Stoves by Edmed


New year start for sorting office


ROYAL Mail’s new sorting of- fice at Park Wood should be opening its doors early in the New Year. The £1.9m postal centre, which will have the latest tech- nology to handle high speed mechanical sorting, is being built on the former Whatman complex in Bircholt Road, cov- ering a 0.72 hectare site. It will replace the centre at Sandling Road andwill employ more than 200 staff, turning over some 36,000 items an hour. Postage volumes have de- creased significantly with the rise of email – from 84 million items a day in 2004 to 58 mil- lion now – and the emphasis has switched from letters to packets and parcels, with more people shopping online. The new Park Wood office is


part of Royal Mail’s plan to re- place sorting and delivery of- fices more than 25 years old. It


is anticipated all the staff will transfer from Sandling Road to the new operation. The service will operate vir-


tually around the clock, with a ground floor sorting hall with ancillary offices, plus first floor offices at mezzanine level. The total internal area will be


1,822 square metres. It will have 24-hour camera surveil- lance and security lighting. Some of the services currently undertaken at Sandling Road will be transferred to Cuxton and the vacant site sold off. Maidstone Council still has


hopes of a shopping and super- store development on land near Maidstone East station. It has been suggested that the borough looks into buying the Royal Mail land and creating a transport hub to incorporate the town’s first purpose-built bus centre to replace the covered area next to The Chequers.


Warming homes throughout Kent since 1917


Specialist in limestone mantelpieces, granite and slate hearth. Suppliers of stoves, multi fuel and wood burner


Visit our showroom in Sittingbourne or click on to www.edmedcoal.co.uk


01622 260514


Solid fuel available for collection & delivery


Prices now available on-line at www.edmedcoal.co.uk


EDMED STOVES - COAL - CHIMNEY SWEEPING 18 East


Volunteers pack the lorry with aid for people affected by Chernobyl


Lions send off aid to Belarus MAIDSTONE Lions club, along with other Lions from throughout Kent, have packed a lorry with aid for people in Belarus. The consignment of 1,000 boxes will arrive in Gomel, Belarus, later


this month, wherepeople continue to suffer fromthe after-effects of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Malcolm Luxton, president of Maidstone Lions club, said: “Life ex-


pectancy in Belarus is very low, with many people suffering from termi- nal illnesses and general poor health. The soil is still contaminated, preventing safe crop growth and production.” The Lions club in the town of Gomel will divide the donated aid be- tween orphanages, schools and individuals within the locality.


Meadows plan RESIDENTS in Hollingbourne are being urged to help a char- ity raise money to protect 25 acres of village land from de- velopment. The Hollingbourne Meadows


Trust has raised £85,000 from donations, grants and fund-rais- ing, which they have used to buy 15 acres of the land. Nowtheywanttoraise £3,000 a year to look after it. They also want to buy the re- maining 10 acres. Contact Peter Lee at The Hollingbourne Meadows Trust Ltd, Autumn Cottage, Musket Lane, Hollingbourne, ME17 1UY, email musketlane@btinter- net.com or call 01622 880580.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Homes crisis TOWN crier Gez Clark has raised fears that Lenham is be- coming a “commuter town”, pricing local first-time buyers out of the market. He fears that without more af- fordable housing, or perhaps a community housing associa- tion, young people will be forced to move out of the area. He said: “I can see the village


will become a beautiful little camp with a few locals, used for aweekend escape by thewealthy burghers of London.” Borough councillor Tom


Sams said he was workingwith young families looking to stay in the area, but there were not enough houses available.


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