News


downsmail.co.uk Vicar criticises homes plans


AN OUTSPOKEN vicar has retired from his rural parish with a parting shot about Maidstone Borough Council’smassive house-building plans. In a clear reference to LiberalDe-


He adds: “Locally,we have some


mocrat-run MBC’s bitter legal dis- pute with Kent County Council (KCC) over road levies, Rev Steve Hughes (69) said it will be “nice to get out of a place where joined-up thinking seems to be a thing of the past”. RevHughes,whowas theminis-


ter forOtham, Langley, Broomfield &Kingswood and Leeds untilmid- August, said it is “fine” to build more houses as long as the infra- structure and services are there to support them. He and wife Mandy are moving


to northWales,where she is to take up a senior NHS role. In his final column for the Leeds


and Broomfield parish magazine, RevHughes payswarmtributes to the communities he served.


Would you like


theRealThing? THE real Real Thing comes to the Hazlitt Theatre,Maidstone, on Sat- urday, October 13. The original singing brothers of


Chris and Ediie Amoo, with Dave Smith and a five-piece funk band, will be taking audiences back to the 70s and 80s to celebrate the 40th an- niversary of their debut hit single You toMeAre Everything. They guarantee other top-selling


classics including Can’t Get By Without You and Feel the Force. Singer Chris said: “There’s al-


ways going to be a sense of nostal- gia about ourmusic. It’s the sound track to somany people’s lives.” The concert starts at 7.30pm, with tickets from£22.50 to £31.50.


RNLI’s quiz


ANANNUAL quiz is being held in Fant community hall at 7.30pm on October 12, in aid of the lifeboat rescue charity Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The £10 ticket includes entry and


a fish and chip supper, along with any other drinks and nibbles en- trantswish to bring. The RNLI provides a 24-hour


lifeboat search and rescue service around the coasts of the UK, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service on many of the busiest beaches in England andWales. For tickets and to book a meal,


contact John Ashbolt on 01622 725435 or Alan Cocks 01622761004.


- 22 Maidstone October 2018 Police tapemarks the spot where the incendiary device was found WWII bomb found in river


A BOMB was found in the River Medway on August 27, with police being called to the scene to find a way to dispose of it safely. The explosive, believed to be a


wartime shell, was discovered by a magnet fisher in the late afternoon of Bank HolidayMonday. Kent Police sent images of the


object to aMinistry of Defence Ex- plosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD)


team. It was subsequently identi- fied as a WWII incendiary device, which were designed to create large fires. Following advice from the EOD,


police set up a temporary road clo- sure and waited at the scene for a disposal team. Magnet fishing is a method of


scouring riverbeds for interesting or valuable items.


POLICE have charged a teenager from Maidstone with possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. Arlen Cumner (19), of Beckett


Close,Maidstone, was arrested at about 3am on September 2, when officers were called to a pub near Maidstone High Street after door staff reported suspicious activity.


Teenager facing drugs charge A quantity of suspected keta-


mine, ecstasy tablets and cashwas seized by the patrols. Cumner was also charged with


possession of criminal property, namely the cash. Hewas subsequently remanded


byMedwayMagistrates’ Court to appear atMaidstoneCrownCourt on October 1.


very good councillors (parish, bor- ough and county), but it will be nice to get out of a place where joined-up thinking seems to be a thing of the past, especially where it comes to housing, infrastructure and traffic are concerned. “Fine, buildmore houses if need


be, but only as long as the infra- structure, schools, dentists and medical centres are there to service the newhousing. “I certainly will not miss one lit-


tle bit the traffic on Church Road and other, similar rat runs, and this is not going to get any better with the impending construction of the Bicknor Park Estate, between the White Horse pub and Gore Court Road.” MBC intends to build 17,600


homes, many of which are in his former parishes, as part of the Local Plan. The council has become locked in


a disputewith KCC over the use of developer contributions being used to pay for studies into the viability of a Leeds-Langley relief road. MBC chief executive Alison


Broomclaims the tax-payer funded High Court battle will bring “clar- ity” to the issue. County councillor Gary Cooke


said: “Steve and I got on incredibly well and there was a really good understanding between us. “He always made the church


available to me or anyone who needed it. He is a real man of the people and we were very lucky to have him. I wish himevery happi- ness in the next phase of his life.”


Park apology


AN APOLOGY has been given to youngsters who turned up at Maidstone’s Mote Park to find the skate park and play area closed during the school holidays. Aspokesman forMaidstone Bor-


ough Council agreed the timing of the closure – from the last week of the school summer holidays – was “not ideal”, but said itwas the only way of keeping the project to up- grade the facilities on track. The skate park and play areawill


be closed untilMarch next year. The spokesman said: “We have


been trying to get the message out as far afield as possible, as we know people love Mote Park. However, we did have complaints from some parents who travelled fromout of the area and arrived to find the facilities out of action.”


Drugs arrest


POLICE have arrested two sus- pected drug dealers inMaidstone. On Thursday August 30, a man


and awomanwere arrested by the officers after they were stopped in a car in Chancery Lane. The driver, a 46-year-old man


from Catford, London and a 36- year-old local woman were ar- rested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. The officers seized 120 deals of


heroin and crack cocaine, amobile phone and a quantity of cash. More than 200 wraps of class A


drugs were later recovered from a private address.


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