‘Spare £1.7m’ for regeneration


MAIDSTONE Council has con- firmed it will press ahead with plans to regenerate the lower end of Maidstone High Street, after finding itself with a spare £1.7m in the coffers. When the council approved


Postmaster glad


to serve Tovil THE new sub-postmaster at Tovil Post Office says business is doingwell since he took over last year.


Kanagasundaram King (48)


runs several post offices with his wife, and is a district coun- cillor in Clacton-on-Sea, where he lives. Previous sub-postmaster Kan- gasunderam Prince (60) was given a 12-month suspended sentence for fraud in July, after taking more than £48,000 from the post office to pay off his debts.


Prince, of Alma Place, Strood,


had borrowed money and used post office money to keep the business going. Mr King,who has run post of-


fices for 10 years, said he was looking forward to Post Office plans to more closely incorpo- rate the Church Street shop and post office with potentially longer counter opening hours. “I don’t mind the longer hours,” he said. “The staff are really nice and we have very good customers,”Mr King said. “We are doing them a good service.” Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12.30pm on Saturday. The shop is considered a valu- able resource for those in East Farleigh, as well as Tovil.


Extension refused A PROPOSAL to demolish a garage block and erect a rear ex- tension in Tonbridge Road, Barming, has been refused. Maidstone Council felt Gareth


and Catherine James’ planning application for Barnjet Priory “would overwhelm, and there- fore result in the loss of, the orig- inal form of the dwellinghouse … by virtue of its scale, design and visual bulk”.


Fashion idea A SCHEME has been submitted to establish a fashion design studio on part of the ground floor at 1 Melville Road, Maid- stone. The planning applica- tion, which will be determined by Maidstone Council, requests the other part of the flat to be converted into a bedsit.


36 Town


Flats proposed above shop A PLANNING application has been lodged to convert a vacant commer- cial building into four flats at 68 Bank Street,Maidstone. The proposal would see internal im-


provements to the upper floors of the building, which is above Shoe World on the junction of Mill Street. A supporting statement said: “After


carrying out investigation into the current level of vacant commerce buildings in Maidstone and after considering the cur- rent economic climate, we are of the opinion that a material change of use to the upper partswill be themost effective use of the building. “The majority of the new bedrooms


have been located along the western fa- cade of the building, adjacent to Mill Street with bathroom and kitchens positioned against the partywall of 69 Bank Street.” Maidstone Council will determine the planning application.


Homes rejected AN application to create three one-bed flats behind 72 Bank Street, Maidstone, has been turned down. Maidstone Council’s decision


notice said: “The site is imme- diately adjacent to a night club and bar and other night clubs and bars are located in the vicinity of the site. “Due to the likely resultant


noise and general disturbance from these premises, particu- larly late at night, and the re- quirement to keep windows sealed as a result, it is consid- ered that the occupiers of the proposed flats would not have an appropriate living environ- ment.”


‘Prickly holly trees pose real danger to my child’


A PENENDEN Heath woman has been given consent to fell two holly trees in her back gar- den to protect her young daughter. WendyWalters moved into a property in Providence Park, which is built in the grounds of the former Fintonagh House catholic convent, in September last year. She said the two protected


trees posed a significant health risk for her two-year-old


KENT Police has applied for two houses near its headquar- ters in Sutton Road,Maidstone, to be permanently used for ad- ministration. For a number of years, the au- thority has used 66 and 67 Queen Elizabeth Square for ad- ministrative accommodation. An application has been sub- mitted to make this temporary arrangement permanent. A supporting statement said:


“The non-residential use of the building is less intensive than a


daughter as “they shed poison- ous berries, making it impossi- ble to leave her to play in the garden for fear of her picking up and eating the berries. The trees pose real danger to my child”. The supporting statement added: “The trees constantly shed the leaves, which are prickly and again able to graze my child. “Such is the extent of the crown width that they scatter


full residential use would be, presenting little impact upon the amenity of surrounding oc- cupiers, especially as the non- residential use is concentrated during normal weekday work- ing hours (between 8am and 6pm) with little night-time or weekend working. “There is no record of nui-


sance or problems arising from the use of the property. “It is also worth noting that


the adjacent properties, at 65 and 68 Queen Elizabeth Square,


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


over a wide area of the garden. “I also have a concern re- garding the amount of pigeon excrement in the garden from pigeons who are attracted to the tree. Pigeon droppings carry risk of disease for my daughter. This is a real con- cern.”


Maidstone Council allowed


the trees to be felled, on condi- tion that special care is taken not to disturb wild animals in the area.


Police apply to convert homes to offices


are also in the ownership of Kent Police, and in fact 68 has been granted permission for a permanent change of use to of- fice accommodation. Therefore, the proposal would not have a detrimental effect on neigh- bouring properties “Parking would be provided


to the rear of the property, re- sulting in a reduction of pres- sure upon the adopted highway network in terms of parking.” Maidstone Council will deter- mine the application.


the initial spend inMarch 2011, it was agreed to carry out the work in a phased manner, due to a projected shortage of funds. However, the council’s prudent budgeting has led to an unex- pected surplus which, bymaking a few design refinements, means it can now press on and com- plete the second phase. The proposals involve retain-


ing the existing cannon plinth, rather than building a new one, retaining the three existing trees but not planting any others, re- taining the utility cabinets and


reducing the amount of granite paving by 33% and replacing with other, less costly,material. The design – and the changes


– will be discussed with the public, residents, businesses, bus holders, taxi drivers and the town’s disability focus group before being implemented. However, work could be un- derway by the end of the year. Themove has been praised by


town centre manager Bill Moss who said: “We congratulate MBC on their foresight and fi- nancial prudence, enabling them to complete the entire High Street regeneration proj- ect. It is hoped the Lower High Street will embrace the oppor- tunity to extend the Maidstone continental café culture.” However, the opposing LibDem


group on the council is less en- thusiastic. Not only is there still ongoing controversy over the de- sign of phase one, but the group is questioning how the ruling To- ries managed to get their budget so wide of the mark. LibDem leader Cllr Fran Wil-


son said: “If this were a private company and the estimates were so far out, someone would be for the high jump! How did we get it so badly wrong?” Cllr Wilson challenged the council’s decision to slash grants for events in the borough and said: “There is more to the borough than the High Street. The council needs to consider the impact elsewhere. How can we claim to be in dire financial straits, then suddenly ‘discover’ a spare £1.7m?”


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