News


Phone box takes on new lease of life


A DEFIBRILLATOR has been installed in the red telephone box on the village green in Loose. The box is at the top of Old


Loose Hill, close to the allot- ments. A demonstration on its use


was given at Loose Parish Coun- cil’s annual parish meeting and forNorth LooseResidents’Asso- ciation onMay 12. Loose PC has thanked the


CommunityHeartbeat Trust and KCC councillor Paulina Stockell for funding the vital local re- source.


An artist’s


impression of the proposed


retirement flats to replace the


Spice Lounge in Coxheath


Objections over plans to demolish restaurant


POPULAR Indian restaurant Spice Lounge in Coxheath could soon be demolished and re- placed by retirement flats. The owners of the businesswill


find out in July if the former pub can be removed tomakeway for a block of retirement homeswith 14 flats aimed at the over 55s. The decision will be made by


Maidstone Borough Council's planning committee. A previous application by


ownerAnharAliwas rejected be- cause the committee was con- cerned the proposed buildingwas incongruous and out of scale in its setting. The work would be carried out


by Bethersden company Clarus Homes. Mr Ali said: "Everything's now


in with the council and it's up to them. I am hopeful that this will get through and if it doesn't Iwill have to take a view then on what to do next."


Anhar Ali (left) and brother Akbor The fresh application is de-


signed tomake the frontagemore sympathetic to the surroundings in Heath Road. Around a dozen objections


have been made by members of the public, some ofwhomfeel the replacement building is still too large, has insufficient parking and denies the local community a place to socialise. One reads: “The development


is too large for the site, it will vi- sually impact on the church and other neighbouring buildings. "The design is poor and the


density is too large for a site of this size. Parking provision is not realistic. In addition, this (the Spice Lounge) is a community asset that needs to be protected. “There is no other venue in the


village for night time socialising. The public house promised at the Londis site has never been en- forced, and now this building, which is formerly a public house, is planned to be demolished. "The village is growing in size


and this development strips us of evenmore village assets for hous- ing that is not needed as other re- tirement properties with better accessibility and parking provi- sion are left empty." There have also been concerns


expressed in the past whether there is any real need for a retire- ment complex in Coxheath.


Pub could be a local ‘asset’ Villagers set to vote on plan


TALKS are continuing to deter- mine the merits of making the King’s Head in Staplehurst a community asset. While there is no current


threat to the pub fromeither its tenant or its owner Shepherd Neame, villagers recognise the King’s Head is now the only traditional pub in Staplehurst. In recent years The Railway Tavern, Bell Inn and Pride of Kent have all closed. More recently, the village be-


came home to its first micro- brewery and bar. Staplehurst Parish Council is


8 Maidstone Weald June 2019


to meet with Shepherd Neame to discuss the issue. The coun- cil’s clerk added: “We are under no illusion that thiswill not pro- tect the area’s only traditional pub, but we are discussing whether it might be useful to make it a community asset. This provides the community with an opportunity to bid on the property should it go on the market. “The matter of whether we


would be able to find that money is also an issue that would need to be discussed fully in the event of this arising.”


RESIDENTS in Loose look set to be back at the polls in July – to vote on theirNeighbourhood Plan which, after five years in develop- ment, is nownearing completion. The plan covers three key pol-


icy areas, which seek to improve the area, particularly in light of any new development. Areas in- clude improvements to the pedestrian environment and the green, protecting the views and natural environment and, specif- ically, insisting on landscape sen- sitive designs of any new development permitted. Loose ParishCouncil says there has been “considerable liaison”


with the borough council after residents and stakeholders were asked for final comments, with some amendments before it was submitted to an independent planning examiner. Subject to some minor amend-


ments, the plan is to be presented to the borough council’s strategic planning committee this month (June)whowill then look to resi- dents to adopt or reject the plan at a referendum– possibly in July. A spokesman for the parish


council said: “It should be noted thatwhen aNeighbourhood Plan is ‘made’ it is for the planning au- thority (MBC) to implement.”


downsmail.co.uk


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