News
Lock repair to prevent floods
THE flood risk for Maidstone has been significantly reduced, follow- ing 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 East Peckhamwas also hit. 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 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 expected to open until June. Mark Smurthwaite, of Boughton Monchelsea, chairman of the Med- way River Users Association, said: “The lock was leaking badly. If it had failed, it could have been cata- strophic for Maidstone. “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 thiswork
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 problems. “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 byApril, but the long- term picture is much more positive. “This is the fourth lock theEAhas repaired and all nine locks on the 38- mile stretch are up to scratch.”
downsmail.co.uk REVIEW: Molly’s story
AUTHORMolly Poulter has been a force in the Maidstone community for many years, and her new autobiographical 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 EverydayWoman, 1933-2016”. Molly has packed so much in. Anyone who lived through the war years
in Kent and London will as- sociate with so many of her dramatic experiences and stories. She was an early benefi-
ciary of the new 11-plus ex- amination, and one of the few women to go on to uni- versity, before becoming an archivist in the India Office Library. Molly’s local life started
in 1966, when she and hus- band Bill took on a very faded oast in Ulcombe. Al- though a mother of two and teaching in a second- ary school in Chatham, she was soon volunteering for village activities. This was to develop into
the campaign 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. The book is available from Molly at
The Old Dairy, Street Farm, Ulcombe (01622 842988) for £12.50. Review by Dennis Fowle
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14 Malling April 2017
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