Witness appeal Park ‘victim of its own success’
to pub incident DETECTIVES are appealing for witnesses following a distur- bance in a pub in Maidstone. The incident is said to have occurred shortly after midnight on April 21, on the ground floor of the Muggleton Inn in the High Street after two men were asked to leave the premises. Security staff suffered minor injuries and two men were ar- rested on suspicion of assault. A 31-year-old from Rochester and a 21 year-old from London were later released on bail. Detectives are asking wit-
nessestocallDCPrescottat Maidstone police station on 101, quoting crime reference YY/7569/13, or call Kent Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Fitter with litter A GROUP of volunteer litter pickers has just filled its 500th bag of rubbish. Allington Alligators was formed three years ago, and the members pick litter at monthly events on a Sunday morning and individually or in small groups during the week. They need more volunteers
who want to get fit while help- ing to make Allington a litter- free zone. Call April Lambourne on 01622 763553, email
april.lambourne@
btinternet.com or go
towww.litteraction.org.uk.
GREEN space in Maidstone is getting thinner on the ground and increasingly overcrowded, according to some councillors. Even the much-lauded Mote
Park, where millions have been invested in new amenities and facilities, is now becoming so crowded it is unpleasant, mem- bers heard. LibDem leader Cllr Fran Wil-
son said the park had become a victim of its own success and pleaded with the council to pay heed to protecting green space if it planned to continue build- ing on sites around the town. She said: “We cannot keep building and building, expect- ing human beings to live like rats in a trap, piling into limited areas of open space. “It is great what we have done
THE nursery at the Meadow Children’s Centre in Bell Wood Primary School, Park Wood, is providing a good standard of care, say Ofsted inspectors. The children’s health and well-being is supported by staff who provide healthy food at snack time and for their tea. Children made good progress because staff used observations to plan for their next steps in learning, and there were plenty
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“unfettered” development. CllrWilson said she accepted
there was a need for more hous- ing, but said the town had reached saturation point in terms of traffic and free move- ment along many of the major road was impossible. “Wemust have a sea change,”
to Mote Park, but we are now victims of our own success to the point where it is becoming unpleasant. “We are now talking of in- creasing the population but not increasing the open space.” Council leader Chris Garland
said there was a massive drive from central Government to en- courage housebuilding and said it was vital the town agreed a core strategy if it was to avoid
Nursery’s good rating for care
of opportunities to be outside The key person system was well-established, and staff were therefore able to address indi- vidual care needs and support children’s learning. The nursery was rated good by inspectors, who said it could be outstanding if it provided invit- ing book areas where children could read. The outdoor play area could be improved with streamers and chimes.
FREE copy of the
Your July DownsMail
Edition of the
will also be available to pick up from:-
Morrisons Supermarket Sutton Road, Maidstone
Sainsbury’s Supermarket Romney Place, Maidstone
Tesco Supermarket Farliegh Hill, Tovil
01622 735094 Weavering St
Maidstone Kent ME14 5JR
If you live in the following postcodes: ME15-9, ME14-1 or ME15-6
Pick up YOUR copy from Wednesday 26th June
To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330 Town 27
she warned. Cllr Garland argued Maid-
stone was rich in its green envi- ronment, but admitted: “We hve been very successful in devel- oping our brownfield land, to the point it is almost all used. “At the moment, if we turn
down applications on green sites, the developerswould go to appeal and we would lose. The only way to preserve our green space it is have a sound, robust and defendable local plan.”
Repairs at centre LISTED building consent was granted for external and inter- nal repairs and refurbishment at Maidstone Education Centre in St Faith’s Street. The centre, in the same build-
ing as the former Maidstone Li- brary, is to have repairs to the brickwork, chimneys, roofing, windows and stonework, re- pointing, guttering replacement and a redecoration. Internal works include a re- placement dance floor.
Firms ‘coming and going’
MAIDSTONE is beating its way outof the recession,with an im- pressiverise in thenumber of new businessesbeing setup. Butasurvey from business
adviceorganisation Duport As- sociates Ltd reveals thetown has also just emerged from one of its worst ever quartersfor business closures. Nonetheless, the borough still
showed anetincrease in busi- nesses of 63 between July and September 2012 –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 aftersuccessfully launching in 2012. Trevor joined Bower Grove
School in 1984 as deputy head, andwasappointedheadinJanuary 1990.Over theyearshehasguided the schoolthrough a transition froma school for pupils withmod-
were registered with Companies House, from construction and consultancy to bars,restaurants and IT services lastSeptember. Only five were recorded in Au- gustand none in July. Duportdiscovered 230 new
companies were formed in Maidstone in the three months between July and September 2012 – a 6% increaseon the same period in 2011. This comparesto a 3.8% in-
crease in new company regis- trationsacross theUK as a whole,and the total falls just two short of the record yearof 2003,when there were 232 businesses registered between
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 halland changing rooms. BowerGroveSchool is renownedin the area for serving children with special needs and their families. For many years, Trevor has
played a key role in the Tunbridge Wells Operatic & Dramatic
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Morrisonsset to move to town RETAIL giantMorrisonslooks set tomove into the ground floor ofthe former Army and Navy store inWeek Street. The company has applied fora liquor licence for theprem-
ises, which has been empty fora number ofyears since Army and Navy rebranded under the HouseofFraser bannerand moved into FremlinWalk. With just 8,000 sq ft of trading space,the site is smallerthan
most otherMorrisons stores,butwill be in competitionwith the TescoExpress store on the opposite side ofthestreet. An announcementis also expected shortly on the retail com-
pany thathas been successfulin securing the Maidstone East site fordevelopment. Town centremanager BillMoss said:“Itlookslike atlong last
somelife is being breathed back into thatend ofthe
town.There are interesting times ahead.”
Waste changes MAIDSTONE Council is join- ingforces with Ashford and Swale councils in a joint waste and street cleansing contractthatbegins inAugust
2013.Formore details, seethe council-sponsored 12-page BoroughUpdate in thecentral pages.
01622 750733
www.monkeyhair.co.uk 10 St Faiths Street Maidstone
‘Mybelief in Helen Grant standsfirm’ - Mail Marks, p42
SALE ENDS! SUNDAY 3rd FEB The Big Yellow Build in g,StPetersSt, Maidstone 0800 652 0102
www.lincolnfurniture
.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 Plansfor Next
July and September. But167 firmswentto thewall
in thesame period – a 25.6%in- creaseon the previous yearand a muchworsepicturethan thena- tionalaverageofjust 3.5% Maidstone’s economy is
largely based around leisure and retail and the town is ranked in the top five shoppingcentresin theSouth East. Itboasts 1.25mil- lion square feetofretail floor space, making it Kent’s biggest shopping destination. Restaurantsand bars are key
to thearea’s success, with the night-time economy being worth more than £75million annually.
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‘conceptstore’ SHOPPERS have welcomed plansfora new out-of-town home and style superstore on the outskirts ofMaidstone. Even traders and town centre
managementhavegiven are- luctantthumbsup to a proposal from retailerNextfor a £9m home and fashion outlet on land nextto the Hilton Hotel, on Bearsted Road. Some 68 people visited a pub-
lic exhibition at the hotelin earlyDecember, following an an- nouncement from Nextthatthe retailerhoped to submit a plan- ning applicationfor a “concept store” at Junction 7 of the M20 within amatterofweeks. Almost all of the visitorswere
in favour,according to Martin Hughes,representing Next. And the Town Centre Man-
agement waswarned:“If this doesn’t come to Maidstone,it will go toAshford orTunbridge Wells and take trade with it.” Thestore, which is expected
to create 180 jobs,would be only the third of its kind
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‘crashcapital’ A NEW report thatconfirms Maidstone asthe “crash capital ofKent” hasled to calls forthe town to become a20mph go- slow zone. KCC’s Crash Analysis in Kent
County town
reveals thatwhile Kentasa whole recorded a reduction in both fatalitiesand severe crashes,inMaidstone there were 499 accidents in 2011,re- sulting in 651 casualties. Canterbury and Dartford – the
nextmostserious – lag some way behind,with 403 and 406 accidents respectively. Between 2010 and 2011,
Maidstone recorded the highest increaseofcar crashes in the county,with 37 more crashes and a
totalof412.Seventy per centofcasualties in the district were caroccupants. Maidstone also recorded
P6
Popular vicar retires after 17 years
Tabernacle set for April reopening
P3 P4
Powerhub planto ‘reviveriverside’P15
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