Former gypsy site sold to parish


A PLOT of land that was used as an illegal caravan camp has been bought by Water- ingbury Parish Council for £165,000. Drayhorse Meadow was sold by Anne Medhurst after her lengthy legal battle to stay on the site was defeated. Work has been completed on clearing up


the 2.6 hectacre field, which is off a track leading from Fields Lane. The parish coun- cil now plans to lease the stables and graz- ing land to generate an income towards repayment of the purchase loan, and to help reduce the cost of the rates in future years. Residents were consulted at a public meeting last October, before the parish ap- plied to the PublicWorks Loan Board with


ALL three secondary schools in theMallings area achieved better GCSE results last summer than in previous years, according to data published by the Depart- ment for Education. Holmesdale Technology Col-


lege in Snodland came top, with 55% of pupils achieving five or more A* to C grade GCSEs in- cluding English andmaths, com- paredwith 40% in 2011. At Aylesford Sports College


49% of pupils gained five A* to Cs including English and maths. The Malling School in East Malling saw 35% of its pupils gain five or more A* to C grades. The data also compared the re- sults of disadvantaged children


the aim of buying any suitable land that might come on the market. Parish clerk Susan Cockburn said: “We


had this site in mind as we thought itmight come up for sale at any time.” The council said the price was higher


than it would have liked to pay, but “taking account of the strength of feelingwithin the village about this land, the chairman used his discretion on agreeing the purchase price.” A number of residents who offered help


to clear the land were thanked, but the council felt it was too hazardous and em- ployed a contractor. Mrs Medhurst moved on to the site four


More pupils make the grade


with those of non-disadvantaged children. At Holmesdale 19% of disad- vantaged children achieved five A-C grades, compared with 60% of non-disadvantaged. At Aylesford it was 38% com-


pared to 51% and at Malling 19% and 40%. Across Kent 61% of pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades and nationally the figure was 59%.


Extension plan PLANS for a two-storey side ex- tension at 62 Gassons Road, Snodland, have been submitted to Tonbridge and Malling Coun- cil.


years ago after planning permission had been refused to a previous applicant. Her bid to obtain permission for five caravans was refused by Tonbridge and Malling Council and a planning inspector subse- quently ruled that her family were not gyp- sies for planning purposes, as although they had gypsy ancestry, “there was little in their housing or employment history to indicate travelling as a way of life”. After losing her case at a judicial review,


Mrs Medhurst left the site five months ago and let it out to another family. The new tenants moved out quite suddenly and Mrs Medhurst agreed to sell, following an ap- proach from the parish.


Plan for larger log cabins at park


MORE change is proposed for an East Malling holiday cara- van park at the centre of a long- running planning battle. Owner Garry Haffenden


wants to increase the width of the 10 log cabins on theWater- ingbury Road site by 50%. But the plan has been criti-


cised as inappropriate for such a rural setting, with a neigh- bour saying it would look “more akin to terrace housing”. Mr Haffenden was granted permission for a static holiday caravan site by Tonbridge and Malling Council in August last year. This was after its original approval, in December 2011, was challenged through a judi-


cial review and quashed in the High Court because of complex procedural issues. The case was sent back to the borough and was approved. Conditions included that the timber-clad units, which are classed as caravans, should be no more than 4m wide by 13m long. However, the latest appli- cation seeks a 6m width. A comment on the council’s planning website said: “The ex- isting proposals are already very dense and increasing the size of the cabins will only make the situation worse.” Another said: “This huge in- crease is hardly justifiable for short-term holiday lets.”


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