March/April 2017


Serving local people, businesses & events in Addington, Birling, East Malling, Kings Hill, Larkfield, Leybourne, Mereworth, Offham, Ryarsh, Trottiscliffe, West Malling


Cutlery gift will help patients


CLLR Trudy Dean, Liberal Democrat Kent County Councillor for Malling Central, visited Heart of Kent Hospice at Aylesford, following funding from her KCC member’s grant, where she was delighted to meet with the chief executive, Sarah Pugh and some of her colleagues.


The grant of £1,246 was given specifically to buy equipment for the hospice which would help people with terminal illnesses to remain active and independent at home for as long as possible.


Cllr Dean learnt how new exercise equipment would help people whose illnesses had caused them to lose mobility. Through supervised exercise sessions at the hospice, patients could rebuild muscle tone so they could once again climb their stairs at home, or go out to meet friends without assistance.


The grant also funded a Kings Assessment Kit which, with over 30 modular pieces of cutlery and handles, enables nursing staff to assess the needs of each patient so they can find the most practical and


comfortable way of eating unaided.


Sarah (pictured with Cllr Dean) explained: “From a very early age, being able to feed ourselves is something we take completely for granted. But when that becomes a struggle because of poor mobility, it can feel as if we’re losing our most basic level of independence.


“We’re extremely grateful to Trudy Dean


and KCC for this generous grant and what it will mean to our patients in helping them stay independent for as long as they can.”


Sarah also took the opportunity to discuss the hospice’s funding challenges and its reliance on the local community for its ongoing support. On hearing about the “Get Behind Heart of Kent Hospice” campaign, Mrs Dean pledged to do as much as she could to help raise awareness of the hospice’s need to raise an additional £600,000 to help secure its long-term future for the people of this community.


Heart of Kent Hospice is an independent charity which provides end of life care, for free, to local people and their families. Out of every £5 spent on patient care, £4 is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and 91p of every pound donated is spent on caring for patients. To find out more, visit www.hokh.org


Can you help your community?


Malling Action Partnership is looking for a volunteer treasurer on retirement of the current post holder. MAP became a registered company in 2012 and supports community groups and businesses in and around West Malling by pump priming events with small amounts of money, equipment or promotion, or applying for grant funding on their behalf. MAP has also been successful in attracting a number of grants from Government, the Lottery, KCC and others to fund local projects. A recent success has been the Return to Work courses delivered at the East Malling Centre. The treasurer’s job is very straightforward with rarely more than 30 transactions in a year. The board meets six monthly to agree new projects and review any delivered during the year.


If you are interested please ring 01732 843119 for further details.


Leybourne Park gets new Neighbourhood Watch


Firstport Property Services, the estate management company at Leybourne Park, Larkfield, is helping in setting up a new Neighbourhood Watch scheme for residents. Anna Mercer will be contacting residents shortly to explain the scheme and ask for volunteer helpers. New Neighbourhood Watch Signs are being erected.


A number of local issues were discussed at a meeting on March 10 Beverley Horn of TMBC explained that household rubbish bags left outside the store or not placed inside the bins means the borough council vehicle cannot remove it and rubbish remains uncollected. County Cllr Trudy Dean also raised the issue of security as several of the door keypads do not work, and indoor and outdoor post boxes had been vandalised. Anna gave assurances these issues would be dealt with. Stuart Olsson, coordinator of Larkfield Neighbourhood Watch suggested the successful voluntary litter code should be adopted, and Cllr Dean agreed to contact the bus company about idling vehicles leaving engines running in New Hythe Lane. Anna also advised that tenants will shortly face penalties if they breach the restrictions on numbers of vehicles allowed per household. PCSO Suzi Leng also attended the meeting.


A Malling Action Partnership publication


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