Council ‘missed out on £1m Next bonus’ Continued from page one
a priority, but my priority is to control de- velopment by getting a core strategy as soon as we can. CIL can follow quickly on.” Cllr Tony Harwood, a member of the plan-
ning committee who was vehemently op- posed to the Next scheme, said: “The obvious point is that £100,000 does not begin to cover the independently assessed 2.13% hit on town centre trade that such a large out-of- town format with free parking will inflict. “The main catchment for the out-of-town mega-store will be urban Maidstone and its suburbs and villages, all to the south of the M20, so traffic and congestion levels on the approaches to the Eclipse site will increase. “Further, such a large glass fronted,
MAIDSTONE Council faces a future of cuts, according to council leader Chris Garland, who forecasts that £5.5m needs to be trimmed off the bill by 2018.
Savings of £1.8m must be
made for 2014/15, when Maid- stone loses 12% (£660,000) of its Government funding and in- flation and contractual in- creases take effect. A reorganisation of senior of-
ficers,which involves changing their titles to heads of depart- ment, is taking place and will save £135,000. Neil Harris, the council’s democratic services manager, is departing after around 30 years’
brightly-lit retail unit so close to the Bearsted Road will profoundly change (for the worse) the character of leafy Vinters Park and Penenden Heath. “Polarising light by day and artificial light
by night will pose a particular problem for local residents at Vinters Park and local wildlife.” Cllr Denis Spooner, chair of Bearsted’s planning committee, said the controversial decision to allow the building of the huge home store on land originally designated for office space could set a dangerous prece- dent, particularly in relation to the upcom- ing plans for the Notcutts site. He told the parish council: “This is the kind of story which makes the front page of
£5.5m ‘must go from budget’
service, His position will no longer exist, with his roles being taken on by Angela Woodhouse, head of policy and communities and Paul Riley, head of finance and resources. The majority of next year’s savings, about £500,000 a year, will result from Maidstone’s new waste management part- nership with Ashford and Swale councils. Other shared service schemes
with neighbouring councils may also be explored. Cllr Garland said: “We have identified £1.33m of these sav- ing so far, and now need to find another £473,000 for the 2014/15 budget.”
the Estates Gazette and gives out the signal to developers everywhere thatMaidstone is a soft touch. “In so far as the Notcutts site is con- cerned, I do not see how Maidstone can now resist granting permission for a mas- sive retail development there as well, as it is already an existing retail space.” Because the granting of the permission
goes against the local plan, it could yet be called in by the Secretary of State and dealt with by public enquiry. However, with both the local authority
and the developer effectively coming from the same side, any opposition would have to come from local residents, the parish councils and the town centre management.
Party time at pre-school
A BEARSTED pre-school has cele- brated its 40th anniversary with cake and games. Children and staff at The Three
Bears, basedat theWIbuilding on TheStreet,playedpass the parcel, blow football and stick the nose on the teacher, took part in tower building competitionsandenjoyed a tasty lunch. Youngsters wore their favourite party outfits and adults donned festive hats as they tucked into a colourful cake, fea- turing three icing bears, made by Carole Doke. Her granddaughter Isobelle is one of the 38 children who attend the group. Staff managed to trace one woman who remembered the
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