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downsmail.co.uk Trouble on the riverbank?


ONTHE sun-dappled banks of one of the county town’smore tranquil havens, the boat people of the RiverMedway have been enjoying a peaceful life. Moored up on plots at the end of


Unicumes Lane – some rented, some privately owned – they enjoy a gentle community spirit with their fellowwater dwellers. Runners, cyclists, dog-walkers


and fishermen all seem to be on nodding terms with locals on the footpath alongside their homes. But the appearance in the past


fewmonths of a caravan erected on a self-built catamaran base seems to have reignited unrest about whether these plots are fit for pur- pose. Indeed, there is now a current,


running investigation by the Envi- ronment Agency (EA) and Maid- stone Borough Council (MBC)into the legality of themoorings and as- sociated structures. Some river users say the moor-


ings –many constructed fromscaf- folding poles – are simply not strong enough towithstand amajor flood or that the residents are squatting without the proper pa- perwork. These are claims totally refuted by residents. More realistically, local borough


councillorMatt Boughton confesses that with multiple agencies in- volved, as well as private owners and tenants, it makes enforcement of any alleged wrong-doing “very challenging”. LandownerMarcialDoporto,who


bought a strip ofMedway bankside land seven years ago but started to sell themoff in the summer of 2017, said: “It’s fair to say the borough council’splanningdepartmentdoes- n’twant us there. “But everyone either owns their


plot or they are renting aplot owned byme. They are perfectly entitled to moor a boat there if they wish, pro-


viding they have all the right paper- work, such as a river licence and in- surance.” MrDoporto,who says he allowed


Kent County Council to run its path through his plot of land, admits the recent arrival of the “caravan boat” is “outside the normal aesthetics of other people”. The tenant, Mr Doporto assured,


has a river licence and appropriate insurance. “He knows his stuff andwould be


a worthy adversary to any official,” he added. The owner of the craft was un-


available for comment, but a friend toldus: “He is amarine engineer and is quite knowledgable. He built the catamaranbase fromscratchhimself and it is powered by an outboard and has bow and stern thrusters. It handles pretty well. Such boats are not sounusual in theUnitedStates.” The friend said that where scaf-


folding poles are used, they are planted up to eight feet into the bankside earth and have booms at- tached to the craft in the water. But otherwise people try to use trees to secure their vessels. Lee Turner (45) and Deb Chad-


wick(53)bought theirplot ayear ago fromMr Doporto for £85,000where they moor their beloved £50,000 Good Vibrations houseboat after moving fromRochester. They say the EA has been “bril-


liant” and cannot understand why some aremaking a fuss. Mr Turner said: “It’s a beautiful


spot. It’s quiet and we are sur- roundedbynature.This is ourhome andwe’rehardly going to livehere if it was unstable or unsafe. We’re here legally and have followed the rules. ”


Time to get involved


VOLUNTEERING is good for health and happi- ness – and it can even promote a longer life. That will be the message of the Stronger Kent


Community Fair atMaidstone’s Hazlitt Arts Cen- tre onOctober 10,when some 35 exhibition stalls will showcase dozens of voluntary and leisure op- portunities. Volunteer opportunities include anything from


making veg boxes to visiting prisons,while leisure, possibilities could include t’ai chi, painting, bowls andmuchmore. Organiser Emma Cooney said: “There are


proven health benefits to volunteering, connect- ingwith people and being part of something big- ger than yourself. “There’s lots of talk about loneliness, health and wellbeing, with technology often making it


4 Maidstone October 2018 Taking part in commumity activities can be good for health and happiness


easy for us to stay indoors, isolated and inactive.” Therewill also be optional stallholder activities,


including a heritage quiz, raffle, giveaways, tombola, therapeutic colouring, photo props and


making a friendship bracelet. Visitors can pop in and take a look atwhat’s on


offer between 11amand 1pm. Further details at https://skcfairs.wordpress.com


The controversial “caravan boat” at itsmooring on the RiverMedway


raising enforcement action.” The statement may have sug-


gested urgency but paperwork DownsMail has seen fromRob Jar- man,MBC’s head of planning, sug- gests concerns were raised more than a year ago. Last autumn, an MBC planning enforcement officer and the EA conducted a joint site visit concerning moorings and the construction of structures which may need planning permission. An EA spokesman said: “The


Boat owner Lee Turner would not live on the river if it was not safe


Historically, there has been some


squatting and, in one instance, a classAdrug user living illegally on the river. MBC said: “Everything would require planning permis- sion. We have an open investiga- tion running currently and will be


moorings have not been passed by the Environment Agency and we are currently working with Maid- stone BoroughCouncil to assess the area.” Owner and captain of the Ken-


tish Lady pleasure boat Nick Ken- ndy said: “The river is the jewel in the crown in Maidstone and if it’s going to be used in this way then some joined up thinking and better communication between the EA, MBC and all river users would be required.”


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