Trees felled after infestation of Asian beetle discovered Continued from page one
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
since 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.
Harvest fete A SCARECROW competition will be one of the highlights of a harvest fete at The New Rec- tory, High Street, Staplehurst, on Saturday, September 1. The event, held by All Saints' Church, starts at 2pm, and all scarecrows should arrive for judging by that time. Other at- tractions include hat-making, farm produce, a bowling com- petition, a human fruit ma- chine, model railway, and a programme draw.
Playing field CCTV STAPLEHURST Parish Council has been given permission for a 10m pole with light for a CCTV camera at the Jubilee Playing Fields in Headcorn Road, on condition tree protectionmeas- ures can be agreed.
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 Coun- cil, said: “Public awareness, particularly in the area of the out- break, 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
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 displayed on parish noticeboards. Sightings of the beetle should
be reported to the Forestry Com- mission at plant.health@
forestry.gov or by telephoning 01842 810271.
Build-outs to be replaced
THE lengthy battle to get rid of the controversial traffic-calming “build-outs” in Coxheath is nearing an end. A new scheme, compiled by
the parish council’s own con- sultants following extensive consultation with local resi- dents, is about to be submitted to Kent County Council, the highways authority. The scheme, which went out
to public consultation at the end of last year, will undergo a safety audit and a further statu- tory consultation before being implemented. Funds for the £100,000 scheme have now been allo- cated by both KCC and the parish council.
It will see the build-outs re- tained at either end of the vil- lage, on Heath Road, but the removal of the rest. In the cen- tre, at the junction of Heath Road with Stockett Lane and Westerhill Road, there will be a raised area which will be more visible to motorists and an en- deavour to slow down speeds. There will also be improve-
ments made to the pedestrian crossing. Parish councillor Colin Parr
said: “Whilst not everyone was against the build-outs, the vast majority were. They have led to traffic congestion and acci- dents, as cars try to beat the traf- fic coming the other way.” Although it had reservations
about the original scheme, the parish council bowed to the ex- pert knowledge that this was the most appropriate scheme for the environment. However, even before the
work was completed, it became apparent that the traffic calming measures caused almost as many problems as they allevi- ated. Cllr Parr said: “We shall be
using other means to try to get drivers to adhere to the speed limit. However, the existing scheme has just caused a lot of anger and frustration and caused people to look at other routes as rat runs. Hopefully we are very close to seeing this reach a conclusion.”
6 South
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