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Bales ahead at county elections


TWO seats up for grabs at next year’s Kent County Council elec- tions have sparked an internal battle within the Conservative Party. Five candidates are vying for the Maidstone rural eastseat, held by Jenny Whittle, of Bearsted,whenshe steps down from Kent County Council. Four are local while the other is from Swale. Headcorn borough councillors at Maidstone town hall Shellina Pren- dergast and Martin Round have thrown their hats in to the ring, as have Cheryl Taylor-Maggio of Lan- gley Parish Council and Anne Southern, of StockburyParishCoun- cil. The Swale contender is council- lor Nicholas Hampshire. Mrs Whittle has decided to step


aside for personal reasons. At the 2013 election, she topped


the poll with69%of the vote. Labour came second with 14%. Cllr Prendergast is considered to


be a front-runner for the seat. In Maidstone south east, Conser-


vative Gary Cooke has a majority of less than 300, but faces competition from at least two others. He faces an even bigger threat if


o Gary Cooke and Cheryl Taylor-Maggio


Ukip stands a candidate – widely be- lieved to be borough councillor Eddie Powell – in 2017. A big Ukip vote might split the


Tory vote, but equally it could affect the second placed Labour Party in blue-collar areas of Maidstone. If Cllr Cooke fails to be selected as


his party’s candidate, he has prom- ised to stand as an independent. Cllr Cooke is regarded as a hard- working and diligent member who has spoken up regularly against the borough council’s house building programme and the need for a by- pass to alleviate traffic issues in the Leeds/Langley areas. The issues of housing, traffic and schools are bound to be among the major topics in both KCC divisions at next May’s polls.


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Locals to take over village pub Continued from page one


“The village is an incredible source of home-grown talent and someone has already agreed to be the licensee if the sale goes through. The local pest control officer, fire officer and planning consultant have all offered to help.” He says the pub remains remarkably untouched inside, with the present owners having lived upstairs. He said: “It’s a bit like walking on to the Mary Celeste, with the bar and


all the pumps still downstairs. As landlords,we will obviously need to spend somemoney bringing the building up to standard, with facilities like a dis- abled toilet, but it is all very achieveable and we hope it will be open in time for Christmas.” LeilaWaremoved toUlcombe 12 years ago and is among the many vil-


lagers delighted that The Harrow Inn looks set to take on a new lease of life. She said: “There’s nothing else in the village, so this is great news.” Mrs Whately, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, said: “I know commu- nity-run shops and tea rooms are doing well in other villages. Getting The Harrow going again, along with a tea room and shop, would give people a place to gather in that part of Ulcombe and useful supplies - so I can see it would be a real benefit to the village. “I’m keen to support the plan and congratulate everyone involved for taking the initiative and getting this far.”


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