News New curate’s


village link LORNA Faulkner could not have imagined shewould bemoving to the village she loved to visit with her sons, who played in Hunton park all those years ago. The former teacher is about to


become a central part of the com- munity as the newchurch curate. She told Downs Mail: “When


our boys were little we used to drive out from Maidstone to Hunton to play in the park by the hall and towatch the cricket. “It’s lovely to think thatwe now


get to be part of the community we visited back then and we are very much looking forward to getting to knoweveryone.” Lorna takes up her role as cu-


rate inHunton and the benefice’s other parishes in September, after her ordination. Lorna has lived in Maidstone


for nearly 24 years, and will be moving with her husband and three sons, one of whom plays cricket for Yalding. She said: “We are looking for-


ward to enjoying life in a more rural part of Kent and exploring the villages.”


Family history


THERE is good news for those looking to find out more about their family ties. The details of over 2.6 million


christenings,weddings and funer- als spanning more than 400 years are nowavailable to search online. The details allow for a search of


3,000 handwritten registers at the KentHistory andLibraryCentre in Maidstone. The details are available in con-


junction with family history web- site Findmypast. Free access to FindMyPast is available at allKent County Council libraries. Mike Hill, KCC’s cabinet mem-


ber for community services, said: “The majority of the parish regis- ters held by the Kent Archives service will now be available to search around the world for the first time.”


Rubbish block


ASHAMELESS flytipper dumped hisunlawful cargo in themiddle of the road in BoughtonMonchelsea onAugust 14. The rubbish, piled in the car-


riageway at Church Hill by the crossroads, meant the road was impassable. A team from Kent County Council was called to re- move thewaste.


20 Maidstone Weald September 2019


downsmail.co.uk


Council slammed over Brexit funds criticism


THELibDemleadershipofMaidstoneBoroughCouncilhas beenaccused of “playingpoliticswithBrexit” after criticisms aboutGovernment funding. In an official press release, Cllr


Martin Cox said £50,000 allocated to each of the country’s 400 local authorities is “derisory” andinsuf- ficient to cover the £1mcost of a no deal Brexit onOctober 31. But Independent Maidstone


councillor Eddie Powell accused the leader of “scaremongering”. Cllr Powell, pictured, added:


“The Liberal Democrats’ view on Brexit is well known and they are ardent remainers, so I detect a cer- tain political slant to this. “He is suggesting a figure about


costs that they cannot really know or understand. It smells of scare- mongering. “All itdoes is create fear andthat


is completely unfair to the people ofMaidstone.” MBC claims the borough will


incur additional costs from traffic disruption to regular services, in- cludingwaste collection, and from littering on busy routesusedby in- ternational traffic like the A249 - DetlingHill. Cllr Cox said: “The announce-


mentmade…to provide £20mil- lion for councils to prepare for delivering Brexit on October 31 is frankly derisory. “Given that there are about 400


councils inEngland, this equates to £50K each, andwe have estimated


that inMaidstone alone our poten- tial costs are over £1million.” Asked if the countil tax-payer


will have to meet a budget short- fall, anMBCspokesman said: “The council tax-payer would have to meet the shortfall in the absence of support fromcentral government, which is the reason we are lobby- ing for funding. “We would look to central gov-


ernment tomeet the shortfall, as it arises fromeventswhich are out of our control. “We hold reserveswhich are in-


tendedtodealwith events like this, but itwould take time to replenish the reserves and the council tax payerwould have to pay.”


‘IsMBC about


to go under?’ MAIDSTONE Borough Council has admitted it has insufficient cash tomeet a no deal Brexit bill. TheLibDem-ledauthorityreck-


ons itwill need over £1mfor costs associatedwith leaving the EUon October 31without an agreement. But a Conservative opposition councillor asked: “Does thatmean the council is about to go bust?” An MBC spokesman said its


costings are:  Disruption to regular services, including bin collection - £750,000; Littering - £130,000; Extra staffing - £210,000; Procurement costs - £100,000. The spokesman added: “We


have no spare capacity within our budget to meet these costs.” Conservative opposition group


spokesman Cllr Jonathan Purle asked: “If the Lib Dem leadership believe their own Remainer hy- perbole, does this mean the coun- cil is about to go bust? “Is the director of finance Mark


Green, going to issue the statutory warning, so that this poorly-per- forming council can be taken over by the Government?”


Karen’s trek boosts RNIB funds


FUNDRAISER Karen Kamundi com- pletedan18-mile trekacross thepic- turesque South Downs to raise money for sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Karen(49), fromSenacre,was reg-


istered partially-sighted around 10 years ago, after losing her central vi- sion in both eyes due to genetic retina damage. She signed up for Trek South


Downs and exceeded her target of £350. Karensaid: “I’vebeenstudyingfor


a degree with the Open University and graduated last year. I was left wondering what to do next and de- cided to sign up for RNIB’s Trek SouthDowns.Notonlydiditgivemy brain a much-needed break, it also gotme doing something physical.


“RNIB’s treks are guided, so I felt


confidentandreassuredthroughout the day that I would complete the challenge. “The overall daywasgreat; I loved


everyminute, and it helped that the weather was lovely. It felt great to be outdoors and to be surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the South Downs.” RNIB spokesman Lizzi Wagner


said: “We’re delighted that Karen enjoyed taking part in this year’s Trek South Downs. “Itwas a fantastic day, andwe’re


incredibly grateful to everyone who took part tomake it a great success. “Themoney Karen raisedwill help


us continue to smash the barriers facing people with sight loss, so please dig deep and help her raise asmuchmoney as possible.”


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