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Solar ferry boat repeats history


MORE than 100 years of history have been marked with the launch of a new ferry service on the Maidstone stretch of the Medway. Greenleaf Leisure Ltd., which already operates boats down- river in Tonbridge, launched its “Jubilee boats” on the weekend of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and shortly plans to start a daily commuter service to and from the town centre. The service has been named


not only in honour of the 2012 Jubilee celebration, but also in


memory of Jubilee Briggs, the man who worked the Maid- stone ferry for more than 50 years, from 1897 until the mid- 1940s.


Jubilee, so named because he


was born on Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, ran the service from the Horseway, by All Saints’ Church, to the oppo- site bank of the river at Lock Meadows, roughly where the new Millennium bridge is now situated. The service provided a short cut from Upper and Lower


Stone Street to the west side of thetownatacostofapenny and, because of his long associ- ation with the boat, it became known as the Jubilee ferry. Greenleaf has launched its Ju-


bilee boats from the same loca- tion and, over the bank holiday, allowed visitors to cross the river on one of its new electric solar shuttle boats for the origi- nal price of just 1p. Jubilee boats now have solar powered and rowing boats for hire, as well as pedalos, and hope to start their daily com-


Council investigates asset sales Continued from page one


there is a possibility we might need them for some future purpose. “There have been occasions when the borough has got rid of something only to find it could have been of use.” Council leader Chris Garland denied that


was the case and has called upon the Lib- Dems to produce examples. The council’s strategy for freehold own- ership has switched in favour of leasehold ownership. “The strategy is for a move to- wards longer leaseholds or freehold dis- posal to the community, where the tenant or new owner becomes responsible for the property,” says the report. Cllr Eric Hotson, cabinet member for cor- porate services, said: “The plan is merely an


muter shuttle service from town to Tovil and the Maidstone East and Barracks Stations within a few weeks. Operator James Bailey said: “Everything is under control and going forward as planned, with the exception of the weather.” The wet Jubilee weekend


meant the boats attracted fewer visitors than they had hoped, but Mr Bailey said: “We took a few people across the river and for short trips, but the weather was against us.”


update on our existing plan and our pol- icy has not changed. The Liberal Democ- rats who attended the [corporate services and overview scrutiny] committee sup- ported the plan. Selling Chillington House (pictured) is not on the cards at present. We need to consider a range of options for its viability.” CllrWilson added: “I know we need to


raise capital funds but we need to be much more thoughtful aboutwhatwe do. “In the case of Chillington House, we


need to investigate whether it could be taken back as part of the museum, or used as office space. I am not anti-disposal, butwe must think about the future of the borough, not simply offload everything willy-nilly.”


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