downsmail.co.uk
How you can help out
THERE are many ways people can support the work of the re- serve, from volunteering their time to sponsoring a bird or bat box, donating birdseed or fat balls or even old timber, which can always be put to good use. Steve Songhurst organises monthly volunteer workdays during the autumn and winter each year, where people of all ages can gain hands-on experi- ence on the practical side of conservation. If you are not keen on getting
your hands dirty, a Friends of the Reserve scheme enables people to contribute towards the upkeep of the reserve. In re- turn, they receive a quarterly newsletter and the chance to take part in a range of wildlife events on the reserve.
Bin dogs’ mess
DOGS are welcome in the reserve – but not their droppings. Despite the installation of 10 poo bins Steve Songhurst still has regular purges and has been known to spray the offending poo pink to highlight the problem.
Vinters Nature Reserve | News
Elegant manor made way for housing estate
MENTION the name Vinters to most people in Maidstone and they will more than likely give you one of two responses: the cre- matorium or the housing estate. But the original Vinters Parkwas
awonderful country manor house, surrounded by acres of parkland. Its colourful history is recorded
in a book, Vinters, the Story of a Kentish Estate, written in 2002 by volunteers of the Vinters Valley Park Trust and funded by the Local Heritage Initiative. Sadly the book is sold out, but
copies remain in Maidstone library. A three-roomed open hall house
with adjoining tower remained for 600 years. The estate takes its name from
Roger de Vinter, who bought the land from the Abbott of Boxley in 1343. During the 16th and 17th cen- turies it passed through various hands, being gradually extended until 1783 when it was bought by businessman James Whatman, who purchased more land and property in the area, including Newnham Court Farm. The estate passed down through
The manor house at Vinters Park was passed down through generations of the
Whatman family
three generations to the fourth James Whatman, bywhich time the property had been significantly ex- tended. James and his wife had four daughters who, one by one, in- herited the estate until the last Whatman, Miss Louisa, who died in 1950, aged 92. Miss Louisa lived at Newnham
Court and rented out the manor house. DuringWorldWar II, itwas commandeered by the Army and the contentswere locked away. The house remained empty for
many years, and in 1952 a large partwas destroyed by fire, believed to have been caused by a vagrant. The remainder of the house and es-
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tatewas split up and sold in 1954, a large part being bought by prop- erty developer Percy Barden. Vinters housing estatewas first to
be built, on the hop gardens and wheat fields to the west of the site, and later, Grove Greenwas built on the site of the former market gar- den to the east. Parkland became school playing fields and the re- mainder fell into neglect. Today, thanks to its army of vol- unteers, Vinters Valley Nature Re- serve is a green oasis, surrounded by the two housing estates, Valley Park School and the M20 motorway – 90 acres only a stone’s throw from Mote Park.
News
Cannabis farm father jailed
AN unemployed father from Maidstone has been jailed for growing cannabis at his home, which his son helped him towater. Maidstone CrownCourt heard
Steven Leonard Miller (51) grew cannabis in four tents in a bed- room and the basement at his three-storey homeinBrewer Street. The crop was supported by a hydroponics set- up with air con-
ditioning and lighting. The court heard the pair had been growingcannabis for at least a year before being caught onApril 17 this year, following a police tip-off, when the housewas searched. StevenMiller first admitted grow-
ing cannabis for personal pain relief and later for friends in pain. How- ever, DCAmy Ezzi said Steven Miller then expanded his cannabis cultivation enterprise to a “commer- cial scale”, with his civil engineer
son Tyler (23) helping him tend the plants. The court heard a large quantity
of cannabis was found at the prop- erty and £1,650 cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Confis- cation proceedings are continuing. The pair pleaded guilty to cannabis cultivation, possession with intent to supply and abstrac- tionof£744 of electricity. Steven Miller also admitted possessing a taser. StevenMiller was jailed for three
years and 10 months and Tyler Miller for 20months, suspended for two years. Tyler Miller will also have to complete 150 hours’unpaid work andobserve a curfew,moni- tored by a tag,from8pm to 5am. DC Ezzi added: “The sentences
reflect the seriousness of this of- fence. Cannabis is illegal, nomatter the reasons for consuming it, and the cultivation and supply of cannabiswill not be tolerated. “I would urge anyone who sus-
pects that they know of a location where cannabis is being cultivated to call Kent Police.”
Town rocks toMela rhythm Continued frompage one
now the largest culturally diverse arts festival in Kent. It featured talented local singing
trio Imminent, the Kitka Bulgarian Folk Dance Group, Bollywood Blast, Gypsy Stars and the Cohesion Plus produced “Afro-Bhangra Fusion”. The headline act was award- winning singer Ruby Turner. In addition, there weremore than 50 stalls selling food and products from around the world, with information stands provided by public and voluntary sector partners. The event is organised in partnership by Maidstone Borough Council, Cohesion Plus and Kent Equality Cohesion Council.
Gurvinder Sandher, artistic
director of theMela, said: “I have been working on the Mela since its inception in 2003 and this year was our biggest attendance to date.
“The Maidstone Mela has
evolved into one of the biggest culturally diverse celebrations in Kent and underlines how the arts canbeusedtobringdifferent communities together. “The Mela is now an established
date in theMaidstone diary and has grown somuch since its inception and we are very grateful to the on-going support being provided by all partners, volunteers and the local community for enabling this to happen.”
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Alisdair Buchanan explains why it is so different. “Most clients visit their doctor, some are referred to the hospi- tal when they have dry sore eyes. The drops that the NHS have at their dis- posal are very limited and are certainly not at the cutting edge of dry eye treat- ments. As dry eye specialist Optom- etrists, we fully assess your problem, taking into account any issues and con- cerns you have. We analyse your tear - lem is. We use a microscope to look at your lids in minute detail allowing us to check your little glands producing your tears, we can also use an infrared camera to image the ducts from your glands to make sure these are clear. We then grade your dry eye symptoms, so that we can measure the improvement
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£12,000 debt fails to end dining on river
FLOATING restaurantThe Barge closed owing Maidstone Council more
than £12,000 – only to be reopened by the samedirectorsunder a newname. The River Medway landmark,
which first began trading in central Maidstone in 2010, shut in 2013 but returned later that yearwith a simi- lar layout and offering under the newname Embankments. The council is nowset towrite off
the previous company’s debts of £12,059.31, incurred during three fi- nancial years, because “the company has gone into liquidation. There are no funds to pay creditors”. Aliquidatorwas appointedto vol-
untary wind up The Barge Ltd in October
2013.Associateddocuments state that the company had debts of £455,313. The same three directors of The BargeLtd– JamesBailey,KeithWar-
ren and Lisa Voice – are directors of Chasecroft Ltd,which trades as Em- bankments Restaurant. This companywas set up inOcto-
ber 2013 and received payments of £1,466 fromMaidstoneCouncil con- nected to the Kentish Deli Café at MaidstoneMuseum,which is oper- ated by Crofthold Ltd,whose direc-
tors includeMrBailey andMsVoice. “Most of the payments are for the
hire of the café at the museum and the purchase of food for externally hosted events. The council re- charges these costs to the event or- ganisers,” a council spokesmansaid. MrBailey correctly points out that
he has acted lawfully regarding The Barge,which had a debt of £129,349 toNatwest.He toldtheDownsMail: “The company hadmajor problems andhadto bewounduponthe basis thatwe owed the bank a hell of a lot ofmoney. “We have done everything prop-
erly and within the law. We went through proper insolvency practitioners,who told us 33
Mela fun winds round town Town top of
THE 12th Maidstone Mela burst onto the streets of Maidstone to drum up support for the Sunday fes- tival in Mote Park. About 400 children from seven
schools joined a Friday parade through the town centre, from County Hall to Brenchley Gardens. It showcased arts and music
from a range of bands, including the Four by Four Dhol Drummers and Bloco Fogo samba band. Two days later, the bands
emerged again as part of a colourful song and dance extravaganza, which attracted record numbers to what is
KCC chairman Peter Homewood with his escort Sue Baldock, stiltwalkers and drummers
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accident list DRIVERS in Maidstone are being pulled up sharp by figures that show the town is the most danger- ous place in Kent for road users. The figures show 470 road acci-
dents were reported in the borough last year – 68 more than its nearest rival of Dartford – with 643 people injured as a result, seven fatally. The data has been released to co-
incide with a Kent-wide Urban Speed campaign, launched by the county council and backed by the police, to make motorists think twice about their speed. Steve Horton, KCC road safety
team leader, said: “Maidstone is one of the heaviest populated dis- tricts and has one of the largest throughputs of vehicles. This cam- paign seeks to highlight that crashes happen where most people and vehicles are: in urban/residen- tial areas. “We are saying to drivers ‘don’t
take the roads for granted, antici- pate hazards and be in a
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co.uk October 2014 No. 210 News Housing figure drops
MAIDSTONE Council has reduced its local plan target by 1,000 to 18,600 homes, but ur- banisation fears remain.
East and west divide
LIB Dem Cllr Fran Wilson has likened the River Medway to the Berlin Wall, and wants to bridge the town divide. 11
‘Quarter are obese’
A NEW report suggests that as many as 26% of adults living in the Maidstone borough are obese.
Working for future
THE Downs Mail has teamed up with Maidstone Council to pro- mote work options for young people.
Deportation fear
BARMAN from New Zealand given reprieve. 32
Life expectancy HEATH ward has lowest. 45
Comment 40-41
THE idea that there should be fewer MPs who are paid more money is raised by one reader, and the immigration debate rages on.
Obituaries 42
MARK Geadah, the former head of Allington Primary School, is re- membered in an online tribute page with more than 400 mem- bers. Local Cllr Dan Daley says Mark was “an inspirational head teacher”.
Crime Reports 55
A TENT, camping burner and clothing were stolen from a small piece of land between playing fields and allotments in Chilling- ton Street, Maidstone.
46-47 24-25 19 10
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