Roof repairs vital Councillor elected KCC chair Cllr Hotson, who has represented Maidstone Rural South for the past
LONG-servingStaplehurst councillorEric Hotson hasbeen elected chair- man of Kent County Council for the coming year.
12 years, is also a member of Maidstone Borough Council and amem- ber of the Maidstone Locality Board and the Maid- stone Joint Transportation Board.
He is a former leader of Maidstone council and a
formerMayor 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 chosenKent AirAmbulance and Young Car-
ers as his charities for the year and intends to help promotebusinessand thework of young carers during his termof office.
MARDEN Memorial Hall could soon be attending its own wake. Without an influx of £175,000
- £200,000 to repair the roof, by this time next year the hall could be closed. The Kent peg tile roof has
been in place since the building was built, early in the 1900s. More than a century of winters have taken their toll on the roof, which has been increasingly leaky in recent years. Now consultants say the en-
tire roof needs to be replaced, as it is unsafe to climb on to the roof to carry out short-term emergency repairs. The village hall committee approached the parish council to see if it could obtain a public works loan to cover the cost of the work. But the council found itself in a Catch 22 when it learned the
loan would have to be handed over as a grant – leaving the parish council, with no addi- tional precept – to cover the costs of repayment. If the hall was to close, the
parish office would face closure and dozens of local community groups would find themselves with nowhere to meet. It has been estimated that the
roof might only last one more winter, depending on the strength of winds and heavy snowfalls, so trustees are now frantically trying to find other sources of cash that could save the day.
Broadband scheme RETROSPECTIVE planning permission is being sought for the installation of a broadband receiver/transmitter on the tower roof of St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Yalding.
The chairman’s role is to take charge of the county council meetings
and act as ceremonial representative 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 their quest for employ- ment, to support the many volunteer organisations and to help newand established businesses to grow.”
More mobile homes TOM Love has been given planning permission to station an additional two caravans on a gypsy site in Mulberry Farm, East Street, Hunton. In 2004 permission was granted, on appeal, to allow three mobile homes to occupy the site.
Maidstone Council’s plan-
ning committee has now voted in favour of allowing a total of five caravans to facilitate separate living accommodation for a son and his partner as well as for a daughter and her partner.
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Workers’ caravans PLANNING permission was granted to store 17 additional caravans for agricultural work- ers at Rumwood Green Farm, Sutton Road, Langley. G Charlton and Sons’ appli- cation, which adds to the 42 car avans already in place was permitted on condition that they are removed if they are not used for for more than two seasons in a row. Maidstone Council also granted retrospective permis- sion to retain polytunnels on the site between February 1 and October 31 each year.
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