


Jussi Kumpumaki and ex-karting champion Nick Cristofara failed to make it to the fin-


ish. With three stages still to complete Louise


knew she had to get her Fiesta across the line to seal second place. “The pressure was now really on. One of


the stages had a surface like the moon. I was cringing at every bump and pothole.” Louise made it – and being second in the


Fiesta championship actually satisfied her more than being the overall ladies cham- pion. “It’s the most competitive one-make series in the UK. To do that was ‘likewow’. It felt like a big achievement in itself. “But to be a champion in your debut sea-


son is a pretty cool thing too.” Louise’s next ambition is to join


the World Rally Championship Academy for under-25s next year. It will cost £150,000 to take part – but it’s all part of her determined drive to be world cham- pion one day.


Shake-up of MPs’ boundaries


A LARGE part of Sir John Stanley’s Tonbridge & Malling con- stituency is to be reallocated under a planned shake-up of parlia- mentary boundaries. It would mean his current patch losing the wards of Borough


Green and Long Mill, Wrotham and Downs, which includes Stansted,Offham and Trottiscliffe, to Sevenoaks, which is now rep- resented by Michael Fallon. The reshaped constituency, to be named Tonbridge, would con-


sist of 10 wards from Sir John’s existing territory plus 10 wards from Maidstone & TheWeald andMid Kent & Faversham. The latter, now held by Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson,would disappear as part of the Boundary Commission’s bid to cut the number of MPs by 50 to 600. Helen Grant’sMaidstone & TheWeald constituency would in fu-


ture consist of the borough of Maidstone wards only. She said: “I would be extremely disappointed to have to say goodbye to any part of this constituency.” Meanwhile, one of last year’s Commons newcomers, Tracey Crouch,will lose the Chatham Central ward from her Chatham and Aylesford seat but gain the wards of Rochester South, Horsted and Hempstead andWigmore.


Young boxers honoured SNODLAND Boxing Club held its end of season presentation evening when all the youngsters who had been associated with it for a year received awards. Special awardswent


to Jack Burren, 14, as the most improved boxer, 12-year-old Jor- dan Oddy as boxer of the year and Steven Brooks, senior boxer of the year. Tonbridge andMalling and TownCllr Dave Keeley presented the awards and testimonials were read by club organiser Dave Phillips. The successful evening at Ham Hill Workingmen’s Club gave parents the chance to meet coaches and hear about the youngsters’ progress.


Cllr Dave Keeley (far left) and club organ- iser Dave Phillipswith award winners


Fears over bus link to hospital The existing conditions spec-


ify an average frequency of two buses per hour to and from Ton- bridge town centre, calling at the train station, the High Street and including Hadlow, West Malling and Borough Green - known as Bus Route 2. Mr Douglas said the Trustwas quoted £8m to implement all of the four bus routes in the condi-


TONBRIDGE and Malling Borough Council’s position is a “fundamental and strong objection” to the Trust’s ap- plication.


tions. But he added: “The majority


of this, £6m, was attributable to Bus Route 2, primarily due to the length of journey involved and the required length of fre- quency.” But Sir John


has vowed to tackle Mr Dou-


glas on “key issues”.


 In the meantime, an interim solution, agreed between the


Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk


Trust and KCC, means that bus services to and from the three main towns – as proposed under a Section 106 agreement – were in place for the hospital opening. It will last for six months during which the Sec- tion 106 will be determined. Mr Douglas also pledged that


a transport review would look at investment in voluntary serv- ices such as Dial-a-Ride as a “more responsive solution to those areas that do not enjoy good bus links to the town cen- tres”.


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