News


‘Wartime’ market closes after 70 years of trading


A GROWERS’ local co-operative which traded successfully in Maidstone for 70 years has become a victim of the times.


Maidstone Country Market cele-


brated its anniversary in April. However, with fewer producers


and customers the market commit- tee could no longer make ends meet. Difficulty parking near the hall


and the pressure on producers to cut costs to compete with nearby cheap supermarkets were factors which led to the market’s demise, according to former secretary Sue Chartier, pictured inset. As producers retired, it became a struggle to replace them. Sue said: “Unfortunately the out- goings became more than the in- come, and even though the hall rentalwas not expensive by today’s standards,we could not make ends meet.” “Although all our produce was home-baked and home-made, shop- pers will only pay so much – espe- cially when they can buy similar things cheaper at a supermarket.” The Maidstone Country Market began in April 1945 with surplus


fruit and vegetables grown as a re- sult of the war effort and soon be- came popular with housewives. Its previous namewas the WI market. Selling cakes and bread, pre-


serves, crafts, plants and local pro- duce long before the trend for farmers’ markets, customers flocked to the Maidstone country market from neighbouring towns. Held in the United Reformed Church Hall,Week Street, one lady said she had been a regular cus- tomer everyweek for 27 years. Sue was a customer in the 1980s,


when she worked at the police sta- tion in Palace Avenue, and became


a producer, selling plants after her retirement in 1993. Aresident of Otham, she also par- ticipates in the Bearsted country market, which she hopes will now benefit from additional custom. The Bearsted market takes place


in the WI Hall, The Street, from 10am to 11.15am each Saturday. Sue said: “The members wish to


thank all their customers and helpers for their support over the years.” Other local country markets can


be found at www.country-mar- kets.co.uk – the next nearest are at Rochester and Tenterden.


Friends’ gift boost to cancer centre


MAIDSTONE Hospital’s League of Friends has donated equipment worth £10,000 for cancer patients. The league presented staff at Kent Oncology Centre with the nasendo- cope and light source to assist with the diagnosis and treatment of pa- tients with head and neck cancer. The department’s head of outpa-


tients, Jayne Goddard said: “We are thrilled to have received a flexible nasendoscope and light source from the League of Friends. It will be of huge benefit to the department and, most importantly, those we care for.


Driving ban


AN EAST Farleigh man who pleaded not guilty to drink driving has been banned from driving by West Kent magis- trates. The court heard that 56-year-


old Shaun Elliot of The Priory, East Farleigh, drove a Mercedes A180 in Dry End Road, Lark- field, and gave a breath test of 69mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. Magistrates banned Elliot


from driving for 40 months. He must also pay a £900 fine, £700 costs and a £90 victim sur- charge.


22 “We can’t thank the League of


Friends enough for their continued support and generosity.” Joyce Langton, chairman of the


The


equipment is handed over to staff at the Kent Oncology Centre


Maidstone league, said: “We are de- lighted to be able to donate this equipment to the department and we hope it will be of great use.”


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Coffee giant is moving in


IF Britain is a nation of tea drinkers, whyis Maidstone’s King Street set to become the coffee capital of Kent? US coffee giant Starbucks has an- nounced it is to open its latest shop in ColmanParade – in direct compe- tition with other leading coffee brands Costa Coffee (opposite) and Caffe Nero (two doors away). The coffee shop will be open from 7am-7pm, in a bid to entice workers at both ends of the day (and from 8.30am-5pm Sundays). It will also offer free pre-bookable meeting rooms with wi-fi as another induce- ment to business customers. The Starbucks will create 20 full


and part-time jobs in the town, 95% of which will go to local people, ac- cording to Leon King, operations manager for Cobra Restaurants, which manages the 15 Starbucks franchises in Kent and Sussex. As well as being home to several independent eateries, King Street also houses the Heart of Flavour cafe bar and deli run by the Heart of Kent Hospice. Now, crepe, waffle and sundae speciality dessert franchise Creams Café is to open in the former Yates Wine Lodge/Ink Bar building at the corner of King Street and Church Street. In Market Buildings, another pop-


ular coffee shop is to change hands. Harper’s, with its distinctivedecor


and style, has been based in the town for more than 22 years, selling glamorous gifts and unusual arte- facts, aswell as coffee and snacks. Proprietor Kate Joy, who has owned the business for eight years, wants to concentrate on business commitments in France, and has sold the outlet. Harper’s has always supported local artists and will con- tinue to feature quirky and unusual pieces. As for the current complement of


coffee in the town? According to Leon King: “There are plenty of cof- fee-drinking customers to go round!”


Metro Bank moves in Student-style


APRIME town centre building has been demolished to make way for a new “hole in the wall”. The former Burger King build-


ing, on the corner of the High Street and Week Street, and its fast food franchise, has been razed to the ground in readiness for another bank. The fast-expanding Metro Bank


is in the throes of redeveloping the site, along with that of the former Peppermint fashion store, to house the latest in its chain of high street banks.


Launched in 2010, Metro Bank was the first new high street


Maidstone South September 2015


bank to open in the UK for 150 years. The branch intends to be open


before Christmas. Meanwhile, Burger King is doing


a roaring trade further alongWeek Street in the former C&H Fabrics building.


Elsewhere, major structural work continues to take place on the buildings that were destroyed and damaged in the blaze that ripped through part ofWeek Street earlier in the summer, meaning scaffold- ing seems set to be a part of the town centre landscape for many months to come.


store to open TOP British design brand Jack Wills has decided to give Maid- stone a go. The student-style fashions will be


going on sale in the former La Senza store in Fremlin Walk for a trial six-month period fromAugust 21, creating 18 full-time and part- time jobs.


Previously, fans of the clothing


chain have had to travel to Bluewa- ter, TunbridgeWells or Canterbury.


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