Call to cut speed forA228 crossing


Town Talk Town Talk


SNODLAND Town Council has applied to Kent County Council for the entire length of the A228 Snodland by-pass to be re- stricted to a 50mph speed limit. The council has been cam-


Extra Keith in a brush with stars


PAINTER and decorator Eric Bowyer is back to the day job after his latest brush with the film world. The 61-year-old has been work-


paigning for the reduction since 2014. It wants a pedestrian crossing by the BP/M& S garage at Holborough Lakes, but cross- ings cannot be installed on roads with a limit above 50mph. The speed limit on the A228 is


70mph from the Ham Hill round- about, reducing to 60mph from the Rocfort Road junction to the Clocktower junction where it in- creases to 70mph as far as the Peters Village roundabout. Karen Sowten, the council’s


ing as an extra in Paddington 2, the sequel to the hit film about the famous orphan bear from Peru. Keith spent a


day in dress re- hearsals


at


Pinewood Studios and then acted in a crowd scene at London’s Porto- bello Market.


Based on the 1958 Michael


chief executive, explained that a controlled pedestrian crossing was a vital link for school chil- dren, walkers and those wishing to walk to Snodland Railway Sta- tion or


Bond children’s stories, the movie stars Julie Walters, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent and Peter Capaldi, with furry favourite Paddington as an animation. But Eric was disappointed not to


see some of the stars during his day on location. He said: “I was a passer-by in


Marshes. A number of children from


the market, we were just told to pretend there was a bear there.” Eric, who lives in Gassons Road


visit Holborough


with his wife Bettina, fancied trying his hand at acting and joined the


Halling and Wouldham come to Snodland for pre-school, primary and secondary education. When they walk to and from Snodland they must cross over the ex- tremely busy and fast-running road, which is dangerous for them. She said: “We have had a sig-


nificant number of residents re- porting to us that they are concerned about crossing the A228 in order to access the foot- path to Snodland Station or to gain access to Holborough Marshes for recreation activities such aswalking, running, cycling and dog-walking. “The speed limit along the


books of Uni-VersalExtras about four years ago. He was invited to an audition in Chatham for a part in Tulip Fever, starring Dame Judi Dench and ChristopherWaltz and landed a part. Based on the book by Deborah Moggach, the story is set in Ams- terdam in 1637 and Keith played the role of a peasant haggling with stallholders in a market. He was filmed on various days over six weeks at Conham Hall and he was particularly impressed by the man-made moat around the manor house. A year later, he spent five days


as an extra on the set of StarWars VIII at Pinewood Studios. He said: “I never thought of


A228 is mixed between 60 and 70mph, with no central reserva- tion barrier which has a fatality record. “A reduction in the speed limit


being an extra until a few years ago. I heard about a chap doing it and I thought ‘I can do that’ so I wrote off to the agency “It’s not as glamorous as you


would also introduce consis- tency in the speed limit for the A228 from the M20 junction to Halling.”


might think as I don’t always get to see the top stars,” he said. “But it’s interesting and it’s good fun. I can earn £170 in a day so it can be a lot more lucrative than paint- ing and decorating.”


Numbers Useful


Snodland Town Council 01634 240228


Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council 01732 844522


Town Talk Editor:


Contact


Stephen Eighteen 01622 630330 ext 231


Simon Finlay


Advertising: 01622 630330


Kent County Council 03000 41 41 41


Snodland Library 01634 243776


Snodland Post Office 01634 242857


Snodland Medical Centre 01634 240296


Police (non urgent) 01622 690690


Lower Halling Post Office Stores 01634 240230


email: towntalk@downsmail.co.uk


Local news for Snodland and Halling Local news for Snodland and Halling


Helping to keep the town clean


DO you know a deserving Snod- land resident or local group to nom- inate as a “Love Where You Live” Environmental Champion? Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council launched the scheme in 2009 to encourage people to make an extra effort to improve the envi- ronment. The last Snodland winner was town council member Alan Keeley in 2015. He was chairman of Snodland


Goes Cleaner and went round all the shops persuading the owners to clean the areas outside their shops. If you know of someone who


goes the extra mile to improve the town, nomination forms are avail- able at www.tmbc.gov.uk/ECA2017 or send an email to lovewherey- oulive@tmbc.gov.uk.


Home offers help for carers


PILGRIMS ViewCareHome in Roberts Road, Snodland has a spe- cial offer – book for two nights and the home will pay for one. The home provides 24-hour care and support for people living


Betting shop is taken over


with dementia,where the teamof qualified and attentive staff focus on the individual needs of the residents. Manager John Ogbe said: “We work to create a welcoming at-


Clean-up champion Alan Keeley


LADBROKES, the betting shop in Holborough Road, Snodland, for many years, has been sold to Betfred. The company has merged


with Coral, which has a shop in the High Street. The Com- petition regulators ruled in July that the merged com- pany, which makes it the biggest high street book- maker in the UK, must sell 350-400 shops for the merger to be cleared. Betfred is buying 322 shops. All the Ladbrokes staff in Snodland are being kept on.


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mosphere in which residents enjoy activities, go on outings and make friends with other residents and staff. “They can enjoy the lovely gardens or join the daily programme


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for a fewhours or for severalweeks, so that they can go on holiday or have some time off. Mr Ogbe said: “The home has bright bedrooms to support per-


son-centred care. Residents are encouraged to personalise their rooms and, if they wish, to bring small items of furniture.” The offer is open to the end of December.


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