This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
News


downsmail.co.uk Ramblin’ man will be back


DEBATE continues about the merits of Maidstone hosting the Ramblin’ Man Fair but the organiser of the town’s largest rock concert has confirmed its return on July 23-24 next year


Super Early Bird tickets are al-


ready on sale though no specific acts have been confirmed. Among this year’s festival-goers most com- mentswere positive and tickets for 2016 have been bought. Adrian Powell, who camped out


over the weekend, described the festival as “well organised and en- joyable [with the] right number of people”. Some residentswere not so posi-


tive and Maidstone Council con- firmed it had received 25 formal complaints, a few of which came from residents of Audley House, which had the sound system from the main stage pointed in its direc- tion.


Philip Urquhart, village manager


Pensioner assaulted in robbery bid


AN ELDERLY woman from East Peckhamwas subjected to a terrify- ing ordeal when two balaclava-clad attackers forced their way into her home and tried to rob her. The woman, who was in her 70s,


told them that she had no money, prompting one of the raiders to push her onto a sofa. He then tried to silence her by covering her mouth with adhesive tape, but gave up after the tape became stuck together. The thugs eventually fled empty- handed from the house in Ad- dlestead Road. The menwere described aswear-


ing heavy boots. Onewas about 5ft 6ins tall and the other was about 6ft. The getaway car, a Ford Fiesta which may have had an 06 regis- tration plate, was described as light-coloured, possibly white or silver. The attack happened shortly


after 8.20am after the pair entered the property through a back door. Sgt Stephen Smith said: “Those responsible have subjected an eld- erly woman to a terrifying ordeal. They have rifled through her be- longings and caused a great amount of distress to the victim, who had been in a bathroom when they entered the property. “I would like to reassure resi-


dents thatwe are treating this as an isolated incident and that this type of crime is very rare in Kent.” Anyone with information is


asked to call 01622 604100, quoting reference YY/014950/15 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.


34 Malling September 2015 Strikes delay busy twinning weekend


INDUSTRIAL action at Calais meant 29 French people from Snodland's twin town,Moyeuvre- Grande, had to transfer to Dunkirk for both their journeys on the recent visit. As a result, the civic reception hosted by the town council towel- come the visitors on the 29th an- niversary of the twinning was delayed by two hours. The French visitors stayed in the homes of the


Snodland members of the twin- ning committee, with whom they are pictured. The following day saw a visit to London, where the party watched the Changing of the Guard and enjoyed a boat trip fromWestmin- ster to Greenwich. Committee secretary, Veronica


Tipp, said there was a ride on the Blue Bell Railway from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead on the


Monday with "a beautiful lunch" provided by the railway catering team, followed by a boat trip on Bewl Water. A dinner and dance was held at Snodland Working Men's Club in the evening. Veronica said that if anybody


wanted to be involved with the twinning association they could contact her on 01634 240598 or send her an email at veroni- catipp@yahoo.co.uk.


Traders clean up in town


TRADERS in Twisden Road, East Malling have received certificates for keep- ing their shop fronts clean and tidy for a second year under the Voluntary Litter Code which operates in the parish. Pictured are (back row from left) Harry Siu (Ho Lap Takeaway), Sabin


Sahir (Charcoal Grill), Zahir Hussain (Safron), David Thornewell (chairman, East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council), Dennis Gardner (Tonbridge and Malling Council); (front row fromleft) Sam Baker (One Stop Shop), Stuart Olsson (founder of the litter code), community warden Mandy Harris.


of Audley Mote House, said: “We are aware of some Audley Mote House owners raising concerns re- garding the level of noise and light disturbance that carried on until 11pm… as a management com- panywe also contacted the council on their behalf.” Maidstone Council’s reply to the complaints said: “The environmen- tal enforcement team along with an independent acoustic engineer monitored the sound levels throughout the event. “Although the musicwas audible


in some areas around the park, the sound levels set in the licencewere not breached at any point during the event.” It has promised to monitor this


issue in future and to ensure the emergency hotline for noise com- plaints extends to an out-of-hours service in 2016. Sainsbury’s, near the site, saw a


sales boost from festival-goers, while the Eden Café in central Maidstone saw extra breakfast business on the Saturday from campers at the festival who had en- dured a wet night. HMV in town confirmed increased sales of CDs of some acts who had appeared. Liz Marks, of Downswood, said:


“The noise was extraordinary and relentless…we may as well have been right in the park for the vol- ume we had both days, well in to the night. I had many friends say the same.”


There were few complaints from those who attended the festival


Crossing work


IMPROVEMENTS are to be made to the pedestrian crossing on the Hermitage Lane junction with Fountain Lane in Maidstone as part of a scheme for 80 homes. In November 2014, planning consent was granted for the devel- opment on land south-west of Oakapple Lane. As part of a scheme to improve


safety for pedestrians, the devel- oper has agreed to put £32,480 to- wards a £70,000 plan to upgrade the junction, following a campaign led by Cllr JamesWillis. AMaidstone Council report said


the remainder of the money would be met from “equivalent contribu- tions from other potential develop- ments in the local area.”


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