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Flood plan halted for sinkholework


THEsinkhole crippling akey route in and out of Maidstone is now stopping the installation of a flood prevention pump inAylesford. The Crown Estate, which owns


the South Aylesford Retail Estate, contacted Kent County Council (KCC) regarding thewater extractor in January after flash flooding hit London Road. Now eight months later, KCC is


waiting for the road repairs to the sinkhole inTonbridgeRoadto finish beforework can begin on thepump. John Balcombe, chairman of


Aylesford Parish Council, said: “It has been going on formore than 20 years since this QuarryWood busi- ness centrewas built. “Wewere going to have thepump


installed in April, but for technical reasons itwas put off. Itwas prom- isedinMay, thenJune, July andnow it’sAugust. “They said the reason they have


put it off untilAugust is because the A20 will have to be closed. Obvi- ously, we have had other issues in the area with the sink hole on the TonbridgeRoad, so theywon’t start work on the pump until that is fin- ished. “The hotweather hasmasked the


problem, butwhenwe had that one bit of heavy rain, the road was flooded again. “Hopefully, theywill address the


issue inAugust.” Cllr TrevorWalker, of Tonbridge


andMalling Borough Council, said: “We have been campaigning for the pump all year. They would have to close the A20 and A26 at the same times, so itwould cause a lot of traf- fic andmajor delays. “The last thing I heard fromKCC


is that itwill be installed inAugust, once the sink hole on the Tonbridge Road is fixed.” A KCC spokesman said: “KCC


has been liaising with The Crown Estate. Drainage improvement


works are now planned and pro- grammed to start soon after theA26 is reopened. “KCC had hoped to be on site by


this point.However, a survey of the underground services revealed the road will need to be excavated, meaning trafficmanagement on the A20. “It was felt this could exacerbate


the impact of theA26 closure so they have opted to defer the start of the works until the carriageway recon- struction is complete.” KCC does not expect repairwork


on the A26 Tonbridge Road to be completed until the start of Septem- ber.


Fun day for community


MORE than 250 residents in Ley- bourne supported the fifth Summer Fun day at Leybourne Chase in WestMalling. The event, organised by the Ley-


bourne Chase Residents’ Associa- tion, took place in thewalled garden at the development, and was sup- ported with a £250 donation from a national building firm. Visitors enjoyed a barbecue, browsed stalls and enjoyed games


including “beat the goalie”. Marc Hogwood, chairman of Ley-


bourne Chase Residents’ Associa- tion, said: “It was a huge success and it was great to see so many of the residents of Leybourne Chase get together. “There is already a great sense of


community here and it is events such as this that help us grow the relationships we have with our neighbours.”


01622 753073 | clarkesfurnishers.co.uk Visit us at Sandling Road, Maidstone, ME14 2RF


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Malling August 2018 5


FREE LUXURY MATTRESS PROTECTOR WITH ANY BED PURCHASE


Cllr John Balcombe and, below, the flooding


HAPPY DAYS THIS SUMMER


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