South January 2014

GREENWORLD DISCOUNT

PET & BIRD FOODS BIRD FOODS

20kg Bird Food

Superior £9.99 Regular £6.99

SUNFLOWER HEARTS

Weigh & Save FATBALLS

approx 12 balls for (£1.00 per kg) £1.00 25kg

BULK PEANUTS Grade A - buy 5+ £24.99

DOGS & CATS

ARKWRIGHT'S DOG FOOD

BEEF or CHICKEN 15kg

WOOD BASED CAT LITTER 30 Ltr

JAMES WELLBELOVED ADULT TURKEY OR LAMB

15kg £36.99 BUY 5+

£6.00

Pony Nuts 5 for

£27.50

HORSE & PONY £30.00

Horse Mix 5 for

POULTRY & WATERFOWL

MIX & MATCH 20KG LAYERS, PELLETS

OR MIXED CORN 5 BAGS FOR £30.00

NOW OPEN 'Cuddles Corner' PETS for Sale

01580 891312 STAPLEHURST TN12 OEU

CRANBROOK ROAD, 16

MON TO SAT 9 TO 5 • SUN 10 TO 4 Maidstone South January 2014

BUY 5+ £7.50

downsmail.co.uk

New bus leaves pupils standing

RESIDENTS in Staplehurst now have an extra bus – but some travellers claim they are still being left out in the cold. Following vociferous campaigning

by the local Lib Dems, particularly about the Arriva No 5 bus, the com- pany has laid on an additional bus for children from Cranbrook, Siss- inghurst and Staplehurst who need to get to and from schools in Maidstone. But only thosewho are in receipt of

free transport are allowed to use the bus.

Thanks to pressure from parents

and political activists, Kent County Council has nowlaid on an additional bus.

“This is welcome news, but I am unhappy that only certain children will be allowed on the new bus,” said Maidstone and The Weald parlia- mentary candidate Jasper Gerard, whomet a group of children and par- ents off a bus in Staplehurst. “I am seeking a meeting with Ar-

riva to ensure that those children still stuck with the old bone-shaker will not be left stranded and freezing at

potentially dangerous bus stops.” Siblings attending the same school

could be made to travel on different buses because KCC changed the eli- gibility of free travel. Essentially, older children will be

allowed on the bus (as the eligibility for free travel was more liberally de- fined) but their younger brothers and sisters (who now have to pass more stringent eligibility tests) will not. The provision of the additional bus followswork by Brian Clark, LibDem county councillor for Maidstone South, who discovered that children in his patch were routinely late for school as they were unable to board theNumber 5 bus, whichwas already over-flowing by the time it reached Maidstone. He was able to persuade Arriva to

lay on an additional service. Kent County Council is looking to cut its transport budget by £1.5m.

Vote stalls Mote scheme

A LAST-MINUTE change of mind by Maidstone Rugby Club means the proposed development of new facilities at The Mote is likely to be delayed 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 in- cluded a new pavilion 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 residential development of 26 homes and the rugby club having a smaller pitch to the east of the de- velopment. Any rugby overflow would be accommodated nearby in Mote Park through an agreement being negotiated with Maidstone Council. But after a rugby club informa-

tion meeting key members of the executive were replaced and the proposal for rugby to relinquish the last twoyears of its lease on the upper pitch was heavily defeated at a special meeting of the club membership by 121 votes to two. There is disappointment in the

cricket club, which voted at its July special meeting for the develop- ment to go ahead. Cricket has al-

ready indicated 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 landlords we have many re- sponsibilities 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 se- riously faded and inadequate fa- cilities, 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 mem- bership of the Mote Sports Federa- tion so they have a voice.” Jon Sargent, rugby club chair-

man, said: “The proposal, while undoubtedly able to provide a fan- tastic new facility, would be at the expense of three acres of playing fields, which rugby club members clearly feel are more important.”

20kg £25.99

£7.90 each

£6.50 each

Box of 18 NATURE

DIET £12.60

£6.00 each

£6.50 each

£6.50

£25.99

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