News


Help needed to save village fete


A POPULAR community event in Loose could be cancelled for good, in spite of a successful 10- year run. Loose Fete, with its stalls, dog


show and a different theme each year, attracted record crowds in 2018, and raised more than £2,000 for the community. But, while it has the backing of


businesses andLooseParishCoun- cil, the tough decision over its fu- ture will be up for debate this month because of a lack of volun- teers to helporganisedthemassive event. The crowd-puller is usually held


on the first Saturday in September on King George V Recreation Ground, alongside Shaylah’sTour- ing Fun Fair, which runs on the field for three days. The fete, which was re-born a


decade ago,was a feature of village life back as far as the 1960s. Last year’s event was opened by the Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr David Naghi.


Peter Ridley, chairman of the


parish council’s fete working group, says with only eight seats taken out of 13 on the council, more volunteers are needed to help organise the fete if it is to con- tinue. He said: “We have help from


some wonderful people, but we need a commitment fromthe start fromabout 12 people to guarantee its future. “It will be a tough decision to


take, but the council alone is hav- ing to re-think howthe event could be organised,with assistance from our near neighbours perhaps.” The council’s clerk, Kim Owen,


said the working party hopes to present the parish council with some options for the future run- ning of the fete. A decision on the event’s future is likely to be made in February. Anyone interesting in volunteer-


ing for the fete should contact the parish council by emailing of- fice@loose.pc.gov.uk.


School library opens


YOUNGSTERS in Staplehurst are celebrating a new chapter of school life with the opening of a dedicated library. The village school, which dates


back to 1873 and has 400 children on its register, has converted a classroom, which is now full of books, shelves and artwork thanks to the efforts of the community. Acting head Amanda Stevenson


said: “This has been a true com- munity project and results from the vision, enthusiasm and hard work of teachers and parents.” Bethany School donated book-


shelves, more were bought with money raised by Staplehurst


School PTA; a fair and sponsored read raised money for books, and an appeal by village craft store Made by Kent resulted in more books being donated. Parents catalogued more than


1,000 fiction books, and, together with volunteers from the village WI, are staffing the library. Children’s writer Nick Carter


opened the library in December. Literacy leader Sally Seymour


was among thosewho backed hav- ing a well-stocked school library at a time when KCC is consulting on cuts to library services. Staplehurst Library’s opening hours would be cut from42 to 23 hours a week.


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20 Maidstone Weald January 2019


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