New £2.3m waste tip on the cards
THE borough could soon have a large new household waste recycling facility after KCC pledged to fund the scheme. The county council’s project advisory
group has earmarked £2.3m for the capital programme budget to create a new facility in the Maidstone and Mallings area. A fea- sibility study into a favoured new site is to be undertaken from next month, with the aim of having a final recommendation by the end of the next financial year. KCC Cllr Malcolm Robertson, who covers
Parking increases blocked
COUNCILLORS have frowned on proposals to raise the one-hour car parking charge across two town centre car parks. The suggestion, whichwould have generated
an additional £10,000, could deter shoppers from visiting the town just when they should be encouraged, the town’s cabinet meeting heard.
Although members agreed that charges for
King Street and Medway Street car parks should be aligned with Maidstone’s other main car parks, they vetoed the suggested hourly increase from from 70p to 90p. Council leader Chris Garland pointed out that car park- ing charges had not increased for several years and said that the proposed increases were modest.
However, the cabinet agreed with Cllr Mar-
ion Ring that the proposed increase to the hourly rate – equivalent to 28.5% – should be rejected. The only other significant change pro- posed will increase the long stay car park charges for five hours or more by 50p. The full council will decide at the end of February.
Security gate at entrance COMPUTER Sciences Corporation (CSC) has been given permission to install a 2.4m-high security gate at the entrance of its premises in Pegasus Place, Lodge Road, Maidstone. CSC says this will improve traffic flow and heighten security at the site, which hosts a computer data and storage centre containing sensitive information, including NHS records, on behalf of the Government.
Housing the homeless MAIDSTONE Council’s frontline services are feeling the squeeze of the economic climate. Thework of the housing teams on both home-
less prevention and the provision of temporary housing has increased, the council heard, and a further £60,000 was needed to maintain the present level of service.
VILLAGERS in Hollingbourne will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate the Queen’s Dia- mond Jubilee and the start of the Olympic season. With the Olympic torch ex- pected to pass the edge of the village, along the A20, en route to its overnight stop at Leeds Castle, the parish coun- cil is planning to make this year’s Jubilee Bank Holiday one that local folk will remem- ber.
An initial meeting to start planning for a packed weekend of celebrations was due to take place on Monday, January 23 at The Dirty Habit in Upper Street, Hollingbourne. Celebrations will get under-
way with a summer fete on Sat- urday, June 2 and include an
6 East
Maidstone Central, says one of the leading candidates is to site it within Maidstone borough, next to the Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility – known as the Allington incinerator – on the 20/20 Indus- trial Estate off M20 J5. But he believes the best option would be
to site it in Tonbridge & Malling – the only borough in Kent not to have such a facility – at the former SCA Recycling site at the bottom of New Hythe Lane near Aylesford Newsprint. He said: “If the main aim is to
resolve the problem in Tonbridge &Malling, it makes most sense to put it there.” Another option is to site it in Tonbridge & Malling alongside Blaise Farm Quarry in Kings Hill, but that has the disadvantage of being further away from Maidstone, which is currently served only by the congested tip in Tovil. In 2008, KCC announced it had a £2 mil- lion budget to fund a facility in Maidstone. It undertook a feasibility study but con- cluded there was no suitable site.
Rural residents get ready for Brighter Futures
BRIGHTER Futures, part of Vol- untaryActionMaidstone (VAM) has received confirmation of funding to develop its successful postural stability exercise classes for the more rural areas of Maid- stone, including Lenham, Sta- plehurst and Coxheath. The service, available for peo-
Gentle exercise classes are coming to rural areas to help give older people better postural stabiliity
Weavering basement consent JAMES Overton has been permitted to add another bedroom to his accepted plan for a new home in Sandy View,Ware Street,Weavering. In May 2011 Maidstone Council granted permis-
sion for him to erect a five-bedroom house. Mr Over- ton says the introduction of a basement would enable the home to have six bedrooms without increasing the overall height of the building above ground. The council granted planning consent on condi-
tion that no retained tree shall be cut down, up- rooted or destroyed. The decision notice also demanded details of the parking/turning areas prior to the scheme’s completion.
TV-inspired kitchen extension A KITCHEN extension has been given the go-ahead at 1a The Landway, Bearsted. Kingsley Hughes, of Designscape Consultancy Ltd, applied for the front extension to cater for the mother, father and three children living at the prop- erty.
The supporting statement said that TV pro- grammes such as Grand Designs had increased peo- ple’s aspirations in their domestic quality of living. “That aspiration most certainly includes kitchens.” Maidstone Council granted planning permission
on condition that materials used in the construction of external surfaces match those used in the existing building.
Hollingbourne carries torch for Queen and country
exemption dog show followed by an evening of musical enter- tainment on the Lance Memo- rial Playing Field, featuring the Atlantic Currants. There will be a special church service on the Sunday, followed by a village picnic and fun cricket tournament on the Monday. The day will con- clude with the lighting of the Hollingbourne beacon on the North Downs. The beacon will be lit on the
North Downs above Eden’s Hole and will be part of a na- tional chain of 2012 beacons that will be lit at 10.30pm on
June 4, starting with a major one in London. Landowner John Boyd has agreed to let Hollingbourne Parish Council place the bea- con on his land and has offered to transport the necessary wood to the site, which is some distance from any road or track.
Sheds and Shelters of Hollingbourne has agreed to supply the wood for the fuel for the beacon which should be seen some 20 miles away. The Olympic torch is ex- pected to pass through on the afternoon of Thursday, July 19,
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
ple in their 70s, had been based at Maidstone Community Sup- port Centre in Marsham Street since 2005, but was last sum- mer due to cease as KCC had withdrawn its funding. But grants from the National Lottery, Maidstone Borough Council and NHS West Kent meant that it could not only continue, but also expand to rural areas and cater for the wider age bracket of over 65s. Brighter Futures is managed
by Danny Hewis, who said “With our experience, we can have a real positive impact on local communities. “There are some classes in
these areas, but they can often struggle to maintain interest and develop.With our funding we can make this happen” The classes will be aimed at
those who have had a fall, or have a fear of falling or have low bone density. As the classes are funded, the cost is heavily subsidised. Brighter Futures plans to
offer transport to those who need it. Anyone interested in these classes, as a participant or volunteer, should call 01622 762403 or danny.hewis@vam-
online.org.uk.
day 62 of the tour around Great Britain, which ends on day 70 in the Olympic Stadium in London. It will spend the night of the
July 19 in Leeds Castle, having started the day in Deal before touring east Kent. Immediately prior to coming to Holling- bourne, the torch will pass through Harrietsham. On July 20 the torch will
leave Leeds Castle via Holling- bourne Corner and Maidstone and travel through the Medway Towns, and end the day in Guildford. Other events under consider-
ation for the Jubilee weekend include a soft cricketmatch for all at the Lance Memorial Play- ing Field, organised by the Hollingbourne Cricket Club.
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