downsmail.co.uk
Pub landlord’s £20k claims for lost trade
THE landlord of The Cock Horse Inn in Detling has launched a com- pensation claim against KCC and BT for allegedly leaving him thou- sands of pounds out of pocket. When licensee Steve Thomas (57)
took over the village pub in April last year he was told that the three days of the Kent CountyShowat the nearby showground was the pub’s busiest trading period. “We took steps to capitalise on this potential trade, devisingnewmenus and employing extra staff,” he said. But as he was putting his plan in
place, BT was upgrading the pub’s phone line and cut him off for 16 days – at the very time it would have been ringing with bookings. MrThomas, pictured with partner
Sue Bishop, said: “We had been hoping to take £8,000 from people working at the show or visitors, but this never happened.” Hesays events at the showground
since demonstrate the extent of their losses, adding: “The restaurant was packed before, during, and after the latest Odyssey military show and
they deserve to be compensated.” Mr Thomas says he has now had
to lay off his chef and revert to pub- style food, and postpone improve- ments to the kitchens. He told the Downs Mail: “Once
we get all this sorted we hope we will be able to develop the pub the way localswant.” Cllr de Wiggondene also wants
the county show is bigger than this.” His complaint to BTwas first met
with an offer of £150 as a “goodwill gesture”.MrThomas added: “That’s less than £10 a day for the time our linewas not functioning.” As well as claiming £8,000 from
BT, he has applied for £12,000 com- pensation from KentHighway Serv- ices for road closures in May and August, which kept trade away, but was angry to learn that KCC had no specific compensation form for busi- ness claims. Borough Cllr Nick de Wig- gondene said: “It is grossly unfair that a business should suffer due to the fault of other agencies. Surely
the police to review arrangements for traffic leaving the county show- ground. Currently, cars can not turn right to Detling Hill, and must travel to the M2 roundabout at Stockbury before turning back for Maidstone. Hesaid: “Asimple temporary traffic light system at the showground would do the trick.” Mr Thomas added: “If the Odyssey show becomes as popular, they will disrupt the traffic for this, too. It seems the success of the Kent Show is our demise.” A spokesperson for KCC said:
“We will assess any claim submitted to determine whether there are grounds for compensation before re- sponding to the complainant.”
News ‘Oldest man’
remembered FOUR generations of the Horton family gathered at St Nicholas’s Church, Otham to pay tribute to Charles Horton – father of 14 – who died in 1917, aged 103. At the time of his death Charles
was believed to be Kent’s oldest man. The meeting at St Nicholas’s Church marked the 200th anniver- sary of Charles Horton’s birth and was attended by family members. The oldest attendee – Hilda
Evans (91) – is Charles’ great granddaughter. Four of his great- great-great grandchildren were also in attendance, the youngest of whomwas three-year-old Isaac. Charles Horton’s death made
local headlines at the time and his gravestone – recently restored – was originally erected by public subscription.
Car power points
PLANNING permission has been granted for the establishment of an electric vehicle charging point at plot six of Eclipse Park, Sitting- bourne Road, Maidstone. Maidstone Council has given the go-ahead for Gallagher Properties to create six electric charging bays for Tesla customers, which can be used by owners of other vehicles.
Tailor makes a 6” Mistake
If you were measured to have something tailor made for you, would you expect to be delivered shoes that are 2 sizes too small for you, or trousers 6 inches too big? Of course not. Yet thousands of people wear spectacle lenses that are incorrect by at least 17%. A recent European Optometry study showed that the average error by a trained optician measuring a person for varifocals was 5mm per eye. Even a 0.5mm error can cause eye-strain, It’s no wonder so many people have tried and failed to comfortably wear varifocal spectacles. Thousands more and swimming vision that these mis- measurements can cause. But why does this happen? You will probably remember that when most opticians measure you for varifocals they mark the lenses using
ruler measure the distance between your eyes. Buchanan Optometrists abandoned this inaccurate method 10 years ago, preferring instead to use a computerised measuring system that not only measures your pupil position to within 0.1mm but also takes into account several other measurements such as how the spectacle frame sits on your face. We are all different, so any frame you put on will sit differently. the distance the frame sits from your face, the angle of the frame, the curve of the frame, how your eyes work binocularly together. The end result? The most comfortable vision possible - or your money back. UK are off-the-shelf designs with your
prescription added to it - a crazy idea considering we all have different jobs, hobbies and lifestyles. Our varifocals are not off-the-shelf designs tailor made and completely individualised for you taking into account what you want to do with your lenses, your work, your lifestyle and leisure activities. Taking into account your precise computerised measurements and prescription.
56 Malling Road, Snodland, Kent ME6 5NB Maidstone East November 2014 5
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