Overcrowded park ‘victim of own success’


GREENspace inMaidstone is getting thinneron the ground and increasingly overcrowded, ac- cording to some councillors. Even the much-lauded Mote Park, where mil-


lions have been invested in new amenities and facilities, is now becoming so crowded it is un- pleasant,members heard. LibDem leader Cllr Fran Wilson said the park


had become a victim of its own success and pleaded with the council to pay heed to protect- inggreen space if itplanned tocontinuebuilding on sites around the town. Shesaid: “We cannotkeep buildingand build-


ing, expectinghumanbeings to livelikerats ina trap, piling into limited areas of open space. “It is great what we have done to Mote Park, but we are now victims of our own success to


A 36 YEAR-old East Peckham man has been jailed for beating a brave pensioner with his own walking stick in a “road rage” incident. Brian Deacon, of Westwood


Road, was riding his motorcycle in North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wells, at around 2pm on De- cember 5 last year when a 4X4 vehicle pulled out in front of him, causing him to break hard. Deacon then chased the vehi-


cle, sounding his horn and flashing his light, before pulling in front of the vehicle and forc- ing it to stop,Maidstone Crown Court heard. Hethen approached the vehicle and snatched the 76-year-old vic-


the pointwhere it is becoming unpleasant. “We are nowtalking of increasing the popula-


tion but not increasing the open space.” Council leaderChris Garland said therewas a massive drive from central Government to en- courage housebuilding and said itwas vital the


Pensioner beaten with own walking stick


tim’s walking stick, snapped it and attacked him with it. Deacon was restrained by members of the public until police patrols arrived and arrested him. Police paid tribute to the brav-


ery and dignity of the victim who was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries to his hand, arm and forearm. Deacon admitted assault occa- sioning actual bodily harm and was sentenced to two years in prison.


Investigating officer, Detective Constable James Chichester said: “This was an extremely vicious and cowardly assault upon an elderly, disabled, vulnerable vic- tim. The offender engaged in ade-


liberate, sus- tained assault asaresultof an apparent mistaken ‘road rage’ in- cident. In a prolonged assault, the offender at first verbally abused the victim and then


as-


town agreed a core strategy if it was to avoid “unfettered” development. Cllr Wilson said she accepted there was a


need for more housing, but said the town had reached saturation point in terms of traffic and free movement along many of the major road was impossible. “Wemust have a sea change,” shewarned. Cllr Garland arguedMaidstonewas rich in its


green environment, but admitted: “We have been very successful in developing our brown- field land, to the point it is almost all used. “At the moment, ifwe turn down applications


on green sites, the developers would go to ap- pealandwewould lose. Theonlyway to preserve our green space it is have a sound, robust and defendable local plan.”


Store brings jobs THIRTY new jobs will be cre- ated with the opening of a toys superstore at South Aylesford Retail Park this summer. Smyths Toys Superstores will


Brian Deacon was sentenced to two years in prison


saulted the victim with his own walking stick, causing a number of severe wounds. Although his physical injuries have healed, the emotional injuries that he has suf- fered will take years to heal.”


take over part of the former BHS homeware unit and is on the lookout for staff ranging from retail assistants to man- agement positions. The new shop will officially


open on August 10 and the firm hopes to create more jobs later in the year. Smyths currently has more


than 60 stores throughout the UK and Ireland and its expan- sion plans include opening a further five or six shops in the next 12 months.


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