News


Work onwater main delayed


HOLLINGBOURNE Parish Coun- cil says it will fight an attempt to switch responsibility for funding village street lighting to residents. After changes to the funding process, Maidstone Council has said it will no longer pay for lights in a number of villages, including Hollingbourne, Leeds, Barming, Boughton Monchelsea, Coxheath, Tovil,West Farleigh and Stockbury. In Hollingbourne, this would


mean a £20-£30 hike in the parish precept, paid by residents, to keep the 21 lights in Eyhorne Street and Culpeper Close alight. The parish council invited bor-


ough councillor John Perry, cabinet memberfor communities, to explain the situation. He told members a working document – the parish charter – was being drafted to pro- vide details of how parish councils will be financed in future and should be available by the beginning of the year. However, he appreciated sev- eral councils were struggling to fi- nance street lights, once paid for by the borough council. He agreed to


review arrangements and consider whether a retrospective payment can be made to Hollingbourne to cover costs already incurred. Cllr John Cobbett said: “There is


some argument as to whether these are footpath lights, which should be funded by the borough council, or street lights, which are the responsi- bility of the county council. Frankly, we are not concerned who actually signs the cheque,we just feel that for those in the centre of town, the issue ofwhofunds street lighting is not an issue and we do not see why vil- lagers should pay.” The county council has said it


would pay the bill, but only if the parish brings the lightsupto its stan- dards, at a cost of about £50,000. Cllr Cobbett maintains this is


about twice the council’s annual budget. He added that the width of the road and the volume of traffic were two good reasons why the lights, put in decades ago by the rural council, are needed, adding: “The use of street lights have a posi- tive effect in reducing accidents.”


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downsmail.co.uk Rotarian’swork rewarded


A ROTARIAN with a long record of service to Maidstone has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by the Rotary Club of Maidstone. Bernard Head, of Clarendon Close, Bearsted retired fromlocal company


Marley in 1990 and set up his own accounts business working as a bursar for five schools, including Roseacre Primary School, Bearsted, and Redhill special school, East Sutton. He became treasurer of Redhill Trust after the school closed in 2002. He is a former treasurer of


Holy Cross Church, Bearsted, founder member of both Bearsted tennis and bowls clubs and is treasurer and a trustee of BearstedWoodland Trust. He joined Rotary in 1995, was club treasurer for five years and was president in 2004.


President William Perry presents award to Bernard Head with his wife Helen


Playgroup earns good rating


THE sharing of information be- tween staff and parents at a Bred- hurst playgroup helped to make sure that children’s needs were met, Ofsted inspectors said. Therewas a strong commitment


to evaluation at Busy B’s play- group at the village hall, and staff were skilled at observing children at play, adding to their experi- ences and extending learning.


The environment was safe and secure, and the staff were kind and compassionate, helping chil- dren to settle well, be confident and enjoy their time. To improve their rating from


good to outstanding, staff could organise snack time better and ex- change information about activi- ties with other early years settings.


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