Homes plan for historic town pub


A VACANT back-street town centre pub, thought to have been established in 1882, could be converted into flats. Applicant TJK Contracts Ltd


says The Rising Sun in Mar- sham Street, Maidstone, is no longer viable. According to a trading budget forecast, the pub is due to lose £7,600 during the six months to March 2011. Its £30,000 income from bar


sales only covers the cost of supplies (£20,000) and rent (£10,000) to pub management companyAdmiral Taverns, who purchased the property for £410,000 in 2007. Just a year into this manage-


ment, the then tenant was de- clared bankrupt. It was claimed that, since then there have been numerous short-term tenants. A supporting statement by Public House Investments Ltd, who bought the freehold in April for £235,000, said: “Over the past 10 years or more there has been no investment in the property and it now requires a significant expenditure to bring it up to modern day standards and compliance with current legislation. “It is our view that building


does not provide the facilities, layout or scope to be a viable business opportunity. Addition-


MAIDSTONE councillors have been told not to expect any new roads – or even traffic-calming schemes – following the Government’s auster- ity measures. KCC leader Paul Carter told the borough's


Joint Transportation Board that the idea of ex- tending the highways network "will be history" following Chancellor George Osborne's spend- ing review. Maintaining existing roads in Maidstone would be the main priority, he said. Members had been debating future highway improvements and the system for prioritising schemes. Cllr Carter said the discussionwas hypothet-


ical. Kent Highways would have to recalculate how it spends money on its 5,000 miles of road. "Thingswill have to change," he warned.


ally the costs of alterations and renovations could not be justi- fied.


"in a different world" now. But it was impor- tant to remember that west Kent is very much the county's economic engine. "In these tight times we have to keep the en-


gine of prosperity working," he added. Cllr John E Wilson had noticed during the Chancellor's speech none of the major trans- port projects getting the go-ahead is in Kent. This was incomprehensible, he said. Cllr Carter, who was due to meet Business Secretary Vince Cable, said he would remind him that the South East is the engine room of the economy. "Forget that at your peril," he would tell Mr Cable. Cllr Carter said he would raise the need for another Thames crossing to relieve pressure on theM20 andM2.


“The business has been trad-


ing at low levels formany years and this has deterred successive landlords from making the nec- essary investment. It is probable that the decline in trade was as- sociated with the closure of both the West Kent General Hospital in 1982 and The Oph- thalmic Hospital in 2003. “The character and customer


base of the locale has changed and can no longer support the business.” The application to convert the


pub into two houses and to con- struct another two houses in the adjacent car park will be deter- mined byMaidstone Council.


‘No new roads after spending clamp-down’ Rugby player faces CllrMalcolm Robertson agreed councilswere


eye-gouging charge A MAIDSTONE rugby player faces disciplinary action over an alleged case of eye gouging. Gravesend player Clarence Harding


was left blind in one eye following a Kent Cup match in January at the Mote in Maidstone. Police brought no charges and the matter was passed to the Rugby Football Union. Maidstone player Matt Iles was due


to appear at a disciplinary hearing in London on October 28, but it was ad- journed at the request of the chairman of the panel. The RFU said the hear- ing would be rescheduled after some of the medical evidence had been in- vestigated further.


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