News
Lighting beer thanks to delay
THE design of a new multi-use games (MUGA) in South Park, Maidstone, may have actually benefited from the long delay in pushing ahead with the project. The Maidstone Council scheme
to create the facility off Armstrong Road has been in the pipeline since 2005, when Fairview Homes’ de- velopment of 27 houses and 163 flats in Eccleston Road, Tovil was given planning permission subject to a section 106 agreement, which funded the MUGA. But the proposal has only just
been given permission by the plan- ning committee, which has offered plenty of time for technological ad- vancements to reduce the impact of the floodlighting. Cllr Martin Cox, the deputising chairman of the committee, said: “The word flooding should be re- moved from floodlighting because flooding is not what this will do. “These lights will shine down. It
is a good step forward and hope- fully the delay will have helped.” The LED lights are said to limit the impact on neighbours. Flood-
lighting would be allowed until 10pm and would operated by users, with the lights going off every 20 minutes after a button has been pressed. TheMUGAwill cater for football
and basketball and will be linked to the existing skate park by a short disabled-friendly path. It is hoped it will stop youngsters playing football on the adjacent hockey pitch, which is used by Maidstone Hockey Club. Cllr Fran Wil-
Cllr Martin Cox
son, a member of the committee, said: “The light- ing, which is a major issue, has been done to death.We have the
most up-to-date and best solution.” Only one councillor, Cllr Tony Harwood, voted against the pro- posal. He said: “This is going to cause no end of grief. It is wrong to think that you can have floodlight- ing on a MUGA and the light will disappear.”
A BID to overturn Maidstone Council’s decision to refuse a Morrisons supermarket at Springfield Park has been lost at the High Court. In May, the council refused de-
veloperAugur Buchler’s proposal for the supermarket, plus a num- ber of smaller retail units and doctor’s surgery on the site, off Royal Engineers Road, next to Ringlestone. Landowner Blossom Way had sought a judicial review because the planning committee had al- most approved the scheme previ- ously, deferring only for conditions to be drawn
up.At the
downsmail.co.uk Store review is rejected
next committee meeting the com- mittee changed its mind, nar- rowly voting against the scheme. A High Court ruling has now refused permission for the re- view, stating therewas no resolu- tion to grant planning permission. Blossom Way must pay the council £3,968 in costs. The land at Springfield has
lain empty sinceKCCmoved out of its offices in 2001. In 2007, planning permissionwas granted for 192 flats, retail units and com- munity hall, but the development has never taken place. The land is part of an allocation for 950 homes in the draft local plan.
Christmas market with lights and snow
CHRISTMAS is coming…but on amuch less grand scale than in previous years.
Maidstone Council will not be hosting a lights switch-on in Jubilee Square
this year, although there will be a tree. Instead, all the festivities will kick off in FremlinWalk, on Thursday, November 20. However, there will be a Christmas market, with log cabins, fairy lights
and artificial snow in Jubilee Square fromDecember 11–22, along the lines of the popular continental Christmas markets.
For more local news, community events and information, go online
www.downsmail.co.uk
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