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Fears of drones used to ‘snoop’ on homes


Playscheme A SUMMER playscheme from July 24 toAugust 4 will be held this year at Roseacre School, The Landway, Bearsted. Running from 9am to 1pm on


weekdays, the hugely-popular scheme will offer a sports day, themed dressing up, arts and crafts, library visits, cake decorating, pic- nics on the school field and the now- famous talent show. The event can be booked online at www.eventbrite.co.uk by searching for Bearsted Summer Playscheme. The event will cost £8.55 per session. It could not be staged at Madgin-


ford primary school this year as there was a possibility of work being carried out to the school field on those dates.


Lights delay CONCERNS have been raised about the phasing of traffic light se- quencing at the Willington Street and Madginford Road junction. When the pedestrian crossing is


activated, the Madginford Road traffic has to wait for two phases of Willington Street traffic to pass. Kent County Council says it has


no plans to alter the sequences as Madginford Road and Mote Park are considered side roads and com- bining Madginford Road and pedestrian phases together would cause even longer delays toWilling- ton Street.


Aendance CLLR Richard Ash reported to the council that the annual general meeting of the Kent Association of Local Councils had been “very poorly attended”. Cllr Ash said that two parish council members are allowed on the cross-party and multi-authority joint transportation board (JTB). He told members that a police


PCSO must show up “at least once every three (parish council) meet- ings”. He added: “It’s part of their job to


turn up.” This page is sponsored and edited by:


Bearsted Parish Council www.bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk


28 Maidstone East July 2017 Carnival amagical time


BEARSTED Green was awash with colour and joy when the 38th annual carnival and fayre took place on June 24. The theme of this year’s even


was the “Magic of the Musicals” with a colourful parade of pen-


guins, cats and characters from the Jungle Book. Pictured here are Pat Marshall,


left, president of the carnival and fayre committee with June Wilkins, who is vice chairman of the committee.


CONCERNS have been raised that criminals may be using drones to snoop on properties in Bearsted. Borough councillor Mike Cum-


ing is worried after reports from neighbouring wards that the un- manned devices are being used to “case” the affluent properties in the parish. Thematterwas raised at the June meeting of Bearsted ParishCouncil. Cllr Cuming told members: “A concern raised by residents – not in this ward but in two others nearby within this borough – is that drones have been ‘snooping’ around pri- vate properties. “I raised this issue with the com-


munity safety unit in Maidstone House. They said the CSU could not do anything about the drones, but if any resident has this prob- lem, they should dial the non- emergency police 101 number. “It could be innocent but then


again, it could be ‘casing the joint’.” Cllr Cuming was aware that a permit was required to fly a drone below a height of 120m. Community warden Sally


Williams reported that she was aware of an incident in Bearsted last summer.


Officers had been trialling the unmanned aerial vehicles since 2015, and consulted with other forces to identify the benefits of drones. They have been in use since June


6, and will help officers locate vul- nerable missing people before they come to harm. They will also be used at some


crime scenes and at serious road traffic collisions to provide officers with a better understanding of the terrain and evidential opportuni- ties.


Cable issues


CABLEwork byVirgin Media’s con- tractors in Bearsted continues to cause headaches. The parish council has received complaints about works from Mc- Nicholls leaving piles of rubble, sand and materials in inconvenient places. Others say that driveways have


been blocked. A Virgin Media spokesman said:


“Aswe continue to expand our fibre network to bring faster broadband and better entertainment to the area, we endeavour to minimise disrup- tion for the local community. “We are aware of concerns raised


by residents and are working hard to resolve these as soon as possible.”


Mike’s panels BOROUGH councillor Mike Cum- ing has retained the committees he has been serving on – including the Joint Transportation Board and democracy committee – but has added the audit, governance and standards committee.


Bench tribute to cricketer


AMEMORIALbench has been in- stalled on The Green at Bearsted in memory of the Kent cricketer and villager David Sayer, who died this year aged 80. Mr Sayer, who lived in Roseacre


Lane, Bearsted, won his county cap in 1962, but retired from the first class game six years later. He went on to play for Mote CC.


In 1976, he was recalled to the county team aged nearly 40, 3,277 days after he had stepped away from the first class game, when Kent suffered a bowler shortage. He had a first-class pedigree,


with 613 wickets from 33,482 balls at an average of 23.48. Cllr Geoff Bennett announced the installation of the bench.


Council Office: Madginford Hall, Bearsted Telephone: E-Mail: Chair:


01622 630165


clerk@bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk Fiona Redman


MEETINGS HELD SECOND TUESDAYOFMONTH (7.30PM) AND THE PUBLIC IS VERY WELCOME


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