Bees hive a new home
WHEN water worker Michael Bryant lifted the lid of a fire hy- drant in Coxheath, he was pos- itively buzzing at what he discovered – a large colony of honey bees. The South EastWater techni-
cian was called in by Kent Fire and Rescue Service to help lift the metal cover after a resident in Burstan Road noticed the in- sects and contacted a local bee keeper.
Michael said: “Once I lifted
the lid we were all stunned to find that the bees had created their new home directly under the metal lid of the hydrant. “I have never seen anything
like this inmycareer and I doubt Iwill see anything like it again.” Bee keeper Mark Ballard,
who specialises in removing and relocating colonies, identi- fied the creatures as honey bees and carefully removed them from the lid.
He said: “We were worried people would walk along the pavement and get stung. Throughout my 15 years as a bee keeper, this is the first time I have ever seen honey bees cre- ating a home under a fire hy-
Villages shortlisted for award
HEADCORN andMarden were due shortly to find out if they were to win this year’s Kent rural community of the year award. The twoWealden villageswere among 10 finalistswaiting to dis-
cover on September 13, at Elham Village Hall, if they are to win the title. Headcorn has also been shortlisted in the business category, andMarden for community and sustainability. The competition is organised by Action with Communities
in Rural Kent and sponsored this year by the European Commis- sion, who provided six volunteers from Romania to help the lead judges.
drant. It is extremely rare.” The creatures normally live
in a sheltered area, between three and five metres off the ground. The colony has been safely relocated to a new bee keeper’s hive in Bearsted.
Garage to annex JOHN Palmer has applied to convert and extend an existing detached garage to form a resi- dential annex in Bramley Or- chard, Claygate Road, Claygate. His application form says the extension, if permitted by Maidstone Council, will be built with timber cladding and plain red tiles to match the ex- isting building.
Five homes may replace bungalow
ASHFOLDEstates has applied to demolish a bungalow and out- buildings in Heath Road, Cox- heath, replacing it with five homes. The proposal for Crinnis, on
the north side of Heath Road, about 65m from the junction of Heath Road and Pembroke Road, would see the introduction of three three-bed homes and two four-bed homes. A supporting statement said:
“The land to the rear of Crinnis opens up to a large L-shaped area of unused land, occupied by two single-storey outbuildings. Ve- hicular access is possible to this area via the driveway, which runs down the eastern side of Crinnis. “It could be argued that the density of development on this site should be reduced inorder to minimise its impact. However, this would inevitably lead to the creation of dwellings, which would need to be of sufficient size to render the development value acceptable, but this is likely to be at odds with the character of the area and also market con- ditions. “The scale of the new built
form is broadly similar to the two-storey propertieswithin this part of the village, but care has been taken to vary eaves lines, ridge lines and roof details to cre- ate an interesting vernacular using bespoke house layouts.”
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