New theatre ‘Great Expectations’ 


THE hoary old subject of a magnificent big riverside theatre for Maidstone has surfaced again. We have been there before, several times, and as much as many of us would love to see it happen, public funds will not pay for the capital build and se- rious ongoing financial support will not come from our council tax. I recall about 10 years ago adding Downs


Mail to the list of supporters for a new the- atre and spoke of my dreams of watching great shows there and enjoying an interval drink on a balcony overlooking a much- improved River Medway scene. So I know all about that fantasy. But working closely as a journalist with Maidstone Council, understanding much better the challenge of local authority budgeting and spending and talking to councillors and officers who shouldered heavy responsibility, the hard truths very soon dawned. A large theatre would cost many mil-


lions of pounds to build. Where would that come from? There were very few money pots around a decade ago, and even fewer today as we come through years of recession. Just supposing a fairy godmother comes


COMPUTER equipment and jewellery were stolen from a home in Ulcombe Road, Lang- ley.


Between 150 and 200 bale of


hay were stolen and a fence was damaged from a barn in Green Lane,


a Land Rover Discovery on a driveway in Laddingford. Two large planters containing


box plants were stolen from a garden in Lower Road, East Farleigh. Two digger buckets were


stolen from a site in Stile Bridge Lane, Linton. Three computers, petty cash


and power tools were stolen from Moore Designs Ltd, in Lodge Road, Staplehurst. A three-farrow agricultural


trailer and a disc harrow rota- vator were stolen from a field near Staplehurst Road, Sutton Valence. Police are looking for a man


after an attempted burglary at a shop in Headcorn.Heisde- scribed as white, aged between 35 and 38, about 5ft 8ins, slim and with short dark brown hair. He was wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved green zip-up jacket and trainers. Two properties in Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood,were burgled. Jewellery and watches were stolen from one of the homes. There was an attempted bur-


glary at a property in Copper- field Close, Kingswood. Two sheep have gone missing


from Forstal Mill Farm, Well Street, Loose. A rotavator and a strimmer


36 South Boughton


Monchelsea. The tow bar was stolen from


MailMarks


DENNIS FOWLE - President email: dfowle2011@aol.com


along and finds the money to build it for us and gifts it to our town. What chance does Maidstone have of running a big and exciting programme of shows and events and covering costs? The experts told me then the answer was


“no chance”. For very many years the Ha- zlitt Theatre has served us well and is rel- atively inexpensive to run, but every year we taxpayers had to pay a substantial sub- sidy.We are relieved of that now, as coun- cil policy is to hand over the operation to a private company. Could a good marketing operation change all that? I do not think so. Two ex- cellent provincial theatres are within easy reach at Bromley and Canterbury, and Lon- don’s West End is about an hour away by train. I, too, had “Great Expectations” but they turned out to be “Much Ado About Noth- ing”.





Booming Maidstone IF high streets are having a very


tough time just now with the re- cession and online competition, then surely Maidstone bucks the trend. I am not much of a charity shop customer, but when I needed something as unusual as an old school bell, I thought I would cash


in on Maidstone’s reputation as a centre for such shops. So I hunted Week Street, Earl Street, King Street and really strug- gled. Itwas not until I reached close to the end of Union Street that the bell rang. It was not easy to find an empty shop in


town. True, businesses come and go. But they seem to keep coming to Maidstone, and that says much for our town centre. It seems landlords have been reducing


town centre rents in the face of recent harsh realities, and this has attracted smaller independent businesses back to the town centre. I turned my mind to what is happening


or proposed at Eclipse Park (the new Next Home store) and new shops at Newnham Court Shopping Village. I rather welcome it all – but I have reservations on the im- pact on the town centre. I hope and think both can flourish. Itwill not be good news for the town centre if I am wrong.


Beat the criminals IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE PHONE: Police: 101 Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111


were stolen from a shed in the garden of a property in North Street, Sutton Va- lence. The stereo system


was stolen from a blue Alfa Romeo 147, which was parked at the Jubilee Auditorium Centre in Hunton. Various items including a rucksack, clothing, keys, and bank cards were stolen from a minibus parked in the car park at Teapot Island, Hampstead Lane, Yalding. Garden shears and a pair of spectacles were stolen from a garden in Forge Lane, East Far- leigh.


Therewas a burglary at a shed


in Knowles Gardens, Headcorn. Thieves took the brass fittings


from two statues in the front garden of a home in New Barn Road, Hawkenbury. A red Honda mower and a


petrol strimmer/brush cutter were stolen from a shed in the garden of a home in Goudhurst Road, Marden. A house in Heath Road, Cox-


heath, was burgled and docu- ments were stolen. Computer and photographic equipment were stolen from a home in Bushy Grove, Kingswood. A green Daewoo Lanos, regis- tration number V461 ECB was stolen from Haven Farm, North


Street, Sutton Valence. Hand tools were stolen in a break-in at C & C Motorcycles, Court Lodge Farm, Kenward Road, Yalding. A suspect vehicle was de- scribed as being a Land Rover Defender pick-up with a white cab


and roof. An orange Husqvarna chain-


sawwas stolen from a blue Toy- ota Hilux van at the Teston bridge picnic site in Teston Lane. A large quantity of heating oil


was stolen from the garden of a property in Pike Fish Lane, Laddingford. A Challenge Rapid 26" moun-


tain bike with a light blue frame was stolen from a front garden in Huntington Road, Coxheath. A traffic light trailer was


taken from outside Vale House, Smiths Hill,West Farleigh. A green and red Kawasaki


Mule tractor, registration num- ber N397 LRT,with no doors on the cab and a small tipper-type back, was stolen from an out- building at Little Merry Worth Farm, Brishing Lane, Chart Sut- ton. A horse rug, horse head col-


lars and reins and a sledge ham- mer were stolen from an outbuilding in Goudhurst Road, Marden.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


A wing mirror was stolen from a green Ford Transit van parked on the road near The Walnut Tree pub in Kenward Road, Yalding.


Burglars stole a television and fishing equipment from a cabin cruiser moored near Barming bridge in St Helen’s Lane, East Farleigh. A 12v battery and 50 litre red fuel container were stolen from another boat. There was an attempted bur- glary at a property in Ruchford Close, Headcorn.


Pram stolen HEARTLESS thieves took a fully-equipped navy blue Mamas and Papas pram body with Silver Cross style wheels, baby toys and a changing bag. The pram and its contents were in the conservatory of a house in Vicarage Road, Yald- ing.


Murder arrests A 19-YEAR-OLD Italian man died after an assault in Lower Stone Street, Maidstone. As Downs Mail went to press nine suspects had been arrested but no charges had been made.


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