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Council elects new leader aer post-election resignation
THE new leader of Maidstone Council isAnnabelle Blackmore, from Marden. Cllr Blackmore (48) was elected
Cllr Lusty
leader at the annual meeting of the council, prior to the mayor-making ceremony. The Conservative member for Marden andYalding takes over from fellow Tory Chris Garland, who stood down as leader immediately after May’s elections to concentrate on his professional career. Mr Garland remains a councillor, serving Shepway North. Cllr Fran Wilson (Liberal Democrat) is leader of the opposition. After the May election, the Con-
servatives hold 24 seats, the Liberal Democrats 19, Independents five, UKIP four and Labour two. Conservative Cllr Richard Lusty resigned after the election, leaving one vacancy. This has also had an impact on the make-up of several important committees, including planning, where the Conservatives no longer have a majority.
Annabelle Blackmore
had served on the council for 16 years and chaired the planning com- mittee for nine of them. He said: “I believe I did not fit in with what
Annabelle Blackmore wanted to do.”
Cllr Blackmore’s cabinet includes newly-elected Cllr John Perry, from Staplehurst, who becomes cabinet member for community and leisure services. Two other councillors also join the cabinet for the first time: Cllr Steve McLoughlin, another of the members for Marden andYalding, is responsible for corporate services while the third member for the ward, Cllr David Burton, takes over planning, transport and develop-
‘Apathy’ is under fire
ONEof Maidstone’s newly-elected councillors criticised his peers after the council’s first meeting and election of cabinet. Five members of the council
were absent from the annual meet- ing to decide who would lead the
council.As no party has a majority in the council chamber, the votes of the Independent and UKIP members could have been critical. In the event, with five members missing and three UKIP members abstaining, the Conservatives re- tained the leadership, electing Cllr Annabelle Blackmore to the role. Cllr Paul Harper (Labour), who
was elected in last month’s elec- tions, said afterwards: “Is it any wonder there is apathy with local
government when five councillors can’t even make it to the first coun- cil meeting?” The missing councillors were Janetta Sams (Independent) who was attending a fete, Christine Ed- wards-Daem (UKIP), who was ill, Thomas Long (Lib Dem) and Richard Ash (Conservative), who were both on holiday. The fifth ab- senteewas Richard Lusty (Conser- vative, Staplehurst), who resigned immediately after his group voted to put Cllr Blackmore forward as leader, forcing the residents of Sta- plehurst to go back to the polls later in the summer. Cllr Blackmore received 25
votes, against Cllr Fran Wilson, leader of the Lib Dems’ 22 votes.
ment. Cllr Marion Ring remains in
charge of environment and Cllr Mal- colm Greer continues as deputy leader and cabinet member for eco- nomic and commercial develop- ment. Cllr Blackmore’s administration
does not have an overall majority and she acknowledges she will have to appeal to like-minded councillors in other groups whenit comes to the important issues in the year ahead. She said: “Last month’s elections
were dominated by the local plan. We will be taking a close look at the results of the consultation to see wherewe can make changes to meet the wishes of our residents, the councillors from all groupswhorep- resent them, parish councils and statutory partners. “We will also be consulting resi-
dents on the council’s strategic plan to make sure it continues to meet the
needs of the borough.” Cllr Blackmore was elected to the borough council in 2003 and imme- diately courted controversy by mov- ing to Bermuda with her husband. She hit the national headlines
whenshe maintained itwas possible to represent the people of her ward from a distance, returning to theUK to fulfil theminimumattendance re- quirements. Since returning to live in the UK,
Cllr Blackmore has been a member of a number of committees, includ- ing the joint transportation board, and has served as chairman of the community, leisure services and en- vironment overview and scrutiny committee. She is a former insur- ance broker and has two children. The leaders of the other groups on Maidstone Council are Cllr Fay Gooch, Independent; Cllr Eddie Powell, UKIP; and Cllr Malcolm McKay, Labour.
Village school improves
THE new head at Ulcombe C of E Primary School has been praised for raising standards at the village school, following an inspection by Ofsted. The school had been told it
“required improvement” after a previous visit. But, in its latest report, inspectors
found the appointment of Emma Hickling as executive head last No- vember was having a positive im- pact and the quality of teaching and progress of pupils is improving. “Pupils are now making much
more rapid progress, particularly in mathematics and reading,” the re- port noted. “Many of the pupils, particularly the older children, are
making accelerated progress and are making up the ground lost by previously poor teaching.” Ms Hickling said: “The HMI in- spector who visited Ulcombe ac- knowledged that the school is making rapid progress,” for which she thanked staff, pupils, parents and governors. “We acknowledge we still have
areas to improve and are working hard to ensure these improve at the same rate.” Ms Hickling has committed to re-
main as executive headteacher for the three-year term of the collabo- ration between the school, Kings- wood school and Leeds and Broomfield C of E primary.
Richard Thick becomes mayor of Maidstone
THE new mayor of Maidstone is Conservative Cllr Richard Thick, from Headcorn. Cllr Thickwas conferred with the honour in a special Saturday cele- bration at Maidstone Town Hall at the start of a new civic day – the first of its kind in the borough. Congratulatory speeches were
followed by a parade through the town to a civic service at All Saints Church. Cllr Thick has been a member of Maidstone Council since 1998 and
New mayor Richard Thick with his wife on civic day Photograph: Andy Archer
has served on vari- ous committees, in- cluding planning. He is
also
involved in volun- teer work in Head- corn. The mayor started singing in a church choir at the age of six and now sings with the Tongswood Chamber Choir based at St Ronan’s
School in Hawkhurst, as well as being a member of Headcorn church choir. He formerly sang with Sutton
Valence Choral Society along with his wife of 39 years, Rosanne, who still does. The deputy mayor is Cllr Daniel Moriarty, the Independent member for ParkWood. This year’s mayoral charities are
the Urban Blue Bus, Heart of Kent Hospice and Maidstone Mencap.
Maidstone East July 2014 31
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