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Apology aer Easter ‘rave’ disturbs peace


MAIDSTONE Council has apologised for allowing a “rave” that shattered the Easter Sunday peace for residents across the town. Noise from the all-day and late-


night music event – ‘Landed 2014’ – in Whatman Park could be heard up to a mile away, causing 72 resi- dents to complain to the council. Dozens of nesting birds were al- legedly distressed and disturbed by the din, fleeing their nests in a state of panic. Allington ward Cllr Dan Daley,


who was one of those to suffer, went down to the site to remon- strate with the organisers. He said the noise began around noon and went on until 10.30pm. He added: “Thiswas Easter Sun-


day – and even the major shops were shut as a gesture of its signif- icance.”


Timetable for


retail village THE company behind plans to re- develop Newnham Court shop- ping village says if it gets permission this spring, the new- look site will be open for Christ- mas 2016. Land Securities says construction


of the £85m project could begin this autumn, subject to approval by Maidstone Council. The first phase includes building


anew, larger garden centre for Not- cutts and some smaller shops. The existing garden centre would relo- cate to its larger premises in au- tumn 2015. Phase two would include demol-


ishing the old garden centre and re- placing it with a Debenhams, Waitrose and more retail units. The applicant says the proposal


will create several hundred con- struction jobs and 1,500 full and part-time jobs when it opens.


History dates


WATERINGBURY Local History Society will hear a talk on Jane Austen’s Kent connections by Clare Graham onWednesday, June 18. The group meets at Watering-


bury Village Hall with tea and cof- fee at 7.40pm and the talk at 8pm. The fee for visitors is £2.50. Members’annual day trip will be


a visit to Restoration House and Rochester Cathedral on Thursday, July 17. The coach trip is also open to visitors and costs £25. For more details, contact wateringburylhso- ciety@gmail.com or Terry Bird on 01622 812566.


The council has accepted that, al- though noise levels were within those permitted by the licence, it was “unacceptable”. A spokesman said: “We would


like to apologise to residents for the inconvenience.We have had lots of complaints and although we did put noise restrictions in place, we realise that the levels and the times were inappropriate for Easter Sun- day. “Although the festival ran very smoothly, the impact on residents on this occasion was unacceptable. Lessons will be learnt.” North ward Cllr Tony Harwood


felt the event was ill judged, given itwas at the height of the wildfowl


nesting season, when chicks were in the nests and vulnerable to de- sertion if parents were frightened away. He said: “It is particularly ironic that a spring festival based on nature's re-birth saw so many birds driven away from their nests by the disturbance and din. “The politicians and officers in-


volved in sanctioning this event must be made accountable for the damage they have done. Heads must roll.” Sharon Thomas, from Kerry Hill


Way, said: “Our lives were made a total misery by the music volume and the vibration. I, along with nu- merous other residents, logged noise complaints.”


Minister visits Blue Bus


MAIDSTONE’S award-winning Urban Blue Bus has felt the long arm of the law.


Justice minister Simon Hughes


visited Maidstone to hop on board the community bus, which was in- strumental in the town attaining the coveted purple flag for the quality of its night-time economy. Mr Hughes, who is deputy leader


of the Lib Dems, congratulated vol- unteers on the bus for their sterling work and declared it a model for other towns to follow. He said: “This is an excellent serv-


ice and the people of Maidstone should be appreciative of the work of so many dedicated volunteers.” The bus parks in Jubilee Square between 8pm and 4am atweekends, of-


Lib Dem candidate Jasper Gerard with justice minister Simon Hughes


fering help, refuge and support to people in need. On a typical night, it can deal with 150 clubbers and savesmore than 30 visits to A&E eachweek, re- lieving pressure on the hard-pressed emergency services. Jasper Gerard, LibDemParliamentary candidate for the area, invited Mr Hughes to Maidstone to show how the successful scheme could be rolled out in other towns. “It is a huge tribute to this town that so many people are prepared to give up their time to help out,” Mr Gerard said.


Police open office at rail station


BRITISH Transport Police has opened a station on platform one at MaidstoneWest railway station. By the end of the year, the trans-


port police will have 19 officers based there – 15 PCs, three ser- geants and an inspector – with a front office open to the public from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Its station at Ashford will stay open. Assistant Chief Constable Mark Newton, of BTP, said: “We are working to challenge targets set by the British Transport Police Au- thority to reduce crime by 20%, disruption on the railway by 20% and to increase passenger confidence by 10%, all by 2019.”


Asst Ch ConMark Newton with Charles Horton, Southeastern’s managing director.


News Cricket plans


forge ahead STRONG support was expressed again for a return of Maidstone Cricket Festival at the annual meet- ing of Kent County Cricket Club. Kent chief executive Jamie Clif-


ford said ground facilities had to be improved first and The Mote Cricket Club was making steady progress. Kent chairman George Kennedy invited life member Dennis Fowle, chairman of The Mote Develop- ment Committee, to update the crowded meeting. Mr Fowle said a residential de-


veloper had made a good bid for four acres of the 24-acre site and a planning application for a new pavilion and other significant im- provements should be submitted to Maidstone Council later this year. The club was disappointed that


two years of detailed negotiations with Maidstone Rugby Club had broken down when rugby voted against relinquishing its lease be- fore expiry in May 2016. Cricket had offered rugby a new


lease, excluding the upper field and now planned construction work could start in summer 2016.  The Kent club reported a much- improved financial position and was upbeat about more successes on the playing side with Rob Key returning as captain.


Anenduring music appeal


By Dennis Fowle


THEenduring appeal of Maidstone Amateur Operatic Society was evi- denced again at the Hazlitt Theatre with a sell-out Tuesday perform- ance of Half a Sixpence. The society has been staging big musicals in Maidstone since 1898 – the remarkable list of shows is recorded in the programme – and deserves its loyal local following. The showwas largely written for


pop star Tommy Steele when first staged in theWest End in 1963 (the film followed in 1967). Most music is not as well known as many con- temporary shows and this pre- sented a challenge for the society. But it does have “Flash, Bang,


Wallop, What a Picture” and the cast twice sang and danced their hearts out. Shawn Deamer, a stu- dent at Canterbury Christ Church University, took the role of Arthur Kipps and teamed up well with childhood sweetheart Ann (Steph Beeken has such a lovely voice). Itwas a massive team job on and


off stage – the society is so impor- tant to Maidstone’s cultural life.


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