News


downsmail.co.uk Loss of wardens ‘disastrous’


THE chairman of a leading local crime prevention group has warned that the idea to almost halve the number of Kent’s com- munity wardens “could lead to disaster”.


Jim Wilson


KCC has been consulting the public on a proposal to centralise the service, which would lead to a reduction in wardens from 79 to 40 and widen each of their geograph-


ical areas of responsibility. The proposal would save the county council £1.28m and go to- wards its overall target of cutting £206m in the next three years. Jim Wilson, chairman of Maid- stone and District Neighbourhood Watch, told the Downs Mail: “Com- munity wardens are attached to particular parishes and areas and are trusted by people who see them not as a threat or an authority, but as a fellow person who will help them.”


Community wardens tackle is-


sues including anti-social behav- iour, fly-tipping, graffiti, vandalism, domestic and neighbour disputes and traffic management. They can- not make arrests but pass on intelli- gence to police and the emergency services.


“They know their limitations but get around that by building up a tremendous level of trust,” contin- ued Mr Wilson. “They always follow up their con-


versations and get back to people. “Often people are daunted by communicating with police or a local authority and are not sure which department to contact. Com- munity wardens are considered neutral by people who don’t want to talk to police, or be seen to be talking to police. We are risking this relationship and it is a tremendous threat.


“It could lead to a disaster and


we, as a neighbourhood watch, get on with all of our community war- dens. We cooperate and exchange our ideas with them and support each other at various events.” Mr Wilson said that the commu-


nity warden scheme’s success since KCC introduced it 12 years ago was due, in part, to clever recruitment.


Scouts get licence


CONTROVERSY surrounds an ap- plication by Kent Scouts who want to play to music at their Sandling activity centre.


Centre manager Ian Foulsham ap- plied to Maidstone Council on be- half of Kent Scouts for a premises licence, which would allow music to be played between noon and mid- night, seven days a week. The aim was to encourage greater use of the barn for parties and wed- ding receptions to raise revenue for the Scouts. Most events would involve a live band or a DJ at the weekend, prima- rily during the summer. Mr Foul- sham said noise levels would be monitored every 30 minutes. A responsible person would be on site during all events to ensure noise levels were kept within permitted levels and that disruption was kept to a minimum, he said. But neighbours at Lower Grange Farm feared a licence would add to problems they already encounter. Richard Shepherd, who lives at


the farm with his wife and two young children, said he had com- plained to Maidstone Council sev- eral times during the past two years about noise levels at the centre. Mr Shepherd said noise was not restricted to the Kentish barn and they were affected by events such as firework and laser displays. The committee granted the licence but with conditions to minimise nuisance and public safety issues:  Events must finish at 11pm and the car parked cleared by midnight. Mr and Mrs Shepherd have to be provided with details of events at least two weeks beforehand.  There can be no more than eight licensable events between April and September, except for next year when there will be seven because three are planned for August alone.  Consecutive weekends (Fri- day/Saturday) will be allowed once in August 2015 but not thereafter.  No licensable events will be per- mitted on Sundays and just one a month from October to March.


Christmas market with lights and snow


CHRISTMAS is coming…but with less grandeur 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.


32 Malling November 2014


He said: “They attracted the right people who have sympathy with communities. They have been in- credible.


“Getting rid of them would be a double whammy because it would come out of KCC funds at a time when police funds are also being cut.


“If the changes go ahead, the war- dens will have huge areas to cover and consequently the one-to-one re- lationships they have built will be lost.”


Maidstone Council leader


COMMUNITY wardens in Kent are fighting proposed swingeing cuts to their service.


An official e-petition has been launched. If it receives 2,500 sig- natures the cuts have to be con- sidered by the KCC cabinet. As the Downs Mail went to press, more than 300 people had signed the petition. Stuart Ellesmere, from Maidstone’s community warden service, said: “This is a very valuable service to


Annabelle Blackmore wrote to KCC chairman Paul Carter a year ago, pleading with him not to reduce the number of community wardens. She said: "These people are our


eyes and ears on the ground. They know who the vulnerable people are in their areas and interact with all the different age groups, from older people to youngsters who hang around in bus shelters. They have to stay."


KCC has now finished consulting on its 2015-16 budget.


Petition calls for a rethink


vulnerable people around Kent.” A number of the community


wardens have signed the peti- tion, including district support warden Dawn Riach-Brown, Liz Lovatt (Boughton Monchelsea and Loose) and Adam McKinley (Bearsted) as well as several bor- ough councillors, including Mar- tin Round (Headcorn), Stephen Munford (Boughton Monchelsea) and Fay Gooch (Barming).


Store review is rejected


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


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


been empty since KCC moved 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.


Support for depot homes


A PLAN to build 32 homes on a storage and lorry sales depot in Bellingham Way, Larkfield was approved by Tonbridge and Malling Council. Permission was sought for 24 two-bedroom flats, three three- bedroom houses and 50 parking spaces on the site owned by Ferns Surfacing. A fifth of the homes would be social rented affordable units and a new access road would be built. The existing building will be demolished and a new office would be constructed for Ferns. Borough planning officer


Kathryn Holland said the loss of employment land meant a depar- ture from local planning strategy, but the scheme offered the provi- sion of affordable homes, which were in short supply locally, to meet the needs of customers on the housing list.


For more local news, community events and information, go online www.downsmail.co.uk


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