Council may step in to care for green


AFTER 30 years of maintaining a public open space off Marlowe Road, Larkfield, Tonbridge and Malling Council has discovered it does not own the land. The issue came


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to light after resi- dents complained to East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council that the grass needed cutting. It was discovered that the site (right) belongs to devel- opers who built the nearby homes in the 1980s. Now a solution


may be in sight as the parish council is seeking to take over the green. It has contacted the company which now owns the former development firm. Darren Lanes, the borough’s head of leisure said: “Tonbridge and Malling Council carried out an audit of landownership when re- viewing their ground maintenance contract. “Itwas discovered that a few areas of land previouslymaintained


by the borough council were not in fact within the borough coun- cil’s ownership, and hence we had no legal right to continue to enter the land to carry out routine maintenance. “We are very pleased to hear that the parish council has stepped


in. Whilst the borough council was legally unable to continue maintaining it and the private landowner had not undertaken any maintenance over the past months, it is encouraging to know it will be maintained for the benefit of local residents.”


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THE Tesco Metro store in High Street,West Malling, is due to re- open on Monday, August 26, after being closed for eight days for re- furbishment. During the makeover, the retailer is providing a free bus twice


daily for customers to shop at its nearby Lunsford Park store. The morning service will leave West Malling at 9am and return at 10.30am. The afternoon service will leave at 2pm and return at 3.30pm. A Tesco spokesman said the new design would give the store “a warmer look and feel, and a real focus on fresh produce.” West Malling Parish Council chairman Trudy Dean said she had


asked for help at Lunsford for elderly people who might be con- fused by the size of the store. She also appealed for residents to help neighbours who might struggle with mobility problems.


Parish room plan raises concerns for yew tree


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PLANS for a parish room with toilets in the churchyard of St James the Great Church, East Malling, have run into opposi- tion as they involve felling a large yew tree. Consent for this has been


given by the Rochester Diocese, subject to planning consent by Tonbridge andMalling Council. East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council told the borough council it was aware “there is both concern and objection to the felling of this yew tree”. It sought an assurance that the


yew would not be felled if plan- ning permission was given, until it was clear that the parish room could be built, in case of any problems cropping up such as building regulation, fundrais- ing or legal issues. The parish council was also concerned about how the build- ing would affect the view of the church looking along Church


Walk from the village green. Parish council chairman David Thornewell said the parochial church council had been looking at various sites within the churchyard for several years. Is- sues concerning any possible disturbance of graves would be dealt with by the Church of Eng- land authorities. A large number of comments,


both against and in favour of the proposals, have been posted on the borough’s planning site. David Drury, landlord of the


King and Queen pub, opposite the church, stated his “un- equivocal support” for the scheme, saying: “I am aware of the painstaking consideration given to the proposal and be- lieve it to be complementary to the church, its environs and the local street scene. “I really feel these basic yet essential facilities are long over- due for the community.”


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