News Rubbish plea


USERS of Bearsted Green are being encouraged to take rubbish home with them. Bags ofwaste have been dumped


next to full bins attracting vermin. A Bearsted Parish Council


spokesman said: “Whilst we love to see The Green enjoyed in lovely weather,we’d politely request that if thebinsare fullyoutakeyour rubbish home.Pleasedonot leave binbags by the bin, thank you.”


Wartime songs


SONGS ThatWon theWars will be performed at All Saints’ Church in Hollingbourne on June 16. Sung by Kathryn Norman and


BrianWhite, they are accompanied by pianist Richard Kemp. Tickets are £10. Call Jimon 01622


880244, Peter on 01622 880580 or Derek on 01622 880650 for more. Profits go to the church and the Meadows Trust.


Plays&picnics


LEEDS Amateur Dramatic Society stages Plays and Picnics on June 22 and 23 at theOldVicarage in Lower Street.Entry isbydonation.More de- tails are availableon@LADSamdram on Facebook.


downsmail.co.uk


Schools plan dropped at site of hospital unit


THE government agency in charge of funding a new primary school has dropped the Kent Medical Campus (KMC) site as a suitable location,DownsMail has learned. The Education, Skills and Fund-


ing Agency (ESFA) has placed the search for a site in the hands of spe- cialist schools planning firm, LocatED. The decision came as this news-


paper published details about the kind of mental health facility to be placed near Bearsted. We revealed that mentally-ill criminals and womenwith borderline personality disorderswill be treated there. Campaigners hopedtheKMCsite


near J7 of the M20 would house a primary and special needs school. We understand that the ESFA deci- sion to pull out of the site has prompted a behind-the-scenes blame game overwho knewwhat. An application to secure theESFA


funding was being advanced when it became clear about the hospital's intended use.


The KentMedical Campus site and right, borough councillor Denis Spooner SeniorMaidstone BoroughCoun-


cil officialWilliamCornall has indi- cated that MBC would not have advised the ESFA of the hospital's proposedremit.MrCornall toldcol- leagues thatprivate health company Cygnet, which will run the mental hospital, published a 44-page docu- ment inDecember 2015 outlining its intended use. But one insider said: “With MP


HelenWhately pushing hardfor the schools to be sitedatKMC, someone should have thought to do a bit of checking.” Adozen sites have been identified


for a primary school in Maidstone, but we understand those in and around J7 would be unlikely to fit the bill overpedestrian access issues. Mary Richards of the Bearsted &


Thurnham Society, said: “I am not aware of any alternative sites being found anywhere around here.” MBC Cllr Denis Spooner said:


“We desperately need that school.” Mrs Whately claimed the KMC


site would be the answer to the chronic shortage of primary places in Bearsted and hoped the schools would have been open by Septem- ber 2017.


10


shernold_1/2pg_181x123mm_downs_mail_OUTLINED.indd 1 Maidstone East June 2018


17/05/2018 12:19


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