downsmail.co.uk


Residents back plan for Music on the Green 2016


MUSIC on the Green could be res- urrected in 2016 with theweight of local residents behind it. Joanne Conner was one of three


young mums who spoke up in favour of the family event, offering to help with future organisation. She told the parish council: “Itwas


a real disappointment (on learning it was not to take place) to me and to everyone I have spoken to. Thiswas a much-loved event. “I ask you please to reconsider.” AFacebook page in support of the


festival attracted a record number of followers in a week following the story about its cancellation in last month’s Downs Mail and an online survey revealed 213 people were in favour and just seven against. Mrs Conner said: “Given more


time, there would have been many more responses the same. Not every- one uses Facebook.” She said the vast majority of those


who responded to the survey were from theME14andME15postcodes, quashing Cllr Richard Ash’s com- ments last month that those who at- tendedwere not local people.


Cllr Ash reiterated his comments


that the council did not have the ex- pertise to organise an event on such a large scale but said if anyone wanted to get involved in organising it, they should contact the parish clerk with their proposals. Mrs Conner said she knew of peo-


plewhodid have the necessary skills and expertise – including an event organiser and health and safety ex- pert – and said: “There are people in the village who are prepared to put their neck on the line to make it work.” By limiting tickets and managing


online sales, it would be simple to monitor who attended, she said. “There are people in the area who


would be happy to work with you to make it happen again,” she said. Mrs Conner conceded there was


no returning to the days of picnic rugs and free admission but, re- sponding to Cllr Michael Stark’s comments that he was one of the original organisers of Music on the Green she said: “You had your fun in 2000.We would like to have our family fun now.”


Cllr Denis Spooner warned Mrs Conner that organising the event could be amammothtask, requiring a detailed event plan, health and safety approval from Maidstone Council, liaison with the police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent high- ways and a host of other organisa- tions. “It is a massive piece of work,” hewarned. Former parish council chairman


Paul Young said: “You have dealt a blow to the people of Bearsted.We cannot go back to the past, we have to move on. If youwant to go ahead and tender for this, then do it.” The circus pays a commercial rent


to use the Green when it visits and Cllr Ash said it might be possible to ‘hire out’ the Green on a similar basis – but said the council had never dis- cussed the question of cost. Both he and Mrs Connerwere in agreement that any profits raised from the event should be ploughed back into the local community. The council has agreed it will dis-


cuss the viability of residents run- ning an event on the Green in 2016 at a future meeting.


News Tom rows to


silver medal TEENAGER Tom Dixon from Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club (MIRC) has won a silver medal at the British Rowing Indoor Champi- onships. The event at Lee Valley Velo- drome in Lon- don's Olympic Park,was man- aged for the first time by British Row- ing, with teams and individu- als competing in all age groups and


abilities. Tom (13), who attends Valley


Park School in Vinters Park, raced against more than 50 other com- petitors in the Y9 Juniors event. He powered through in the last seconds of the four-minute event to take the silver by one metre with a personal best of 1,123m. The winner of the Y9 Junior event


was Jamie Millington from the City of Oxford Rowing Club, who stormed to gold with a distance of 1152m in four minutes.


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