Homes scheme reduced after consultation


ALARGE housing development at Preston Hall in Aylesford has been reduced by almost 25% after public consultation. The NHS and Royal British Legion Industries announced over a year ago that they planned to restore the Grade II- listed building and develop on nearbylandtocreate318 new homes, but two separate plan- ning applications reveal this fig- ure has been cut to a total of 244 dwellings. Increases in traffic were the


main concern among consultees at the public exhibitions, though a supporting statement claims many attendees had not considered the positive impact of the withdrawal of NHS-re- lated traffic from the site. A number of health services, including radiology and pathol- ogy, have been moved out of the hall, with other services due to follow. Other objections included the


height of the homes facing Hall Road,Aylesford. As a result, the application has


been reduced significantly to help ease traffic flows and redesigned alongside Hall Road. Other changes include improvements to the memorial gardens and adja- cent landscape. The supporting statement added: “The plan has been thoughtfully developed following two years’ joint working between the NHS and RBLI. “It is based upon detailed as- sessments and consideration of the existing development, the


OFFICERS are appealing for in- formation after receiving a number of reports of a woman approaching people in Maid- stone asking to borrow money and then never returning. There were two reports of


Child porn


offender jailed A MAN who took child porn pictures and posted them on the internet has been jailed. Appearing before Maidstone Crown Court, Vincent Terry (43), was sentenced to three years for distributing indecent images of children, and 12 months to run concurrently for taking indecent images. Terry will also be required to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order. Terry, previously of Maid-


stone, denied all allegations after he was arrested in Decem- ber 2011, but a digital forensic examination of his computer showed that he had distributed and received a total of nearly 3,000 images, ranging from lev- els 1-5. Det Con Nicola Griffith from


the Kent Police child exploita- tion investigation team said: “People like Vincent Terry show a considerable lack of re- gard for the lives of their young victims. Every single indecent photo of a child contains a vic- tim, but advances in technology and the support we receive from the community is helping us to arrest people suspected of such offences and prevent other children becoming victims.”


30 Town


theft in Woollett Street on the same day. It is reported that each time a woman knocked on a front door, asked to borrow money and agreed to return the money later the same day. It is alleged the woman never re- turned to repay the money she had borrowed. Incidents have been reported


landscape, important woodland and trees, important views to and from Preston Hall, access routes and traffic flows and potential sources ofnoise and air pollution. “The areas identified for devel- opment on NHS land are based mainly on existing buildings and hard-standing. In line with coun- cil policy, 40% of the dwellings will be affordable housing.” Preston Hall became a hospital complex in1914 for the treatment of wounded soldiers. It was ac- quired by RoyalBritish Legion In- dustries in 1919, along with the surrounding village, and became a centre for the treatment, training and rehabilitation of ex-service- men and their families. Since 1948, the main hall and hospital buildings have been run by the NHS, while RBLI have de- veloped the village to provide support for the Armed Forces, disabled and disadvantaged com- munities. More than 330 people are em-


Warning after doorstep cash con


in Coxheath and the town cen- tre.


One of the suspects has been described as a white woman with a southern accent, brown shoulder-length hair, aged from 33 to 37, about 5ft 2ins tall. She was wearing glasses and a bright maxi dress. The other description is of a


white woman, again with a southern accent and aged about 33 to 37, about 5ft 7inches tall, very long brown hair and medium build. Thewoman was wearing a brown coat and glasses.


Reward for hospital long service AHOSPITAL receptionist has been honoured for delivering more than25 years of smiles and exceptional customer service in the community. Alison Boorman (44) was pre- sented with her long-service pin alongside colleagues at BMI The Somerfield Hospital, where 31 staff were recognised for provid- ing 280 years of combined serv- ice.


Alison began working for BMI Healthcare in February1987. She said: “I can’t believe it has been 25years. I’vemadealot of friends and really enjoyedworking here.” Connie Stocker, executive di-


rector, at the hospital, said: “Ali- son is an absolute credit to the hospital, I would like to express our gratitude to her for her hard work and reliability, it is a great achievement and one which she should be very proud of.”


Reception manager Alison Boorman, left, and executive director Connie Stocker


Trackway scheme is approved


DAVID Knight has been given permission to construct a 55m long by 2.5m wide hard surface trackway at Teasaucer Stables, Bockingford Lane. Maidstone Council granted planning permission on condi- tion that the existing unautho- rised solid concrete section of


trackway is demolished and re- moved.


Following objections from


Tovil Parish Council and the Valley Conservation Society, the applicant had amended the scheme to include a recycled polythene grid reinforced grass surface.


ployed in RBLI’s manufacturing and social enterprise activities. But, for several years, the NHS


has been preparing to vacate Pre- ston Hall, which is expensive to run and maintain. “Preston Hall is a Grade II listed building,” added the statement. “The plans for its development have been based on an historic buildings assessment and will lead to restoration of the building and its gardens. “The general fabric of the build-


ing will be restored, with the restoration of the entrance hall and stairs and the repair of origi- nalwindows anddoors where ap- propriate. “The panelled librarywill be re-


tained and restored, along with the panelled ceiling in the up- stairs board room. The gardens and terraces will be restored, in- cluding the listedwalls and gates to the front of the wall, the foun- tain and statues. Inappropriate modern storage will be removed.”


School seeks


new leader GREENFIELDS Community Pri- mary School in Shepway is looking for a new head teacher, following the resignation of DebraGamsoninAugustlast year.


Ofsted inspectors gave the school a damning report in March 2011, saying it had made inadequate progess since a pre- vious inspection in 2009. Progress in English and math- ematics was said to be below the national average at Key Stage 2, and while progress had been made at key stage 1, it still remained low. Inspectors also found that the


level of teaching had not im- proved sufficiently since the last inspection. However, under the leader-


ship of acting head Dan An- drews, year 6 pupils achieved the school’s highest ever SAT scores.


Court bans driver TOMAS Nagulevieius (27), of Kingsley Road,Maidstone, was disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined £220 by Mid Kent Magistrates. He admitted failing to pro-


vide a specimen for analysis following an incident in Maid- stone on July 14, andmust also pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.


Woodworm issue IN last month’s edition we claimed that a planning appli- cation had been submitted to reconstruct 1 Rosemount Close, Loose, due to a woodworm in- festation. In fact, the application re-


ferred to the woodworm prob- lem in Gravitts Cottage, Peens Lane, Boughton Monchelsea.


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