News
M&S submits plan for new Eclipse Park store
BRITISH high street favourite Marks&Spencerhas submittedits application to join the growing EclipseParkretail centrenear junc- tion seven of theM20. It is hoped the scheme, lodged
withMaidstoneBoroughCouncil in late April, will create up to 300 full and part-time jobs. An M&S planning statement
reads: “M&S currently operates from two stores in the town centre onWeek
Street.One store is freehold and the other a leasehold with the lease expiring in 2022. “The intention is that the lease-
hold storewill close ... to allowstaff to transfer to the newstore atEclipse Park. “The intentionwould be to signif-
icantly improve the freehold store opposite FremlinWalk anditwould continue to sell clothing andfood, as well as having a cafe.” Aspokesman forMBCconfirmed
a planning application had been re- ceived. Developer Gallagher said work should begin by Christmas
with opening expected in October 2019. Whilst the announcement ofM&S
expanding its offering inMaidstone has been broadly welcomed, there have beenworries that itwill further damage the town centre. Maidstone council has been criti-
cised for driving shoppers away from the town centre by changing the park and ride scheme and hik- ing the cost of off-street parking. Both form part of the council’s pol- icy for “modal shift”,which aims to ease the traffic pressure created by Maidstone’s 17,600 new homes by encouragingpeople towalk, cycle or take buses.
Arecent survey conducted by the
Daily Downs Mail website con- cludedthat the borough councilwas wrong to impose increased parking charges. The poll saw91%disagree with the increases, 7% agree, while the restwere unsure. John Barned, spokesman for In-
dependentMaidstone, said: “There is little doubt that the new M&S storewill be very popular – because it is accessible in away that the cen- tre ofMaidstone no longer is andbe- cause the parking is free.” Gallagher spokesman Nick Yan-
dle said: “M&S sees the importance of free parking because it encour- ages dwell time in the store.”
downsmail.co.uk Red kite hope
APAIR of red kites have been spot- ted on the North Downs, sparking hopes that the raptors may have started breeding in the area. The bird, once persecutedto near-
extinction, leaving just four inmid- Wales, has recovered in recent decadeswith an increasing number of sightings in Kent. ADownsMail reader reportedthe
pair above arable land off Pilgrims Way nearHollingbourne, inwhat he described as an “aerial display which could have been a mating ritual”. Red kites arenowseenregularlyin
theMaidstonearea,especiallyaround Sutton Valence, Chart Sutton, Leeds and Langley.
Hall re-opens
BATTEL Hall, the 14th century manor house in the grounds of Leeds Castle, has opened to guests. Once the home of former chief ex-
ecutive Victoria Wallace and her family, it is now high-end accom- modation for up to 14 people. Current chief executive Sir David
Steel said: “This is such an exciting addition to our hospitality portfolio and once again LeedsCastle is in the vanguardofdevelopment anddiver- sification of its business.”
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www.gorringes.co.uk 14 Maidstone East June 2018
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