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Vicar criticises council’s plans


AN OUTSPOKEN vicar has re- tired from his rural parish with a parting shot about Maidstone Borough Council’s massive house-building plans. In a clear refer-


ence to Liberal De- mocrat-run MBC’s bitter legal dispute 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”. Rev Hughes,


who was the min- ister for Otham, Langley, Broom- field&Kingswood and Leeds until mid-August, said it is “fine” to build more houses – as long as the infrastructure and services are there to support them. He andwifeMandy aremoving


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. He adds: “Locally,we have some


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 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 betterwith the impending con- struction of the Bicknor Park Es- tate, between the White Horse pub and Gore Court Road.” MBC intends to 17,600


build


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 taxpayer-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 him every happiness in the next phase of his life.”


Fiing tribute to fine cricketer


A NEW book has been published on outstandingMaidstone cricketer and Kent fast bowler David Sayer of Bearsted,who died last year. The author of ‘Slayer – the story


of a fast bowler’ is his Bearsted friend, Ian Lambert, himself a tal- ented cricketer with a long as- sociation with B e a r s t e d Cricket Club. David, who


a t t e n d e d Ma i d s t o n e Boys’ Gram- mar School, played


for


England Schools, Oxford Univer- sity and 154matches for Kent, tak-


ing a total of 613 first-classwickets. Twice he was selected for MCC


overseas tours.His club cricketwas with The Mote CC and he cap- tained the first-team to Kent League honours. The book also includes photo-


graphs and recollections fromfam- ily and friends and a foreword by hisKent colleague andWest Indian test player John Shepherd. He left the Kent staff in 1969 and


later became an insurance broker with an office in Lenham. The book is available at £10 (free


local delivery) from the author at lambertsontour@gmail.com and the Kent CCC shop at Canterbury. Proceeds will provide a fitting cricketing tribute to David.


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