Unpopular homes plan rejected


A PROPOSAL for 24 affordable homes in Tovil was refused after neighbours were said to be “sad and broken” about the scheme.


Maidstone Council’s planning committee turned down Orbit Housing Group’s application on the grounds of poor design, lack of amenity for new and neigh- bouring residents and poor in- frastructure. The scheme had been deferred three weeks ear- lier over concerns that it was not hitting sustainable energy targets. The proposal consisted of


four blocks of two and three- storey terraced houses compris- ing 12 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom houses for af- fordable rent, together with pri- vate amenity space and 30 parking spaces. Objectors raised concerns at


the traffic impact on residents of nearby Tovil Green Court and Pine Court, which contain extra


The area earmarked for housing was said to be an “urban paradise” by Cllr Tony Harwood


care apartments for the elderly and people with learning diffi- culties. Cllr Tony Harwood, amember


of the committee, said: “The pervasive feeling coming out of this is sadness from the resi- dents who currently live in the cul de sac. It is a very nice place to live, with plenty of wildlife, and when I was there this week the people living there seem sad


Traffic concerns voiced


THE planning committee joined members of the public in raising con- cerns over the introduction of more traffic to Burial Ground Way, but the council could not refuse on this issue, as KCC did not object on highways grounds. An officer for the county council stunned members when he said that according to statistics the “safety record is fine” for the area, despite the death of an 87-year-old Tovil woman on nearby Farleigh Hill three years ago. Brenda Smith was walking along the side of the road with two eld-


erly friends near Tesco, when she was involved in a collision with a white Ford Transit van.


A free lunch


goes down well MORE than 60 people discov- ered there was actually such a thing as a free lunch when they visited the Plymouth Brethren Maidstone Gospel Hall. Many were attracted by ban-


ners they had seen from the road, others had been given leaflets in the town centre and all came along to enjoy the free hot food and drinks. One elderly gentleman said


he had enjoyed it so much on a previous occasion that he couldn’t resist coming again. All of the visitors were in-


vited to take free Bibles and gospel booklets andmany com- mented on the relaxed atmos- phere and quality of the food. Visitors from many walks of


life were there, from farmers to policemen, old and young.


Bird scarer figures MORE than 130 complaints about bird scarer guns have been received by Maidstone Council since 2000. Responding to a Freedom of Information request, the council said all complaints had been in- vestigated, but no noise abate- ment notices had been served. The council said it had ad-


vised residents and businesses regarding the control of noise.


and broken about this scheme. “There is a beautiful wooded


slopewith 30ft trees and we are talking aboutitasifitisTar- mac. When I visited I felt as if I was in an urban paradise of huge wooded trees surrounding flowering meadow and wildlife, but it is being treated like a brownfield site.” Cllr Clive English, a commit-


tee member and also a Tovil parish councillor, said: “Time and time again Tovil and South ward get high density and af- fordable housing, but don’t get any infrastructure or facilities to mitigate it.” The committee voted nine to


two in favour of refusing the ap- plication, with one abstention. A week after the decision, Cllr Mike Hogg, a borough member, told Tovil Parish Council: “I am trying to get tree preservation orders to protect the area from future development.”


Father dies in cannabis fire A FATHER from Loose lost his life after becoming trapped in a


barn full of cannabis plants, which caught light. Daniel Price (42) died from severe burns and smoke inhalation


at Forstall Farm,Well Street. The fire was so fierce that firefighters could not get to Mr Price


and his body was not discovered until almost six hours after emergency services were called. Police confirmed cannabis was being grown in the


barn and equipment including UV lights were discovered after the blaze had been put out. There was also hay in the barn. Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Service worked together


to investigate the cause of the fire, and determined there was no third party involvement. Mr Price’s death, on the afternoon of Friday, May 31, is not being treated as suspicious.


Adoption care is ‘adequate’,


says Ofsted OFSTED inspectors have looked at the care provided by KCC’s adoption service, based at Oakwood House, Maidstone, and found it to be adequate. At a previous inspection in November, 2011, the organisa- tion of the service was found to be inadequate,while other areas were said to be satisfactory. At the time, 13 recommenda-


tions were made regarding the shortfalls. An improvement plan was made, and the service joined forces with Coram, a vol- untary adoption service, to im- prove its provision. Inspectors found the partner-


ship had led to significant im- provements in many areas, with children being placed with families more quickly. However, due to the large num- ber of children entering the care system, many children were still awaiting permanent placements. Both KCC and Coram ac- knowledged that there was still work to be done. Inspectors rec- ommended that timescales were stuck to unless it was not in the child’s best interest. The child’s wishes should be ascertained, and birth parents should be encouraged to use a support worker.


Tree ‘danger’


LUKE Cunningham has ap- plied to fell a protected thuja tree in Abberley Park, Sitting- bourne Road, Maidstone. His application form said he


had been advised by a tree sur- geon that it was dangerous and should be removed. It said: “The tree is 25 metres tall and seven metres from the row of houses I live in. He (the tree surgeon) further advised that, should the tree fall down, it could destroy the four of the five houses in the row. “As well as this the roots are


likely to damage foundations.” Maidstone Council will de- termine the application.


Councillor elected KCC chairman


LONG-serving Staplehurst councillor Eric Hotson has been elected chair- man of Kent County Council for the coming year.


Cllr Hotson, who has represented


Maidstone Rural South for the past 12 years, is also a member of Maid- stoneBorough Councilandamember of theMaidstone Locality Board and the Maidstone Joint Transportation Board.


He is a former leader of Maidstone Council and a former mayor of the town.


Cllr Hotson, who is married with


three daughters and a grandson, is a retired conveyancing executive, a


keen sports fan and gardener. Hehas chosenKentAir Ambulance


and Young Carers as his charities for the year and intends to help promote business and the work of young car- ers during his term of office.


The chairman’s role is to take


charge of the county council meet- ings and act as ceremonial represen- tative of the local authority.


Cllr Hotson said: “I see the role of


chairman as to promote all that is good in the county, to support young people in theirquest for employment, to support themany volunteer organ- isations and to help new and estab- lished businesses to grow.”


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Cllr Eric Hotson Town 23


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