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Flood concern over home plan
MAIDSTONE Council went against an Environment Agency flood warning and allowed a re- tired couple to create living space in a former restaurant inWatering- bury.
David and Margaret Evans, both
in their mid-70s, had decided to close the Riverside Restaurant in BowBridge after it had experienced flooding from theMedway 24 times in the past 30 years. It had flooded a further four times since Christmas. They both live above the restau-
rant and applied to convert the ground floor from a restaurant into residential to avoid paying £210 per month business rates. The council’s planning committee was torn be- tween helping out the couple and putting them in a position of poten- tial risk. Cllr JohnWilson said: “The Envi- ronmentAgency has been criticised for not doing enough and if we ig- nore their objection we could be blamed if something goes wrong.” But Cllr Martin Cox countered: “Ifwe turn it downwe might make
these people bankrupt.” Council officers stressed that the
couple already live above the prop- erty, so would be put in no addi- tional danger by having the ground floor as living space. Cllr Mike Hogg said: “We are damned ifwe go against EAadvice and damned if we turn it down as well. I can just see the headlines if anything bad happens.” However, after being assured by officers that the council would face no legal comeback should flooding cause any harm to the applicants, nine members voted in favour of the proposal, with three against and one abstention.
Houses ‘out of character’
A PLAN to demolish a wartime former pub on the outskirts of West Malling and replace it with five detached homes has been refused by Tonbridge and Malling Council. The Old Startled Saint in
Teston Road was the local for airmen stationed at the nearby RAF base, now Kings Hill, dur- ingWorldWar II. It opened as a public house on the first day of the war, but closed in the early 1990s and became a private house.
Planning consultants Michael Parkes said the two-acre site
STAFF at Lunsford Park Pre- School are dedicated to ensuring the setting is a happy place where children enjoy playing and learn- ing, according to a report. An Ofsted inspector rated the
early years provision as good, and said there was a good relationship with parents. There was a good balance of child-initiated play and adult-led activities. The self-evaluation process
meant the setting could identify its strengths and areas for im- provement. To achieve an outstanding rat-
ing there should be more opportu- nities to explore outdoors.
could provide five two-storey houses in generous plots with garaging and driveways, arranged in a horse-shoe layout and using the existing access. The scheme had been de- signed to allow for the existing boundary tree and most of the hedge to be retained. However, the scheme was rejected as it was feared it could harm the charac- ter of the area. The old pub sign, which was retained on the front of the ex- isting house, refers to the history of the area and shows St Leonard being “buzzed” by Spitfires.
Pre-school good WildWest walk
FAMILIES can help The Heart of Kent Hospice and get fit on the charity’s new twilight 10-mile sponsoredwalk. The event starts at 6pm on Sat-
urday, July 19, with “Wild West” entertainment, and the walk kicks off at 7pm. There will be entertainment en
route, a line-dancing warmup at the start of the walk, and a bacon sandwich for all those who cross the finishing line. For
details go to
www.hokh.org/events.Volunteers who want to help on the night should call the fundraising team on 01622 790195.
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