Parish funding
deal in sight ARESOLUTION is on the cards for a long-running funding dispute be- tween Maidstone's parish councils and the borough council. MBC - under financial pressure
from the Government - had origi- nally wanted to abolish the "con- current functions" grant to the 30-plus parishes. But, after mas- sive protests, MBC decided to re- duce the grant by 30% this year and to review the whole system in the meantime. Cabinet member Cllr John Wil-
‘£60m site means new jobs, not new KIG’ Continued from page one
value. “KIG did prove the need for logistics/distribution – but it chose a totally unacceptable site. Our plan is much smaller, on a suitable site and will be largely hidden. It will be a £60m investment into Maidstone’s economy. “Businesses want to be nearmotorway junctions and, in Maidstone, J8 is the only one still with good
traffic capacity. Lorries will come off the M20 to the roundabout and straight into this site. Local im- pact will be minimal.” MrYandle added: “Demand for office space is currently very low
and when it returns Gallagher can probably provide space for an- other 2,000 jobs on our Eclipse Park, near junction 7.Ontop of that the new private hospital near J7 will also be a major employer.” Access would probably be off the A20 roundabout, preserving a small part of the South East Maidstone Strategic Road, should funds ever be found to build what was once seen as the Leeds/Lan- gley bypass.
son told the Downs Mail: "We're planning to go over to a Parish Services Scheme, which is much better in our view. We need to consult with the parishes." He said it had been "gratefully received" by the half dozen parishes he had initially spoken to. The total concurrent functions grant paid to parishes last year
was £450,000. This is used for services such as grass cutting, main- tenance and cleaning, that MBC might not otherwise do. Parishes argued that if the grant were abolished, they would
have to raise their precepts by about £15 per household per year to recoup the lost funding. Many villagers see the parish precept as "double taxation" as they already have to pay council tax to MBC, while urban dwellers pay only once for a full set of services. Now, a different funding agreement with individual parishes is being proposed as a replacement for the old grant system.
Paper talk DOWNS Mail president Den- nis Fowle addressed members of St John Ambulance, Maid- stone, on the subject of his book ‘So I Started a Newspaper’.
Site of the rejected KIG scheme and, inset, the area proposed for the new £60m warehousing facility
Proposal to turn garage into granny annex IAN Fleming has proposed to build a detached granny annex for a disabled person at 23 YeomanWay, Bearsted. The planning application, which will be determined by Maid- stone Council, includes the demolition of an existing garage.
New wine bar MASSOUD Vernaseri has been given permission to convert a gallery into a wine bar at 9-10 Royal Star Arcade, High Street, Maidstone.
8 East
To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330
George Georgio
Would like to wish all his customers a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48