News Work starts


on local plan Continued from page one However,Mr Humphrey said


there were wildlife designa- tions, a scheduled ancient mon- ument and regionally important geological con- straints. Initial mapping and consultation with Natural Eng- land and Kent Wildlife Trust had highlighted the potential habitat importance of the area. “Ecology is thus going to be a


key factor and surveys will help us better understand the site’s development potential and pro- vide us with key evidence aswe move forward,” he said. Tonbridge and Malling is


working with neighbours Maid- stone, Sevenoaks and Tun- bridge Wells as the housing market differs in different parts of the borough. Planning officials have met


the borough’s 27 parish and town councils to discuss local priorities and reported “largely positive feedback”. Following evidence gathering and public consultation, a draft plan is due to be completed by the end of next year and formally adopted in 2016.


Jenny Brown and beagle Tiga


downsmail.co.uk


‘Pet detective’ Tiga gets recognition at Crus


THE wonderful thing about Tiga, is Tiga’s a wonderful thing! The beagle, from Leybourne, has


found fame by tracking down miss- ing dogs for desperate owners across the country, helped by owner Jenny Brown, fromWoodlea. In fact, five of them nominated


his tracking abilities, which put him through to the semi-finals of this year’s Friends for Life semi-fi- nals at Crufts. Shewas given Tiga as a birthday present in 2008, after a car accident ended her career as an interna- tional track and field athlete. She said: “I needed to do some- thing to fill the gap of training and


competing and this hit the spot.” Their first assignment was in Ip-


swich, after which Jenny set about training Tiga to be a professional- tracker dog. Since then, requests for help have come flooding in. She added:“We had many obsta-


cles along the way, with people telling us dogs can’t track dogs, but, undeterred,we carried on.” Now, Tiga has a growing fan-


base who follow his escapades on www.k9tracker.co.uk. Jenny and Tiga do not charge for


their services, but welcome dona- tions to the rescue and rehoming of beagles at justgiving.com/jenny- brown-tiga2run.


Oak ‘drops leaves in pool’ Poplar pruning LYNDA Nunn has been given the go-ahead by Tonbridge and Malling Council to prune seven poplar trees at 77 Swan Street, West Malling, by a third. She was also given conservation


ALARGE oak tree at Acorn Grove, Ditton, could be felled because its leaves fall in a neighbour’s pool. Owner Kay Dennison has ap-


plied to Tonbridge and Malling Council to remove the tree, saying: “Our neighbour has a swimming pool which constantly has to be cleansed of leaves and oak apples.”


The tree, which was planted in


the 1960s and has a preservation order, had outgrown it situation and been trimmed but grew back even more vigorously, said the ap- plicant. Two thirds of the oak strad- dled adjoining properties, resulting in both sets of neighbours suffering from lack of sunlight.


area consent to fell one of the poplars to allow space for other trees to make healthy growth.


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