Lap-dancing clubs ‘turn town blue’


MAIDSTONE Town Centre Management fears that years of hard work to make the town one of the safest spots to enjoy in the evening could be in jeopardy. A string of applications for


late night sex entertainment, if granted, will turn the town “blue”, warns the chairman of the town’s night economy forum, Paul Alcock. Century Building (Rochester)


Ltd, of London have submitted an application to Maidstone Borough Council for a sex es- tablishment licence to run the front first floor of the former Loder & Payne building, in Bank Street, as a lap-dancing, pole-dancing and striptease club with private booths, open from noon until 6am, seven days a week. The premises already have a licence for public entertain- ment. Work has already started in-


side the property, and Mr Al- cock said: “I fear this is the thin


Red rose for an


Olympic soldier BEING called up for Olympic duties hasmeant plenty of firsts for Maidstone soldier Private Jamie Bird, but he was sur- prised to be given a rose in a disused shopping centre. Jamie (18),


from Maid- stone, is an In- fanteer with 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, based at the former Tobacco Dock shopping mall in Wapping. Detached to London for the 2012 Games, he was carrying out vehicle screeningwith civilian security experts at Olympic sites. But in a short break, Jamie


and his comrades lined up on parade on August 1, as they do every year wherever they are in the world, to receive their his- toric Minden Rose. The cere- mony marks the Battle of Minden in 1759, when the reg- iment’s predecessors, the 37th Foot, helped beat the French army during the Seven Years War.


Army service, having attended New Line LearningAcademy in Maidstone and has already car- ried out an operational tour in Afghanistan. He said: “London 2012 has been a strange place to get my Minden Rose, but it’s nice to think we can keep this tradition going wherever we are.”


Playground plan BARMING Primary School has unveiled a plan to extend the bottom playground on to the playing field.


end of the wedge.” Maidstone Council has re- ceived 128 objections to the ap- plication, and objections are flooding in with regard to a sec- ond application, to convert the former Ethos restaurant and bar at the top of nearby Gabriel’s Hill into a similar pole dancing club. The Town Centre Manage-


ment was one of the first to voice its objections to the Bank Street application, claiming the town centre was no place for a strip club. It has also lodged an objection to the application at Ethos. But Town Centre manager Bill


Moss said: “We are concerned that the opinion of 128 people could count for nothing. The li- censing committee can only act within the letter of the law.” The application for the sex en- tertainment licence is not likely to be heard until later in Sep- tember, when all objectors will be given a chance to speak.


The council’s head of licens-


ing Neil Harris said: “The com- mittee has to look at each case on itsmerits and has the right to refuse an application in accor- dance with the act – but not on moral grounds.” Legitimate grounds for refusal include an over-saturation of like facilities and the risk of it attracting undesirable footfall. They also have the power to


refuse a licence if they feel it could have an adverse effect on crime, disorder or public nui- sance. Mr Alcock said: “We have in- vested a lot of time and money into making Maidstone’s night economy one of the safest in Britain and we don’twant to see it all go to waste.” His views were echoed by Mr


Moss, who said: “Maidstone is cited as an example to other councils, not just in Britain, but around the world. The way we liaise with a number of external and voluntary organisations to


Pupils win business challenge YEAR 12 students at Maplesden Noakes School have been getting a taste of the businessworld in the school’s annual Business Challenge. After two days of training, thestudent teams worked on “real life” chal- lenges facing local businesses. Seven teams of students presented their find- ings, conclusions and recommenda- tions to a panel of judges made up of school governors and a Chamber of Commerce representative. Thewinners (pictured)were Team 4 Avante Partnership – Paris Hard-


ing; Will Othen; James Beacon; Lucy White and Jessica Taylor, and run- ners-upwere Team 5 – Heart of Kent Hospice. Team1-KungFufor Life came third. Team4workedwithAvantePartnership to find100 volunteersto make life easier for the elderly.


Drink driver appears in court THOMAS Brackley (31), of White Horse Lane, Otham, was sen- tenced at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court after admitting drink driving. He was stopped in a Ford Transit in Bell Road, Park Wood, on


June 22 and gave a breath test of 88 mcgs of alcohol in 100 mls of breath. The legal limit is 35 mcgs. Magistrates banned him from driving for 46 months, fined him £350 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.


Jamie is in his first year of Cab drivers’ ‘list of shame’


POLICE are to name and shame rogue taxi drivers who break the rules.


Maidstone’s new district com- mander Chief Insp John Bumpus has pledged to help the town’s li- censed cab drivers by publishing a “catalogue of shame” of firms whose drivers flout the law. That would include breaking


traffic regulations and picking up fares in the borough when they are not licensed to do so. He said: “It’s a case of risk and reputation. “Cab companies might not be


able to physically stop their self- employed drivers from bending the rules, but they will be con- cerned about the risk to their rep- utation when we apprehend people with their company de- tails emblazoned on the side of the car.” Dennis Conyon from the Maid-


stone Taxi Proprietors Associa- tion said out-of-town taxi drivers illegally touting for trade was a perennial problem. Chief Insp Bumpus told the


Night Economy Business Forum: “It’s time somethingwas done.”


ensure the safety of residents and visitors is second to none. We would not want to see our good work being jeopardised.” Tantric Blue, if allowed to


open at Ethos, would offer lap- dancing, pole-dancing and striptease. Operators of Players Gentle-


man’s Club, at the lower end of the High Street – cited by police as an excellent example of good practice – have already warned they will seek to move closer to the town if rival applications are allowed to go ahead. PC Neil Barnes said the police


were unable to oppose the ap- plication if the club agreed to comply with requirements for a large number of door staff. He said: “Players run a very


tight ship and we use them as a yardstick by which to measure other applications. It may be other applicants cannot – or will not be able to afford to – provide such a high level of se- curity.”


School changes


‘bearing fruit’ OFSTED inspectors returned to Holy Family RC Primary School in Park Wood, Maid- stone, to monitor improve- ments since its last inspection, when it was found to have sev- eral areas for improvement. They found there had been changes at the school, notably in its approach to teaching mathe- matics. Inspectors said the changes were starting to bear fruit, with pupils saying the les- sons were now “more fun”. Increased support from sen-


ior staff had brought a good re- sponse from teachers, and inadequate teaching was now a rarity. However, higher achiev- ing pupils were still not being stretched enough. Senior leaders had raised at- tendance levels by taking a more proactive approach with families. School development was now clearer, and the gov- erning body had a more coher- ent structure. Overall, the Ofsted team said


the school was now making sat- isfactory progress.


Extension agreed CONSENT was granted for a side extension at 1 Roseleigh Avenue, on the junction of Ster- ling Avenue, Allington. The proposal was opposed by neighbour Mr Grindle, who told Maidstone Council’s plan- ning committee: “The scale would give a terracing effect and be out of character with the semi-detached properties in the area. The ground floor of 18 Sterling Avenue will be over- looked by three windows.” The plan was approved, with


10 members voting for, one against and one abstention.


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