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News


downsmail.co.uk Lock repair will prevent floods


THEflood risk for Maidstone has been significantly reduced, following more than £3 million of work on the River Medway.


The leaking lock at East Farleigh


has been repaired and should help avoid a repeat of the floods of 2013, when Yalding and Tonbridge were also victims. Itwas the first work on the river at


East Farleigh for more than 100 years and will guarantee trouble-free boat- ing for the next 80 years. The work involved damming and draining the lock, and is part of a wider scheme to improve the river for wildlife and the wider boating community. The project will also in- clude the installation of a new fish and eel pass. But some of the 800 boat owners


who pay up to £300 a year for li- cences are angry that a delay in re- opening the lock means their season – which runs fromApril to October – will be cut nearly in half. Novessels canmove through East Farleigh for 12 weeks, after a struc- tural weakness was found in one of the lock walls by Environmental Agency (EA) workers. Complicated efforts to get a digger


on site to aid the repair work have hampered progress. The lock is not


Richard takes over the lead


at SECAmb RICHARD Foster has been ap- pointed as the new chairman of South East Coast Ambu- lance ServiceNHSFoundation Trust (SECAmb). He replaced Sir Peter Dixon,


who has served in the role for the past 12 months. Mr Foster, who has lived


with his family in Kent and Surrey for more than 25 years, has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors. Hewas chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) between 2001-2007 and began his career at the Depart- ment of Employment in the 1970s. More recently, he has chaired the Criminal Cases Re- view Commission from 2008. Mr Foster said: “I know that


the trust has been through dif- ficult times recently, but I am equally confident that by working together, and by keeping patient need and pa- tient care at the heart of every- thing we do, that we can restore public trust and confi- dence by delivering what we allwant, the best possible pub- lic service.”


4 Maidstone Weald April 2017 Thework on the lock (left) and right, Environment Agencyworkers at the scene


expected to open until June. Mark Smurthwaite (57), of Boughton Monchelsea, is chairman of theMedway River Users Associa- tion (MRUA). He said: “The lockwas in a pretty


poor state andwas leaking badly. If it had failed it could have been cata- strophic for Maidstone and the


water could have swept the town away. “The repair work has been a mas-


sive operation and has involved re- inforcing the river bank near to the train track that runs alongside it. “It’s fantastic to have had this


work done and, although we will lose 12 weeks of boating this year,


the bigger picture is that for the next 80 years, there should be no prob- lems. “It is disappointing that some members of the boating community have demanded a refund from the EA, who spend much more on up- keep than the £200,000 collected in boating licences each year. “I’m disappointed the work hasn’t


been finished by April, as was hoped, but the long-term picture is much more positive. “This is the fourth lock theEAhas repaired and it now means all nine locks on the 38-mile stretch are up to scratch, which is great news.” Maidstone and the Weald MP


Helen Grant, a patron of theMRUA, welcomed the work by the Environ- ment Agency. She said: “It will help to safeguard


a strategic and important part of our river network and I amlooking for- ward to visiting the lock when it re- opens in the summer. “I have been campaigning with


the MRUA for a stronger emphasis and use of the River Medway. It is a key part of our town.”


Author’s latest story is all her own


AUTHOR Molly Poulter has been a force in the Maidstone community for many years, and her new auto- biographical book is a fascinating insight in to what drives her. She describes her book, “Of Such Things”, as the 20th Century recol- lections of an Everyday Woman, 1933-2016”. Molly has packed so much in.


Anyone who lived through the war years in Kent and London will asso- ciate with so many of her dramatic experiences and stories. She was an early beneficiary of


the new 11-plus examination, and one of the few women to go on to university, before becoming an


a very faded oast in Ulcombe. Al- though amother of two and teach- ing in a secondary school in Chatham, she was soon volunteer- ing for village activities. This was to develop into the cam-


paign to build and launch the Heart of Kent Hospice. She became the main organiser to raise £1.3m. When Molly retired at the age of


60 she started raising funds for sev- eral grade I-listed medieval churches in Kent. The story is told in 28 chapters.


archivist in the India Office Library. Molly’s local life started in 1966, when she and husband Bill took on


The book is available from Molly at The Old Dairy, Street Farm, Ul- combe (01622 842988) for £12.50. Review by Dennis Fowle


Concern over plan to move post office


CONCERNS have been expressed about a plan to move the Post Of- fice branch in Staplehurst. The Post Office has announced


plans to move the branch from its current position in the High Street to Station Road. Local people are worried about


the impact this could have on resi- dents who cannot manage the 1.5- mile round trip. It is also felt that the move would


have a detrimental impact on the health and prosperity of the village, particularly after losing NatWest bank and the decision by Sains-


bury’s to abandon plans for a petrol station. There will be a six-week consul-


tation before a decision is made. Resident Robin Oakley posted on


the parish website: “Those of us who have sent in comments to the Post Office about the proposal have now started to receive replies. “The reply which I received did


not convince me that this was any- thing other than a box-ticking exer- cise, rather than a consultation.” Another resident, Roy Barclay,


said: “I would guess it’s the first step towards closing the post office


altogether. It’s the oldest trick in the book – make it difficult to access so that less people use it, then say that demand is falling, therefore it isn’t viable and so yet another facility goes from the village.” MP Helen Grant said: “There is a danger that the spirit of our much- loved villages, like Staplehurst, is being eroded and this is while housing in the area is growing.” The consultation closes on April


28.


It can be accessed at www.postof- ficeviews.co.uk and follow the site to Staplehurst.


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