News


Hall waits for permanent fix


A LACK of fundsmean that essen- tial repairs to a community hall in Snodland will only be carried out as a temporarymeasure. The Project Committee at Christ Church Community Hall,


in


Malling Road, is trying to raise £250,000 for thework. In the meantime, the Parochial


Church Council has stepped in to ensure that a fix can be put in place to keep the facility open. Subsidence on the south side of


the building has been caused by rotting timbers. A plan drawn up to replace the


timbers has been approved by the surveyor which will add several more years to the life of the hall.


Talent contest


ENTRIES are being sought for a Tal- ent showinAylesford inMarch. St Peter and St Paul’s Church are


organising the event, which will be held at 7.30pm on Saturday March 17. It promises to be an evening of


“home-grown fun and entertain- ment”, with both children and adults taking to the stage. The event will help raise funds to


support thework of the church. Wannabe stars shouldcontactRev


Jonathan Hall on 01622 717434 or email


btinternet.com. Geingmessy


MESSY church is coming toWater- ingbury. It will happen at St John the Bap-


tist on Saturdays until February 3 and is aimed at children up to the age of eight. The sessions give “light touch”


Christian teachings with lots of messy and not-so-messy activities and each session ends in tea. Messy church happens between 3-


5pm. For more details call Ruth Dunn on 01622 812342.


Garage blaze


FIRE crews spent more than two hours tackling a fire which tore through a garage and damaged the roof. The Kent Fire and Rescue Service


was sent to JennerWay on January 3 at around 8.30pm. Three engineswere used to tackle


the blaze. Therewere no casualties. The adjacent house suffered some smoke damage.


Popular lunch


AROUND 35 people attended a lunch aimed at helping people who are lonely. It was arranged by Aline Ongley


and volunteers fromSt Peter and St Paul’s church inAylesford at held at the Brassey Centre in Station Rd.


4 Malling January 2018 vicarofaylesford@


downsmail.co.uk


Golf course could get big bunker next door


APUBLIC meeting has been called over a proposal to turn farmland near WestMallingGolf Club into a giant ‘sand bunker’. The 12-hectare site - backing on to


the course - has been shortlisted as a potential sand pit in the county council’s latest reviewofKent’smin- erals extraction plan. The area, off RoughettsRoad, inRyarsh, is saidto contain 3.6million tonnes of soft and silica sand reserves. The site is one of twopossible sites


suggested as an additional source for this particular sand, with the other at Lenham. The county council says the


Ryarsh quarry couldmake a signifi- cant contribution to Kent’s require- ments for soft sand, in light ofKent’s building programmes. In its overall assessment of the site, itnotes: “there are no constraints which cannot be overcome by appropriate mitiga- tion”. It is proposed that the site would


be in operation for 24 years, produc- ing 150,000 tonnes a year, after which it would be returned to farm land – a process taking another five years. But Ryarsh residents say the area


– which extends to the golf course and out towards theA20 andM20 - is just south of theKentDownsArea of OutstandingNatural Beauty; tra- versed by footpaths; and traffic would be an issue. So much so,


The area in red could become a huge ‘sand bunker’ if the proposals, which the public can comment on untilMarch, get the go-ahead


Ryarsh Parish Council has called a publicmeeting on January 29, in the villagehall, at 8pm, tohear their con- cerns. Parish council chairman David


Storey says villagers are naturally ‘panicked’ by the suggestion, as the area has been subject to extensive quarrying. Indeed, there is a former quarry behind his house in Work- houseRoad,which is nowthe site of 93 newhomes. He added: “I understand the


county council has a legal obligation to provide building resources such as this.However, the parish council will represent the concerns of vil-


lagers, particularly those regarding access to the site, which at the mo- ment would appear to be off Roughetts Road on to theA20.” West Malling Golf Club was un-


willing to comment before learning more about the scheme. County councillor Sarah Hohler


has askedfor aKCCofficer to attend the publicmeeting. She stressed: “This is just a sug-


gestion and these events are impor- tant for the public to learnmore and to offer their valuable feedback on such ideas.” The public has until March 29 to


comment. RBLI expands with Scotland operation


ROYAL British Legion Industries in Aylesford has revealed its plan to launch a new operation in Scotland. Details of the new venture were


discussed with Kent County Council chairman David Brazier during a visit to the charity’s headquarters. KCC’s highwaysmaintenance


contractors are one of the biggest recipients of signsmanufactured at the site by those fromthe Armed Forces, 70% of which are disabled. Signs are also supplied to Network Rail and Highways England, achieving a turnover of £5.5million. The charity is currently building


a new settlement on land behind the 1920s cottages on Hermitage Lane, which will operate as a social enterprise under the name Britain’s BravestManufacturing Company. Itsmanaging director, Geoff Streetley, acted as Cllr Brazier’s guide for his visit. The pair are pictured above right. Cllr Brazier said he had huge admiration for the work of the


RBLI, adding: “It provides employment opportunities to disabled veterans and civilians in a not-for-profit social enterprise that helps provide accommodation and support for those injured in conflict. “Themen Imet were clearly


very good at what they did and very happy to be doing it.” The new factory in Scotland will


be located along theM8 “belt” and will probably employ about 40 part-time workers. It will operate as a “supported company”, which is one where at least 50% of the workers are disabled people. Cllr Brazier said: “This was one


of themost satisfying visits I havemade duringmy year of office so far.”


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