Parish consulted over problems By Dennis Fowle
THE difficulty in tackling prob- lems that bug East Farleigh resi- dents were obvious at a well-attended parish council public meeting in the school hall. Most agree they should be ad- dressed, but several draw the line on a parish centre with a green or orchard, road recon- structions and finding funding with new housing. In 2009, the task of considering
the problems was passed by the parish council, after it adopted the parish plan, to the East Far- leigh Parish Plan Action Group. Its chairman, Ray Morris, said
Shop broken into THIEVES broke into the village shop on the Green in Chart Sut- ton and stole drink, a few low- value items and a charity box. It is the second time the shop
has been broken into in recent months. Anyone with information is asked to call Maidstone police.
Garage refused A PLANNED garage extension in Sutton Valence has been re- fused. John Mason wanted to addfourbaysatWarmlake Farmhouse, Maidstone Road, butMaidstone Council said the scheme would erode the open- ness of the countryside.
SMITHS
the group was now tackling problems residents had high- lighted in the parish plan. These included: traffic congestion in Vicarage Lane at school peak times; traffic problems, particularly at the junction near the church, around the bridge and in Lower Road; protecting the bridge from heavy vehicles; creating a village centre or green/orchard. He said the group received a mandate for a feasibility study from a recent questionnaire to all households, but this is dis- puted by some opponents. He
said the study would cost sev- eral thousand pounds, which was not currently available. Residents would be invited to comment on the study, and if there was support for any proj- ects, they would have to be fi- nanced. He felt the only likely source was from a residential development in the village. The agricultural land opposite
the church has been seen by some as the most likely site for a village centre, perhaps with a small part reserved for residen- tial development. But the land owner had not shown interest in a sale for such purposes. The meeting heard there
could be brownfield land in the village for development – and consideration could be given to lesser quality agricultural land that could, one day, attract the attention of a developer. This prompted discussion on whether the village should con- sider a more comprehensive evaluation of its assets. The need for a village centre
was questioned by several resi- dents. Others felt road recon- struction would be difficult, expensive and could add to traf- fic problems. The action group will con-
sider comments before deciding future strategy.
Karen
Reynolds, of Kingscott Cheese,
receives her award from Jonathan Neame with
Jonathan
Neame, CEO, Shepherd Neame Brewery
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The big cheese CHEESE producers at Kingscott Cheese, in Staplehurst, are celebrat- ing after winning a Taste of Kent award. The company picked up the Kent
Food Producer of the Year, Retail cat- egory for their Kentish Bluebell cheese, which beat off a Spicy Plum Sauce and Bowyers Kent to take the prize. The judges reached a unani- mous decision when selecting the “outstanding and truly Kentish cheese”,which scored highly on both taste and texture. The Taste ofKentawards are organ-
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