News
Housing schemes will ‘snarl up Suon Road’
THREE large housing plans on the Sutton Road around the existing Langley Park development (pic- tured) had to be deferred by the council’s planning committee be- cause it spent so long debating the first.
Maidstone Borough Council
(MBC) came in for criticism over the short notice for the meeting on June 30 to decide on a number of items which are in the local plan yet to be considered by a government plan- ning inspector in the autumn. MP Helen Whately said she was “outraged” by the council’s alleged attempts to rush the applications through ahead of the inspector’s de- liberations. Cllr Paul Aplin of Otham Parish Council claimed it might be inter- preted as “a cynical move to have themapprovedbefore they can be ex- amined by the local plan inspector”. Of the three housing plans on the agenda, only land at Bicknor Farm, just off the A274,was examined . This would be the site for 270 houses, requiring a fourtharmoff the new roundabout. CllrAplinwarned if thenewhous-
ing schemes do go forward, roads will be gridlocked at peak times. Traffic is already backingupto Sut-
ton Valence, said Cllr Paulina Stock- ell,andHorseshoe Lane at Langley is barely six feet wide and unable to cope with extra vehicles. “I find this quite unacceptable,” she
said. The council had commissioned its
own consultants who agreed local junctions were over-capacity but claimed measures proposed by the developer would mitigate against this. But a KentCountyCouncil high- ways planner declared: “We are not
satisfied the mitigation will work. Our view is that congestion will get worse.” The June 30 committeewas to con-
sider three applications, totalling more than 1,300 houses on sites off the A274. After debating the first for nearly two hours, the councillors de- cided to call it an evening as it ap- proached 11pm. The two applications not considered were due to be discussed at the town hall as Downs Mail went to press. They were for more than 1,000 houses on land south of Sutton Road and an area north of Bicknor Road.
downsmail.co.uk Mature cheese
has high hope A BLUE cheese produced by a dairy farming family from Staple- hurst is through to the finals of a national food competition later this month. The Kentish Blue Mature, pro-
duced by Steve and Karen Reynolds’ herd at Kingcott Dairy, features in Delicious magazine’s coveted contest, after winning the artisan dairy award in the London and South East regional final. Hailing from a long line of West Country dairy farmers, Steve and wife Karen have taken the Kent dairy farm they bought in 1990 from strength to strength since 2009, and today produce award- winning cheese on the farm along- side milk and cream. Animal welfare is a top priority
for the business, with the family’s pedigree herd of Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian cows grazing out- side eight months of the year. Farming practices such as this sup- port the dairy’s ethos that “happy, healthy cows produce the best-tast- ing milk”. There is also no push for high milk yields from their girls. Steve, Karen and son Frank use
the herd’s unpasteurised milk to produce their characteristic Kentish Blue Mature. which is sold across Kent and the south-east.
Unit 10, The Corn Exchange, Market Buildings, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1HP
f
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