News MPbroadband


summit date MP TOM Tugendhat will hold a broadband summit with senior BT officials and residents to press for better speeds inWest Kent. The Tonbridge and Malling MP


said: “My Broadband Summit is a chance to hold BT and all other providers to account. Many com- munities suffer from severely poor speeds and they must all do more to improve their performance. “I hope that many residents can


attend and share their frustrations at the poor performance facing our towns and villages.” The event is at Leybourne village


hall in Little Market Row at 7.30pm on Friday, March 24. It is free to at- tend, but to reserve a place, email tom.tugendhat.mp@parliament.uk or call 01732 441563.


Puppy parlour A FORMER sandwich shop in Snodland has been earmarked as the site of a dog grooming parlour . Malcolm Parmenter has submit-


ted plans to Tonbridge and Malling Council to bring the parlour, which will employ two full time groomers, from Ryarsh to Holborough Road. Hesaid the current business has a clientele of more than 300 pooches, with a large proportion from the Snodland area.


downsmail.co.uk


Glee club singers head for grand final at O2


TEENAGERS from West Malling are full of glee as they head to the O2 this month for a singing showdown. Their Showtime Performing Arts Academy stormed into the national final of a “glee club challenge” with rocking versions ofWest End tunes from musicals Legally Blond and Sweeney Todd. Showtime – comprised of 11 teenagers aged 14 to 17 – formed less than a year ago. Now they head to the Indigo at


The O2 Arena on Sunday, March 19, with £5,000 in prizes up for grabs. A “glee club” is a society for singing part-songs and was made famous by aUS TV show on Chan- nel 4 and Sky set in a high school. The group meets on Saturdays at


The Malling School in Beach Road, under the eye of teacher Katie Kerr, who has appeared in Wicked and Sweeney Todd. She said: “The regional final was


tough, but fortunately most of our students have some experience, de- spite us being a young academy. “It was really good to get


Abandoned dog ‘skin and bones’


THERSPCAis investigatinghowa dreadfully emaciated lurcher was found collapsed on a busy road in Maidstone. The dog,nownicknamed Snoopy,


was so thin that she was mistaken for a pile of rags by the people who discovered her and rushed her to a vet. She is now making a steady re- covery in the care of the charity’s Leybourne Animal Centre. Inspectors were called after the


young female tan dog,was found by passing motorists on Woolley Road, Senacre. RSPCA inspector Rosie Russon


said: “Snoopy was curled up and collapsed in the kerb of the busy street when shewas found. “The people who found her said


they at first mistook her for a pile of rags, shewas so still, and they had to swerve to miss her. “Thankfully they realised in time


and kindly rescued her and took her to a nearby vet, who called us the next day. “She is extremely thin – almost


skin and bones – and weighing just 10 kilos rather than the 16 kilos which would have been a healthy


12 Malling March 2017


weight for her size. “No medical condition has been


found, so this emaciation seems to be due to not being fed. She also had injuries to her tail which are consis- tent with being caged in an enclosed space. “She is very young –we think less


than two years old – and has clearly had a very sad start in life, but she is regardless such a sweet, friendly lit- tle thing. She seems to making a good recovery, although there is al- ways a danger of organ failure in dogs, so we are keeping a close eye on her.” Anyone with any information


should call the RSPCA’s inspectorate line on 0300 123 8018.


through, and we can’t wait to per- form at the O2 Arena.” The Academy is recruiting and


offers a free trial. Visit www.show- timepa.com Celebrity judges attending the O2


final include TV andWest End per- formers John Partridge, EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite and X Fac- tor finalist Brenda Edwards. Tickets for the grand final cost £13 from www.theO2.co.u


Leisure centre’s accolade


LARKFIELD Leisure Centre is among the top performing leisure centres in the UK, one of just 12 in the country to have been rated outstanding by the leading quality assessor for sport and leisure. More than 650 leisure centres are registered with Sport England’s


Quest scheme, but only a dozen have achieved its toughest assessment. The centre is


run by charitable organisation Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust (TMLT) on behalf of Tonbridge and Malling Council. Tonbridge Swimming Pool, which is also run by TMLT, achieved the accolade in 2015, and now Larkfield has followed suit. The Quest scheme was devised to ensure that sports and leisure


From left, Kirstin Brimsted, general manager at LLC; Alan Nicholl, chair of TMLT and Maria Heslop, TMBC Cabinet Member for Community Services


centres continuously improve tomeet the needs of their customers and staff, based on hygiene, health and safety, quality of programmes and general service. Martin Guyton, chief executive of TMLT, said: “This is a huge


achievement; two of our three leisure centres now form part of a handful of outstanding ranked sites in the UK. This success is due to the commitment of everyone involved at TMLT and most importantly, the front line staff, delivering our services. ” Changing rooms at the centre have just been given a £92,000


makeover, including an air handling system, improved flooring and new changing room doors. New lockers are being installed.


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