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Council housing figures approved The fight’s not over, says parish councillor


MAIDSTONE’s chief planner Rob Jarman has been cleared by the council following claims his department had “miscalculated” crucial figures affecting land supply. An extraordinary meeting of the planning overview and scrutiny committee agreed the methods used by the council’s planning de- partment were not flawed,’as some members had claimed, and were a genuine attempt to calculate the town’s housing land supply. Six councillors called for an investigation


after a senior QC argued the council had failed to take into account sufficient numbers of windfall sites in reaching its conclusion that the town had a 4.2 year land supply. To control development on greenfield sites,


the council would need at least five years’ land supply. Several parish councils, including Boughton Monchelsea and Marden, locked horns with Maidstone as barristers on both sides tried to argue their case. But, following a meeting lasting more than


four hours, members agreed the council had acted responsibly and in good faith. LibDem opposition leader Cllr FranWilson


said she had been lobbied more on this issue than on any other but conceded, along with other members of the committee, that an ear- lier “secret” barrister’s report obtained by the council was irrelevant to the matter.


Orchestra date MAIDSTONE Symphony Or- chestra is performing at Mote Hall, Maidstone Leisure Cen- tre on Saturday October 12. The programme, which


starts at 7.30pm, includes Brit- ten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 3 The conductor will be Brian


Wright, with Laura van der Heijden on cello. Tickets start at £10, or £5 for students. Admission is free for those aged 18 and under. For more details, call 01622 735830 or www.mso.org.uk


go to


Tip closure THE waste recycling centre in Burial Ground Lane, Tovil, is to be closed for three weeks. Work to repair concrete


walls and surface slabs will start on Monday, October 21. The re-opening date has not yet been announced. During the closure, waste


canbetaketoother centresat Gas Road, Sittingbourne, North Farm Lane, Tunbridge Wells and Cobbs Wood Indus- trial Estate in Brunswick Road, Ashford.


COUNCILLORS who called for an investigation into how the council reached its conclusions have not yet given up their fight. Boughton Monchelsea Parish Council claims


the scrutiny committee failed to carry out its duty effectively and is seeking legal advice. Parish council chairman Steve Munford was


taken ill shortly after the initial meeting, which he believes was brought on by stress, and vice chairman Ian Ellis appeared at the second hear- ing on his behalf. Cllr Ellis said: “Wewere given 24 hours to submit our papers to the council, giving the officers time to look at what we had


The committee voted to endorse the methodology and judgments used, but called for an urgent investigation into what could be done to protect greenfield and other “inap- propriate” sites from development. CllrWilson said: “I could weep for the po-


sition we are in. By removing the greenfield moratorium and by not having a five-year plan, we have opened the floodgates.” Keith Nicholson, former head of planning


at Tonbridge and Malling Council, speaking on behalf of Boughton Monchelsea, warned that Maidstone’smethodology would lead to the council using up its scarce resource of de- velopment sites sooner rather than later, and


to saybefore thebundlewas sent out. Then, dur- ing the process, they issued a further paper. If wehaddonethat, itwouldhavebeenthrownout by the chairman.” “We believe the scrutiny and overview com-


mittee did not undertake the role which they were asked to do. Instead it was a successful attempt by members to defend and support their officers and themselves, instead of look- ing at it as an opportunity to accept that there was no need to release greenfield sites prema- turely in advance of the completion of the local plan.”


said: “There is not a lot of developable land in Maidstone, and you are duty-bound to husband that scarce resource as best you can. “If you ignore the contribution fromwind-


fall, you will be accelerating the release of that land in the short term. I do not think fu- ture generations will thank you for that.” But Mr Jarman said the council had taken account of many of the windfall sites in its assessment and would not be able to defend the inclusion of additional windfall sites be- fore a planning inspector. He insisted: “We do not make ‘guessti- mates’. We include every planning permis- sion down to one unit.”


Stylist Kevin’s


Craig Dixon, sports minister Hugh Robertson, and Luke Hagreen at the opening of C5 Fitness


Sports minister opens gym


HUGH Robertson MP, minister for sport and tourism has opened a newgym in Maidstone. Mr Robertson was joined by


MayorofMaidstone,CllrCliveEng- lish, at the opening of C5 Fitness at Turkey Mill Business Park, alongside the gym’s founders, CraigDixon and LukeHagreen.He was presented with an honorary membership before taking a tour of the facility, dropping inongroup exercise classes and trying out a “TourdeFrance” trainingbikethat simulates going up and down mountains. Luke and Craig have both over-


come serious health problems to achieve their dream of opening their own fitness centre. Hugh Robertson said: “The Lon-


don 2012 Olympics created in- creased interest in sport and fit- ness across the country, and it’s great to see that spirit alive and well here inmy own constituency. I amdelighted to be here today to see Craig and Luke realise their ambition.” Craig said: “Looking at us now,


most people would never imagine that I once had a serious weight problem and that Luke was in a wheelchair following a sports in- jury. We want to create a fitness centre that shows our members how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle through exercise and good nutri- tion.” For more details, go to


www.C5Fitness.co.uk or call 01622 757179.


Students’ winning designs for Leeds Castle souvenirs


A STUDENT from Invicta Grammar School has helped Leeds Castle design a range of merchan- dise for the castle shops. The castle’s retail manager, Bob Needham


asked pupils to design a knight and princess. The winner was year 13 student Hannah Marno, who was commissioned to produce more drawings, which are being launched on a wide range of merchandise.


Hannah is now studying for a degree in graphic illustration. Students were also invited to write stories for


the characters, which Hannah will illustrate. The retail partnership between the school and


the castle will continue, with two cushion de- signs produced in conjunction with the school being launched early in the autumn term. They will also appear in the shops.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


hope for finals A HAIRDRESSER from Maid- stone has reached the final of the British Hairdressing Awards.


Kevin Luchmun (29), from Roberts Orchard Road, Barming, hopes to follow in the footsteps of some of the indus- try’s biggest names in the ‘Men’s Hairdresser of theYear’ category in November. A stylist and academy educa-


tor at Tony & Guy in Covent Garden, Kevin fell in love with the profession while studying at MidKent College. He said: “I didn’t really know


what I wanted to do with my life and enrolled on a travel and tourism course,” he said. “But I always enjoyed cutting my friends’ hair, so I thought I’d give it a try. “The programme provided me


with a strong foundation and helped me gain some direction in my life.” Kevin completed the level 3


hair design course in 2011, and earlier this year he picked up the college’s award for excep- tional progression. Kevin, who also reached the


final of this year’s Afro Hair and Beauty Awards, said: “When I started the course I never re- alised I could go this far. “It’s a massive achievement


for me to reach the final of the BritishHairdressingAwards be- cause some big names have won in the past. It just goes to show what can happen if you work hard enough.”


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