Gymnastics club may go to town
THE Olympic-standard Pegasus Gymnastics Club is planning to move from its Bearsted head- quarters to the Farleigh Hill Trading Estate in Tovil. The club has been based at Crismill Lane, to the west of Junc- tion 8 of the M20, since 1995, but has nowapplied tomove toUnits 2, 3 and 4 in the Farleigh Hill Trading Estate. Jennie Trandaburu, head
coach of the club’s kinder gym, said: “At themomentwe are im- ploding because we have not got enough space. “We have kids on the waiting
list who we can’t put anywhere because we haven’t got the space. The new premises would be four times the size of what we have at the moment.” Founded in 1987, Pegasus
was initially based at Invicta Grammar School, but has grown to employ five full-time and 10 part-time staff, running 23 classes for 500 gymnasts. Its current location is in a
Emergency
team tested MORE than 100 people turned out to help put members of Sta- plehurst Emergency Help Team through its paces. Staplehurst is the first commu-
nity in Kent to have such a group, and is the model other parishes are following, with the help of KCC emergency officers. They held their first exercise
last month, with members of the community and manufac- turing firm D K Holdings Ltd. The action was meant to
occur at 10pm at night, when the team was advised that a train had been blocked by snow between Headcorn and Pluck- ley, which meant another one was trapped in Staplehurst without heating. Twelve members of the SEHT responded to a call-out, and opened a community shelter in theDKHoldings’ factory canteen. A total of 80 people were stranded and while 20 took their chances in the Railway Tavern, the rest were helped to the factory and looked after by team members, armed with hot drinks and blankets. Just as the team had decided
to set up beds in the village hall, the news came through that the line was clear back to PaddockWood. Cllr Rory Silkin, chairman of
the SEHT, said: “The team is in- debted to members of the pub- lic who pretended to be stranded passengers. “DKHoldings showed terrific community spirit by opening up their premises for the exer- cise and our thanks go to them.” If you would like to be a part
of the team, please contact the parish clerk on 01580 891761.
Memorial gift to air ambulance THEKent, Surrey andSussexAir Ambulance night-time flying appeal re- ceived a boost when Maidstone Lions Club presented them with a cheque for £25,000. The donation to the Marden-based charity was made in memory of
past president John Bradford,whodied recently afteralong illness. John was taken to hospital by the air ambulance in April 2010, following a cardiac arrest. Current president Malcolm Luxton said: “John had been in Lions for
over 40 years. He had served the club as president on three occasions, andwas also a zone chairman. John had always been a keen supporter of the air ambulance, andwe felt this donationwould be a fitting tribute to someone who had served Lions sowell.” For more information about joining Lions or seeking their help call Malcolm on 01795 841439.
£6m extra to resurface roads
RESIDENTS in Kent are benefit- ing from an extra £6million in- vestment by Kent County Council in resurfacing roads and pavements. The money comes from savings
made by careful management of last year’s budget, and is in addi- tion to £17million already set aside for 2012/13. KCC cabinet member for high- ways, Bryan Sweetland, said:
“About 600 roads in the county are being renewed this year as part of our approach to protect the huge, multi-million pound investment we have made over the past two years. “This investment has raised the standard of our roads to a level not seen for quite some time.” Residents can check the road resurfacing schedule in their area
atwww.kent.gov.uk/resurfacing.
Caravan site can stay open all year round THE Cherry Tree Park in Church Hill, Boughton Monchelsea, has been given permission to stay open all year round. Currently, the holiday caravan park is not allowed to open be-
tween January 14 and March 1 in any calendar year, but an ap- plication to remove this condition was accepted by Maidstone Council’s planning committee.
rural area away from the town centre. It is also close to where Maidstone Council has ear- marked warehousing in its draft Core Strategy. Jennie said: “There is better accessibility at Tovil, given that there is more public transport and it is closer to the town cen- tre. At the moment people can only reach us by car. Moving to the other side of town means we will be looking at covering a larger area.”
PEGASUS excels at na- tional level and trains this year’s European Youth Olympic Festival all-round trophy winner, Courtney Tulloch(17).He will join Wateringbury resident James Hall (17) in the provisional squad for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. They have also been shortlisted for the Youth Olympics in Australia in January.
Should Maidstone Council
grant planning permission for the new site’s change of use from warehousing, Jennie said the club could be occupying it by early next year. A supporting statement added: “There are no locations that can provide this extent of floorspace in a single place that are closer to the town centre than this site. “The development will facili- tate the continued growth of a
highly-successful local sports club, and the creation of a cen- tre of excellence for gymnastics. It will provide a location for competitions at county level, which will enhance the role of Maidstone as county town.” Competitions would be lim-
ited to 12 per year, and would always be held on Saturdays or Sundays. Numbers taking part would increase to about 100, but, according to the statement, “this would be staggered throughout the day, as competi- tions are divided into sections based on age and ability. “Most parents bringing chil-
dren to competitions would re- main on site while their child competes, thus minimising the amount of traffic entering and leaving the site. “All activities at the site will
be undertaken between the hours of 9am and 9pm, ensuring that no vehicle movements or associated activity will take place at unsociable hours.”
Farmer dies of
rabbit poison A 23-YEAR-OLD Kingswood man killed himself by swallow- ing a rare poison he used to kill rabbits. Farmer SamuelWarden swal- lowed the poison at his home in Heatherwood Close, then di- alled 999 to tell the emergency services what he had done. Doctors at Maidstone Hospi-
tal carried out extensive re- search into the poison – only the second case in the UK in the past 15 years – but could have done nothing to save him, an inquest at County Hall heard. Mr Warden had researched
the effects of the poison, which releases a toxic gas on contact with liquid, on the internet and found there was no antidote. He died in intensive care on
May 29 last year, having left a suicide note. Mid Kent coroner Roger
Sykes recorded a verdict of sui- cide and said he was satisfied that there was nothing doctors could have done to save him
Calendars on sale THE annual Staplehurst calen- dars are now on sale. Just 400 calendars, devised
by local artist Ken Collins, have been printed and 60 were sold at a recent art exhibition. Funds from the 2013 calendars
will go to the Staplehurst Scout group and district Guides. This year’s calendar features
black and white pen and ink drawings of old Staplehurst. The calendars are £4 from Staplehurst Post Office,Ward & Partners, Radfords, the Kings Head, Martin’s newsagent, Coachman’s Cottage Studio and Highgrove Garden Centre.
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