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funding crisis Continued from page one funding from sources not nor- mally accessible to mainstream partners.


Beat Project in Parking scheme ‘disaster’ Councillors were told signifi-


cant progress had beenmade in East Malling, largely due to the activities organised and under taken by community develop- ment worker Angela Borsos, with the main focus on the St James Community Centre. At Snodland, community de- velopment worker Nicky Delacey had established the Coffee and Chat group and the provision of advice and support from various agencies. A wide range of community events were organised and the Beat Project had recently suc- ceeded in gaining funding from a local charitable trust to enable a variety of projects to address themes of youth and commu- nity, poverty, older people, dis- ability and health.


A DOG found “hanging out with the musicians” at the Hop Farm Festival is back with her owner after being missing for a year. Tally, a two-year-old lurcher, was collected from the venue in June by Tonbridge and Malling dog warden Lorraine Baseden. The dog had been microchipped,


and Lorraine traced her owner, Lisa Ryan, who had reported her stolen from Gravesend last June. Mrs Ryan was overjoyed that Tally


VILLAGERS in East Peckham are to carry out a letter-writing cam- paign in a last-ditch attempt to stop a sheltered housing com- plex being redeveloped. Housing association Russet


wants to knock down Marvil- lion Court, in The Freehold, and replace itwith a combination of flats and houses. Russet is carrying out a public consultation on the plans for four two-bedroom flats, two three-bedroom flats and four two-bedroom houses. At a parish council meeting


on July 16, Cllr Peter Street told villagers that while the council could not prevent the develop-


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to an industrial site. Despite precautions being


taken, the beetle soon made it- self at home in the area, and a programme of emergency felling was put into place. More than 2,000 trees have


been felled and burned in the past three months – many of them on a site opposite the Hop Farm at Beltring – in a bid to contain the deadly infestation. More burning was carried out


two weeks ago, after larvae were found in trees nearby.


4 Malling


APARKING scheme designed to ease problems in the narrow streets of East Malling has been criticised by residents as “a complete disaster”. The system introduced by


Tonbridge and Malling Council a year ago set aside parking bays for residents while preventing commuters from leaving their cars at the kerbside all day. But critics say the restrictions


have increased traffic speeds by providing areas where motorists can drive faster. Resident Tiki Graves, of Chapel Street, had her parked car hit by an HGV which drove away without stopping. Tonbridge and Malling Cllr


Liz Simpson said the parking scheme was introduced after months of consultation with residents. “However, it does not seem to be working as well as it was hoped. The borough coun- cil reviews these after a year to


Stolen Tally back with her owner


had been found, and is now nursing her back to health from mange and other problems. She said: “Tally is doing great and looking better already. I cannot thank Lorraine enough. She went beyond thecallofduty. Ihavephoned her since getting Tallybacktogiveher up- dates.” Cllr Owen Baldock, cabinet mem-


ber for environmental services, said: “It just shows how important it is for owners to get dogsmicro-chipped.”


Villagers’ letter protest over housing development


ment, it would insist that resi- dents’ views were taken into ac- count in the decision-making. He told villagers to write to Russet, its owner, Circle An- glian, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and their MPs. Cllr Street said the parish would be consulted when the planning application was sub- mitted to the borough council. The parish had also insisted


that Russet presented its plans to villagers at an open meeting in June. Russet says there is low demand for homes in Marvil- lion Court and a survey of over 55s on the council’s housing register did not identify a need


The Beltring infestation was


the first case identified in the UK and now officials from FERA are on their guard for the next generation of larvae, which would begin to turn into beetles and, in turn, lay eggs on other trees in the coming weeks. Nick Gallavin, landscape offi-


cer for Maidstone Borough Council, said: “Public aware- ness, particularly in the area of the outbreak, will be extremely valuable in the coming months.” Local people, but especially tree surgeons and gardeners


who come into close contact with trees, are being asked to keep an eye out for the beetle, which is a danger to a wide range of UK trees and shrubs. Monitoring of the area around


for sheltered housing. Marvillion Court, which was inspected last year, was found to be no longer fit for purpose as it only had two bathrooms and would need refurbishment, but objectors say the two-bedroom properties earmarked for eld- erly tenants in the new propos- als were unsuitable as they would have to be shared. The parish council carried out


its own survey last year, deliv- ering letters to each of the 1,350 homes in the village, asking res- idents which of Russet’s options they preferred and received “an unprecendented level of re- sponse”.


18 months, but I think perhaps we need to revisit it sooner.” She asked KCC for action to replace a missing sign banning HGVs more than 6ft 6ins wide from the narrow roads. The sign was removed after being dam- aged in an accident at Christ- mas, and although the pole was replaced, the notice was not. Resident TimHance said: “The parking scheme has been a com- plete disaster. I have not come across one resident who believes it has been anything other than this. The scheme has left the car park empty and unused at the ex- pense of The Institute car park, which is full 24/7. “The measures have speeded


up, rather than slowed traffic. “The chicane in Mill Street is another disaster. The Mill- stream side of the junction is not protected by any parking re- strictions and as a result of this and the ‘transfer’ effect caused


by the ill-thought-out traffic scheme, cars park here and give no visibility to vehicles coming from Cottenham Close. There have been countless near acci- dents and road rage incidents.” The borough’s chief engineer


Mike O’Brien said that overall the scheme had worked well and the council had had few concerns raised. The council had always said it would review the scheme once it had settled. John Burr, KCC director of highways, said the authority had to prioritise requests for traffic calming measures by analysing the personal injury record of the road in question. In this case, there had not been an incident relating to speeding vehicles or HGVs over the last three years, meaning other loca- tions must receive priority. He said the missing sign would be replaced by the end of the month.


Sophie joins


council at 22 SOPHIE Shrubsole has been set- tling down to council business after being elected as one of Ton- bridge and Malling’s youngest ever members. Cllr Shrubsole,


who is 22, stepped into the shoes of the council’s leader Mark Worrall by winning the by-elec- tion for the West Malling and Leybourne seat left vacant by his death in April. After an intense six-week cam- paign, she polled 769 votes for the Tories, which was 297 more than her closest rival, Lib Dem Yvonne Smyth. A history graduate who lives


with her parents in Leybourne, she was president of Birming- ham University’s Conservative group. One of her main priorities will


safer roads. She said: “It is im- perative to ensure that an in- crease in our population is of no detriment to road safety.” A former pupil of Leybourne Primary School and Hugh Christie Technology College in Tonbridge, she works for West- minster Business Council.


Trees felled after infestation of Asian beetle discovered


the Hop Farm will go on for an- other four years. Although the beetles can bite,


they will not harm humans. A leaflet has been delivered to


6,400 addresses near the out- break, including East Peckham, PaddockWood and Laddingford, and further details, with a photo of the beetle, should be dis- played on parish noticeboards. Sightings of the beetle should


be reported to the Forestry Commission at plant.health@ forestry.gov or by telephoning 01842 810271.


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