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CAB hit by volunteers shortage


FINANCIAL hardship is hitting the voluntary sector, with fewer people offering to volunteer. Maidstone Citizens Advice Bureau is one of the organisa- tions that has been hit by fewer people being able to give their time for free – and is now on the look-out for new volunteers. The bureau, which is Maid-


stone’s largest advice-giving charity, is also the largest in Kent. It operates from its head- quarters in Bower Terrace, as well as from offices in the


Maidstone Gateway. It offers ahomevisiting service,


and monthly outreach sessions in Headcorn, Lenham and Mar- den and twice-monthly sessions inAylesford and ParkWood. The bureau, which receives


the bulk of its funding from the Legal Services Commission and Maidstone Borough Council as well as from various charitable trusts and donations, has 28 staff and 52 volunteer advisers, as well as volunteer adminis- trative staff and trainees.


Car park ‘at risk of falling down’


COUNCILLORS are set to demolish a crumbling town centre car park, which is costing the council dear. Structural engineers found the King Street multi-


storey car park in Maidstone in need of urgent and costly repairs to prevent it from collapse. The concrete car park,built in the early 70s, has de- teriorated badly in the past 10 years.Without signifi- cant repairs, the building would need to be closed within a year, according to an officers’ report. Members of the cabinet were told that the loss of spaceswould nothaveasignificant impactonparking in the town, as there was already a surplus of some 400 spaces at any one time. If a surface level car park were to be created, it


would provide around 65 parking spaces – a net loss of 148 spaces. Demolition of the car park is estimated at £500,000, while repairs to extend the life of the car park byafurther10years are likely to cost £700,000. Although this would allow the ground floor retail


space to be re-let, bringing the council some addi- tional income, therewas no sign of market interest in the current economic climate. The cost of demolishing the entire building and cre-


ating a surface level car park in the short termwould be around £650,000,whichwould generate some in- comewhile allowing officers tocontinue toseekother


School seeks new leader GREENFIELDS Community Primary School in Shepway is looking for a new head teacher, fol- lowing the resignation of Debra Gamson in Au- gust last year. Ofsted inspectors gave the school a damning re-


port in March 2011, saying it had made inade- quate progess since a previous inspection in 2009. Progress in English and mathematics 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 improved sufficiently. However, under the leadership of acting head


Dan Andrews, year 6 pupils achieved the school’s highest ever SAT scores.


COUNCIL tax reductions look set to be slashed under cost-cutting proposals being put forward by Maidstone Borough Council.


With the exception of pension-


ers and those living alone, every household claiming benefits stands to be affected – more than 6,000 working age people.


Council taxpayers arebeing con-


sulted on three options: Lowering discounts by 24.5%


16 East


development opportunities. Cllr Eric Hotson told the cabinet: “We see the good,


the bad and the ugly in King Street and this is not the first time in 15 years thatwe have found ourselves in this situation. Officers have been working very hard over a long period to try to resolve this. An incredible amountwas spent a decade ago in order tomake the building safe – and herewe are again.” Membersagreed that demolition of thebuildingwas


the right thing to do, but said marketing of the site to potential future developers would continue. Creation of a surface car park, with good landscaping, in the meantime, would at least generate some income for the council. The King Street car park has 213 spaces, which


earn the council £42,000 a year. The ground floor has been empty since being vacated by the Co-op super- market a year ago.


Training firm’s extension INFRASTRUCTURE Training Services has been given permission to retain its three portable cabins at Lenham Railway Station for another three years. The company, which offers rail industry train-


ing courses, was first given permission to site its buildings in Lenham three years ago, and this has now been extended to July 30, 2015. Permission was granted, on condition that the


use of powered tools in connectionwith the track training facility shall be limited to amaximum of two hours between 10am to 12pm weekdays. The decision notice added: “No activity in con- nection with the use shall be carried out outside the hours of 8am to 6pm from Mondays to Fridays and not at any time on Saturdays, Sundays, bank or public holidays.”


Benefit cuts may leave thousands poorer


for everyone except pensioners. Reducing discounts by 18.5%


for everyone except pensioners and reducing the discount on empty properties from six to three months.


A 13% reduction in discounts


for everyone except pensioners, the discount for empty properties reduced from six months to one month, and the end of the10%dis- count for second homes.


Owners of empty properties and second homes will mainly be af- fected by the changes, part of the Welfare Reform Bill. The council needs to offset a £1.3m reduction in funding it gets from the Govern- ment for council tax relief.


Visit www.maidstone.gov.uk


to take part in the consultation, which runs until October 8.


Formore information call01622 602750. Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk However, 21 volunteer advis-


ers left during the year, while only six replacements were re- cruited, prompting the bureau to launch a vigorous recruit- ment campaign. Speaking at the bureau’s an-


nual generalmeeting, chairman SirMichael Buckley said: “The bureau continues to need new volunteers, whether as advis- ers, administrative workers or members of the trustee board. “Unlike some other advice agencies, the bureau provides


substantial advice to the great majority of clients, accompa- nied by action when appropri- ate. It is very far indeed from being only a sign-posting or re- ferral organisation.” Guidance tutor Maurice Burlem said: “The past year has seen a disturbing fall in the number of advisers in the team. While it is heartening that 38% of those who left did so because they found employment, the decline is considerable cause for concern.”


Needs of parishes


‘are being ignored’ Continued from page one The KALC position is also supported by large parishes such as Staplehurst and Mar- den. Trouble flared two years ago when Cllr JohnWilson, the cabinet member for community and leisure services, an- nounced that the council was to abolish the grant – worth about £500,000 to the various parishes. After considerable pressure,


a petition from Maidstone KALC, and the intervention of the leader of the council, Cllr Chris Garland, the grant re- duced to £303,000 for 2011/12. However, it is due to disappear in its entirety next year. Cllr Brown said: “Until re- cently, the scheme has been viewed as fair and, indeed, MBC has received plaudits for the manner in which it has treated its parishes.” Cllr Wilson said: “Meetings


have been held with parishes to discuss their needs and how the scheme can work to their best advantage.” However, Cllr Brown dis- agreed, saying: “The only item that seems to have been dis- cussed at these meetings is grass cutting; the needs of the parishes are being ignored”. Maidstone KALC now says if


MBC does not drop its propos- als and set up an acceptable, system of funding, members will call for a poll under the 1972 Local Government Act. Cllr Clive English, who sits


on Maidstone borough and Tovil parish councils, said Tovil would lose £8-9,000 with the abolition of the concurrent functions grant and said: “Be- cause the PSS is administra- tively quite complex, it could cost Maidstone more to run.” Maidstone councillors and Bearsted parish chairman Cllr Richard Ash said: “There is a lot to commend about what the cab- inet member is proposing but theKALCview is that it will cost us money. “It would mean the Bearsted parish precept rising from 50p a week to 75p a week. Being a large parish, our precept is quite low, but some smaller parishes could indeed suffer.”


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