Policy switch could see lights go out
COUNCILLORS are to identify areas where savings could be made from switching off street lights during the night. Maidstone Council needs to save not only money but energy and could be penalised if significant savings are not made. The council does not have to provide
street lighting except when it is linked to “demonstrable road safety”, although it has become common practice for all street light- ing to remain on all night. Street lighting costs KCC £5.1m each year
– and the cost could go up by as much as 10% this year. And with a carbon emission of 29,000 tonnes, the council could face a further financial penalty if the Government
Dream award for
budding star Gaby TOP teen tennis player Gabrielle Paul has received a New Year boost from the Kent County Play- ing Fields Association. Gabrielle (15), who lives in Ul- combe, represents KentU18s and has already earned points in the British ladies’ ranking. It is her dream to become a top world player and she hopes to one day represent Great Britain and to play atWimbledon. The KCPFAtrustees have given
the aspiring young player their “Maidstone’s Dream Award” for 2012 – £300 in sponsorship to help with her future training. Gabrielle (pictured), who gained nine GCSEs at Invicta Grammar School last summer, is one of the aspiring sports stars taking part in Maidstone’s Dream initiative, set up by MBC to give local busi- nesses the opportunity to sponsor athletes in the hope of bringing a medal home from the London Olympics. She now plays full-time tennis, dividing her time between Maid-
stone Tennis Academy, where she is coached by Adrian Moll, and Bromley Tennis Academy, where she is coached by British top 10 player Naomi Cavaday. Her fitness trainer is Olympic athlete Steve Green, who is also Greg Rusedski’s trainer.
TO accommodate her rigorous tennis training regime, Gabrielle now studies at home, where she isworking towardsAS levels in French and history, with the help of her teacher mum, Liz. Gabrielle’s proudest moment to date was getting to the British Grand Prix final. She recently qualified for the main draw at the British ladies tour event in Birmingham and she has just been invited to the U16 Masters at the National Tennis Centre.
Therapy centre tries again
LINDA Turner has made another attempt to keep a spir- itual response therapy centre in Detling. Last June, Maidstone Council refused a retrospective planning application for the continued use of a timber- framed outbuilding in Oakhurst, Scragged Oak Road, for teaching and overnight student accommodation. The borough’s planning department said it was in an unsustainable location and caused harm to the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Her resubmitted application, which includes the es- tablishment of holiday accommodation, argues that the current building is on low-lying land and so not visible from the main public vantage points in Scragged Oak Road, and could even be given a permitted develop- ment order if itwere to be used as a garden room or play room ancillary to the main dwelling. The supporting document added: “The applicant’s
aim is to attract mainly non car owning visitors or visi- tors who seek to leave their car during the period of their stay and to use local footpaths and lands to ex- plore the Downs by foot or bicycle. “For the spiritual teaching use, the students will ar-
rive and depart by taxi, usually as a group, andwill stay for three and four days at a time. They do not tend to leave the site during their stay so it does not result in significant numbers of traffic movements.” Maidstone Council will decide on the planning application.
14 East
decides to impose a carbon levy. The Maidstone Joint Transportation Board
was told that light pollution and costs could be reduced in a number of locations with- out any detriment to road safety or increase in crime. “There is a clear difference between per- ception and actual data,” council members were told. In parts of Essex, for example, during a
trial to turn off lights between midnight and 5.30am, night-time crime was halved. Some energy-saving measures have al-
ready been introduced, such as replacing inefficient mercury lamps with energy-effi- cient units and adjusting timer setting to
make lights come on later at dusk and go off earlier in the morning. Cllr Gary Cooke said he had received a multitude of letters from residents on the subject and would certainly welcome the reduction of light pollution where appro- priate. He added: “This is one area where we are not as ‘green’ as we might be. It is also a good opportunity to save money while making life more comfortable for those affected by light pollution.” Cllr Malcolm Robertson stressed it was important decisions were made with care. “There are some places where this is the right thing to do and others where it would be quite wrong,” he said.
Safer roads around schools on the way SPEED reduction measures around Maidstone’s primary schools are to get under way in April. One of the first projects to be tackled will be outside Leeds and Broomfield Primary School, which is one of the most dangerous spots for children trying to negotiate the traffic. Maidstone has been chosen to pilot the speed reduction schemes,
being introduced by KCC, which will involve the installation of LED warning signs and 20mph notices. Cllr Gary Cooke told the Joint Transportation Board there had
been many ‘“near misses” on the road outside the village school and that safety measures were long overdue. Discussions are taking place with the schools affected to min-
imise disruption during the construction phase. Maidstone’s Postley Road is to be included in the speed reduc- tion pilot, following a petition from residents about the number of buses using the road, as well as complaints about speeding traffic.
Top talent takes a bow ORGANISERS of the Lenham Festival, due to take place on the weekend of June 9-10, are planning a “Lenham’s got Tal- ent” event. Anumber of acts have already
been lined up to appear at a va- riety of venues to raise funds for three charities – the Alzheimer’s Society, Demelza House and Cancer Research UK. It is the first time the village
has organised an event of this type, but the festival group has high hopes of support from local people – both by giving their time and their talent, as well as digging deep for char- ity.
AGE UK Maidstone has issued a year-round message to resi- dents: “Don’t discard, donate”. Unwanted household items
and clothes can be put to good use to benefit the borough’s elderly population, as a recent “Green Santa” week showed. Everything from address
books to cheeseboards found their way into the Green Santa sleigh parked in Maidstone’s Mall, helping swell the char- ity’s funds by more than £750 in just one week. More than 200 people a day donate unwanted gifts and good quality items to the recy- cling sleigh, to raise funds for Age UK, one of the mayor’s charities for the year. Cabinet member for environment,
Cllr Marion Ring, said: “The event attracted a lot of interest and put across an important message that we all need to play our part at re- ducing and re-using the amount of
Charity dinner THE Kent Charities Group is to host a dinner to support mem- ber charities. Tickets for the event at Raja of
Kent, Union Street, Maidstone on February 29 at 7.30 pm from Liz Clayton on 01622 691151/
L.Clayton@
hikent.org.uk
Neighbourhood plan THURNHAM councillors be- lieve that a neighbourhood plan should be developed, probably in partnership with other parish councils, to ensure that the local character is preserved and enhanced. Some members will attend a training event.
Green Santa helps town’s elderly
Santa’s green helpers collect unwanted items inMaidstoneMall in aid of Age UK
waste produced and, if it can pro- vide much-need funds to local char- ities, all the better.” Age UK in Gabriels Hill experi-
enced a 25% increase in donations and a 64% increase in sales, com- pared with the same week last year – putting an extra £768 in the tills in the week.
You can e-mail the Downs Mail —
info@downsmail.co.uk
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