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Thurnham Parish News
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Reprieve for play area but future still unclear
THURNHAMParish Council is de- lighted to hear that Maidstone Council has listened to campaigners and councillors who have fought to keep the village play area open. Chairman Cllr Daniel Skinner
Meetings normally held on the third Monday of each month at the Marriott Tudor Park Hotel. Publicwelcome.
CHAIRMAN:Daniel Skinner CLERK: Sherrie Babington 01634 867173
Next meeting
THURNHAM Parish Council next meets on Monday, March 21. The meeting, at the Marriott
Tudor Park Hotel, Ashford Road, Thurnham, starts at 7.30pm. Residents are invited to attend
and ask questions during the public session at the start of the meeting. Items on the agenda will in-
clude the latest planning applica- tions for the area, a report from the PCSO and updates from the borough and county councillors.
said Maidstone Council had con- firmed the playground in Peverel Drive will not be closed. Maidstone Council has also confirmed it has the £59,275 – pledged by a devel- oper as part of a planning settlement - to replace the play equipment, the fences and safety surface. The new play area will be ready
by the school summer holidays. Cllr Skinner said: “Maidstone Council has listened to the commu- nity, changed its mind, and will now renovate the much-loved play area. We never understood why they wanted to close such a well- used play area and save others that are not nearly as popular, but de- lighted it will now be kept open.” He said the parish council will
work with the borough council to secure the play area’s long-term fu- ture, adding: “The Concurrent Functions Grant previously pro-
vided money that we could have used for such a purpose, but that was withdrawn by Maidstone Council a few years ago.” MP Helen Whately, who backed
the campaign to keep the play area open, was among those who wel- comed the news. She said: “Parents have been campaigning against the closure of the Peverel Drive play- ground for years and I’m so pleased their hard work has paid off. “Maidstone Council has promised
the improved playground will be ready for the summer, and I will keep them to that. The money only covers maintenance for the next five years so there is more to be done to secure the long-term future of the play area and I will make sure we can keep this play area open.” Eleana Keefe and Abbie Lowther, who co-ordinated the local cam-
Protestors campaign for the future of the play area
paign to save the play area, wel- comed the borough council decision to rebuild the playground, butwere disappointed by the lack of commit- ment to its long-term future. The campaign group says it will con- tinue to lobby the borough council. In a statement to Thurnham
Parish Council, the group pledges: “We look forward to seeing a clear plan and dates for the rebuild. We would also like Maidstone Council to explain why, in spite of having agreed to the expense of a new play area they do not value this commu- nity resource enough to guarantee its upkeep for future generations. “Through the next consultation
we will campaign for the play area to be put on the strategic list, to guarantee its future, given the in- vestment Maidstone Council has committed.”
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*Just past Pizza Hut on the right All of our staff are highly experienced. Maidstone East March 2016 25
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