Remembrance Day hope


A SOLUTION to the spiralling costs of organising Remembrance Day paradesmay be close after an agreement was reached with Yalding Parish Council. Parades in parishes such as Barming and Staplehurst have encountered problems in recent years due to the burden of traffic closures, which cost in the region of £600, shifting towards the or- ganisers. Many parishes hold proces-


sions to their local war memorial; the collection of crowds in the road, even for a few minutes, is now classed as a health and safety issuewhich requires a risk assessment. However, Maidstone Council


and Kent Highway Services are thought to have agreed to make an exception forYalding this year and, if it proves successful, the strategy could be adopted across other parishes in the Maidstone borough. Yalding, which historically


holds a parade from the church to the cenotaph in the High Street followed by a brief Remembrance tribute, has an excellent track record of dealing with road clo- sures for events. It holds an an-


VILLAGERSinStaplehurst are on a mission to get their FirstWorld War memorial ship-shape in readiness for the centenary in two years’ time – and the whole com- munity is being asked to help. Most towns and villages in Britain are expected to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of war with Germany – but there are still a few vital jobs to be done before Staplehurst can join in. Eagle-eyed villagers have al-


nual Christmasmarketwhich re- quires closure of the High Street and held a street party there for the royal wedding in 2011. The parish council had voted


to seek a road closure order and ask for a contribution towards the cost from the church, after com- plaints from several residents about passing traffic at last year’s parade. Cllr Andy Sanders felt there should be a national policy which allowed public services of remembrance to take place unfet- tered. He said: “Closing the road for half an hour once a year to show our respect for those peo- ple who gave their lives to allow us to be here is asking nothing.” The authorities have now re-


lented and agreed to use the vil- lage as a test case for future policy. Yalding Parish Council chair-


man Geraldine Brown said: “As Yalding has an excellent track record of dealing with road clo- sures for events, the police are prepared to allow us to close YaldingHigh Street andVicarage Road for a period of 15 minutes without a diversion. This will allow us to stop all traffic legally


and safely for the duration of the parade to the war memorial and the service.” The return parade to the church will, however, have to take place on the footpath and not in the road. Cllr Brown said: “This is partly


an experiment and, if we can prove itworks successfully, then we and other parishes may be permitted a road closure for fu- ture Remembrance Day serv- ices.” She stressed: “It is essential


that residents clear the road im- mediately after the service to allow the barriers to be removed promptly.” The parish council expects the system to be monitored by the police and is asking for every- one’s co-operation to ensure the event runs smoothly. It is also seeking volunteers to marshall the barriers, whichwill be placed by the church and at the entrance to Kenward Road and Vicarage Road. The outcome could havewide- reaching impact on rural parishes throughout the Maidstone bor- ough that have parades on the public highway.


Villagers help shape up centenary memorial Individuals or families who


have an interest in the village and its history are being invited to get in touchwith parish clerk Mick Westwood on 01580 91761 – email clerk@staple- hurstvillage.org.uk - with offers of help. Cllr Spearink said: “The fin-


ready noticed a few errors and omissions on the war memorial in the village church and they are now seeking help in identi- fying others and researching the missing information. The parish council has launched a three-pronged proj- ect – firstly to clean and make any further corrections to the memorial that may come to light; secondly to commission a professionally-made oak shelf above the memorial to replace the existing one (currently held in place by two rocks!) and thirdly, to create a Book of Re- membrance and publish a lim- ited number of leather-bound copies for the church, the parish and a few other organisations. Parish Cllr Peter Spearink said:


STAPLEHURSTis set to face a se- ries of traffic disruptions in the coming weeks as Kent Highways tackles three main projects in the village.


Patching works were being carried out on the A229 from Chart Hill Road through to the Stilebridge pub under two-way


“This book will include every- thing we know about the lives and service of all those names on the memorial, including any we find who are not on it at present. “The council recognises that


the research will involve a tremendous amount of time and effort andwe have decided that it would be a fittingway of marking the anniversary if that research was done by the whole commu- nity.


“Some work has been done but already some glaring gaps in our knowledge have come to light.”


lights during off peak working hours starting on September 3 for up to two weeks. Couchman Green Lane will be closed to through traffic for two days from September 27 for resurfac- ing between the A229 Maid- stone Road and the junction with Sweetlands Lane.


ishedworkwill include no names of any people on or off of the council involved in its produc- tion, as we consider this to be a labour of love and respect on be- half of all parishioners both past and present.” Bespoke cabinet maker Martin Franklin has been asked to make a new shelf to go above the me- morial – which will not be sup- ported by rocks! – and the Kent libraries and archives department have offered to help with re- search. The villagershave already iden-


tified one soldier’s namemissing, dating back to the BoerWar, and spotted an error that states two soldiers from theRAFwere killed in 1916/17 – when the RAF did not come into being until April 1918!


These and any other errors will


now be put right before the 2014 centenary.


Staplehurst to face a series of traffic disruptions Footpath reconstruction works


along the entire length of Slaney Road were also due to start on August 28 for a period of five weeks. Working hours will be from 7am to 5pm and accesswill be maintained at all times. Alter- native parking arrangements will be made for residents’ cars.


Troubleshooters help hospital


Continued from page one


time the totalbillwillhit£612m– compared to the £228 million paid to build it. The scheme was agreed with the Treasury in 2008 but Maidstone and Tunbridge Wellswas one of seven trusts na- tionwide whose PFI repayments had to be supported by a £1.6 bil- lion Government fund in June this year.


Health Minister Simon Burns announced that these trusts will now also be supported by a team of PFI experts, who will try to achieve better value for money.


He said: “We want trusts with


PFIschemestogetwhattheypay for, to not pay for things that they don’t need and to pay a fair price for work done under PFI con- tracts.


“That’s why we are taking ac-


tion and sending specialist teams into hospitals to identify savings and help trusts to manage PFI contracts. These contracts are long and complicated, but we must make sure that the NHS gets value for money wherever possible.”


A spokesman for the trust wel-


comedthemove,andsaid: “Work- ing alongside Primary Care Trust colleagues,MTWhas become in- creasingly efficient, saving mil- lions of pounds a year through better procurement, reducing its reliance on expensive agency staff and introducing innovation that improves patient care at less cost. This continues as the NHS looks to make further efficiency savings nationally.”


The 512-bed hospital, built by


private contractor Laing O'Rourke, opened in January last year.


Delays warning MORE traffic changes are in- volved as the latest phase of work with the Stone Street gas main replacement gets under way in the town centre. Romney Place was closed at


its junction with Lower Stone Street on August 13 for approx- imately six weeks. Traffic diversions are in place


and Arriva buses are diverted via High Street, King Street and Wat TylerWay to get to the bus station. Other traffic is diverted via Mote Road and Padsole Lane.


Riding legacy ATHURNHAMequestrian cen- tre has been chosen to encour- age riders in the South East back into the saddle. Coldblow Equestrian Centre is


one of several riding schools tak- ing part in Take Back the Reins (TBTR),which offers lessons de- livered by a number of riding schools as part of the British Equestrian Federation’s (BEF) London 2012 Olympic and Par- alympic Hoof Legacy Project.


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