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
Holiday let plan SALLY Kennaird has applied to build a five-bay barn to provide a three-bedroom holiday let in Hollands Farm, Green Lane, Chart Sutton. The building, subject to Maidstone Council granting planning consent, would be on a grassed area, south west of an orchard, currently used for ve- hicle parking and fruit delivery preparations. A supporting statement said:
“The proposed development, by virtue of its design, scale, bulk and appearance, would have a minimal impact on the visual amenity of the surround- ings and will not harm the amenity of the occupiers of the neighbouring properties.”
Bid to fell holly trees DAVID Scrivener has applied for conservation area consent to remove two joined holly trees from the front of CherryMount, Malthouse Hill, Loose. His application form says the
trees are growing above the main drain and undermining the shed wall.
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 thatdemolition 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.
Pub development turned down MAIDSTONE’s planning committee defied pleas from a ward member and refused a plan for five three-bedroom homes on a disused garden next to The Victoria pub in Heath Road, East Far- leigh. The council said the proposed terrace of three homes west of the pub and a pair of semi-de- tached homes further east was contrary to pol- icy protecting open countryside and repre- sented an unsustainable form of development. But Cllr JohnWilson, a committee member who also represents East Farleigh, said: “There is a development east of the pub, behind is a builders’ yard and next to this is a development of five houses. To call this open countryside is wrong. “This is the type of site where we should have new homes. I
Maidstone Council considered this area to be open countryside
can’t see how this is an erosion of the open countryside. There is a bus stop next to the site and two schools within walking dis- tance, so I don’t know how muchmore sustainable you can get.” Planning officer Peter Hockney said council policy restricted
new housing in the open countryside. The development of new properties in Victoria Closewas only given permission as it con- tained affordable housing. Cllr Clive English said: “Unless we can come up with com- pelling justification for overcoming our policy,wewould be mak- ing a rod for our own backs.We need to be consistent.” Nine councillors voted against the scheme, with four abstaining.
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 councillor 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.”
10 South Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56