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Bluebell Walk THE Heart of Kent Hospice will be holding its annual Bluebell Walk on Sunday, May 5. The 8.5-mile walk starts from Harrietsham village hall,where there is plenty of free parking, and registration opens at 9am. At the end of the walk, there


will be a well-earned plough- man’s lunch as well as cake, craft and fruit stalls. The entrance fee is £10 for adults, £3 for children, and £25 for a family of five. Dogs are also welcome. For more information call


01622 790195, email fundrais- ing@hokh.co.uk or go to www.hokh.org.


Rental plan to help homeless


MAIDSTONE’S homeless are to be offered private rented housing in a bid to cut down on the use of B&B accommodation. All new applicants since No- vember who are still homeless will be given the option of a 12- month tenancy in the private sector, should something suit- able be available. Historically, the homeless have


been found bed and breakfast ac- commodation until social hous- ing becomes available. However, this is expensive for the council, and unsettling for the tenants, ac- cording to Maidstone borough Cllr John Wilson, cabinet mem- ber for community and leisure services.


The Localism Act of 2011 gave housing authorities the option of offering homeless people private rented accommodation for the first time. CllrWilson said: “The council


is committed to improving the housing options for homeless households, especially where emergency temporary accommo- dation is necessary.” The council has entered into


an agreement with private land- lords who are prepared to offer housing to the homeless. The council will aim to offer propertywithin the borough, but there may be occasions when housing outside the borough is offered.


Honour for police newsletter volunteer


A RETIRED NeighbourhoodWatch liaison officer has been honoured by the High Sheriff of Kent. JohnWatson worked in the newspaper industry


for almost 50 years before joining Kent Police in 2009 as a part-time NeighbourhoodWatch liaison officer. He retired in 2011, aged 65, but stayed in- volved as a volunteer. He now helps create a free bi-weekly newsletter called E-watch, which goes out to 4,000 subscribers across West Kent and is seen by about 40,000 people. Mr Watson, who sits on the West Kent Neigh- bourhoodWatch Association committee, said: “I was a journalist for 40-odd years but wanted to give something back to the community. I took the part-time job doing tasks like setting up Neigh- bourhood Watch groups and when I retired I


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If you live in the following postcodes: ME20-7


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came back to do the same job, sending out mes- sages and setting up groups.” He was nominated for the High Sheriff of


Kent’s Award Scheme by chairman of the West Kent Neighbourhood Watch Association Peter Rolington for services to the community. Chief Inspector Jon Kirby, head of policing in


Tonbridge and Malling District, said: “The fact John was so keen to stay with us after his retire- ment, and volunteer on behalf of Kent Police, shows great dedication to the force. He thor- oughly deserves this accolade.” High Sheriff Michael Bax said: “John has worked tirelessly looking after the interests and wellbeing of the residents ofWest Kent and is a well-deserved recipient of this award.”


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“Each case will be considered separately. An important part of this assessment will include whether an offer of accommoda- tion in the private sector is the best way to achieve a successful outcome,” said CllrWilson. If an offer is refused, the coun-


cil will no longer have a statutory duty to provide social or private sector housing. All applicants to the housing register are being encouraged to enter into the “Community Con- tribution” band as the quickest way of obtaining subsidised housing. This means priority will be given to those who do voluntary work or help their community in a positive way.


Maidstone & Malling’s No 1 - over 83,000 copies - 4 editions


Malling Edition March 2013 No. 191 Hospice chief in hospital


KATE Bosley,chiefexecutive of Heart ofKentHospice,hasbeen seriously injured while cycle trainingin Tenerife. The 50-year-oldmother-of-four,


who hasled the Aylesford-based charity since 2007,spenttwo weeks in intensivecare in a hos- pitalon the holiday island but, as DownsMail went to press, her condition had stabilised and she had been transferred toa regular ward. Theaccidenthappened on


February 18.Kate,who lives near Maidstone,has raisedmore than £10,000 forthe hospice inanum- ber oflong-distance cycling events. RogerMcCorriston,chairman


ofthe board of trustees atHOKH, said:“Wewere devastated to hear ofKate's accident and our thoughts and prayers are with


her, her husband John,and allthe other members oftheir family. We are trying to provide whateversup- port wecan to Kate’s family at this exception- ally difficult time.Kate is a very


gifted


CEOwith enor- mousexperience,notonly with the Heart ofKentHospice,but also with Demelza and Ellenor LionsHospice.Notonly does she lead thehospice with greatskill, butherfundraisingactivities, through herpassion forcycling, haveinspired many others to support the cause.” Kate joined the San Fairy Ann


cycling clubwhen she undertook her firstsponsored ride seven


A BENCH has been placed near sheltered accommo- dationinLeybourne, togive pensioners a rest ontheir way to the bus stop. EileenCannell and LilyWakeling (82), ofWaterside


CourtapproachedLeybourneParishCouncilwithcon- cerns that the walk fromtheir home in TerryWalk to the bus stop was too much for them. The council re- sponded by installing the bench onWillowmead. Eileen, who celebrated her 99th birthday in Febru-


ary, cut a ribbon to unveil the smart, wooden bench, with a plaque on the back saying “Eileen’s Bench” to mark the fact she is the oldest resident ofWaterside Court. The ladies then invitedmembers of the parish councilbacktotheirhomeforapieceofEileen’sbirth- day cake. Parish council chairman Bob Ulph said: “It was a very enjoyable and, forme, a humbling experi- ence froma group of elderly peoplewho ask for noth- ing, butwere so grateful for a little gesture such as a bench. It was a real pleasure to see how much it meant to Lily and Eileen.


Eileen Cannell cuts theribbon to open thebench sheand her friend LilyWakeling requested near theirhome in TerryWalk,Leybourne


“Thanks to everyone who made this possible and


let’s seewhat elsewe can do for our older generation in Leybourne.”


Firmoffers to remove footpaths


A LEADING Maidstone plan- ningconsultancy is promoting therecruitment ofaformerKCC planningexpert to help appli- cantsmove – orremove – pub- lic rights of way. Matthew Garvey,who worked


asa public rightsofway officer with thecounty council, joined theteamatDHAPlanning,based atEclipse Housein Sitting- bourne Road,Maidstonein June last year. The company has issued a pro-


motional flyersaying:“There are timeswhen theprecise route ofa


public rightofway can cause dif- ficultiesforlandowners and other interested parties. Public rights ofway can, however, in certain circumstances, be legally diverted or extinguished through a numberofprocesses. “Ourexperience showsthat


clients wantto divert orextin- guish routes for amultitude of reasons, from better land man- agementtoproposals fordevel- opment.” DHA is sponsoringMrGarvey


on a degree in town planning at the University ofBrighton.


Thecompany is capitalising


onhis background and expert- ise by advertising“a unique serviceforthe complete man- agementofdiversionsand ex- tinguishments ofpublic rights ofway”.The advertisementhas caused a flurry ofconcern from countryside supporters and en- vironmentalgroups. Jamie Weir, from the Cam-


paign forthe Protection ofRural England (CPRE) Protect Kent, said:“The countryside is some- thing that everyone should be able toenjoy.”


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Inside this edition: THIS month’s four-page Malling Action Partnership supplement features infor- mation on the ‘All Our Sto- ries’ project, which residents can join to share their living memories of the local area. MAP supports people, businesses and events in Malling and the 10 parishes around it.


Primary school told it must improve


Families lose estate demolition battle


P12


P3 P6


New funding keeps BeatProject aliveP12


years ago.Since then,shehas taken part in challengesin Cuba, India,competed in theKent 200K,cycled from London to Paris (viaGeneva)and undertook thegruelling 1,000-mile ride over 12 days fromLand’s End to John O’Groats. Broughtup in Ilkley,West


Yorkshire,Kate was previously an employee at DemelzaHouse children’s hospice in Sitting- bourne,EllenorFoundation in Dartford before returningto HOKH – where she earlier worked on thewards shortly after it opened its doors 22 years ago – initially as clinicalmanager. It costs £3.8million a yearto


runHOKH,a specialistpalliative care unit in Preston Hall. Kate spearheadsthe financial strategy, supporting the staffand volun- teers.


Eileen’s bench a place to rest


to keep job A NURSE at Maidstone Hospi- talhasbeen declared still fit to practise afterfacing charges of inappropriately obtaininga prescription forViagra and usingitto buythe drug from a pharmacy in 2009. Rajesh Gobin,who worked


Viagra case nurse allowed


on the neuro-rehabilitation unit, was also charged with forging a hospital parkingper- mit in 2007. Duringa hearing atthe Old


Bailey in February,the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found MrGobin guilty by ad- mission ofphotocopyinga col- league’s parking permit as she was aboutto goon maternity leave,with the intention of using it himself. However,when it cameto the


charges relating to theViagra prescription,the panelcould notbe certainMr Gobin under- stood hospitalpolicy suffi- ciently to know he was not entitled to receive a prescrip- tion written bya colleague, a doctor at the hospital in the wayhe did.Forthis reason the NMC found MrGobin had not obtained the prescription orthe drug inappropriately. The panelfoundMr P10


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