News
Homes plan at nursery site
PLANS to demolish Mayfield Nursery in
Harrietsham to make way for 49 more homes have been received by Maidstone Council.
The outline application for the Ashford Road site comes as Bovis tells Downs Mail it will be re-sub- mitting development proposals for Tong’s Meadow after withdrawing its application for 106 homes after talks with Maidstone Council. On social networking website Facebook, a spokesman from the campaign group Harrietsham Against Reckless Development said: “Maidstone Council turned away the Bovis application, summing it up as ‘ordinary, uninspiring and of poor design quality’. What a shame our parish council saw none of these is- sues as valid reasons to object or raise these objections on our behalf.” The online submission continues: “Harrietsham Parish Council keeps telling us that unless we support the neighbourhood plan we will be at the mercy of MBC, and MBC will push lots of development our way, with us having no say. Based on this
particular application, and the re- sponses of our parish council and MBC,we are starting towonder who we should be most afraid of.” Bovis this week confirmed it
would be re-submitting plans for the site inWest Street. Its regional planning manager Hamish Buttle said: “Anumber of is- sues relating to landscape and ecol- ogy were raised by residents and consultees and we have responded with a revised layout, providing con- tinued opportunities for wildlife to cross the site and creating a sensitive ecological buffer zone. “We have also responded to advice
from Maidstone Council’s design consultant to take account of site to- pography and views.” He said Bovis was also continuing
towork with MaidstoneCouncil, the county council and Harrietsham Parish Council to bring forward ex- pansion plans for the village school.
downsmail.co.uk Vote stalls Mote scheme
ALAST-MINUTEchange of mind by MaidstoneRugby Club means the proposed development of new facilities at The Mote is likely to be de- layed by up to two years. Site owners, The Mote Cricket Club, worked closely with the rugby
club’s executive for two years on a £4m scheme that included a new pavil- ion with six en-suite changing rooms and substantial social facilities, new sports highways access, up to 200 parking places, new internal road and sports improvements for both clubs. The scheme involved selling the upper rugby pitch for an enabling res- idential development of 26 homes and the rugby club having a smaller pitch to the east of the development. Any rugby overflow would be ac- commodated nearby in Mote Park through an agreement being negotiated withMaidstone Council. But after a rugby club information meeting key members of the execu-
tive were replaced and the proposal for rugby to relinquish the last two years of its lease on the upper pitchwas heavily defeated at a special meet- ing of the club membership by 121 votes to two. There is disappointment in the cricket club, which voted at its July spe-
cial meeting for the development to go ahead. Cricket has already indi- cated to rugby that its lease on the upper ground will not be renewed in May 2016 and has started work to try to ensure the development can be completed in 2016/17. “We have no wish to evict rugby in 2016 and will offer them a commercial lease with two good-sized pitches at The Mote and use of much-improved facilities,” said cricket chairman Glen Aukett. “As landlordswe have many responsibilities beyond rugby. These are to
our own members and cricket, the increasing number of other sports on site and to the Maidstone community.We are also guardians of the much cherished Mote site with seriously faded and inadequate facilities, which have already cost our town the Kent cricket festival. “We had hoped to achieve all this in a close business partnership with
rugby in managing the site. The development decisions will now be made just by cricket – but we plan to offer all sports membership of the Mote Sports Federation so they have a voice.” Jon Sargent, rugby club chairman, said: “The proposal, while undoubtedly able to provide a fantastic new facility, would be at the expense of three acres of playing fields, which rugby club members clearly feel are more important.”
A simple, personalised local service for NHS repeat and private
prescriptions...delivered to your door!
By email:
enquiries@collegepharmacyonline.co.uk By phone: 01634 713336 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) By fax: 01634 713336 16 Maidstone East Edition January 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56