News
downsmail.co.uk Royal honours announced
LOCAL people have been celebrating being named in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list. Of this year’s 1,196 recipients, 76%
have undertaken “outstanding work in their communities”. In the Maidstone area they are: Vanessa Jones, chairman of Bred-
hurst Parish Council and co-founder of the Bredhurst Woodland Action Group, receives a British Empire Medal for service to woodland man- agement and her community. Vanessa (53), who lives with her husband Martin in the house in which she grew up in Bredhurst, thanked villagers for throwing her a surprise party and for the many messages and cards of congratula- tions she has received. She will become the second in her household to hold a BEM when she receives it from The Viscount De L’Isle – Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieu- tenant of Kent – at Penshurst Place in the summer, ahead of her audi- ence with the Queen. She said: “I only learned lastweek
that my husband’s grandfather Morgan Thomas received aBEMfor driving ambulances through the Blitz in London during WorldWar II. So, I’ll be keeping up a family tra- dition.” George Batts (90), from Barming,
who will be made an MBE for his voluntary service towar veterans.A
Vanessa Jones, Craig Vidler, George Batts and Venessa Willms have all been honoured
veteran of theNormandy Landings, George became the national secre- tary and treasurer of the now-dis- banded Normandy Veterans’ Association and spent many years organising pilgrimages to France to remember The Fallen in the D-Day conflict. His voluntary work has also included compiling an archive of eye-witness accounts from the battlefields and assisting with civic visits, for which he received an award from Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014. VenessaWillms, fromMaidstone,
will beawarded anOBEfor services to education. The director of pri- mary education for Ark Schools
said: “Over the past nine years at Ark, including seven as the found- ing principal at King Solomon Academy, I have worked with tal- ented teachers and senior leaders to provide every child with the tools they need to go to university or pur- sue a career of their choice.” Craig Vidler receives a BEM for services to charity. The 69-year-old, who lived near Mote Park in Maid- stone throughout his early years, has raised money for charities such as the Royal Marsden and more than £500,000 for the Retail Trust with an annual fly-fishing event over the last 28 years. The former Maidstone Grammar
schoolboy, who built a hugely suc- cessful career in retailing and re- cruitment, said: “I’m delighted to have been able to give something back and help some of its people who have fallen on hard times.” Craig, who met and married his
wife of 46 years while working in South Africa, returned with Mar- jorie and their daughter Claire to Maidstone in 1971 and lived in Loose and for a short time in Leeds village. The couplenowlive near Ashford
but are regular visitors to the area, particularly Bearsted. Craig remains a founding partner of a mentoring service for the over-55s.
Sporting fees Village shop hopes boosted
SPORTS clubs face higher Maid- stone Council charges in 2016-17 with football, rugby, tennis and bowls clubs needing to pay about 5% more. Asingle let for a football pitch will increase from £57.60 to £60.50, dis- counted to £50.50 for 10 or more lets (£20 for juniors). Rugby increases £5 to £65.50 for
single lets and £53 for 10 or more lets. Adult single tennis court hire goes up 40p to £8.40 an hour. Bowls costs increase by about 5% and use of changing rooms/showers will in- crease by almost 12% to £20 a time. Charges also increase for bookings
in council parks and Jubilee Square and for cemetery costs.
Heating fire
A FIRE at a house in Grove Green Road, Grove Green, is thought to have been caused by under-floor heating. The fire caused smoke-log- ging throughout the house. There were no reported casualties.
Chimney blaze
FIREFIGHTERS were called to a fire in Hill Crescent, Lenham in- volving a chimney flue connected to a wood-burning stove. Crews re- movedthe stove and put out the fire.
VILLAGERS in Detling look set to get their much-hoped-for “commu- nity hub” in the coming months. A steering committee formed by villagers keen to set up a shop and post office have had their idea taken up by the new tenants at their local, The Cock Inn. Tony and Kim Donohue have de-
cided not only to run the pub, but to turn the nearby garage into a shop and post office. They also hope to run a cafe in the pub dur- ing the winter and outside the shop in the warmerweather. Greene King, which owns the pub, has agreed the tenants may
apply to convert the garage. The Community Shop Steering Committee, which has carried out a huge amount of work to get a shop back in the village following the closure of the last retail outlet in 2011, has recommended the parish council allow the four to take up the initiative. Resident Richard Finn, who has
been active in getting the idea off the ground, will be sharing the steering group’s research with the publicans and has urged Mr and Mrs Donohue to source as much produce as they can locally and en- deavour to hire staff, if needed,
from the village. Steve Thomas, who was also on
the steering committee but left the pub on January 18 after three years as licensee, said he was disap- pointed not to have been offered an extension to his tenancy, which would have allowed him to take forward the idea of developing a not-for-profit store run by volun- teers, which the group hadwanted. Mr Finn said: “If Mr and Mrs Donohue can make it a success as a commercial enterprise then vil- lagers will have got what they wanted and we hope that they can.”
Borough facing cuts as grant is slashed
SWINGEING Government cuts have left Maidstone Council facing a financial dilemma. Chancellor George Osborne an- nounced in his Autumn Statement that he would be phasing out the revenue support grant (RSG). The aim is for local authorities to be self- financing by the end of the decade rather than relying on central gov- ernment grants. However, it was recently an- nounced that the grantwas to be cut this year and axed in 2016/17.
Cllr Richard Ash said: “We were
told the grant would be phased out. My understanding of ‘phased’ is gradual – not a reduction this year, then nothing at all the next. “We were left with just three months to make another £628,000 of savings. By 20/21,we will need to be saving £1,319,000.” Cllr Ash said the council would,
for the first time inmany years, have to consider borrowing. Council leader FranWilson said: “This announcement has put un-
precedented pressure on our budget for at least four years.” The council is challenging the gov- ernment ruling but in the meantime it is looking at otherways of making savings and increasing income. It has already introduced parking charges at Mote Park. The creation and leasing of its business terrace at the Maidstone Gateway is another newway of raising revenue. The policy and resources commit-
tee will look more closely at where savings can be made.
Maidstone East February 2016 23
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