KCC rivals fail to
‘get Carter’ COUNTY Council boss Paul Carter has survived a leader- ship challenge. In a ballot of members, Cllr
Carter, who represents Maid- stone Rural North at County Hall, secured 53 of the 73 votes.
Former cabinet members
Cllr Keith Ferrin and Cllr Nick Chard claimed it was time for a change at the top. They polled nine and 11 votes respectively. Afterwards, Cllr Carter, who
lives in Langley, said he was delighted to receive such a clear mandate. “There’s much to do and I
am relishing getting on with the job”, he added.
Electric car has
council road test MAIDSTONE Council was loaned an electric vehicle for three days to test its suitabil- ity.
Representatives on behalf of
the Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle (i-MiEV) also explained its benefits to mem- bers of the regeneration and economic development overview and scrutiny com- mittee. It was used as a pool car for officers and tested by mem- bers.
Farmers’ market helps local causes
SUTTON Valence Farmers’ Market attracted 24 stalls, helping to raise funds for the Queen’s Head Oddfellows Fund (QHOF), pri- marily covering the Three Suttons of Sutton Valence, East Sutton and Chart Sutton. The next market will be held on Saturday, December 10. Next
year, the market will be held on the third Saturday of every month.
Boost for Syngenta homes scheme
THE prospect of new homes replacing the former Syngenta works in Yalding moved a step closer after Maidstone Council’s planning committee granted outline permission. Despite flooding concerns, councillors backed
St Modwen’s access arrangements as part of its proposal to develop ‘site one’ – an elongated tri- angular piece of land bounded to the west by the Medway Valley Railway line, to the east by the Little Venice Marina, and to the south by Hamp- stead Lane – of the former works. As many as 19 homes could be built on the site, subject to the submission of a detailed planning application. Local ward Cllr Annabelle Blackmore feared
that a repeat of the flooding event of 2000 could leave residents of the new homes unable to es- cape, but after years of negotiations with St Mod- wen, the Environment Agency raised no objection.
Cllr Tony Harwood, who works as an emer-
gency planner for KCC, said: “Both flood defence planning and response contingencies have moved on since 2000. Discussions about evacuation in raging torrents is a red herring. Given the type of flooding you get in this area, people would be evacuated long before it becomes dangerous. “I don’t see this as a problem for life and limb, though there may be problems with people hav- ing a moat around their homes for a while.” The applicant is still to reveal details of its pro-
posal for the more substantial ‘site two’, which lies south of Hampstead Lane. A scheme to build up to 500 homes and create 32,5000 sq ft of com- mercial floor space over both siteswas withdrawn in 2006 because of the flooding issue. Syngenta ceased pesticide production in 2003, around 130 years after starting.Work has been un- dertaken to decontaminate the land.
Barn plan subject
to speed survey A PROPOSAL to convert a stor- age barn into a home in Marden could flounder on traffic issues. Maidstone Council’s plan-
ning department had recom- mended accepting the applica- tion for Bridgehurst Farm- house, Howland Road, which would involve the demolition of outbuildings. However, on the eve of it
being heard by the planning committee, KentHighway Serv- ices indicated concerns on vis- ibility splays and traffic speeds. It was agreed to undertake a
speed survey before looking again at the application.
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