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News Where to live long and prosper IF youwant to live to a ripe old age, you should consider moving to Downswood or Otham.


According to a new report from Maidstone Council, residents here can live almost nine years longer than their counterparts in other parts of the borough. And it’s not just areas of obvious


social deprivation where lives can be cut short. People in Langley and Sutton Va-


lence have a life expectancy of only 77 – even lower than their neigh- bours in Park Wood, Shepway North and South and the town cen- tre (High Streetward). But life expectancy in Downswood and Otham is 85. Although Maidstone is a thriving community – with some parts of the borough among the most affluent in the country – there are pockets of


Church plan VILLAGERS are invited to put their ideas and effort into a drive to make Thurnham Church more ac- cessible to the public. A small group has been looking


at how to keep St Mary’s open and in use by extending its use and making the building available for wider uses. The group is now looking for


others to join them with their ideas at a meeting in the church at 7pm on October 2.


Holiday barn


MAIDSTONE Council will decide whether to allow a barn to be con- verted into a holiday let at Orchard Cottage Farm, Headcorn Road, Grafty Green.


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RESIDENTS in Maidstone’s Salis- buryRoad awoke to a “hole” lot of trouble.


Overnight, a three-feet deep


hole had appeared outside Colin Boatman’s home – leaving his work truck slowly sinking. Fortunately, Colin, a landscape gardener, managed to reverse his vehicle out of the hole before con- tacting the council who, as the old joke goes, came to “look into it”. Workmen erected safety barri-


cades around the hole – about two feet long and a foot wide – before returning after the weekend to fill it in.


Neighbour Erica Longdon, an


deprivation, according to the report put together by the council’s health andwellbeing group. The resulting health inequalities


action plan will now examineways of “ironing out” the differences and raising the life expectancy for all residents in the borough. A council spokesman said: “So-


cial exclusion has a large part to play in people’s health and wellbe- ing and, ultimately, their life ex- pectancy.” Areas such as Downswood, Otham, Bearsted and Thurnham (life expectancy 81) find residents are not only better-educated and more affluent than in some of the urban segments, but also enjoy a good level of services and social in-


teraction. The worst area to live regarding longevity is Heathward – covering Maidstone Hospital, Hermitage Lane and Oakwood Park – where the average life expectancy is 76. The council spokesman said:


“Not only does this gap mean that those living in the most deprived areas of Maidstone have a shorter life expectancy, they also have a lower disability-free life expectancy than others in our communities.” The report has been compiled


using the Office for National Statis- tics’ index of multiple deprivation (IMD) which measures different as- pects of deprivation, such as in- come, barriers to housing, crime, education, living environment and


employment, and brings them to- gether in a single measure. The council’s strategy to help re-


duce health inequalities is based on improved housing and education, supporting lifestyle changes and targeting areas and priority groups. Proposals, when implemented,


will start at birth if not sooner, by giving new mums access to infor- mation enabling them to make the best choices in relation to smoking, drinking and breast feeding. The group would like to see more sup- port given to teenage mums and those at risk from domestic abuse. As children get older, the aim


would be to tackle obesity, increase children’s physical activity and im- prove immunisation rates.


Music teacher takes bow after 50 years


MUSIC teacher Douglas “Doug” Moore has retired at the age of 81, after 50 years delivering music les- sons on behalf of Kent Music. Doug joined the Kent Rural


Music School (which became Kent Music) in September 1964 to give after-school piano lessons. and went on to teach piano, flute, electronic keyboard and music theory. Kent Music chief executive Peter


Bolton said: “Doug has made an enormous contribution to music in Kent and many of his former students have gone on to great things.” Doug was accepted to study at


the Royal College of Music at the age of 12 and won a full scholarship in 1949. From 1951, he served three


years’ National Service in the Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) playing in the regimental band. In 1959 Doug went on to become the


Kent Music chief executive Peter Bolton presents Doug with a farewell gift of a glass decanter and a bottle of Scotch.


first music teacher at Maidstone Technical School (now Oakwood Park Grammar), teaching piano for Kent Music after school. When he gave up full-time teaching in 1992, he was able to take on more work for Kent Music, teaching up to 40 students, four days a week He said: “I have taught pupils of all ages but I tended to specialise


Fracking fears aer hole appears in road Fracking – or hydraulic fractur-


ing – is the extraction of shale gas by boring tunnels deep under- ground and pumping high-pres- sure water into them to fracture the shale rock. It has become a cause of na-


The hole that appeared in Salisbury Road in Maidstone


ardent anti-fracking campaigner, said: “Holes are appearing all over the county. Imagine what could happen if we allow fracking to take place in Kent?”


tional concern as the Government presses ahead with plans to ex- ploit this new energy source. A spokesman for KCC said: “A section of Salisbury Road was im- mediately cordoned off when we were alerted. A full investigation is due to be carried out to establish the cause of the collapse and then the necessary repairs will be car- ried out."


in getting the younger ones started as I’m not too big and they weren’t too frightened of me. Many have become professional musicians and teachers, and a couple are composers.” He plans to spend more time


gardening at his home in Loose, watching cricket and enjoying holidays with his wife Doreen.


Thief jailed


A 30-YEAR-OLDman was jailed after he admitted three counts of shoplifting in Maidstone. John Sweeney, of no fixed ad- dress, stole toiletries worth £24.14 from a shop in Willington Street, and took coffee and toi- letries worth £19.90 from a store in Park Wood. Medway Magis- trates Court heard he later stole detergent worth £66.67 from the first shop. He was jailed for 30 days, ex- tended to 60 days because the offences were committed while he was subject to a previous sus- pended sentence.


Maidstone East September 2014 43


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