downsmail.co.uk
Water firm to arrange new date for A249 work
ATTEMPTS to lay a new water main along the busy A249 near Detling are unlikely to resume until next year.
South East Water will meet county council officials on Novem- ber 3 to finalise details for manag- ing the 41,000 vehicles that use the dual carriageway every day be- tween theM2and M20 in a third at- tempt to complete the seven-week project. The water company, which was
forced to pull off the site in January this year after a string of accidents, and again on September 24, after just three days due to traffic chaos, says it is now in a position to nego- tiate a new start date. The traffic management proposal
is still likely to involve one lane being closed northbound and one southbound, off-peak, when neces- sary.
South East Water’s project man-
ager, Steve McIntegart, admitted the project to lay 710m of pipe for just 83 properties was proving one of its most difficult pipe replace- ment projects because of the high volume of traffic using the road throughout the year. He said: “Unfortunately, the
water supply pipe needs to feed in from the front of the properties along this stretch of the A249.
“To keep disruption to a mini-
mum, we are doing as much work aswe can in the verge.However, in order to keep the public and our workforce safe on this very busy and fast road, it will be necessary to close one lane. This is unavoidable.” He added that the existing pipe
had burst five times in the past five years, flooding the carriageway and leaving homeowners and busi- nesses without water. The new pipeline will cost £240,000. He added: “I would like to apolo-
gise in advance for any disuption this work may cause.”
New family at helm of cruiser
MAIDSTONE’S popular pleasure cruiser, the Kentish Lady, has a new owner. Nick Kennedy took the plunge
and bought the boat in September and is running the business with the help of his family. Having worked in the printing
and graphics industry for many years, Nick said: “This has cer- tainly brought a new challenge to our lives, but an exciting one that will involve the whole family.” He became aware that the Ken-
tish Lady was for sale because it passes the bottom of his parents’ garden in East Farleigh on itsway to Teston. Nick said: “We made enquiries
with the Cheeseman family, who ran the boat business for 11 years, and instantly made a connection with Tony and Sara aswe, too, in- tended to make the venture a fam- ily enterprise, which appealed to them. Since then, they have been
holding our hands to ensure the takeover won’t affect customers.” Nick’s wife Linda and his mum
Gill have taken up roles in the of- fice and kiosk, while his dad Mar- tin oversees the day-to-day running of the business. Nick, who lives in Rochester,
will continue to work as an engi- neering director for a company in Westerham, but with responsibil- ity for business development.
Gill, Linda and son James Kennedy will be helping Nick run the Kentish Lady business
He said:“We very muchwant to
keep up the proud tradition of The Kentish Lady but we will be put- ting our own ideas into the mix by extending the season and adding new entertainment, including themed events for Halloween and Christmas.” The boat will run at weekends
from the Archbishop’s Palace to Allington through to December and is available for private hire.
Show is paws
for thought MORE than 20,000 visitors and 12,000 dogs visited the Paws in the Park Autumn Show 2014 at The Kent Showground in Detling. The show raised more than £5,000 for charities including the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, German Shepherd Rescue Elite, Soldiers Off the Street and ALSAR Lowland Rescue. Visitors enjoyed attractions in- cluding flyball, the Dogstable course, search and rescue, Mini Paws Playstation and the Mini-tiv- ity test. Weekend visitors enjoyed camp- ing with great facilities, and enter- tainment including the doggy fancy dress competition and a quiz. The K9 Aquazone was busy all
weekend, with lots of splashes and some great jumps in the Dash ‘n’ Splash pools.
Badminton places
PLACES are available for interme- diate badminton players at a club that meets in Loose on Monday nights. The Monday Badminton Club
has the use of six courts in the sports hall at the New Line Learning Academy in Boughton Lane. The club meets from 7.30- 9.30pm. For details, contact club secretary Janet Knight on 01622 745054.
For more local news,
www.downsmail.co.uk Volunteering in retirement has benefits all round
YOU’RE never too old to volun- teer, according to The Abbeyfield Kent Society, which says it receives support from more than 200 vol- unteers, many of whom are over 55.
The benefits work bothways too,
says the society, as older people can find themselves with a lot of time on their hands, and the need to contribute to their community. Mary (70) is a volunteer at Greensted, Abbeyfield Kent’s resi- dential home inWateringbury. She said: “I have always worked,
even when my childrenwere little, so it felt natural for me to continue
Volunteer Mary
upon retirement. I feel that all the while I can give something back, I should. “It keeps me
busy and keeps my brain active. I’ve got to know many of the resi- dents here and just sitting and chatting with them can brighten
their morning. I hope that what I do relieves staff a little bit and en- ables them to do an even better job and spend more time with the res- idents.”
Mary helps out two days a week
at the home, doing receptionist and admin work. Another volunteer, Babs, regularly plays piano for res- idents at the society’s Kemsing home, despite the fact that she is in her 90s. A recent Age UK poll found that
older volunteers said giving up their time gave them a sense of being needed and respected, in- creased their life satisfaction, re- duced stress and provided a positive transition from work to re- tirement. They added that volunteering in- creased their confidence, gave
them the chance to learn new skills and encouraged them to meet new people, which can be vital in tack- ling the loneliness epidemic that many older people face. A spokesman for the Abbeyfield
Kent Society said older people bring awealth of skills and knowl- edge to homes and their residents. As society changes, retirees will have greater skills and more knowledge than any generation before them; but they will also be under increasing pressure to care for grandchildren, so charities will have tomake extra efforts to entice and retain volunteers.
Maidstone Town November 2014 41
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