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‘Garish’ signs removed from residential home


HUGE blue and white signs erected outside Barty House old people’s home in Bearsted have been taken down after complaints about their appearance. The removal of the boards at the Roundwell residential centre follows concerns from residents and the parish council who described them as “garish” and “out of keeping” with the listed building and the area. A retrospective planning applica-


tion put in by Canford Healthcare, which owns the 57-bed care home, was subsequently refused. A spokesman for the home ex- plained that itwas thought the new boards were like-for-like replace- ments. However, Maidstone Bor- ough Council has confirmed permission for themwas needed. An MBC spokesman said: “Can-


ford Healthcare putupthe signs, but because of complaints received, sub- mitted a request for retrospective planning approval. However, this was refused. “We have no record of a fresh planning application having been re- ceived byMBCat present.”


A spokesman for Barty Homes


said: “We have now removed the Barty House Nursing Home sign as advised by the council. “We are now seeking planning permission before erecting the sign again, to ensure the size is approved. “We have also taken note regard-


ing the design, and thenewsign will have a softer tone and be more in- keeping with the environment.We hope to have a new sign in place in the next few months.” Borough councillor Denis Spooner, a former chairman of


Cllr Denis Spooner at Barty House, where the controversial blue signs have been temporarily replaced with more muted canvas signs


Bearsted Parish Council, said he had been very unhappy with the size and look of the previous blue and white “bill boards”, adding: “I very much hope that if Barty House does intend to replace the signs they will do so with the proper permissions.” In April, parish councillor Tony


Ryan said: “This is a commercial en- terprise and they are there to make money. They have put up these signs and then retrospectively made an application for permission. “They are twice the size of the old signs and they just don’t look right.”


News


Fight to save NatWest lost


THE NatWest bank in Bearsted has shut for business, despite months of campaigning to save it from closure. The branch shut in early June


and the ATM was immediately decommissioned. It brings to an end many decades of banking in Bearsted, with the Lloyds branch that once stood on the opposite side of the A20 closing many years ago. A petition by local residents


and intervention from MP Helen Whately failed to persuade NatWest of the benefit to cus- tomers of keeping the well-used branch open. One business user said: “I am disappointed by NatWest’s deci- sion to remove this vital service from the village; to make use of the bank’s suggested alternative options is incredibly inconven- ient and I will be looking to take my business elsewhere.” The move by NatWest – part of


the RBS group – follows the clo- sure, in recent years, of branches in Marden, Coxheath, Lenham, Snodland, Headcorn and Staple- hurst. It has repeatedly blamed chang-


ing banking habits for closing branches.


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