News


downsmail.co.uk Events plan rocks village


WITHamedieval jousting quintain planted firmly in the village green’s heart,Offhamhas been a bulwark of English stability and tradition formore than a thousand years.


But scratch the surface, and this


ancient parish is struggling to come to terms with a modern dilemma ... the 21st century diver- sification of the very farmland that defines it. Polytunnels, tractors and trucks


hold no fear for a community that traces its roots back to the Anglo- Saxon ninth century. Introduce the potential threat of lairy revellers shattering the evening peace, how- ever, and hackles rightly rise. Sowhen landowner IanBarwick


first mooted the idea of turning part of his property, Kentfield Farm, into a wedding and event venue with marquee and holiday pods, the communitymobilised. Stung by the farm’s earlier foray


intomusical entertainment,which resulted in substantial noise “rolling down into the village”, residents fear that,withmore than 20 proposedweddings and events in the offing, they couldbe saddled with summer evenings heavywith the sound of partying and late night vehiclemovements…every singleweekend. Former parish council chairman


David Frankling toldDownsMail: “It’s the most contentious issue we’ve ever had in the village. The


Non-stop buzz


for Oliver! Oliver! The Hazlitt Theatre,Maidstone THE old musicals take a lot of beating – andMaidstoneAmateur Operatic Society proved this yet again with a magnificent per- formance of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! The house-full audience buzzed


fromthe colourful, rousing open- ing of “Food,Glorious Food” and never came off an appreciative, excited high. The young cast, with many de-


lightful schoolchildren, were ob- viously enjoying themselves, and new choreographer Katy Russell proved what can be achieved on the small Hazlitt stage. The show demands a strong


Fagin (Dave Rowe) and Nancy (Heather Cheeseman) and both shone, notablywhen singing their popular strong numbers. Maidstone’s message surely is:


Come back soon. Review byDennis Fowle


22 Malling April 2019


councilwas inundatedwith objec- tions. “It’s not awitch hunt. I knowMr


Barwick is sincere in his desire to mitigate any impact on the village and, if he’s successful, residents will acceptwhat he’sdoing.But it’s fair to say they’re pretty sceptical. We’re a farming community, but this is something very different.” ForMr Barwick, the argument is


simple. Returning the 150-acre property to its original dairy and soft fruit operation is just not fi- nancially viable. His agent, Glenda Egerton, told


borough council planners there is still


low-intensity farming of


around 60 rare breed sheep on the land, 10 to 15 Sussex cattle, 50 to 70 pigs,pheasant andducks, 30 chick- ens, 12 guinea fowl, four peacocks, eight alpacas, deer and horses. She added that Mr Barwick’s


team had planted hedgerows and hundreds of trees and created a conservation lake. This had boosted the land’s ecology, with more than 65 species of native birds, badgers, hedgehogs, bats and three species ofwild deer. But she said: “To maintain this


land to these high standards bears significantday-to-day costs,which have thus far come from private funds. This is unsustainable and,


Offhamvillagers havemobilised against plans for a wedding venue at a local farm, which has been granted planning permission for 12 months


given the land is not currently self- sufficient, other options need to be considered.” Along with 60 acres at Ashtree


Farmand 130 acres he leases at the rear ofBlaise Farmquarry,MrBar- wick already oversees farmland that has diversified into game shooting, commercial operations, off-roadactivities and4x4 training, and a removals business. Borough planning chiefs have


nowgiven himthe green light for a 12-month trial of hiswedding pro- posals, subject to strict conditions. The villagers ofOffhamsay they


will be watching – and listening – very carefully.


Cash help for


football clubs GRANTSof £750 couldkeeplocal football teams turningout inKent. The FootballAssociation has re-


Wendy Hiller, Tomiwa James, Judith Sloan, Lisa Burns,with radiologists FerdenahMunroe,WaydeMorgan, Abin Babu and David Brown


Praise for scan centre


AN imaging service for cancer pa- tients in Maidstone has been praisedbyagovernmentwatchdog. Maidstone PET-CT Centre at the


town’s hospital in Hermitage Lane, which provides diagnostic and screening procedures, was rated “good” by the Care Quality Com- mission. Maidstone PET-CT unitmanager


DavidBrownsaid: “Thiswasour first inspection by CQC since opening in 2017. Itwas a great opportunity to


showcase the fantastic work the teamdoes. “The team is proud of the unit


and the facilities it provides for pa- tients, and was pleased the CQC recognised its efforts.” The report identified three areas


for further improvements. MrBrown added: “The teamwel-


comes this feedback as an opportu- nity to develop the service further, and is working to implement these recommendations.”


launched its Stay in the Game scheme to halt a decline in adult male teams by offering grants to struggling clubs. Eleven-a-side teams have until


Thursday, June 6 to apply for the helpto cover the costs of running a football team. Paul Simpson, England under-


20sheadcoach, said:“Weareseeing adultmaleplayersmovefrom11-a- side football intomore casual for- mats of the game. One of the reasons is clubs lackingmoney. “Lastyear’sroll-outof thescheme


sawsome reallypositive strides.” Theschemehelpedtoretain2,336


adultmaleteamsacross thecountry last year. For details contact the County FA or visit www.football- foundation.org.uk/funding- schemes/stay-in-the-game/.


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