News
downsmail.co.uk Traders against shopping village
TOWN centre traders have given the thumbs down to the proposed £85m shopping village at Newnham Court, Bearsted.
More than 70 retailers attended
two public meetings to hear Land Securities’proposals for redevelop- ment of the site, which is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs, in addition to 250 during the con- struction phase. Despite assurances from Land Securities’ Chris Ward that there would be “no poaching” of town centre shops and that traffic con- gestions would be eased with a £6m investment in road improve- ments, Maidstone Town Centre Management Ltd remains opposed to the scheme and has sent its ob-
Revised home
plan refused A SCHEME to erect a new home- next to an end-of-terrace house in Bearsted has been refused for a sec- ond time. In February last year, planning permission was refused on appeal for the proposal to build in a gar- den at 17 Lambourne Road, as the new home was considered domi- nant and intrusive to the street scene. A revamped design, moving the
flank wall 1m back from the pave- ment and reducing the height of the building, still did not satisfy the planning committee, who voted against the scheme. Cllr Richard Ash, chairman of Bearsted Parish Council and mem- ber of the planning committee, said the home would have been “shoe- horned” into the area and would have caused a loss of amenity space. The committee concluded that
the scale and siting of the building would have resulted in a cramped development harmful to the char- acter and appearance of the local area.
jections to the council’s planning department. At the heart of the scheme are a
6,980 sq m Debenhams store, a 3,919 sq m Waitrose supermarket and an enlarged Notcutts. TCMcompany secretary Graeme
Wyles said: “Town centre busi- nesses are understandably con- cerned at the huge shopping centre complex being proposed for Newn- ham Court and suggest that estab- lishing a ‘quasi town centre’ about a mile from the existing town cen- tre makes little strategic sense.” TheTCMis also concerned at the
lack of parking provision – just 901 spaces – which could lead to ran- dom parking in nearby residential streets or an abuse of the park and ride car park on Old Sittingbourne Road. Mr Ward produced figures to
show that town centre tradewould grow by almost £200m over the next decade, leaving plenty of room, both in the town and out, for all types of retail to thrive. Town centre manager Bill Moss
said the development, near junc- tion 7 of the M20, would harm trade in the town centre, was inap-
Charity trip to Paris on a homemade bike
ARRIVA bus driver Jithu Menon, who is based in the Maidstone depot, cycled between London and Paris on a bike he built himself. Mr Menon won a silver community action award for
the feat, which raised £3,100 for Demelza House chil- dren’s hospice, based in Sittingbourne. He completed the 268-mile journey fromTower Bridge
to the Eiffel Tower in three days on a single-speed bike, accompanied by two friends, and was marking the loss of his four-year-old son Krish to cancer. Mr Menon, who is pictured with Arriva’s regional gen-
eral manager Graham Harmer, said: “Krish spent his last fewweeks at Demelza House and they looked after him very well. It costs £7,000 a day to keep the hospice run- ning and Iwanted to raise as much money as I could for them.”
Waving the flag for St George Polytunnels
PATRIOTISM will abound in Ju- bilee Square as Maidstone marks St George’s Day. Although there have been pa-
rades in the past, this year is the first time the heart of the shop- ping centre will be used for fes- tivities to celebrate England’s national saint. Folk music will accompany a range of Morris dancing troupes
who will perform on Saturday, April 26, and there will also be marquees and a stage with stalls and sideshows throughout the day.
MaidstoneMuseum and the Ha-
zlitt Theatre are also working to- gether to look how they can make it a “traditional English day”. The event is being organised by Maidstone’s Town Team.
Centre offers business space and support
ANEWbusiness centre affordable to start-up businesses, social en- terprises and charities has opened in Maidstone. Opened by The Enterprise Foundation, the Maidstone Enter- prise Centre, at Medvale House, Mote Road, is aimed at start-up businesses who want to leave home-working behind and rent a desk or office. Grants are available from The Enterprise Foundation towards desk rental, and centre manager Roy Laming offers training and mentoring to young businesses.
6 Maidstone East March 2014
ties and ex-service personnel. Mr Laming said:“We're looking
The Enterprise Foundation is hoping to help some of the more under-represented groups, in- cluding the unemployed, under 30s, over 50s, those with disabili-
for those people who really want to be self-employed. They might just have an idea and don’t know what to do with it – that's whowe want to hear from." Tenants have access to meeting rooms, a training room, rest areas and a kitchen. The meeting rooms and training room can be hired by businesses or community groups at a competitive price. For more details, call Roy on
07975 880549 or email
roy.lam-
ing@enterprisefoundation.net
are allowed PLANNING permission has been granted to erect 10 hectares of poly- tunnels on land at Ulcombe Hill, Ulcombe. The polytunnels will be at the southern end of Church Farm to the west and north-west of fish ponds and woodland known as Lodge Close, and between 300m and 500m west of The Street. Maidstone Council said the scheme would be allowed on condition that the polytunnels do not exceed 3.75m in height and will only be in operation be- tween March 1 and October 31. Applicant G Charlton & Sons
said the polytunnels will aid the production of 200 tonnes of rasp- berries or 400 tonnes of straw- berries from the farm
Ash tree must stay
ANDYLea’s application to remove a protected ash tree at the front of 1 Rosemount Gardens, Weavering has been turned down, although he was advised to removed dead wood from the crown.
propriate for the location and would create traffic congestion. He said alternative sites in the town centre were available and named the Maidstone East Station site as the preferred location. But Mr Ward said that site had
been available for development for at least 15 years and in that time had been considered – and rejected as unsuitable – by most of the major supermarket chains. A planning application has been submitted by Land Securities and a decision is due to bemade later this month.
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