News Pre-school


must improve A BEARSTED playgroup has been told it must improve on all fronts by a government inspector. The inspector described the Three


Bears Pre-School in The Street as providing a happy and settled envi- ronment for children, whowere po- lite and well-behaved. However, Ofsted’s report noted that the opera- tion as a whole required improve- ment. The inspector said staff failed to monitor children's progress and ac- tivities effectively, meaning they missed opportunities to promote their next steps and spot any gaps in their learning. The report stated: “Management


does not implement an effective sys- tem of staff supervision to improve the consistency and quality of teach- ing for all children.” The report also noted that children


who learned better outdoors were not given a wide range of opportu- nities to develop their curiosity and physical skills. Kate Taylor, from the Three Bears Pre-School, said: “We were disap- pointed at the outcome of the in- spection. We have already taken steps to address the issues involved. We feel confident that the pre-school will be judged to be good when we receive our re-inspection.”


downsmail.co.uk


Bus improvements ‘will not go ahead’


AN11th hour intervention byKCC Cllr Gary Cooke has put paid to plans to improve bus services for the people of Bearsted and Downswood. Residents in Spot Lane, Bearsted,


and Mallards Way, Downswood, were incensed to receive leaflets from KCC highways contractor Amey canvassing opinion on re- moving some of the traffic-calming chicanes. Arriva had thought of re-routing


itsNo8 bus service to give better ac- cess to residents in the Downswood estate, but that would mean remov- ing some of the chicanes which slow down traffic in Spot Lane – some- thing the residents fought hard for. Amey has now been accused of “jumping the gun” and the proposal has been quashed. Cllr Cooke said: “The proposal


was strongly objected to by me as the county councillor and I was as- sured that nothing would be pro- gressed without my support. “Having met with residents, I maintainedmyobjections and these, together with other local representa-


tions, have been reviewed. “I now have confirmation that the scheme is not to be progressed.” Gill Whibley, who lives in Spot


Lane, is among many residents who knew nothing of the proposals until they received the Amey leaflet, ask- ing which of the traffic calming measures they would prefer to see removed. One idea mooted byAmeywas to


remove grass verges to widen the road to accommodate the buses. Mrs Whibley said: “Spot Lane is already used as a rat run and as a resident who has lived here for over 30 years I have seen the amount and speed of traffic in this very small road increase a hundred fold. “This is already a very over-used


road and the residents live in fear of a tragic accident.” Jo Humphrey said: “My family


spent years campaigning for traffic calming on that road back in the 1990s and it is already becoming a rat run because of the congestion nowexperienced through Leeds vil- lage andWillington Street. “Removing the chicanes and re-


placing them with speed humps would totally open up the roads of Spot Lane and Downswood to HGVs, making the appalling traffic situation much worse. “At the bottom, the bridge over the


River Len is not strong enough or wide enough for large vehicles.” The No 8 bus comes into Bearsted


along the A20 and the plan was for it to go down Spot Lane to Downswood, then through the es- tate to Willington Street, Madgin- ford Road, Egremont Road, then back to the top of Spot Lane and out again. Currently, theNo8 only stops in Pennine Way before heading to Madginford shops. Maidstone Joint Transportation


Board received a report that said amendments to traffic calming, to improve bus access in Spot Lane, were “under design”, with consulta- tion expected inAutumn 2015. But Cllr Cooke added: "I can con-


firm that the proposal to effect road changes in Spot Lane to allow the No 8 bus to serve the area with its consequential impact on Mallards Way will not be progressed.”


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