Public ‘excluded’ from sports track
When Sir Roger Bannister, one of Britain’s greatest athletes, opened the £800,000 athletics track at Sutton Valence School in September 2009, it was hailed as a facility that would benefit the community as well as the private school. At the time, headmaster Bruce Grindlay said: “This is a facility which will serve our school and the community, sharing and enhancing both state and inde- pendent school traditions.” Given that Maidstone Council provided £294,000 towards the project, this was a reasonable aspiration, butalegalagreementover access remained unsigned for fiveyears amid complaints that only the select few were able to use the fa- cilities. LIZA SCHOLEFIELD reports.
A BARMING man has received recognition that errors were made in the council’s promise to allow the public to use a fa- cility that was 36% funded by taxpayers’ money. After growing increasingly frustrated with the situation – Tom Phillips claims the eight- lane track at Sutton Valence School stands idle and locked for most of the time on week- days – he submitted a Freedom of Information request to Maid- stone Council asking what ac- tion had been taken to survey track use to ensure it is accessi- ble to members of the public. His request claimed there
was very limited use to mem- bers ofMedway and Maidstone Athletics Club, and recently there had been limited access granted to Maidstone Harriers, but athletes not affiliated to these clubs were unable to use the track. The council’s answer re- vealed that an agreement over public access was drawn up in 2008, between the school and the council, but was never signed. An issue over registra- tion of the land was discov- ered, and by the time it was resolved in 2009, the agree- ment on usage was never fi- nalised. The officers concerned have since left the council. Head of housing and commu- nity services, John Littlemore,
education unit OFSTED inspectors say the Oakfields Education Unit at Woodland House Adolescent Unit in Staplehurst is providing a good service to its students. The unit caters for teenagers unable to attend school because of their mental health needs. The average length of attendance is sixweeks, before students return to their original school. Students were said to make
said in his answer that he in- tended to rectify the lack of for- mal agreement, hopefully by November. Mr Littlemore said the inten-
tion was to involve the wider community in consultation after the council’s original de- cision in 2007 to jointly fund the track with Sutton Valence School.
However, he had reviewed minutes from a scrutiny com- mittee meeting in February 2007 and found the scheme was developed in conjunction with Maidstone and Medway Athletics Club. He could not identify what consultation took place following this meeting. Speaking to Downs Mail, Mr Littlemore said a meeting be- tween the council and school’s bursar had now taken place and they had agreed to sign the original document, giving ac- cess to the track. Mr Phillips, an elite masters athlete who is a member of a London running club, com- plained that individuals like himself could not have keys be- cause they were not members of the two clubs with access. “The council admitted it had
never carried out any formal consultation on access arrange- ments to this track,” he said. “The council put £300,000 of tax payers’ money into the track. It is simply not good
Sir Roger Bannister at the opening of the track with the then mayor Peter Parvin, and right, athlete Tom Philips
enough to limit access to peo- ple who are members of the Medway and Maidstone Ath- letics Club. “This track could be an im- portant part of Maidstone’s post-Olympics and Para- lympics legacy. Instead, it is being allowed to become a po- tential white elephant.” Mr Littlemore said access to individuals was not possible because the track was on school land. He said: “Because it is a school, you can’t have mem- bers of the public walking in and out. There are child pro- tection issues. People affiliated to the clubs can have access. “I am sure if he was to ap- proach one of the clubs, being an elite athlete and already a member of a club, I wouldn’t see there being a problem.” He said the documents were
now with the council’s legal team. “I couldn’t answer why it did- n’t get signed, but as soon as we
Good service at Cash for community ideas
CASH sums are being made available for projects to improve Maidstone. The Pride inMaidstone Fund
is a one-off pool of money pro- vided by Maidstone Council, with up to £70,000 to spend on ventures over the coming year. Local voluntary organisa-
good progress during their place- ments. Focused tasks help younger students make progress in reading, writing and commu- nication, but it was older stu- dents progressed less quickly as the work is sometimes too easy. Teaching is good, with learn-
ing objectives personalised, and students are given oppor- tunities to work independently. To improve, the unit needs to
make sure older students are challenged.
tions, charities and community groups are able to apply for a share of the cash, as well as community businesses, social enterprises and other not-for- profit organisations. Cllr John Wilson, cabinet member for communities and leisure services, said: “Our local communities are best placed to decide what their needs are and how they should bemet, and this initiative provides a real oppor- tunity to make investment in the things thatmatter to them. “The council will provide support and will make funding available, but it is for communi-
ties to come up with the ideas. The council wants all neigh- bourhoods in the Maidstone borough to be able to thrive and I hope the Pride in Maidstone Fund will be the springboard from which new and exciting ideas will be launched. “I look forward to seeing inno-
vative projects coming forward.” A wide range of initiatives are eligible for funding through the scheme, including the establish- ment of new organisations or ac- tivities, events which promote community involvement or in- novative approaches that bring people together, and projects which encourage hard-to-reach groups to become active in the community. The deadline for the first round
of applications is Friday, October 19. Go to www.open4commu-
nity.info/ maidstone/
default.aspx for application forms.
Visit Downs Mail’s website —
downsmail.co.uk
were alerted to this,we rectified it,” he said. “The document not being signed hasn’t affected the access. It was never intended for unaffiliated athletes. That was the decision taken at the time, and it had been aired in a public meeting.” A Sutton Valence School spokesman said: “We have met with the council and are work- ing towards finalising the orig- inal document which was drawn up in 2007.”
Should the athletics track be open to the public? Email your thoughts to
stephen@downsmail.co.uk
Reservoir plan A PROPOSAL has been un- veiled to construct an agricul- tural water reservoir at Roundoak Farm, Heniker Lane, Sutton Valence. Water would be abstracted
from the adjacent stream during wet weather and stored for use during dry periods. The reser- voir would be on the south-east corner of the farm and cover 0.3 hectares, with a depth of 6m. The applicant believes the scheme has permitted agricul- tural rights, meaning it can by- pass the usual consent required by Maidstone Council.
Annex application BARRIE Alder has applied to convert an outbuilding at Faith Cottage in Clapper Lane, Sta- plehurst, into a residential annex. He was recently given permission to convert an out- building into a holiday let. Maidstone Council will deter- mine the latest application.
South 29
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