Bulldozers move into Park Wood


A £34M regeneration scheme to transform the heart of Park Wood has been unveiled by Golding Homes. The housing association has already told tenants in more than 100 properties that they will be re-housed before the year-end. Now, a further 234 flats are to be bull-


dozed in theWallisAvenue area, along with garages and commercial units, as part of the second and third phases. Fairfax House andWashington House are among the first flats to be bulldozed, now that the Government has finally given the


go-ahead – and funding – for the scheme. Tenants living in Wallis Avenue, Long-


shaw Road and Brishing Lane heard the news some time ago but letters have now gone out to the additional 234 addresses with details of the proposals. Golding Homeswill replace the flats with


185 high quality new homes, predomi- nantly family houses, along with a new shopping area and community facilities. Plans of the full project will be on display


at the Fusion Healthy Living Centre in Park Wood Parade from February 15 to 18.


ST Faith’s Church is proposing to build a new community centre on the site of the current Ringlestone Church Hall in Moncktons Lane, Maidstone. The hall is the only one in the area and is used


by a significant number of groups and individu- als.


“Unsurprisingly, in the past 75 years the current


hall has suffered some dilapidation, as well as falling well behind in what is now expected of a community space,” said the planning statement. “The building is also very inefficient in terms


of heating and lighting, and has no disabled ac- cess, creating further difficulties for users. “St Faith’s Church considers the site as particu-


larly suitable for a redevelopment into a high quality, sustainable and economically viable de- velopment which respects the residential and rural nature of the setting.” Should the scheme get planning permission, it


is anticipated that that the centre would be built in two phases with the whole of the ground floor, the structure only for the first floor and site works completed in phase one and the first floor and lift


A MAIDSTONE councillor is hoping businesses will vote with both their feet and their money and back the new town centre improvements by spon- soring signage. Cllr Malcolm Greer, cabinet member for economic develop- ment, is working on a master plan for signage for the town centre, whichwill include mod- ern directional signs that could be used to promote events tak- ing place around the new Town Square, advertising material for businesses and the borough in general. When the current phase of


fitted out at a later date, in phase two. This would help the church fund the project. The ground-floor accommodation would have


a total floor area of 287sq m and include a foyer, hall, office/counselling room, kitchen, classroom and toilets, which would represent the minimum floor area to effectively run existing and any ad- ditional services. The 151 sq m first floor would provide a meet-


ing room, additional classroom, office and plant room.


Sponsors sought for signs of our times


paving and resurfacing is com- plete, the area outside the Town Hall and around the Queen’s Monument will become ‘Town Square’, incorporating a per- formance area for live music, dance and art displays. The council is now working


on a framework of forthcoming events to improve the attrac- tions of Maidstone to visitors. Cllr Greer estimates the new signswould cost around £8,000 each and would be placed in prime locations for visitors and shoppers to see. He said: “In a day and age when people expect to get in-


DVLA jobs under threat STAFF at the DVLA office in Maidstone are bracing themselves for the jobs axe under gov- ernment plans expected to save £28m by clos- ing 39 regional centres. The office, in Queen Anne Road, is set to


close by the end of 2013, and consultations have begun with representatives of the 30 staff. They are expected to end onMarch 6. The Government says it will be providing


best value for money for the taxpayer by switching work currently processed at the re- gional offices to the DVLA HQ in Swansea. However, union chiefs have described the centralisation, which could mean the loss of 1,200 jobs across the country, as “outrageous and unnecessary” and pledged to fight it.


All welcome at bowls sessions A SHORT mat bowls club has been meeting at Heather House, Bicknor Road, Park Wood, every Tuesday between 1.30pm and 4.30pm. Anyone interested should turn up on the day or call 01622 744497/750720 for information.


formation instantly, from their PCs, laptops and phones, we need to have the latest informa- tion available in town, using signage which is both up-to- date – and can be updated.” Cllr Greer believes business sponsorship from philanthropic local firms would be beneficial to both council and sponsors. He said: “Local councils, like


the Government, are increas- ingly looking to the people to take ownership of projects in the community. This is a per- fect example where local enter- prise can support local government.”


Drop litter at your peril! LITTER louts in Maidstone need to clean up their act – or face a hefty fine. Since the council’s enforcement teams were


hired last July, they collected £345,000 in penalty notices and issue an average of 85 tick- ets each week. Four officers from London company XFOR op-


erate in teams of two across the town centre, issu- ing fines of £75 to people caught dropping litter. However, it is not all profit for the council as almost half of the fine goes towards paying for XFOR’s services. It is estimated the enforcement teams have is-


sued 6,120 penalty notices since they July. The amount collected in fines does not include costs awarded from courts if someone is prosecuted and found guilty. XFOR operates a litter enforcement service for


six councils across the UK and employs six staff to run its Maidstone operation – two administra- tion officers and the four enforcement officers.


Golding Homes hopes to start work on


phase one of the development in late 2012 and complete the entire project in 2016. Before then, the company has a number of statutory duties to go through in terms of notifying residents and will, in due course, meet with individual residents to explain their choices and work through the process of helping them find alternative housing. However, tenants will have no automatic


right to move back to Park Wood once the new homes are built and will have to apply for relocation, along with others on the


Church plan for community centre in Ringlestone


housing list. Peter Stringer, chief executive


of Golding Homes, said: “These are ambitious and exciting plans which demonstrate our commitment to improving the quality of housing and commu- nity facilities in this area.” Residents living in homes scheduled for demolition will be supported to find a new home that meets their needs.


Urban bus helps


beat the blues MAIDSTONE’S Urban Blue bus proved invaluable support to revellers on New Year’s Eve. At one point, the town’s emergency services were so hard stretched they had no am- bulances left to attend town centre incidents, However, the Urban Blue community bus, which doubles as an on-site resource for minor medical problems each Satur- day night, dealt with 26 inci- dents and saved a further 23 call-outs to the ambulance serv- ice, the night economy business forum was told. The Urban Blue bus was launched in 2009 as part of a Maidstone Town Centre Man- agement initiative.


Porch prohibited THE proposed erection of a front porch has been blocked as it was considered not to be in keeping with the surrounding conservation area. Mark Nugent’s planning state-


ment for the work at Bodylink Piercing Studio, 36 Union Street, said the porch, which would have extended one metre from the current build- ing, would have improved “the appearance, function and ac- cessibility of the entrance area to the studio”. Maidstone Council’s decision statement concluded: “If you were minded to submit a sec- ond planning application, you would need to submit a her- itage statement to assess the im- pact of the proposal on the setting of the adjoining listed buildings and the Holy Trinity Church Conservation Area.”


Takeaway hope JACQUELINE Simmonds has applied to add a takeaway ele- ment to 52 Sandling Road, Maidstone, which is currently occupied by The Café. Maid- stone Council will decide on the planning application.


Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735 Town 17


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