Sports club wins Olympic funding


THE cash is coming in forWest Farleigh Sports Club’s new changing rooms, as work gets under way this month. The club has secured £31,000


of Olympic legacy funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facili- ties Fund – and the cash is now in the bank, along with further funds from the Football Foun- dation. The Inspired Facilities fund is


part of the £135 million pro- gramme that is bringing the magic of London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games into commu- nities across the country. The Farleigh changing rooms,


in Elmscroft Park, Charlton Lane, is one of 350 community projects already able to carry the London 2012 Inspire mark, as a result of getting a share of the Inspired Facilities Fund’s £17.4m payout in its first fund- ing round. The second round, with an- other £10m up for grabs, is now


Beware of hoax


census email POLICE are warning of an email scam, which attempts to get people to part with personal information. An email entitled “Popula-


tion Census: a message to everyone – act now” is being circulated, allegedly in the name of national statistician, Jill Matheson. The email, received by a number of people in Boughton Monchelsea, asks individuals to provide personal informa- tion for the census and threat- ens fines for non-compliance. A police spokesman said:


“This email has no connection with the National Statistician, the 2011 Census or the Office for National Statistics. The links in the email could put your personal data at risk. “Anyone receiving this, or similar emails, should delete them, not open any links and not provide any information.” For details of how to protect yourself from email threats, visit www.getsafeonline.org


Pub plays host to


beer festival HUNDREDS of real ale fans are expected to roll up at The Che- quers, Laddingford, for the 15th annual Beer Festival. More than 25 guest beers will


be available at the festival, which starts at lunchtime on Saturday, April 28, and contin- ues on Sunday – or until the beer runs out! As well as a non-stop barbe-


cue and tasty cheese counter, with local cheeses, therewill be music from local bands and a tractor display on the Sunday. A tombola will be held to


raise money for Laddingford Primary School.


open and threemore will follow. Sport England’s chairman, Richard Lewis, said: “This in- vestment will create a fantastic sporting legacy for Maidstone. “The fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in Kent.


WEST Farleigh charity Dande- lion Time has been joined by the award-winning novelist and Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo. Michael, best known for his children’s book Warhorse, which has been made into a West End stage show as well as a BAFTA-nominated film, has joined the charity as a patron. Morpurgo wrote Warhorse in


1982, but it has only recently shot to fame, more so following the release of Stephen Spiel- berg’s film adaptation. Dandelion Time, which works with children and families with


It shows we’re offering the legacy that peoplewant for their local community. “For hundreds of clubs and


tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.”


Author agrees to back charity


behavioural and emotional needs, invited the author to be a patron after learning of his wife’s charity work with chil- dren in their home county of Devon.


Dandelion Time’s Anyes Reading said: “He wrote back to say he would be delighted to be a patron, so naturally we are thrilled and excited.” The charity now hopes to in-


vite Mr Morpurgo along later in the year to see its work at first hand.


Anyes said: “This is great


news for us and the children are very excited.”


Holiday let plan for outbuildings BARRIE Alder has submitted a proposal to convert outbuildings at Faith Cottage, Clapper Lane, Staplehurst, into a holiday let. His design and access statement said the outbuildings “do not


add any visual value to the site”. Conversion into a holiday let “would involve a minor increase in the current footprint to con- nect two elements and construction of a pitched roof to provide overall cover to the present unattractive roofscape, together with weatherboarding to cover the present rendered block walls.” The scheme, which will be decided by Maidstone Council, also includes flood-proofing measures as it is located in a flood plain.


STUDENTS writing for a town’s teen magazine dropped into the Downs Mail offices to check out life on a local newspaper. The students, from Oakwood


ParkGrammarSchoolandMaples- den Noakes, who write for Maid- stone’s magazine The Vibe, toured thepaper’s Bearsted offices tosee the editorial department, where they enjoyed a Q & A session with editor Stephen Eighteen. TheyalsometsalesmanagerBill


Brett, who gave them an insight into a career in advertising. Maplesden Noakes teacher Chris- tine Jones said: “Pupils thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Downs Mail. Itwas informative to seehow a newspaper is brought together.”


The Vibe is nowin its fourth year


and is the only free magazine writ- ten and produced by young people living inMaidstone. Issue 10 is about to hit the streets and can also be viewed on-


line. Anyone interested in joining The Vibe team, which meets each month at the Switch Youth Café in Maidstone, can email them at vibe@mitchellmediauk.com or call 0796 1051654.


26 South Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330 Club secretary Ian Payne said


“The drive at the sports club was always to obtain full fund- ing for this centenary project, rather than taking out loans that would burden future genera- tions with a legacy of financial debt, and so we thank Sport England wholeheartedly for being such a major player in supporting this goal.” Local MP, Helen Grant, said:


“In the current difficult finan- cial climate, this is a fine exam- ple of positive-minded and determined people taking firm action to improve the quality of life for their community.” The changing rooms atWFSC


have been in dire need of re- placement for several years. Plans have already been ap- proved for safe, discreet and se- cure changing rooms to Football Association standards with ex- tensivewashing and toilet facil- ities for players, officials and spectators alike.


Garden plan


is re-visited ANOTHER plan has been regis- tered to develop garden land at Faren House, in Workhouse Lane, East Farleigh. In January, Maidstone Coun-


cil refused Joan Jepson’s pro- posal for three detached homes in thereargardenofthe site, due to the lack of an ecological survey and inadequate parking and turning areas. The scheme would have in- volved the demolition of the ex- isting integral garage and replacing it with either a new garage or a parking area to the front of the plot. The latest scheme is for a sin-


gle home. According to the supporting statement: “The proposal is to infill the gap in development to the frontage of Workhouse Lane. The proposed site consists of garden land only and therefore will not dis- turb the local ecosystem, which was a concern of the parish council in relation to the previ- ous application.”


Press gang get the ‘Vibe’ of Downs Mail


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