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Lier dumping ground mystery
A COUPLE from Park Wood are calling on Maidstone Council to track the owner of land next to their home and get them to take respon- sibility for its maintenance. Mavis Prior (69) and her 75-year-
old husband Tony have lived in Francis Lane for 30 years, but say for the last five, a three-metre square of grass next to their home has been left unmanaged and has become a dumping ground for bags of dog mess, bottles and rubbish. In recent years the pensioners
have tried to look after the area, but say with their advancing age, and both sons working, the chore is get- ting too much. They have tried to chase up the ownership issue with the county council and Golding Homes, which owns the nearby garages, but both say it’s not them. All indications, say the couple, now point to Maid- stone Council, which they say is listed as the registered owner, at least in 2004. Mrs Prior said: “We are getting
too old to worry about managing this extra piece of land, which does- n’t even belong to us and is littered with unpleasant items. “It’s now time for the rightful
owner to take on the responsibility to keep it clean and tidy and if it is not Maidstone Council, it should find out who is.” The Downs Mail spoke to Maid-
stone Council, which thanked the couple for their community spirit. But in a statement, a spokesman
said: “It’s not immediately clear who owns this small patch of land but we’d be happy to arrange for it to be cleansed regularly.” While pleased with the offer of
help, Mrs Prior says that still does not take care of the ownership issue or the mowing of the grass. She said:“We are minded to put a
fence around it and take ownership of it
ourselves.At least, then, its fu- ture care would be guaranteed. “Perhaps, the council might like
to consider offering us a rebate on our council tax for our effort.”
From left. Nathan Brown and Janice Heale of Bluebird Care, Tracy Jackson from the Heart of Kent Hospice, Clare Mortlock and Laura Wilkinson, both from Bluebird Care
Hospice dementia care boost
DEMENTIA care training at the Heart of Kent Hospice has been given a boost thanks to a community grant froma local health company. The hospice offers dementia
care training for healthcare professionals and carers and the £500 award fromBluebird Care Maidstone means it can buy a “virtual dementia tour”, enabling participants to experience what it is like to have dementia Kerry Harrison, Heart of Kent Hospice’s patient services director
said: “This innovative visualisation tool will enhance and improve the training we provide.” Jade Bray, caremanager at
Bluebird CareMaidstone, said: “Although there were a number of other very worthy charities who applied, the hospice’s application received the highest number of nominations.” Bluebird Care’s next community
grant will be awarded in July. To apply, please contact the team on 01622 618786 or email
maidstone@bluebirdcare.co.uk.
Serial shoplifter goes to jail
A 29-YEAR-OLD man who pleaded guilty to a shoplifting spree in Maidstonewas sentenced to 94 days in prison by Medway magistrates. Douglas Frankham, of no fixed address, admitted five counts of shoplift- ing in the town between February and April. He stole alcohol and food worth £36.94 from a shop in Willington
Street and baby clothes worth £206.93 from a shop in the Royal Star Ar- cade.He stole wine from a shop in Parkwood Parade, Maidstone,on two occasions and wine and milk from a shop inWeek Street. Magistrates sentenced Frankham to 94 days in prison and ordered him to pay an £80 victim surcharge.
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Maidstone Town June 2016 11 FREE TAPAS
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