Town June 2012

Planning right royal celebration

MAIDSTONE is gearing up for one hot summer of celebrations to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the arrival in town of the Olympic Flame. Last year, Maidstone was de-

clared “more Royal than Tun- bridgeWells” as townsfolk took to the streets to show support for William and Kate’s wedding. Now, the pattern seems set to

be repeated, as applications flood in for street parties, fire- works and festivals. Kent hosted 182 street parties

for the Royal Wedding, placing the county third in a national league of local authorities for numbers of street parties.

Lap-dancing

club licensed A LAP-dancing club in Maid- stone has been granted a li- cence to continue trading. Players Gentlemen’s Club, in Lower High Street, which is managed by James Pemble, has been granted a Sex Establish- ment Licence by Maidstone Borough Council. The licensing committee ap- proved the club, which em- ploys 58 exotic dancers, on condition that the dance booths are monitored by CCTV cam- eras when in use. The commit- tee also stipulated that there should be no advertising in the window which said striptease took place on the premises. Traders and residents in the

town are being invited to give their views on having a lap- dancing club in town in an on- line survey, run by the University of Kent. Go to www.survey.kent.ac/nightlife

Tree felling request KENT Fire & Rescue Service has applied to fell two sycamore trees at its headquar- ters in Straw Mill Hill, Tovil. The application includes felling remaining stems of an ashtreeand workstoalarch, birch and willow tree.

Bridge petition BARMING and Fant areas are to join East Farleigh with petitions to keep heavy vehicles off nar- row East Farleigh Bridge. A petition to Maidstone Joint

Transportation Board is already being signed by East Farleigh residents.

With a closing date for appli- cations of May 18, there are al- ready 200 requests for road closures inKent, including more than a dozen in Maidstone. KCC is expecting an increase

of at least 30% on last year. Cllr Bryan Sweetland, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, said: “We have again waived charges for street parties on quiet residential roads. “The aim was to repeat the success of Kent’s royal wedding street party scheme, when we were one of the top local au- thorities in the country for the numbers of street parties, and this seems to be the case so far.”

The council has offered to supply “road closed” signs. The majority of parties will

still be held in village halls or on sites which do not require road closures, such as Bearsted Green, Yalding Lees, Lenham Tithe Barn and Day’s Green, Headcorn–soitwillbeim- possible to say just how many thousands of people will take to the streets to celebrate Her Majesty’s coronation in 1952. The website www.street-

party.org.uk, is receiving more than 1,000 hits a day and it is estimated between two and three million parties will be held nationwide.

Home scheme

refused again PELU Adetola was blocked in an application to build a three- bedroom bungalow on an empty plot on the corner of a cul de sac in Barming. Maidstone Council felt the proposal for 7 Mill Walk “fails to respond positively to the character of the existing built environment and the pattern of development in the immediate vicinity of the proposal site, andwould therefore be visually out of keeping”. A previous planning applica-

tion for a two-storey house with flat roof was refused as it was deemed out of character and wrongly situated.

New library complex opens to public

BOOKWORMS have been wel- comed toMaidstone’s multi-mil- lion pound library and archive centre, which opened, on April 23 – St George’s Day and William Shakespeare’s birthday. The building, in James What-

manWay, replaces the Centre for Kentish Studies and East Kent Archive Centre, as well asMaid- stone Library and the Spring- field Library. It houses more than eight miles of documents and over 40,000 books. Members of staff gave short readings from Shakespeare dur-

ing the day. Displays included a University for the Creative Arts student project on the move to the new centre and a timeline of Kent history. Local crime writer Elizabeth Haynes talked about her work and signed her books. The new library was built by Bouygues UK andWarings and, alongside the centre, new flats have been built on behalf of Housing 21 and West Kent Housing. A new addition to the library is the restaurant, built as part of the Housing 21 residen- tial block.

Improvements made at ‘failing’ care home

A MAIDSTONE care home given a damning indictment for neglecting residents and failing to protect their safety is taking action to improve standards. The owners of The Oast

Home for the Elderly, in Plains Avenue, Jasiree and Balkissoon Nemchand, were issued with warning notices following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January. Then, menus were found to be lacking in imagination and nutri- tion. Since then a cook had been hired, and residents were being offered a choice of meals, using fresh fruit and vegetables. The cook was being trained in nutri- tion for older people. Staff were arranging more ac-

tivites for residents: on the day of the visit, residentswere play-

ing carpet skittles orwatching a film, and bingo was planned. However some areas still needed improvement, the in- spectors found. Infection con- trol and hygiene needed improving, cleaning schedules had been reviewed, but more staff training was needed. Medical care was being recorded, but more detail was needed. Areas of the building had

been updated and some con- cerns had been addressed, but improvements were needed to make sure residents were safe. The owners said refurbishment was planned. The Care Quality Commis-

sion will continue to monitor the home.

Cricketer Jack knows the score

JACK Foley (80), has been honoured by Kent Cricket Club now he has retired after 25 years as the honorary scorer. Jack, of Runnymede Gardens, Loose, is only the 14th to be

and he kept wicket for several clubs, including Gore Court (Sit- tingbourne). He was well-known operating score boxes around the Kent grounds until he moved into scoring. Jack, who spent 40 years working in insurance, and wife Eu- nice celebrate their diamond wedding this June.

made an honorary life member. His lifetime in cricket started at Maidstone Grammar School

16 Town Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk

KCC cabinet member Cllr Mike Hill cuts the ribbon, with KCC officer Amanda Honey and KCC chairman Cllr Paulina Stockell, right.

Foreign lorry fee KENT Green Party has wel- comed Government proposals to charge foreign heavy goods vehicles using the county’s roads from next year. Press officer Steve Dawe said: “Although the Government is planning to charge the maxi- mum amount per lorry permit- ted under EU law, thismeasure will only be a first step towards reducing long-distance lorry freight.”

Jubilee fun day PARENTS is the Word, a par- ent-run community group based in ParkWood, is holding a Diamond Jubilee fun day at Heather House from 11am to 3pm on June 3. There will be stalls, a raffle, a

boot fair and family events. Local organisations who wish to book a pitch (for £5) or do- nate a raffle prize can contact the group on Facebook, email parentsistheword@gmail.com or call Jade on 07590 592916.

Castle ponds stay MAIDSTONE Council has given the go-ahead to retain the fivewildlife ponds at Allington Castle, Maidstone Road, in Allington. The retrospective application included the erection of post and rail fencing to the bound- ary and the formalisation and surfacing of the car park area.

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 | Page 41 | Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 44 | Page 45 | Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 48