Motocross application withdrawn Ring out the old...
A RETROSPECTIVE application for a mo- tocross circuit near Lenhamwas withdrawn after it was recommended for refusal. An application was lodged after an unau- thorised motorcycle track was established at the junction of Sandway Road and Run- ham Lane, Sandway, in March last year. Balanced against the 190 people who sup- ported the facility were 245 letters of objec- tion and opposition from Lenham and Harrietsham parish councils, as well as
Time for Mynn
Awards nominations NOMINATIONS are now being sought for the annual Bearsted Mynn Awards – named in memory of Kent cricketer Al- fred Mynn. The awards are given to resi-
dents who have given excep- tional community service over a period of time. For the first time this year,
the awardswill be presented at the annual parish meeting in May, rather than in December. Anyone can nominate a can- didate and details should be submitted in writing to the Bearsted Parish Office, Madg- inford Hall, by February 28. A maximum of four awards
are approved in any given year. The council is considering a
new award for people living outside the area who have made an outstanding contribu- tion to life and the community in Bearsted and Thurnham.
local MP Hugh Robertson. Maidstone Council’s planning officers rec- ommended refusal of the scheme following criticism from the borough’s environmental health department. It was considered that the scale and intensity of the use was likely to cause harm to the amenities of residents in the area. With the recommendation due to be put before the planning committee, the appli- cant withdrew the application.
Felicity says farewell A LONGSTANDING member of the Maidstone branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has retired after eight years at the helm. Dr Felicity Simpson, who was a member of the group for 10 years and its chairman for the past eight, was instrumental in helping the group fight a number of major campaigns, including the Kent In- ternational Gateway (KIG). Having obtained a first class ho-
nours degree in geography at Cambridge and a PhD in land use, her knowledge and experience
was invaluable to the group, whom she regularly represented before Maidstone planning committee and at planning inquiries. Dr Simpson (73), from Water Lane, Thurnham, taught at both Maidstone Boys’ and Girls’ grammar schools and was a county councillor for 16 years. She was thanked bymembers of the group for her invaluable service at its annualmeeting, held at the Archbishop’s Palace, where shewas presented with a book by local artist Graham Clark. Her successor as Maidstone branch chairman is Stanford John.
bring in the new SUNDAY mornings in Otham will be more ap-pealing when three church bells are hoisted and rung for the first time early in 2012. A project to “augment” the existing three
bells at St Nicholas’ Church has finally come to fruition and the additional bells are due to be blessed and hoisted later this month. Two are “second-hand” bells and have
come to Otham via the Celtic Trust, while the third is being cast and galvanised by Taylors’ Bell Foundry in Loughborough. ForMalwynWilliams, who has been ring-
ing the bells at Otham since 1966, it is the fulfilment of a long-held dream. The last time any work was carried out on
the bells was in 1906when a new oak frame was installed in the belfry. But it has been Mal’s dream to see the three bells swell to six for almost as long as he has been ringing. Fundraising efforts got underway in earnest along with the project four years ago, when quotes were obtained for new bells, plus the removal and re-tuning of the used bells, their transportation and re-hanging. One problem was ensuring the bells were compatible with St Nicholas’ existing bells, which date from the early 1700s – the No 2 bell one of only two remaining in Kent. Although all three new bells are lighter
than the existing ones, the treble weighs in at 3cwt – so hoisting them will be quite a feat. It is expected that the Rev David Bond
will bless the bells during a special service before they are rung for the first time. The bell augmentation project will be the
final phase of the open church project to im- prove and re-order the church for use in the 21st century.
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