Driving ban for
drink-drive man A MAIDSTONE man has been convicted of drink-driving fol- lowing an incident in John Street, in December 2012. Wayne Haynes (43), of Peel Street, pleaded guilty to driving his Ford Fiesta while over the limit, and was sentenced at Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court. When stopped by police he had given a breath test of 96mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. Magistrates disqualified Haynes from driving for 42 months and ordered him to have treatment for his alcohol dependency. He must also pay £85 costs and a £60 victim sur- charge.
Homes agreed GRAHAM Shelton has been given permission to replace a bungalow at 40 Gladstone Road, Maidstone with three town houses. Planning applications were granted in 2007 to build five two-bedroom homes on the site and separately to build two two-bedroom homes, but re- taining the bungalow and garage. The latter scheme has been completed, and the applicant has now been given consent to build the remaining three homes from the first scheme.
o
Appeal launched to rebuild hall
THE Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Rodd Nelson-Gracie, and Bishop Graham Cray (previously Bishop of Maidstone) are to launch the appeal for the re-building of Ringlestone church hall. The hall, built in 1935, is ex- tensively used by local people, but has badly deteriorated and has no access for the disabled. Working with the Ringlestone Community Association, the church has commissioned a new build, which will provide a larger and more flexible space for community use. On Friday, May 17, a local drama group is organising a va- riety show with star turns in- cluding the vicar and curate as two of the seven dwarves. Tick- ets are £5, or £10 for a family. They are available on the night or from Rev Jackie Cray at jack-
iecray@hotmail.co.uk. Call 01622 851822
YOUNG people are being tempted to get a taste for poli- tics and a ‘pizza’ the action. Maidstone’s Young Liberal Democrats have lined up monthly debates to encourage interest in topical issues. The inaugural Pizza and Poli-
tics debate, “Hop Gardens or Houses”, focused on plans for 15,000 homes inMaidstone.
orchard dental practice
Emergency Appointments
Free Parking
Clockwise from above: the proposed church hall, how it looks at the moment, Bishop Graham with Rev Jackie Cray
The appeal will be launched
on Saturday, May 18. Come along between 3pm and 4.30pm for tea and cakes with the mayor and Bishop Graham. There will be bouncy castle for the children, band music, a video of the new project, a cake stall and the chance to buy a brick. Some residents have also worked with the local commu- nity archivist Mark Bateson to put on a display of the history of the hall.
Young encouraged to join debate over pizza The next is at the Chequers
Inn, Loose, at 7.30pm on May 21. Organiser James Willis said:
“It was a lively evening with plenty of spirited discussion.” Jasper Gerard, LibDem parlia- mentary spokesman for Maid- stone and theWeald, said: “The membership of all political par- ties is ageing so we are working to find more youthful vigour.”
FREE copy of the
Your June DownsMail
Edition of the
will also be available to pick up from:-
Pay Less Dental Care
Introducing
Independent Dentistry
Our prices are based on NHS charges
Examination £18.00 £48.00
Examination & Filling
To see how we can help call 01622 741817
www.paylessdental.co.uk 146 Heath Road, Coxheath, Maidstone, ME17 4PL
Morrisons Supermarket Sutton Road, Maidstone
Sainsbury’s Supermarket Romney Place, Maidstone
If you live in the following postcodes: ME15-9, ME14-1
Pick up YOUR copy from Wednesday 29th May
Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330 Town 33
Breath-test failed A MAN who admitted drink driving in Knightrider Street, Maidstone, has been given an 18-month ban. Gary Vaughan (25), of South
Park Road, was almost twice the legal limit in an alcohol breath test when police stopped his Chevrolet Epica. Vaughan was also fined £110 with £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
Firms ‘coming and going’
MAIDSTONE is beating its way outofthe recession,with an im- pressive rise in the numberof new businessesbeing set up. Buta survey from business
advice organisation Duport As- sociatesLtd reveals the town has also justemerged from one of its worsteverquarters for business closures. Nonetheless,theborough still
showed a netincrease in busi- nessesof63between July and September2012 –with 58 of them beingin Septemberalone – the best September since monitoringbegan more than 50 years ago. A hundred new companies
CELEBRATE Maidstone this year turns its attention to education and has announced that Trevor Phipps, head teacher of Bower GroveSchool, haswon the lifetime achievement award 2013. The event, which rewardsMaid-
stone’s unsung heroes, is back for a second year after successfully launching in 2012. Trevor joined Bower Grove
Schoolin 1984 as deputy head, andwasappointedheadinJanuary 1990.Over theyearshehasguided the school through a transition froma school for pupils withmod-
were registeredwith Companies House, from construction and consultancy to bars,restaurants and IT serviceslast September. Only five were recorded in Au- gustand none in July. Duport discovered 230 new
companieswere formed in Maidstone inthe three months between July and September 2012 – a 6% increaseon the same period in 2011. This comparestoa 3.8% in-
crease in new company regis- trations across the UK asa whole, and thetotalfalls just two short of therecord year of 2003,when therewere 232 businessesregisteredbetween
Teacher’s dedication rewarded
erate learning difficulties, to a school for pupils with behaviour and learning needs and autism spectrumdisorders (ASD). Trevor has supervised several
new extensions to provide addi- tional classrooms and specialist teaching areas, as well as provid- ing specialist sports facilitieswith a sports hall and changing rooms. BowerGroveSchool is renownedin the area for serving children with specialneeds and their families. For many years, Trevor has
played a key role in the Tunbridge Wells Operatic & Dramatic
P4
Morrisonsset to move to town RETAIL giantMorrisons looks settomove into the ground floor ofthe former Army and Navy store inWeek Street. The company has applied fora liquorlicence forthe prem-
ises, which hasbeen empty for a number of years since Army and Navy rebranded undertheHouseof Fraserbanner and moved intoFremlinWalk. With just 8,000sq ftoftradingspace, thesite is smaller than
most otherMorrisons stores,butwill be in competitionwith the Tesco Expressstore on theopposite side of the street. An announcement is also expected shortly on theretail com-
panythathas been successfulin securing the MaidstoneEast sitefor development. Town centremanager BillMosssaid:“It lookslike at long last
somelife is being breathed back into thatend
ofthetown.There are interesting timesahead.”
Waste changes MAIDSTONE Council is join- ing forces with Ashford and Swale councils in a joint waste and streetcleansing contract that begins inAugust
2013.Formore details, see the council-sponsored 12-page BoroughUpdate in the central pages.
01622 750733
www.monkeyhair.co.uk 10 St Faiths Street Maidstone
‘My beliefin Helen Grant stands firm’ - Mail Marks, p42
SALE ENDS! SUNDAY 3rd FEB TheBig Yellow Build in g, St Pet ersSt , Ma id stone0800 6 520102
www.lincoln furnitu re
.co.uk Trevor Phipps with his award
Maidstone & Malling’s No 1 - over 83,000 copies - 4 editions Maidstone Town Edition February 2013 No.190 PlansforNext
July and September. But167 firmswentto thewall
in the same period – a 25.6%in- crease on the previousyear and a muchworsepicture than thena- tionalaverage ofjust 3.5% Maidstone’s
‘concept store’ SHOPPERS havewelcomed plans for anew out-of-town home and style superstore on the outskirtsofMaidstone. Even traders and town centre
economy is
largely based around leisure and retail and the town is ranked in the top five shopping centres in the South East. It boasts 1.25mil- lion square feet ofretail floor space,making it Kent’s biggest shopping destination. Restaurants and barsare key
to thearea’s success, with the night-time economy being worth morethan £75 million annually.
P3
management havegiven a re- luctantthumbsup to a proposal from retailerNext fora £9m homeand fashion outleton land nextto the HiltonHotel, on Bearsted Road. Some68 people visited a pub-
lic exhibition atthe hotelin earlyDecember, following an an- nouncement from Nextthatthe retailerhoped to submita plan- ning application for a “concept store” at Junction 7ofthe M20 within amatterofweeks. Almostall ofthevisitorswere
in favour, according to Martin Hughes,representingNext. And the Town Centre Man-
agementwaswarned: “If this doesn’t come to Maidstone, it will go toAshford orTunbridge Wells and take trade with it.” The store,which is expected
to create 180 jobs, would be only the third of its kind
P10
‘crash capital’ A NEW report that confirms Maidstone asthe “crash capital ofKent” has led to calls forthe town to become a 20mph go- slow zone. KCC’s Crash Analysisin Kent
County town
reveals that while Kentas a wholerecorded a reduction in both fatalitiesand severe crashes,in Maidstone there were499 accidents in 2011,re- sulting in 651casualties. Canterbury and Dartford – the
nextmostserious– lag some way behind,with 403 and 406 accidents respectively. Between 2010 and 2011,
Maidstone recorded the highest increase ofcarcrashes in the county,with 37more crashes and a
totalof412.Seventy per centofcasualtiesin the district were car occupants. Maidstone alsorecorded
P6
Popular vicarretires after17years
Tabernacle set for April reopening
P3 P4
Powerhubplan to ‘revive riverside’P15
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 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64