News
Equestrian plan THURNHAM Parish Council has objected to a part-retrospective plan to change the use of farmland at Silverhill in Caring Lane to equestrian use. Members felt the timber con- struction, which includes a stable, tack room, hay barn and field shel- ter had already grown in size and was not being used for its original intention. Therewere also concerns that itwas being lived in. The application will be deter- mined by Maidstone Council.
School talk THURNHAM parish councillors welcomed news that the head and chairman of governors at Thurn- ham CE Infant School have ac- cepted an invitation to give a brief report at their next meeting. Head Chris James and JohnWale
will join councillors at the Tudor Park, at 7.30pm, on January 18. The public arewelcome to attend.
History date THE first meeting of the Ulcombe History Society in 2016 will be on Tuesday, January 19 at 7.30 pm in Ulcombe Village Hall. Albert Evans’ talk is entitled The English Gentleman: Made in Italy. All are welcome, and wine and light refreshments will be available beforehand.
downsmail.co.uk
Hospice’s three-year plan to improve care
AN ambitious three-year strategy has been launched by the Heart of Kent Hospice to expand and en- hance the service it provides. The strategy, outlined by chief executive Sarah Pugh (pictured) in the charity’s annual review, identi- fies three key areas to take the hos- pice forward. These are:
Innovating – to reach out to more people in more ways with more services; Investing – in the workforce, staff and volunteers to increase income; Influencing – end-of-life care in the wider community by strength- ening relationships with other healthcare workers. During the year, the hospice ap- pointed its first head of outreach and first head of education and de- velopment. It also appointed awel- fare adviser to help patients and their families accesswelfare entitle- ments, easing the financial worry of coping with a terminal illness. Most significantly, it also created
a new role of dementia nurse spe- cialist and, since the post was es-
Town’s tax office set to close in five years
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed its Maid- stone office will close in 2020/21. The office, at Medvale House in
Mote Road, Maidstone currently employs about 200 people. Those still working at the time of closure will have the chance to relocate to one of two new regional centres. The Government’s taxation de- partment isnowmid-way through a 10-year modernisation programme designed to create a tax authority fit for the future. It plans to close 43 offices in the London, South East and East of Eng- land by 2028, while creating regional centres in Croydon and Stratford, East London. William Hague, chief people offi-
cer, HMRC said: “HMRC’s work- force in the area is currently spread throughout 43 offices, many of which are a legacy of the 1960s and 1970s, and range in size from about 2,000 people to fewer than 10. By bringing them together in large, modern offices, equipped with digi- tal infrastructure and training facili- ties, HMRC will support more
skilled jobs and varied career paths up to senior levels with less need to move around the country.” HMRCexpects between 5,000 and
5,300 full-time equivalent employees to work in the Stratford regional cen- tre and 2,500 to 2,800 full-time equiv- alent employees in the Croydon regional centre. There will also be specialist centres
in Worthing and Dover. The reorganisation includes in-
vestment in online services, data an- alytics, compliance techniques and new skills and ways of working to makeit easier for the honest majority of customers to pay their tax and harder for the dishonest minority to cheat the system. Lin Homer, HMRC’s chief execu-
tive, said:“HMRChas too many ex- pensive, isolated and out-dated offices. This makes it difficult for us to collaborate, modernise our ways of working, and make the changes we need to clamp down on the mi- nority who try to cheat the system.” The plans are designed to gener-
ate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.
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www.downsmail.co.uk 12 Maidstone East January 2016
tablished, the hospice has seen a steady increase in the number of dementia patients and their fami- lies coming forward for end-of-life support – 75% more than previ- ously. The nurse not only works with
the patients nearing the end of their life, but also their families and car- ers who have to struggle with their day-to-day care. The hospice’s education and de-
velopment team has already begun influencing end-of-life care in the community and offers courses to teach care workers the methods and skills used in the hospice so
they can apply the same standards in residential homes in the area. The hospice has developed a close working relationship with the Loose Valley Care Centre, where manager Marisa Spice is anxious that her residents receive the best end-of-life care. Of the £5m needed to run the hospice for a year, 28% comes from voluntary and fundraising income, 25% from its charity shops, 21% from gifts in wills and trusts, 20% in grants, 5% from NHS England and a small amount from invest- ment income. Atotal of 28% more patientswere referred to the hospice for end-of- life care during 2014 and the hos- pice now supports about 40% of all patients in the area who die from a life-limiting illness. Mrs Pugh said:“We would like to
thank everyone who supported the hospice this year. Providing excep- tional end-of-life care to patients and their families in our local com- munity who need it most is only possible with your continued and generous support.”
Double success for James
PEGASUS gymnast James Hall (20) has made history in both Great Britain and Germany in the space of twoweeks. Australian-born Jameswas selected as part of theGBteamto compete at
the world championships in Glasgow, which claimed the silver medal. Great Britain has never achieved such a result and the teamhasnowqual-
ified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. After Glasgow, James began train-
ing for the Bundesliga in Germany, where he joined the team represent- ing Monheim of Germany. Monheim wonthe competition for the first time. James performed clean routines in- cluding high-level skills and new ele- ments and connections to carry the teamthrough the event tosuccess.He and his team mates have been asked to take part in the event next year. James first appeared for Team GB at the 2013 Australian Youth Olympic
Festival in Sydney, winning floor gold. Born in Australia, he is a multiple medallist at the Britishand English Championshipsandmadehis senior team debut at the FIGWorld Cup in Glasgow in 2014.
Loery win scamwarning
SHOPPERS in Maidstone have been warned about a scam which has cost one victim £5,000. KCC Trading Standards has re-
ceived a report of an incident in Week Street, when a man and womanused a sob story to convince a shopper to hand over money. The victimwas approached by an
Asianwomanwhosaid she had had a lottery win which she could not claim because her visa had expired. The scam also involved a man, who
appeared to be passing by. The woman sobbed throughout
the scam and claimed her mother was dying and shewanted to see her before she died. The victim’s son said his father
was persuaded to collect the money from his bank. He later realised he had been conned. Anyone who is asked for money
in the street is asked to contact the police on 101 with details and de- scriptions of the people involved.
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