News Keeping river
festival afloat Continued from page one
nothing against the idea of a car- nival. I’ve lived in Maidstone all my life and remember them well, but the river festival has become a tradition too.” Mark contacted the festival’s previous organiser, Martin Cox, to advise him of their plans. Instead of receiving a let- ter of support, Mark was of- fered a breakdown of the rules and regulations – and the costs. Mark said: “This is just going
to be a gathering of boats – no fireworks, no entertainment, just people sailing into Maid- stone and mooring up for a big social event.” Visitors are expected from as
far away as the Thames and Essex, with a flotilla from Can- vey Island Yacht Club and an- other from Medway Bridge Marina at Cuxton. TheMedway River Boaters’ Facebook page has more than 130 fans, and up- dates on its page drew more than 3,600 hits in just oneweek. Mark said: “Word about this
year’s proposal has spread like wildfire. There is no reason why it shouldn’t be a great success.”
downsmail.co.uk
Councillors set to quit ahead of local elections
AT least six council seats will be up for grabs in next month’s bor- ough council elections. Three key Tories, plus two Lib
Dems and one inde- pendent councillor, have announced they are to stand down, leaving the arena wide open in what looks like being a fiercely- fought battle. At Harrietsham and Lenham,
Cllr Tom Sams, above, has already stood down for family reasons. Originally elected to the council as a Labour member, Cllr Sams later became an independent. His wife Janetta, a Lenham parish council- lor, stood for the second ward seat in 2010, butwas pipped to the post by Cllr John Barned. Since January, the couple have
been helping to care for their son, who broke three limbs in an acci- dent atwork. On the Lib Dem benches, MervynWarner, a councillor since 2002, plans to stand down, along
with Cllr Stephen Beerling. CllrWarner, who lives in Boxley
Road, is a member for North ward while Cllr Beerling, from Peel Street, a member for Fant, has been on the council since 2006. In the south of the borough, council stalwart and former mayor and cabinet member, Conservative Cllr Eric Hotson is to stand down in Staplehurst, along with Cllrs Jenefer Gibson (Headcorn) and Mike Yates, from Shepway North. Cllr Hotson, who also sits on the county council, has been a member of Maidstone Council for 20 years.
He is a member of the Maidstone Joint Transportation Board and of the strategic leadership and corpo- rate overview and scrutiny com- mittee. Cllr Gibson, a member of the council for 28 years, is on the li- censing and standards committees and the community, leisure serv- ices and environment overview and scrutiny committee. Cllr Yates has been a member of
the council for 15 years and also sits on the licensing and community, leisure services and environment overview and scrutiny committees.
Primary academy told to improve
A SHEPWAY academy has been accused of underperforming in its latest Ofsted report, which rated it as inadequate. Molehill Copse Primary was criticised for failing to ensure pupils pro-
gressed, with the more clever pupils effectively held back. Attendance at the school in Hereford Road was improving, but remained
poor among some, as did the attitude of other students to learning. The inspector concluded that the academy needed to improve behav-
iour and leadership, and, in terms of teaching and pupil achievement,was inadequate. The inspector’s report concluded: “This school ... is performing signifi- cantly less well than it might be reasonably expected to perform.”
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