News Plan is refused


A SCHEME to build a two-storey detached house on the site of a dis- used garage in Glebe Lane, Maid- stone, has been turned down. Members of the borough coun-


cil’s planning committeewere con- cerned the building was out of keeping with the other homes in the street, off Tonbridge Road. One objector – a neighbour to the


rear – complained the rear of the new building would overlook his gardens and bedrooms. Cllr Tony Harwood said he could see no grounds for refusal.


L-plate success


LEARNER drivers in the county town have a better than average chance of success of passing their driving test. According to figures released by


the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), 76% of those tested at the Armstrong Road ex- amination centre got through in 2017. Whilst it does compare as favourably to Ashford, where the pass ratewas 80%,Maidstone is 5% ahead of Canterbury (71%). The figures released by the


DVSA cover the first half of the year with 1,403 passes from 1,992 drivers.And although the pass rate is still good, there has been a slide fromprevious years. .


Charity roles


THE charityUnlock,which aims to find jobs for former criminals, is looking for newtrustees. Applications are welcome from


thosewho have experiences of dis- advantage from having a criminal record. For information or to apply, email the Marsham Street charity at valwoodcock@btinter- net.com.


Will donations


IF YOUmake awill or update your existing one, you could helpHeart of Kent Hospice. Six local solicitors will give their


time free of charge in return for a donation to the hospice. Book be- fore


March 16 www.hokh.org/makeawill. Drugs factory


MORE than 40 cannabis plants were discovered when police raided a house in Harrietsham. Kent Police carried out a search


warrant at an address in West Street and found the cannabis fac- tory, which included growing equipment. A 47-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of cannabis cultivation who was re- leased under investigation.


26 Maidstone Weald March 2018 at


VOLUNTEERS who pick up rubbish left by others in Maidstone have been given a tasty treat. Maidstone Borough Council or-


ganised a litter pickers’ lunch to say thank you to more than 40 groups that help keep the borough tidy, alongside events including the Au- tumn clean-up and the Great Big Spring Clean, taking place this year. James Gibson, the council’s envi-


ronmental improvement manager, said: “The annual volunteer litter pickers’ lunch is a small gesture


fromMaidstone Council to showour appreciation for the hard work car- ried out by the various groups.” He added: “It’s a thankless task


that requires a lot of dedication and tenacity. We are very grateful to anyone who gives up their precious free time to help keep the borough looking clean and tidy.” The lunch, which was organised


by the council’s waste team, was joined byMaidstone deputymayor David Naghi, who praised the work of volunteers.


downsmail.co.uk


Jobs uncertainty as food stores cutmanager roles


THREEmajor supermarket chains have announced they are to cut a number of senior roles. Staff at Tesco, Morrisons and


Sainsbury’s are facing an uncertain future after the announcements in January. Tesco,which has supermarkets at


Grove Green in Maidstone and in Larkfield, announcedthat it is to cut 1,700 shop floor jobs nationwide, with the roles of people manager, compliance manager and customer experience manager all to be axed, although their responsibilities will be shiftedto 900newroles across the business. That announcementwas followed


by news fromSainsbury’s of a simi- lar restructure, which will see a number of senior in-store posts slimmed down and replaced by fewermanagement roles as they try to “meet the challenges of today's re- tail environment”. Sainsbury’s su- permarkets in the area are in Maidstone town centre and at Aylesford. NowMorrisons is to cutmanage-


ment roles, meaning more jobs in Maidstone are at risk. The chain, which has a store off Sutton Road in the town, is shed-


downsmail.co.uk


Tories admit they can’t beat LibDems at polls


THE Conservatives are not confi- dent they can wrest back control ofMaidstone Borough Council at May’s local elections. They have admitted they have


failed to make sufficient capital at the Liberal Democrats’ expense over the implementation of the Local Plan and its knock-on effects for roads. The Tories had hoped to make some headway into the five seatmajority of the Liberal Democ- rat/independent ruling alliance. In public, activists have declared


Morrisons supermarket in Sutton Road is facing stiff competition fromthe newly-opened Aldi store


ding around 1,500 store manage- ment roles nationwide. It is understood that there are


around800 currentmanagement va- cancies, which those affected could apply for, but that couldmean some 700 other staff face redundancy or a lower-paid role. The company will, however, be


creating 1,700more junior jobs. The changes across the super-


market sector come as the compa- nies try to adapt to the public’s


Thanks for rubbish clear up


changing shopping habits. It is not known whether the opening last year of the cut-price, no-frills Aldi supermarket on the A274 Sutton Road has been affectingMorrisons’ trade. The new store was built to serve themassive housing develop- ment at Langley Park and other large-scale house-building schemes in southMaidstone, such as Bicknor Farm,which formpart ofMaidstone Borough Council’s plan for 17,600 nwdwellings.


BewlWater’s


river top-up A DROUGHT order has been issued to Southern Water, al- lowing it to top up its Bewl Water reservoir from the River Medway. In spite of recentwetweather,


the licence has been issued by the Environment Agency as a temporarymeasure. Thewater companymade the


application on January 5 after reporting the area’s reservoir was less than half full (42%) and morewill be needed to serve its 2.5msouth-east users this sum- mer. It says in spite of a wet De-


cember, autumn was very dry and, coupled with lower than average rainfall here lastwinter, many groundwater supplies and some reservoirs are low. Southern Water routinely


takes water from the Medway to fill Bewl Water, the largest reservoir in the south-east, but this permit will allow it to take more until the end ofMarch.


Maidstone Weald March 2018 27


they are “having a real go” at Shep- way north (Ukip), Bridge (LD),Cox- heath & Hunton (LD), Heath (LD), High Street (LD) and South (LD) wards. But, privately, they recognise they


are unlikely towin control of the au- thority when May’s tranche of 18 seatswill be decided at the polls. We understand thatAlan Bartlett


has been chosen by the Tories in Shepway north and which will be the number one target. The sitting member is Cllr Simon Ells, ofUkip.


Conservative county councillor


Gary Cooke has been adopted for the Boxley ward to replace former mayor Cllr Derek Butler, who is stepping down. FellowTory atCountyHall, Paul


Cooper, will take on Ukipper John Barned in Shepway south while Daniel Rose will fight for the Park Woodward. A Conservative insider told


Downs Mail: “We’re realistic that we’re not going to take control of the council this time round. It’s not arithmetically possible but maybe it’s our fault.We just didn’t get the message out there that the Liberal Democrats pushed though the Local Plan for 17,600more houses in Maidstone without thinking about the roads. The goal was wide open for a tap-in and we blazed it over the bar.” Ukip’s Shepway south member


John Barned, left, denied recent ru- mours his party’s members would be standing as independents be- cause of its recent issues on the na-


tional stage. He said: “Neither Simon Ells nor I have actually de- clared thatwewill even be standing and if we do it will be as Ukip. If I stand, I can see that my majority would probably go down but I do think that I’ll be able to hang on.” LibDemSueGrigg said the Local


Plan and transport issues were not likely to damage her party’s vote share. She added: “Everyone is to blame and everyone is the prob- lem.”


News Village scheme


is thrown out A REVISED plan to turn a light in- dustrial plot of brown field land into a small two house estate has been turned down by the council. The application for land near the


Gables inMarden Rd, Staplehurst, was for the construction of two dwellings, demolition of a tractor shed and the relocation of a storage unit. Objectors feared the site is not


sustainable and not in keeping with the local rural setting. But the applicants felt the scheme


was in keeping with the locality and the new black weather- boarded design reflected the “rural vernacular”. It was backed by Cllr Tony Harwood. But Staplehurst councillor John


Perry said the development was not sustainable in an area which had already been forced to accept 650 houses in the Local Plan. Cllr Eddie Powell pointed out


that officers were two years ago recommending approval of a plan on the same site with four homes and asked the council planners: “What’s changed? What I see is a lot of inconsistency and that’s what’s leftme confused.”


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