Childminders’
care approved CHILDMINDER Kevin Hill, of Cornwall Close, Shepway, was said by Ofsted inspectors to offer a safe and secure home where children could play. He was caring and supportive,
with children feeling settled and happy as a result. Children made good progress
in all areas of learning, thanks to the effective promotion of learn- ing through play. His provision was rated as sat- isfactory by inspectors, who said it could be improved by arrang- ing resources so that children could make their own choices. This had been started, but needed to be developed further. Mr Hill’s first aid certificate
was also found to have expired, and his knowledge in this area needed to be updated. Another childminder, Kim
Hill, was also registered at the same address. She was found to provide a variety of interesting activities to help children learn. Children enjoyed role play ac- tivities where they were able to express their ideas and thoughts, helping them to develop lan- guage skills and imagination. She was rated as good, and
could become outstanding by developing a system of sharing learning records with parents and encouraging them to con- tribute their observations.
Carol concert THE Maidstone Singers are holding their Christmas Carols concert at St Martin’s Church, Northumberland Road, Shep- way, on December 17 and 18. Tickets for the concert, which
starts at 7.30pm, cost £10, and include refreshments. A collec- tion will be taken for Demelza House children’s hospice. To book, email tickets@themaid-
stonesingers.org.uk or call 01622 630016.
Home to be replaced A PROPOSAL to demolish The White Cottage, Flint Lane near Lenham and replace it with a home, garage and staff flat was approved, despite Lenham Parish Council’s fears that it would be visually intrusive.
Investigation into prison riot
AN investigation is underway after 40 prisoners went on the rampage in Maidstone Prison. Riot units from across the country descended
on the area after fighting broke out among foreign inmates at about 4pm on Saturday, November 3. A spokesman for the Prison Service said the
riot was contained with no one injured and no loss of accommodation. Afterwards, she added: “We treat any act of vi- olence or indiscipline in prison extremely seri- ously and all the ringleaders have been identified. “They have been transferred to other prisons,
put in segregation, and are on a basic regime.” Under this regime, inmates must wear prison uniform and are denied access to TVs and other privileges. They may also face further discipli- nary measures. The Prison Officers’ union has blamed the riots
on a reduction in staff, caused by cuts of £90m to prison services in recent years. The Prison Service’s spokesman said: “Our current reforms to the prison system will provide better value for taxpayers, while protecting the public and improving the chances of prisoners being rehabilitated.”
Infill land may get 39 homes
A PROPOSAL has been sub- mitted to build 39 houses in Bearsted. Country House Develop- ments, whose land director is Guy Osborne, has unveiled a scheme – Roundwell Park – that would act as an infill be- tween Cross Keys and Sutton Street. The land, extending to 4.7 hectares, is a mixture of open pasture, woodland and wet- land. The plan is to develop 2.4 hectares of the pasture land with 2.3 hectares of woodland and wetland, which would be handed over to BearstedWood- land Trust (BWT) should plan- ning permission be granted. Thewoodland is the home of
Mott Hall, a listed monument and former estate, which
owned much of the land now occupied by BWT. The wetland has the Lilk Stream running through it towards Majors Lake and is a low-lying flood plain. Mr Osborne says that this will be left untouched, save for an access road and bridge. He added: “Through the
style, vernacular and spacious areas of green space (we are connecting up to the Bearsted Woodland Trust footpath and Major’s Lake) we are trying to produce a very high quality de- velopment that will not be out of keeping with the local area.” The development includes three-, four- and five-bedroom detached houses, 10 three-bed affordable local-needs houses, play areas and public open spaces. Should the outline proposal
Schools ‘already full’
COUNCILLOR JennyWhittle, KCC member for Maidstone Rural East, believes the scheme will exacerbate problems with primary school places. Cllr Whittle (right), who lives in Sutton Street,
said: “For the last two years local parents have not been able to get their children into reception class in their area.” She says Bearsted, Hollingbourne, Thurnham Infants and St
John’s in GroveGreen –which has just been expanded – are “burst- ing at the seams”. She believes it is not sustainable to build anymore houses in this
area until the schooling situation has been tackled. “The majority of activities involving youngsters revolve around
the school.Youngsters unable to get into their local school are being marginalised by not being able to attend the same school as other children in the area but also because some parents can’t get them to after-school events further from home.”
gain planning permission, Mr Osborne would have the op- portunity to provide more de- tail in a full planning application. Mr Osborne was previously managing director of Ashfold Estates Property Management, whose proposal to build a de- tached three-bed home in Sut- ton Street was refused on appeal in 2012. This company went into liq- uidation in the summer. Mr Os- borne says it failed due to a “private funding house that had withdrawn its funding, which made continuing the business untenable”. Country House Develop-
ments wants to hold public meetings with Bearsted Parish Council to explain the full scheme to local people.
Plan was larger THE proposal has been re- duced from an initial total of 74 dwellings. Guy Osborne’s supporting statement said the housing pattern was initially laid out in “accordance with Govern- ment guidelines on minimum density resulting in a draft proposal of 74 new dwellings”. It added this was cut to 39 after pre-application discussions with Maidstone Council, “changing the den- sity of the scheme, improving the spatial arrangements of the proposal, and improving the views both into and out from the proposed scheme”.
Invitation to get involved in river projects
A NEW project has been launched to give the public greater involvement in waterways schemes in theMaidstone area. An action plan, using ideas from landowners,
local authorities and users, will be drawn up, with the first stretch of water under the micro- scope being the River Len and Loose stream (pictured). Medway Valley Countryside Partnership and
the Environment Agency are working together to produce the action plan, which will contain practical actions, volunteering opportunities and workshops for landowners to promote the river’s wildlife and use. The project’s Mary Tate said: “We would like
to hear from landowners, parish councils, homeowners, user groups and anyone who has
32 East
an interest in the River Len or Loose stream; this is the public’s opportunity to get involved; we are interested in hearing as many ideas as pos- sible to help the rivers achieve their full poten- tial.” Free site visits are also being offered to peo-
ple who own a bit of the River Len or Loose stream, when there will be a chance to discuss possible projects. For details visit
www.medwayvalley.org. To arrange a site visit or for an information leaflet, contact Mary Tate at
mary.tate@kent.gov.uk or call 683695. The partnership will also be working on the River Bourne, Ditton/East Malling stream, and the River Beult, as well as smaller tributaries on the River Medway.
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