Shopping village could double in size
A MAJOR overhaul of the Newnham Court Shopping Village, almost doubling it in size, could be on the cards as part of plans to re- vitalise Maidstone’s peripheral retail sites. Land Securities intends to submit a planning application to Maidstone Coun- cil to redevelop the site, currently home to a garden centre, restaurant, veterinary hos- pital and numerous retail outlets. Newnham Court covers almost 250,000 sq
ft at present, but the new scheme would keep the pub and oast buildings, while increasing available floorspace to 455,000 sq ft. This would include a 40,000 sq ft garden centre with a further 42,000 sq ft of exter- nal display space, a 42,000 sq ft super- market, a 90,000 sq ft three-storey department store, 218,000 sq ft of retail space for existing tenants and nearly 23,000 sq ft of space for food outlets, in-
Dance winners PUPILS from Lenham Primary School have won a trophy in an inter-schools dance competition run by the International Dance Teachers Training Academy. Pupils from all over Maidstone
took part in the contest, at In- victa Grammar School, Hunts- man Lane, including Loose Junior School, Brunswick House Primary, Barming Primary, St John’s CE Primary and Headcorn Primary. The Mayor of Maidstone Cllr
Rodd Nelson-Graciewas among the crowd who watched the juniors strut their stuff.
cluding the inn and oast buildings. The council is already being asked to consider an application for a huge Next home store only a few hundred yards away, close to J7 of theM20, and news that Newnham Court could expand will serve only to add to fears that Maidstone centre could suffer at the expense of out-of-town shopping parks. DHA Environment has already been com- missioned by Land Securities to submit a formal request to screen the proposed de- velopment for any environmental impact, and concluded they do not believe an envi- ronmental impact assessment is necessary. They say it is unlikely to impact on areas
of ancient woodland, although it would be partially visible from some parts of the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) to the north.
Access to the site would be via the New
Cut Road roundabout, currently being used for construction traffic for KIMS. DHA said: “The comprehensive redevel- opment would deliver key infrastructure benefits, including significant highways im- provements, to help solve existing conges- tion problems affecting the area. “The proposed development is expected
to have positive social and economic effects by retaining and generating direct and indi- rect employment opportunities during the construction and operational phases and by generating local expenditure with positive effects on the local economy generally.” The council has five weeks to decide if an
EIA is necessary and, if so, it will need to produce a “scoping opinion” to agree the scope of any assessment DHA would be re- quired to undertake.
Why stylist George is a cut above A MAIDSTONE hairdresser is through to the regional finals of a hair- dressing competition, thanks to a 1920s-inspired cut and colour. George Springett (20), of Willington Street,
will compete against 24 other stylists inWest- minster on April 3 for a place in the grand final of the L’Oréal Colour Trophy award. The former Cornwallis Academy student, who works at Number Nine Hairdressing in Pudding Lane, was confident about getting through to the next round in the gents’ cut and colour cate- gory.Hesaid: “I’vetrained with theBritish team trainer and my cousin is one of the top hair- dressers in the country so I’ve had some good teachers.” George, pictured left working onmodel Karl Smissen, worked at Maidstone salon Samuel James.
Tree faces axe CONSERVATION area con- sent is being sought to re- move a cherry tree at the Church of Good Shepherd, Rectory Lane, Harrietsham. According to the planning application, the tree has been obstructing overhead power lines to the church. It is proposed to replace it with a weeping cherry tree. The proposal, which will
be determined by Maidstone Council, also includes work on four other trees in the church grounds.
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