Lost property is pre-school’s gain
POPLAR Pre-School has received £500 from Kent Police to pur- chase a new piece of play equipment. The donation came from the Kent Police property fund – cash generated from the sale, at auction, of unclaimed lost property and items seized in police operations, which is given to local charitable groups that work for the good of the local commu- nity.
Inspector Paul Sellwood, from the Roads Policing Unit, pre- sented the cheque to staff and children at the centre, in Poplar Grove, Maidstone. He said:“The Poplar Pre-School is very local to my team’s
base at Coldharbour, Aylesford, and it’s great to be able to sup- port a local organisation.”
Rev Patricia steps
into new role THE Rev Patricia Dickin is to take over as priest-in-charge of St Lawrence’s, Mereworth, and St Dunstan’s,West Peckham. Previously assistant curate at Oxshott in Surrey, she is ex- pected to start her new role after Easter. She replaces Father NoelMc- Conachie, who retired as rector at Christmas, 2010.
RAFA on parade IN ourDecemberissue,were- ported on theWest Malling Re- membrance Parade. We have been asked to point out that the article incorrectly stated that the procession was led by Royal British Legion members. In fact, the parade was led by Malcolm Bennett carrying the standard of the Aylesford and Malling branch of the RAF As- sociation (RAFA), and included a contingent from 2374 (Ditton) Sqn ATC. We apologise for this error.
Playtime boost for Poplar Pre-School after Inspector Paul Sellwood hands over the cheque for £500
Concerns over day centre traffic access
PLANNING approval for the use of West Malling Cricket Club’s pavilion as a day centre for adults with learning disabil- ities has been put on hold after traffic concerns. Tonbridge and Malling councillors deferred a deci- sion on the scheme and asked for a report on whether any al- ternative access could be arranged. Town Malling Cricket Club
had applied for permission for the change of use of the build- ing at Norman Road. This would allow it to continue for cricket use, but would also en- able Kent County Council to run a centre there for an aver- age 25 hours a week, catering for 12 adults with up to three staff. The building has already been used on this basis for
more than a year with staff using parking spaces to the east of the cricket pitch and adult clients being driven to and from the site independently by families or taxi. West Malling CE Primary School, which is close to the cricket pitch, supported the ap- plication, but sought clarifica- tion on parking and traffic generation in the area at “school run” times. Two residents who live in Norman Road objected on is- sues of emergency vehicle ac- cess, parking and traffic, and the impact on nearby properties of lighting the path to the pavil- ion.
Officers recommended per- mission be granted with con- ditions limiting the number of people using the day centre and its hours.
Winning schemes
get public’s vote SIX groups have won funding for their projects from County Cllr Trudy Dean after an audi- ence vote. Eighty people went along to
the event at The Malling School to hear the applicants give three-minute “pitches” for a share of Cllr Dean’s £10,000 members’ grant for local schemes. After asking questions, the audience used electronic key- pads to vote for their favourites. Successful groups this year were: Blacklands Scout Group for tents for Beavers; Brookfield Junior School for a makeover of its family room; Communigrow for developing its community allotment at East Malling Re- search site; Music@Malling for next summer’s festival; Town Malling Cricket Club for a bowling machine, and Malling Art Club for exhibition display boards.
Woman distressed by ‘road rage’ letter THE author of a “road rage” letter about a Trottiscliffe resident’s driving was invited to come along to a parish council meeting to discuss the matter. Councillors were told that a woman, who lives in PilgrimsWay,
had been sent the anonymous note, which she found “distressing and threatening”. Police were advised that the letter complained that she sounded
her horn while driving along PilgrimsWay and that “angry neigh- bours” had had enough. It was agreed to write to the residents in PilgrimsWay, asking the
writer, and any other residents who agreed with the writer, to at- tend the next parish meeting to discuss the issue or to contact the chairman Cllr Ann Kemp.
Andrex firm rolls East Malling litter pickers show they love where they live
Youngsters are pick of the bunch YOUNG volunteers from East Malling took part in the “Love Where You Live” campaign with a litter pick around Clare Park and theWinterfield estate. Before they set off, staff from the Tonbridge and Malling Cleaner Borough team, along with dog warden Lorraine Baseden, carried out a “bag and flag” sweep including Black- lands footpath, ChapmanWay and Twisden Road, collecting 68 deposits of waste. This freed up the route for the young volunteers who collected
seven sacks of rubbish in just over an hour. Most of this was found along the Blacklands footpath. Cllr Howard Rogers said: “Another excellent event in the
‘Love Where You Live’ campaign and hats off to the young res- idents of East Malling for all their hard work.”
12 Malling
out new deal THE maker of Andrex, Kleenex and Huggies brands has re- newed its lease for the Kings Hill building that is its UK HQ. Kimberly-Clark has been
based at 1 Tower View, which it had built for itself, since 1997. Locate in Kent chief execu-
tive Paul Wookey said: “The company’s worldwide pres- ence can only enhance the image of both Kings Hill and Kent as a great place to do busi- ness.”
Hall toilets proposal THE Nettlestead village hall committee has applied to build a single-storey extension to provide enlarged toilet facili- ties.
Showman’s appeal
over site refusal PROPOSALS for a travelling show people’s site at Castle Way, Leybourne, will be ex- amined at a planning in- quiry.
Showman Shendon Whit-
tle lodged an appeal after Tonbridge andMalling Council refused planning permission for the scheme, which included the siting of mobile homes, caravans, fencing, vehicular access, sewage treatement plant, lorry and machinery storage area and hard standing. The hearing is scheduled
for April 17 and 18 at the Civic Suite,West Malling
Have you got news for us? Phone our News Desk on 01622 734735
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