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downsmail.co.uk Developers’ fund ‘could be lost’
COUNCILLORS have called for a study into the allocation of financial contributions from developers after discovering that money was earmarked to improve facilities that no longer exist.
Maidstone Council’s planning committee was given a list of the projects that are due to be funded by £1.67m in Section 106 legal agree- ments relating to planning permis- sions.
Members had a number of queries: Kent Music School, Astley House, Hastings Road, Maidstone (About 14 homes, granted Novem- ber 2010). Cllr Fran Wilson pointed out that £21,240 was intended to improve healthcare
facilities at the surgery in King Street, which no longer exists. She also criticised the allocation of £39,554 towards improvements at Mote Park when the S106 agree- ment stated an investment should be made to a closer open space, the Len Valley Nature Reserve.
Burger stop
BURGERS will be on the menu be- fore Christmas, with news that Mc- Donalds aims to have its new Maidstone drive-thru up and run- ning in December.
The site of the former Renault garage at the junction of Lock- meadow and Tonbridge Road has now been cleared and 11 ready-as- sembled units are about to be lifted into place by crane.
Aack on police
IAN Collins (51) was banned from driving for 40 months and fined £265 after he admitted failing to provide a breath test specimen at Maidstone and assaulting two po- lice officers. Mid Kent Magistrates’ Court also ordered Collins, of no fixed address, to pay £300 compen- sation, £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
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From left, Katie Simpson, Steve, Michael and Maria Pereira, Luke Carpenter and Chris Simpson
Karate squad’s success
MEMBERS of the Maidstone-based Kimura Shukokai Karate Kent returned from Sun City, South Africa with four medals after representing England in the 2014 Kimura Shukokai International’s World Karate Championships. Instructors Katie and Chris Simpson, from Kingswood, were accompanied by students Steve, Maria and Michael Pereira, from Sutton Valence, and Luke Carpenter, from Charing. Michael (14) won a silver medal in the showpiece and bronze in
repecharge. Katie took bronze in the kata and kumite events. Steve only just lost to the current world champion in the second round of the kumite, while Maria and Luke performed well, gaining considerable experience. The club run classes in Charing, Lenham, Kingswood, Marden, Downswood and Maidstone,. Anyone interested in sponsoring the students or joining a class should go to
www.kentkarate.co.uk or call 07801639052.
St Faith’s Lane, Bearsted (21 homes, granted October 2004). Cllr Richard Ash was baffled that a share of £1,307 in healthcare money was being allocated to Marden Medical Centre. “To actually build a block of flats in Bearsted and put money in Marden … it seems a long way away,” he said. Kent Frozen Foods, off Ware Street (now Edelin Road), Thurnham (housing estate, granted October 2003). Cllr Ash said the site is in Thurnham, yet the list said it was in Bearsted and earmarked £24,275 for the Grovewood Drive play area in Grove Green and £35,000 for the Ashurst Road play areas in Vinters Park. Former Trebor Basset site, St Peter’s Street, Maidstone (retail es- tate, granted on appeal June 2000).
Almost £250,000 was allocated to upgrade the riverside walkway in central Maidstone but Cllr Tony Harwood claimed this money was meant to be spent on improving the high-level bridge linking the Maid- stone East and Maidstone Barracks railway stations. Land at Springfield, Moncktons Lane, Ringlestone (housing and of- fice development, granted October 2002). A sum of £72,833 was to be spent on a children’s centre but Cllr Harwood said this never went ahead. “My understanding was that the money should be used for the Springfield site or the commu- nity centre in Moncktons Hall,” he said. “We don’t want money going into someone’s coffers when it doesn’t exist.” Cllr Fran Wilson said: “We do
have quite a serious problem here that we need to get to the bottom of. It is vitally important that officers get this up to date. We always say we have not got enough money but here we might be losing some.” The council’s senior planning so- licitor Kate Jardine told the commit- tee: “This is a basic overview and doesn’t represent the full details of S106 contributions. “If you have specific queries about specific allocations then talk to offi- cers or compliance officers.” Cllr Martin Cox, who deputised as planning committee chairman, said: “We need to bring this back to a later meeting so it is looked at in detail. “A lot of this stuff is historic and if
we didn’t have such continuity in the council these would have got
Councillor hit by illness
PARAMEDICS had to be called to the Chainhurst home of Cllr Dennis Collins after he col- lapsed in pain after returning home from a meeting at Maid- stone Town Hall.
Cllr Collins (56), Conserva- tive councillor for Coxheath and Hunton, was taken to
Maidstone Hospital, suffering from acute septicaemia and a slipped disc. After more than a week in isolation, Cllr Collins is now slowly recovering at home. Cllr Collins was elected to the borough council in 2011. He chaired the planning committee prior to the last election in May.
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