Academy plans expansion Paedophile


A PLAN has been unveiled to revamp St Augustine’s Acad- emy in Oakwood Park, Maid- stone. The scheme would re-organ-


ise the main academy campus through the demolition of the east block and the erection of a two-storey teaching building to house specialist classes such as science and food technology, as well as general teaching space. It would increase the academy’s capacity of 11- to 18-year-old students from 858 to 950. A floodlit multi-use games


area would also be introduced, alongside 59 car parking spaces, 56 covered cycle parking spaces, six spaces for motorcy- cles and one minibus space. A further parking area to the north of the main campus would pro-


Encouraging


teenage pride AN enterprise fund has been launched to enable Maidstone teenagers to help shape the future of their borough. “LoveWhere You Learn” is a campaign designed to empower secondary school pupils to de- velop their own initiatives and encourage civic pride. Environmental operations manager Martyn Jeynes said: “Whilst campaigns and initia- tives have sought to reduce lit- ter associated with schools, we feel that behavioural change must be driven by the students themselves and that only a cul- tural change and increased civic pride can deliver sustain- able improvements in the level of littering.” KCC’s Clean Kent has already


put some money in the pot, as has Kent Fire and Rescue. Maidstone Borough Council will also contribute to the fund, which aims to generate be- tween £20,000 to £30,000. This will give 10 secondary schools £2-£3000 each towards their proposed initiatives. The council is seeking corpo- rate sponsors for the scheme.


Soccer challenge A SOCCER team played virtu- ally non-stop for 10 hours in an Olympic football marathon to raise funds for Demelza, Hos- pice Care for Children. Soccer Elite FA staged the marathon atMaplesden Noakes School as part of their annual challenge to raise £10,000 for the charity. Soccer Elite’s professional coaches played continuously for 10 hours against 10 invited teams in one hour segments, from 8am to 6pm on July 21, pitting their skill and reputa- tion against local teams. Each team donated £250 to Demelza, and there was a host of football related sideshows for spectators and players to enjoy.


vide 28 spaces. In total, 100 car parking spaces will be avail- able, with 87 on site and the ex- isting 13 echelon parking spaces retained. The west block and two


newer two-storey buildings cur- rently accommodating the Eng- lish department, the general purpose hall and reception area will all be retained and refur- bished. The west block will be remodelled to accommodate art, technology and general purpose teaching. The grass sports pitches and facilities will all be retained, with spaces to the south creat- ing a series of natural play areas and breakout spaces. A supporting statement said:


“The new building is only two storeys high and appears low


and flat in its immediate land- scape. It takes a similar form to the existing academy buildings. “The new academy will pro-


mote and facilitate educational and social benefits to the com- munity by providing access to the new school facilities. “The new building will pres-


ent an acceptable relationship with the surrounding landscape and have no unacceptable im- pact upon residential amenity.” Solar photovoltaic panels will


be installed to provide renew- able energy. KCC will rule on the planning application.  St Augustine’s Academy, which replaced Astor of Hever Community School a year ago, has 640 students on the school roll – significantly lower than the 858 capacity.


dies on moped A CONVICTED teenage sex abuser who committed many of his crimes on his farm in Detling has died in a road traf- fic accident in PaddockWood. William Stevenson was jailed


Pupils from South


Borough School joined the parade at last year’s Mela


A decade of music and dancing MAIDSTONE’S annual cultural extravaganza of music and dance takes place at Mote Park on Sunday, September 9. TheMaidstone Mela, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, promises to be action-packed, with free, fun events for all the family. MaidstoneCouncil’s cabinetmemberfor communityand leisure serv-


ices, Cllr John Wilson, said: “Mote Park will be full of the colour, sights, sounds and smells of exotic places from around theworld. All the head- line acts will be appearing on the Sunday, along with food stalls from every corner of the globe, and community events.” The Mela will start at 12.30pm, with the Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr


Rodd Nelson-Gracie, heading an opening ceremony at 1.15pm. Performing on the stage will be Jessie Jay’s No. 1 Tribute Act, PBN


(Panjabi by Nature) and theMagnificentMotown Band. Maidstone’s Finnish Merenkurkut vocal ensemble will sing spiritual,


folk and contemporary Finnish songs, while SquarePegs and theMandy EllenSchool of Dance will perform, along with the winners of this year’s Maidstone’s Got Talent competition. Therewill alsobeappearances fromthe Talking Dhols, The Maidstone Nepalese Community Group, Harmony and local DJ Paul Aaaron. For more information go towww.visitmaidstone.com or collect a pro- gramme,withnewparking arrangementandplanof thesite inside, from Jubilee Square, on Saturday, September 1.


Shakespeare just as we like it


As You Like It by Hazlitt and Changeling productions


THE first night of this outdoor production at Boughton Monchelsea Place only reached half time before rain intervened. But days later, atUpnor Cas-


tle, there was just one heavy shower, then it was dry. The production was great. Madeleine Knightwas amem- orable Rosalind. Thomas Christian’s Orlando had no chance against her allure. This was her professional debut. Esther Button, who played


Celia, is also a young actor worth watching. Daniel Wilt- shire played the nasty duke and Le Beau and a quite won-


derful, laid-back Jaques. His “All the world’s a stage” speech could have been based on Week Street experiences.


JOHN


MUNSON SHOW TIME


There was a really convincing fight between Charles and Or- lando, and lovely music from Alexander Scott and his team. Hazlitt manager Mandy Hare has the team to produce this quality of show, and Rob Fork- nall the directorial gift.


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


for five years in January 2009 for 23 counts of gross indecency and of skipping bail, having fled abroad. He was riding a red moped when he died in a collision with a black lorry on the Tonbridge-bound carriageway of the A228, be- tween B2015 Maidstone Road and Branbridges Road, near Beltring, on Tuesday,May 29. Police are investigating. It is thought Stevenson, who was in his mid-70s, had been released from prison just two months be- fore the crash. His body was cre- mated at Vinters Park in July. Stevenson, a former owner of Colwin Motorcycles in Sitting- bourne, molested five boys at Barngarth Farm in Detling or at his holiday home in Spain over a period of about three years. He had been sentenced in his absence on May 27, 2005, after Maidstone Crown Court heard he befriended boys and let them ride his motorbikes and quad bikes on the farm. The court also heard that he plied the boyswith alcohol and cannabis and in- cited them to commit acts of in- decency on him and each other. He was flown back to Britain


from Croatia inJanuary 2009, and was re-sentenced that month.


KCC cuts staff


from the top STAFFING cuts at KCC have saved the taxpayer more than £40m in the past year. Council leader Paul Carter


says other local authorities should follow suit, by axing highly-paid top jobs. Restructuring the council’s senior management has saved £1million alone and the coun- cil stands to save £340 million through job cuts between 2011 and 2014. Cllr Carter said: “Employ-


ment law and contractual obli- gationsmeanwehavetopay significant redundancy costs but it will save a fortune in the long run.” Cllr Carter said Kent was put-


ting its faith increasingly in tal- ented people delivering frontline services and stream- lining management tiers. Without the loss of 1,500


posts, Kent’s council tax, which has been frozen for the past two years, would have had to rise by 8%. The savings are revealed in


the council’s draft statement of accounts, which is available to view on www.kent.gov.uk


Town 21


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