News


downsmail.co.uk Homes report ‘does not exist’


PAULCarter says a KCC-commissioned report on housing in Maidstonewas never completed. Instead, the county council leader


says the authority had received an “interim update”, which would have been what Cllr Chris Garland, former leader of Maidstone Coun- cil, referred to in the Downs Mail. Last month we reported that a freedom of information request to view a draft copy of the report, or- dered by Cllr Carter in February to prove wrong the evidence used by Maidstone Council to support a housing target of 19,600 between 2011-2031, yielded a denial from KCCthat a report had been written because it had been aborted early. This was despite KCC paying


Peter Brett Associates £15,000 to conduct the study and Cllr Gar- land’s claims that “Paul Carter had it on him when I was with him” and that it backed Maidstone


Teen jailed for salon raid


A TEENAGER who robbed a hair salon while armed with a knife and wearing a gas mask has been sen- tenced to three years and four months in a young offenders’ insti- tution.


Aaron Hudson (19) burst into Ferdies Hair- dressers in Sandling Road, Maid- stone, with his


face masked and


stole £25 from the salon and jew- ellery valued at £600 from a cus- tomer.


Maidstone Crown Court heard


that officers searched the area after the incident and in nearby Perry- field Street found discarded prop- erty, including a knife, shoes and a gas mask. Having discovered DNA within


the discarded items, officers ar- rested Hudson, of High Street, Chatham, and hewas charged with robbery and possession of an of- fensiveweapon. Detective Sergeant Lucky Chahal


said: “This must have been an in- credibly frightening scenario for the victims; a man wielding a knife and demanding money and jew- ellery, disguising his facewith a gas mask. “With the propertywe recovered


we were able to quickly identify Hudson as the prime suspect and he was arrested five days after the offence. “I’mpleased for the victims that a custodial sentence has been im- posed and I think it reflects the se- riousness of the offence.”


8 Maidstone East August 2014


THE Old School House in Thurn- ham Lane, Thurnham, is to be con- verted into two new homes. In July 2011 a planning applica-


tion to demolish the building and replace it with three detached homes was refused, as Maidstone Council considered Old School House a non-designated heritage asset.


Clarendon Homes’latest scheme, which will extend the building and


A SELL-out performance marked the final concert for conductor Peter Ashley at Bearsted Church. After 17 years with Bearsted Choral Society, Peter hung up his baton as musical director on July 19. The choice of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana proved an irresistible oppor- tunity for former choir members to return for a final performance. The concert at the Holy Crosswas


also the last for the society’s accom- panist Martin Hogben. After pieces from the soloists, the


Council’s 19,600 target. Cllr Carter (pictured), who says he instructed council officers to make all the deci- sions relating to the report, said: “There was an in- terim study as part of the process of making a full re-


port, which was to be used as our consultation response to Maidstone Council’s draft local plan. “We set the terms of reference,


which was to check how they ar- rived at the figure for housing need and what infrastructure would be required to deliver the local plan. “We needed this turned around


in three to four weeks, but after about sixweekswe received a half-


Slimmers’ loss charity’s gain


SLIMMERS from Bearsted joined Slimming World members from Maidstone and Malling in a wardrobe spring clean for charity. About 53 bags were collected for


the charity by the members from Bearsted and GroveGreen as part of The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw, for Cancer Research UK. Julie Sinden, who runs the groups


at Madginford Park Infant School and St John's CEP School, in Proven- der Way, said: “All the Maidstone


and Malling memberswere happy to donate their unwanted items to help such a worthwhile cause, and jumped at the chance to recycle the clothes they’ve slimmed out of, and


will never need again!” EmmaPuxty, who runs the Cancer


Research UK shop in Gabriels Hill, Maidstone, received the bags col- lected inMaidstone and Malling.


School house to be converted Church hall plan


convert it into a new dwelling, while also demolishing a double garage and replacing it with a four- bed house, was accepted by the planning committee. Thurnham Parish Council ob-


jected due to a perceived lack of justification for an additional dwelling in the countryside next to a heritage building, but did not have any representation at the com- mittee meeting.


Farewell concert for conductor


mainwork included JenniferWalker (soprano) singing Summertime by Gershwin; EzraWilliams (tenor), In- gemisco from the Verdi Requiem, andArthur Coomber (baritone), The Floral Dance by Moss. The choir’s George Moore said:


“Amidst the euphoria of the concert therewas a tinge of sadness at Peter Ashley’s parting.” The next performance is Christ-


mas music on December 13. Re- hearsals at the Methodist Church start on September 8, at 7.30pm.


ANOTHER application has been submitted to convert the former church hall in Boxley to a home. In July, planning permission was granted to turn the 19th century building, in The Street, into two two-bedroom homes. Now, Dave Bagley has applied to convert it into a single five-bedroom home. Maidstone Council will deter- mine the scheme.


Tree could go


A PROTECTED ash tree could be removed at 30 Spenlow Drive, Walderslade. A plan to be deter- mined by Maidstone Council, said the tree had broken a fence panel that could not be repaired with the tree in place.


Ash to be felled


PLANNING permission was granted for the removal of an ash tree at 1 Fagus Close,Walderslade. The tree was said to be blocking


off the side access of the property. The council gave its consent.


baked report that had not even dealt with crucial issues such as in- frastructure needs, which was the most significant part of the report. “The fact it was late meant we couldn’t input their response to the local plan, which was the point of commissioning it. I said to officers that if thiswasmy money Iwould- n’t pay for the report.” Instead of using the report to re-


spond to Maidstone’s draft local plan, KCC officers produced their own response, which called for a revised figure of 14,500 homes and large housing estates in Kingswood and at the former Detling Aero- drome. Cllr Carter added that the selec-


tion of a consultant was fraught, with up to 20 consultants refusing to undertake thework because they


already acted for developers. This left Peter Brett Associates as the only option. “At the moment the planning consultants enjoy streams of other work from the public sector but when youwant them to be a referee and provide checks and balances they don’t want to do it,” he said. Cllr Carter, who represents Maidstone Rural North, says he is forming a strongworking relation- ship with Cllr Annabelle Black- more, who succeeded Cllr Garland as Maidstone Council leader after the May elections, and hopes she will reduce the 19,600 target. He added: “She needs to inde- pendently assess the draft local plan, challenge the senior officers and employ massive amounts of common sense.”


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