downsmail.co.uk


FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT YOUR LOCAL THEATRE KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE LATEST FROM THE HAZLITT THEATRE WWW.HAZLITTTHEATRE.COM 01622 758611


Floodwater storage field ‘will be awildlife haven’


AFARMERhas hailed the collabo- rative effort that has seen part of his land become a wetland which he described as “Operation Stack forwater”. PeterHallworkedwith a number


The Elves and The Shoemaker Sun 10th June


The Giant's Loo Roll Sun 5th Aug


The Little Mix Experience Wed 15th Aug


of stakeholders to bring the project at Little Mill Farm in Marden to fruition, and held a launch event at the site lastmonth. The schememakes use of natural


processes to help reduce flood risk downstream. “Flooding is a hot topic in the


area,” Mr Hall said. “It all came aboutwhenLouise Smith fromKent County Council was here on other business, we got talking and we re- alised this was the ideal place for such a scheme. “It’s a long narrow field with


Bing Live Tues 9th - Wed 10th Oct


@HazlittTheatre @HACMaidstone


Stick Man Tues 13th - Wed 14th Nov


Box Office Open 10am - 4pm (Monday - Saturday)


Oakley Grange Headcorn, TN27 9TD Shared ownership homes available now


Phase two – 5 x two bedroom houses Shares start at 30% £93,000 Min deposit £4,650


Aladdin Sat 1st - Mon 31st Dec


Head over to our website and sign up to the latest news, competitions and special offers Hazlitt Theatre, Earl street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1PL


water aroundit, so therewasnoway we could farmanything on it. “It will take about 15,000 cubic


metres ofwater, so it’s basicallyOp- eration Stack forwater.” It is hoped that it will be part of


natural flood resilience that could helpprevent the awful floodswhich


have hit Yalding in the past. But Mr Hall says there are other


advantages too. “This is a prototype project and it


could be rolled out anywhere,” he added. As well as providing flood resilience, there will be ten acres of habitat for birds, amphibians andin- sects – a realwildlife haven. “I amover themoon that this has


come off. It’s been a wonderful col- laboration and Louise has been un- believable – determined and calm under pressure. I cannot praise her highly enough.” Project manager Miss Smith was


County Councillors Michael Payne andMike Hill with Louise Smith, Peter Hall and Julie Foley fromthe Environment Agency


delighted with how the project had unfolded. “This is an excellent example of


what can be achievedwhen organi- sations and landowners work to- gether,” she said. “Peter and his teamwork hard to


create a farm environment with a variety of habitatswhich supports a rich and diverse range of species and thewetlandwill add to this. “It was a great opportunity to


work with such a passionate landownerwho is so determined to work for the environment aswell as run aworking farm.”


News Searching for


burial space WORK is continuing in an ef- fort to find more space for graves inHeadcorn. Theparishcouncil is to apply


to the borough council for per- mission to extend the church- yard behind the Methodist church and is also backing a plan for a natural burial site. The location under discus-


sion at Redhill Stables, off Lenham Road,


is already


owned byMaidstone Borough Council (MBC). A spokesman for Headcorn


ParishCouncil said: “We realise that more burial sites will be needed and are working with the borough council to investi- gate what options it can take forward to provide such a facil- ity, offering residents greater choice.”


An MBC spokesman con-


firmed it is working with the parishcouncil to investigate the option of a natural burial site. “The first stage is to seek fur- ther advice from the council’s planning department and this work is underway,” she said.


Phase three – 6 x two and three bed houses. Expected completion – Autumn 2018 Register your interest today www.westkent.org/OakleyGrange 2 E6333_WK_Downs Mail Advert 181x123_P3_AW.indd 1 Maidstone Weald June 2018 29/05/2018 16:04


www.kentshow.co.uk 01622 633060 Kent Showground, Maidstone ME14 3JF


Maidstone Weald June 2018 3


We’ll pay £500 towards your legal fees


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25