News
downsmail.co.uk KCC sets its ‘toughest’ budget
KENT County Council has balanced the books this year, but it says the task has been its tough- est since 2010.
The £83.1m of savings for the 2015/16 budget come on top of £350m of savings already made by KCC in the previous four years. The level of savings is a result of a combination of reduced govern- ment grant and additional spending demands on services. This year’s budget reflects:
a decrease in government grants of 15% (£55.5m); an increase in the numbers of vul- nerable adults needing support; an increase in resources for chil- dren in care; an attempt for better value
Conservatives choose Helen
HELEN Whately (38) has been se- lected as the Conservative parlia- mentary hopeful for Faversham and Mid Kent.
Ms Whately, left, replaces Sir Hugh Robert- son, who is standing down in May after 14 years as an MP. Ms Whately, a management consultant
working in the health sector, de- feated three other females – Laura Trott, Sarah Macken and Cllr Kristy Adams – in the shortlist.
In 2010 she stood against Ed
Davey in Kingston and Surbiton, where she increased the Tory vote by 3.5%. Having worked at PwC among other firms, she helped launch the first online film service in the UK for AOL, and advised the To- ries in Opposition on media policy. Councillor David Naghi, left, is to be the Lib Dems’ par- liamentary can- didate for Faversham and Mid Kent for the third successive General Elec- tion.
Cllr Naghi (57), who has repre- sented East ward on Maidstone Council since 2002, was beaten by the outgoing Conservative MP Hugh Robertson in 2005 and 2010. His share of the vote five years ago increased to 19.6% from 16.5%, beat- ing Labour into third place for the first time since the Tory-dominated constituency was formed in 1997. Michael Desmond (Labour), Peter
Edwards-Daem (Ukip) and Tim Valentine (Greens) are also standing for the seat.
16 Maidstone East March 2015
through commissioning services from the private and voluntary sec- tors.
The most significant savings have been achieved by changing the de- livery of adult and children’s serv- ices. Money has been invested in preventative services that avoid, wherever possible, interventions such as taking children into care and supporting independence for adults, helping them to remain in their own homes.
Further savings will be made by buying in more services from the private and voluntary sectors,
which come at a lower cost than KCC’s in-house services.
KCC’s transformation pro- gramme will also deliver further staffing efficiencies.
KCC has agreed to an increase of 1.99% for its portion of the council tax, which works out at an extra £21.33 for a band D home. KCC cabinet member for finance John Simmonds said: “There is no doubt that this is the most difficult and challenging budget that KCC has ever faced.
“Balancing the books has been tougher than ever before, but we
have made savings where we can while protecting frontline services, so that we can put extra resources where they are most needed. “I am confident that the Kent economy is beginning to see signs of recovery. But there is a long way to go if we are to cope with so many years of reduced government fund- ing and increased demand on our services.”
KCC is putting an extra £4.75m into specialist children’s services and an additional £7.2m into adult social care to meet anticipated in- creases in client numbers.
‘Depraved’ abuser jailed Spring concert
A FORMER Maidstone man who sexually abused children for sev- eral years has been jailed. Peter Cordingley (69), who lived in St Leonards-on-Sea, assaulted children as young as six, most re- cently in January 2013 when he was living in Westmorland Close, Shep- way.
Cordingley was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of indecent assault, and was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court. Investigating officer Detective Constable Samantha Bungay said: “Peter Cordingley is a depraved in- dividual who gave little or no thought to the impact his actions would have on the children he
BEARSTED Choral Society will be presenting its spring concert at Holy Cross Church, Bearsted at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 21. The programme will feature Bob Chilcott’s Requiem and a selection of anthems under the baton of the new music director, Lowen.
Andrew
For tickets, which are £10 (£5 for students), call 01634 666730 or email tick-
ets@bearstedchoral.org.uk. They will also be available on the door.
abused. There is no excuse for what he did and I would like to pay trib- ute to the victims involved, all of whom showed tremendous courage in talking to us about what happened.”
Furniture store to close
A TWO-day sale was due to mark the closure of the Lincoln Furni- ture Warehouse in Maidstone after 16 years in St Peter’s Street, Maidstone.
For the business in the big yellow building, whose website boasts “real staff”, a “real shop” and items in stock, promoting online shopping was not enough to keep the business open. It is understood the closure saw 17 staff, many of whom were long-serving, lose their jobs.
Cricket league Season opens
THE Mote Cricket Club open their Kent League season with a fixture at Bromley Common on May 9. The first home game is against Canterbury on Saturday, May 16, starting at noon. The Mote have signed young
Australian pace bowler Louis Cameron, who has played two first-class games for Victoria, as their overseas player. The Mote is welcoming new members for the four senior sides and colts teams. Call 07725 418305 for more details. Indoor nets are now underway.
KENT’s 2nd XI will open their home cricket season at The Mote, Maidstone with a Twenty20 game against Surrey on Tuesday, May 19, starting at 11am.
A three-day 2nd XI champi- onship fixture against Surrey fol- lows at 11.30am on May 20-22. The Mote will have eight days of Kent 2nds with a three-day champi- onship against Essex on June 9-11 and a Twenty20 match on June 12.
For more local news
www.downsmail.co.uk
Hostel agreed AN empty pub in Maidstone looks
set to be turned into a hostel for the homeless.
Maidstone Council has accepted a plan to convert The Cricketers Arms, in Mote Road, into a shelter for adults. The pub has been vacant since 2011.
The application, submitted by Homeless Care Ltd, provoked com- plaints from residents about possi- ble noise and issues with parking.
Tree to be axed
PLANNING permission was granted to fell a protected silver birch tree in Brockbank Close, Walderslade.
Maidstone Council also gave consent to work on other trees in- cluding an oak, two hornbeams and two silver birches.
Holiday home
PLANNING permission was granted to convert a barn into a hol- iday let cottage in Headcorn Road, Grafty Green.
Maidstone Council granted plan- ning permission for the scheme at Orchard Cottage Farm on condi- tion that no holiday let exceeds 28 consecutive days and the property is in use for a maximum of 112 days per year.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56