Rural home wins consent
A LARGE 10-bedroom home will be built on 83 acres of farmland north of Otham. Maidstone Council’s plan-
ning committee accepted Vitek and Dalia Tracz’s ambitious scheme for Caring Wood, off Caring Lane, after deciding it would be preferable to a new house for which permission had already been granted. In 2006, consent was granted
to redevelop Flow House, which set a precedent for resi- dential development on the land. The latest scheme, which
will see the deletion of this pre- vious application, will see the introduction of a new barn made of traditional Kentish peg and ragstone wall, new access tracks, dry store, glasshouse, parking areas and landscaping, which will include the intro- duction of thousands of native trees. The home will be a “modern
twist” on an oast house andwill contain solar panels, rainwater harvesting and exceptional insu- lation that will enable it to gen- erate its own energy. An estate manager’s home
will also be built as part of the plans, which were permitted through Government policy that allows large homes of ex- ceptional quality and design.
The scheme received signifi-
cant support from KentWildlife Trust and the South East Re- gional Design Panel. Committee member Cllr Clive English said: “Buildings of this type and quality are supposed to be seen. It would not be ap- propriate to hide it away and pretend it is not there, because that is not supported by policy.” Cllr Gordon Newton, who represents Downswood and Otham, said: “We have an ex- tremely beautiful area and the size and scale of this develop- ment will detract from this. “I would like to know what is meant by the performance
space, art galleries and cinemas. Will they hold concerts there?” Cllr Richard Lusty, chairman
of the committee, said: “Our borough has before been on (TV programme) Grand Designs (for a development in Headcorn), and I just hope we will be on Grand Designs again. “However, there seems to be a
lack of loos. There is just one loo and I have visions of the person living here having a lovely party, with champagne etc, but there would be a mas- sive queue for just the one loo.” Cllr Newton was the only member of the 13-strong com- mittee who voted against.
Madginford is ‘satisfactory’ MADGINFORD Park Junior School is a satisfactory school, whose pupils arewell-behaved, confident and articulate, say Of- sted inspectors. The inspection team visited the school in February this year. Attainment was satisfactory and by year 6, standards in English and mathematics were above average. Pupils enjoyed strong relationships with adults at the school.
Staff showed a strong sense of responsibility for pupils’ well-being. Behaviour was good and pupils were courteous. Teaching was found to be satisfactory, but there were incon- sistencies in matching the level of challenge to pupils’ abilities. The leadership was judged satisfactory, with leaders address-
ing key issues from the previous inspection. In order to improve its performance, the school should raise attainment in English and mathematics. The quality of teaching needed to be improved, increasing flexi- bility in lesson planning to meet the needs of individual pupils.
Parents’ fury at schools crisis
Continued from Page one
angry that we have not been given any of our choices. St John’s School is on a family es- tate that houses thousands of parents and yet the school only takes 30 children a year and has enough room on the site to build more classrooms “Our main argument is that
we live on an estate that has a school on it, yet we have been offered places which are nowhere near us. “I moved from Maidstone
town centre, took on a larger mortgage and went back to work just to get my children into a good school to help them with their education.” Bearsted Parish Council chairman Cllr Paul Young said: “It looks as if there has been a lack of foresight and planning.” The council has taken up the
issue after being contacted by a number of dissatisfied families and has asked KCC leader Cllr Paul Carter to attend the next parish meeting onMay 8. County Cllr Gary Cooke, deputy cabinet member for ed- ucation, learning and skills, said there were plenty of spaces available in Maidstone gener- ally, but there were hotspots in certain areas, including Bearsted and Grove Green.
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