downsmail.co.uk


News £5m spa hotel plan at risk


PLANS to plough £6m into a spa hotel in Maidstone could be scuppered by a fire-ravaged former schoolhouse and the town’s conservation officer.


Entrepreneur and actor Ciaran O’Quigley, owner of Mu Mu’s in Week Street and a director of Mu Mu Experience Ltd, wants to build Kent’s finest five-star spa hotel on waste land at the lower end of Brewer Street, behind St Francis’ RC Church. The 36-bedroomed hotel, com-


plete with a luxury Roman swim- ming pool, 10 treatment rooms, a “livingwall” entrance and a Japan- ese garden, would have the finest Italian marble bathrooms and hand-made furniture and provide 20 jobs. The ambitious ideas for Hotel


Mu Mu incorporate a 1930s piano bar, a 100-cover restaurant, two li- brary-style lounge areas and a retro cinema. The project also includes the renovation of St Francis’ derelict church hall for community use.


The 48-year-old businessman has


been working on the concept with design consultants for almost three years and has the support of the church, his neighbours and several local councillors, as well as the town centre partnership One Maid- stone. However, Maidstone’s conserva-


tion officer Mike Parkinson is against the demolition of the for- mer St Francis’ Church School even though many say it has become an eyesore, having suffered neglect, vandalism, fire, damp and dry rot. Jason Howard at Trash or Treas- ure, which backs onto the site, has


Maidstone, said: “One Maidstone feels that this development would deliver some much-needed en- hancement to the area and that the proposal makes good use of cur- rently disused and derelict proper- ties.” Parish priest Canon Luke Smith


An artist’s impression of the Mu Mu Hotel, planned for Brewer Street, and Ciaran O’Quigley, right


welcomed the scheme. He says the derelict buildings are a constant worry to him, attracting drug-users and vandals. Mr Parkinson has lodged his ob-


jection with the council, saying he fears the development, which would encompass the site of a dis- used dance studio, would harm the heritage of the county town. He considers the old school,


which was badly damaged by fire in September, to be a “non-desig- nated heritage asset”. He says not only should the application require listed building consent, but also ap- proval from English Heritage. Mr O’Quigley says demolition of


the schoolhouse is key to the proj- ect. “The site is landlocked without the removal of this building,” he said. “Tourism plays a massive part in the plans for Maidstone, yet there is currently no high-end ac- commodation in the town centre.


THE catalytic converter was stolen from a Mercedes van parked in a driveway in Mynn Crescent, Bearsted. An Alfa Romeo 147 was scratched in The


Street, Boxley. A Mazda Premacy parked in Cross Keys, Bearsted, was keyed. The number plateswere stolen from a car


in Hayrick Close, Boxley. White paint was poured on the driveway


of a home in Madginford Road, Bearsted. Car keys were taken from a house in


Ploughmans Way, Boxley, and the car was stolen, but later recovered. An iPhone was stolen from a vehicle in Merton Road, Bearsted. An ice cream hutwas broken into in Lock


Lane, Boxley, but nothing appeared to have been taken. Agarage in Chartway Street, Kingswood,


was broken into and tools and a bicycle were stolen. A house in Abigail Crescent, Boxley was broken into and a black Audi A6, registra- tion GJ63 Z** was stolen from the drive. Fencing and benches were damaged in Lenham Heath Road. Climbing equipment was stolen from the Go Ape site at Leeds Castle, Leeds.


This would plug that gap and bring clien- tele who would then spend money in the town – not in the villages on the periphery.” The proposed hotel would sit


next to listed Grove House, the first permanent base for Catholic wor- ship in Maidstone. However, the schoolhouse was added later and carries no listing. Mr Parkinson said: “The loss of


the original school building would, in my opinion, cause harm to the significance of the Grade II* listed building of Grove House by re- moving an important feature of the overall interest of the site as a com- plex of Roman Catholic Church, presbytery and school, the earliest example of such in Maidstone.” Andy Davy, chairman of One


says he believes the hotel would be an asset to the town and that the agreement being drawn up be- tween Mr O’Quigley and the dio- cese would be beneficial to all concerned. Planning committee chairman


Cllr Clive English and Cllr David Naghi are among members who want to see the application dis- cussed in full committee, so that the tourism and regeneration impact can be considered. Cllr Naghi said: "The scheme fits


in perfectly with the regeneration of that end of Week street and Maidstone East station. It will give a ‘wow’ factor and a much needed point of interest to visitors who will be stepping off the train to walk in to town. " Mr O’Quigley said: “It’s simple.


Wewant to take dilapidated build- ings that are a complete eyesore and embarrassment to the county town and turn them in to this luxu- rious hotel and spa, which will help draw in people from all over Eu- rope. “It will be five star luxury at three


star prices. We are hoping to have a bit of London chic here in Maid- stone.”


NeighbourhoodWatch Working to reduce crime. Call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 or local police A wing mirror was stolen from a Honda


Jazz parked in Lenham Heath Road. Fencing was damaged at a field in Scragged Oak Road, Detling. A dark tran- sit-type van was seen at time. Avehiclewas broken into in Burgess Hall


Drive, Leeds. Dieselwas taken from aMANarticulated


lorriy in a lay-by on Detling Hill. Intruders were seen breaking into a con-


tainer on a business site in Coldblow Lane, Thurnham. Cash and silverware was taken during a break-in at a church in The Street, Detling. Therewas an attempt to break in to a shed


in Green Hill, Otham. There was an attempt to break in to out- buildings in Harple Lane, Detling. Jewellerywas stolen from a home inWare


Street, Thurnham. A handbag was taken from a vehicle in Pond Farm Road, Hucking.


A vehicle was driven across the cricket square at The Street, Otham, causing dam- age. Awindowwas smashed at a home in The


Street, Otham. Toolswere stolen in a break-in at a work-


shop in Bimbury Lane, Detling. In a sepa- rate incident, a car parked in front of a barn in Bimbury Lane was damaged in a bid to gain access. Awindowwas smashed on a Renault in a car park in Pond Farm Road, Hucking.


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