News
downsmail.co.uk Jobs at risk asADL looks to move
DOZENS of jobs in Marden hang in the balance after Maidstone Council refused planning permis- sion for theWaterside Park devel- opment.
Marden-based Automotive Dis- tributors Limited (ADL) – now Fer- dinand Bilstein UK – says it can no longerwait for premises in the bor- ough and has had to take its search elsewhere. Although it will be several years
before the companymoves, it has al- ready outgrown its base on the Wheelbarrow Park in Pattenden Lane and the search for a new site is now a matter of urgency. ADL, along with Marden busi- ness ScarabSweepers Ltd,was hop-
ing the council would grant landowner Gallaghers consent to develop the land south of the A20, near J8 of the M20, into a business andwarehouse park. But with two applications refused
last year and an appeal due in May, the company says time has run out. Nathan Wise, senior marketing co-ordinator for Ferdinand Bilstein UK, said:“We can no longer commit to Waterside Park and are looking elsewhere.” He confirmed the company was looking at two sites in Kent, but nei- ther of them are in Maidstone. He said: “Obviously, a move of
just 20 minutes further away can have a fall-out on staff either way.
Everything is quite speculative and the company is not saying a great deal as it can be unsettling for the workers.” ADLbegan planning itsmove five
years ago and says its plans arenow well behind schedule. It is understood that Scarab still wishes to move to Hollingbourne, where it now hopes to be the first tenant on the new development, should the appeal be successful. Opponents of the plans forWater-
side Park include Kent County Council, local parish councils, Leeds Castle, CPRE, and former MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, Sir Hugh Robertson. The Labour, Liberal Democrat
Tom rows hisway to British silver medal
TEENAGERTomDixon from Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club (MIRC) has won a silver medal at the British Rowing Indoor Championships. The event at Lee Valley Velodrome in London’s Olympic Park, was managed for the first time by British Rowing, with teams and individuals competing in all age groups and abilities. Tom (13), who attends Valley Park
School in Vinters Park, raced against more than 50 other competitors in the Y9 Juniors event. Hepowered through inthe last seconds
of the four-minute event to take the sil- ver by a metre with a personal best of 1,123m. The winner was Jamie Milling- ton from the City of Oxford Rowing Club, who stormed to gold with a dis- tance of 1,152m in four minutes.
and Conservative parliamentary candidates for the seat at the Gen- eral Election on May 7 have op- posed the plans. Previous plans to develop Junc-
tion 8 of theM20have been success- fully opposed on a number of occasions over the last 20 years. However, residents fear that if
Waterside Park is allowed to pro- ceed, it will be more difficult to op- pose a second 395,000sqft development by Roxhill on the other side of the A20. More than 200 staff are employed
at the Marden depot of Ferdinand Bilstein UK, which was a finalist in the 2014 Kent Excellence in Business Awards.
Flats plan agreed
PLANNING permission was granted to replace a former vehi- cle repair workshop with three flats at 23 Cross Street, Maidstone. A similar scheme was refused in
November 2013 but the revamped design satisfied Maidstone Coun- cil because it includes a reduced depth and height – reducing the impact on 55 Hardy Street.
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