News Market town


at a premium Continued from page one Prices in Maidstone are sig- nificantly lower than West Malling and Cranbrook, with a typical house selling for £248,000. However, the figure is £26,300 above the county av- erage, which stands at £221,700. Market town is a legal term, originating in medieval times, which means the settlement is distinguished from cities and villages by its right to hold markets, even if it no longer does.


Andy Mason, mortgages di-


rector at Lloyds, said: “Homes in market towns typically com- mand a significant premium over their neighbouring towns.” The survey tracks house


price movements in 13 market towns in England that were identified by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and all have a population of between 3,000 and 30,000.


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Heritage plaques ‘to bring history to life’


A BLUE plaque scheme to remem- ber important West Malling resi- dents and events has been approved, despite one of the signs being described as “a silly bauble”. West Malling Blue Plaques Project


has been granted permission by Tonbridge and Malling Council to mount the 12 plaques on 11 listed sites in the town. The 300mm circles will look simi-


lar to the English Heritage scheme in London but will carry a QR code so that viewers can use a smartphone to connect to a fuller account online of the individual’s story. The list of characters to be com- memorated includes author George Orwell, 11th century Bishop Gun- dulph and artistJMWTurner. Peter Cosier, who is heading the


project said:“West Malling has been home to an outstanding array of ex- traordinary individuals of national importance. The blue plaque scheme will bring these individuals to life.” The proposal is supported byWest Malling Parish Council. It said: “The scheme has been put together by a group of volunteers and will have a


A nod to the past at station


THE plaque for George Orwell will be located at the railway station. The author stayed inWest Malling in


1931 and set many of his works in the area.


Other sites are: Town Hill Cottage,


Town Hill: Brome House and Bel- mont, both in High Street; Went House and Cade House, both Swan Street: Douces Manor and Malling Place, St Leonard’s Street; railway bridge, junction of Swan Street and Lucks Hill.


positive impact on West Malling. Each of the property owners has agreed to the application.” However, the plan provoked an


angry response from one resident who criticised the “absurdly large number of plaques for a small town” and hit out at the suggestion of erect- ing a plaque to Turner who painted The Cascade at St Mary’s Abbey in Swan Street in 1791. The unnamed resident said Turner was neither born inWest Malling nor lived there. The response said The Cascade had


been untouched for 200 years, yet the applicant saw fit “to drill holes in the structure to attach this silly bauble”. It continued that The Cas- cadewas “most certainly not there to be appropriated as some kind of pin- board by ‘transient officials’.” Borough planning official Glenda Egerton felt the plaques would not have a detrimental impact, but would enhance the historic interest of the listed buildings. The Cascade plaque was small and would be sited away from thewaterfall.


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