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www.bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk Bearsted Parish Council


Traffic update FOLLOWING discussions with KCC, plans for double yellow lines, with a gap for about five parking spaces, onthenorthside of Ware Street, from Chapel Lane to nearly opposite Sandy Lane, were sent to local residents for comment, on September 4. Like many roads in the area,


Ware Streetwas neverdesignedfor the volume or, in some cases, size of vehicle it is having to copewith. The proposal is,we feel, the best


compromise between the four main objectives of trying to im- prove pedestrian safety, deterring speeding, keeping traffic flowing to prevent excessive pollution, and providing resident parking. We don't believe there is a per-


fect solution to this situation and we would ask residents for their support of the proposed scheme.


Firework event BEARSTED Parish Council’s Firework event will be in the Eliz- abeth Harvie field on Friday, No- vember 8. This year’s firework displaywill


be set to best ofBritishmusic.Gates open at 6pm, with last entry at 7.15pm.The showstarts at 7.30pm. Discounted tickets are available at www.wegottickets.com.Full-priced tickets can be bought on the gate. Aspokesman said“Wewill have


hot drinks and food stalls as well as all things that ‘light up’. Please do not bring your car as parking is not available. Personal fireworks are not allowed”.


Music hall BEARSTED Parish Council pres- ents, for your delectation and de- light, all theway fromLondon, the Players Theatre Club. The showis at InvictaGrammar


School in Huntsman Lane, Maid- stone, from 3.30-6pm on Saturday October 12. There will be free coach transport from Madginford and BearstedGreen. To get your free tickets (priority


to those aged 60 and older, who must live in the Bearsted parish), phone Barbara on 01622 630584 or email barbaradunford@gmail.com.


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BEARSTED’S Pond is judged by MBC to be a “feature which is essential to the character of the Conservation Area”: the parish council is sure we all agree. It is excellent news that so


many residents are really keen to see our pond restored. It is also great to hear so many ideas for crowd-funding and possible con- tributions. BPC is looking at as many funding options as possi- ble, as the project is not cheap. We have no record of the


pond’s origin, but Bearsted is an- cient.Ware Street is recorded as a Saxon road and prehistoric man certainly passed through regu- larly.Historians believe thatKing Wihtred of Kent held a royal council here in 696AD. So Bearsted was an important


place even then, and would have had common grazing. That needed water. As the Green has no streamor spring, thatmeant a dew-pond, topped upwithwater run-off fromYeoman Lane. In medieval times the Green,


then known as the Hothe, was still used for grazing. So the pond pre-dates the Tudors and almost certainly was here before the 7th Century. More recently, photographs in


the Phillip Frith collection show grazing on the Green in the late 1800s and the pond is on the Bearsted Tithe Map of 1842. So, grazing was part of the Green for over a thousand years, and the pond would have been needed throughout that time. That’s his- toryworth preserving. The pond may even have


moved. Ponds filled by natural drainage can move over time as water courses change their route. Some records suggest the pond was once where the Bearsted Cricket Club clubhouse now stands, butwe can’t be sure. We do know that the pond was


Maidstone East October 2019 The pond on Bearsted Green 20 years ago ©Philip Frith (cc-by-sa/2.0)


renovated in 1953 and reshaped to howwe see it today. Bulrushes were planted by children from Bearsted to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. A mains water feedwas also added. Since then, little has changed


and, in the1980s, the naturalist Professor David Bellamy visited and filmed the pond as part of a BBCwildlife production. The rushes planted in the 1950s


flourished, along with other non- native plantswhich arrived by ac- cident.


Bulrushes have


particularly strong, deep roots and they have punctured the orig- inal clay liner of the pond. Other species have choked parts of the pond and have also damaged the clay. Hence the current loss of water. A re-fill costs over £1,000 in


water alone, sowe decided not to waste money just refilling the pond but to look at repairs. Thesewill cost tens of thousands of pounds. Restoration of the


pond’s historicdesign (a clay liner, supportedon strawandchalk)will cost over £60,000 (or nearly £10 per person in the village). So we are also considering using slightly cheaper modern pond liners if funds cannot be raised to restore the original design. BPC has some funds set aside,


butmorewill be needed to ensure the best andmost durable restora- tion. Any ideas or initiatives to raise funds are verywelcome. Contributions from grants, the


market, local developers and oth- ers have been considered, and local crowd funding, suggested by many, seems a good way to top up the fund. BPC is planning for repairs to


start in spring 2020.Meantime, if anyone has photographs ormaps showing the pond in the 1800s or- before, we’d love to see themand share themwith the village. With thanks to Fabienne


Hughes, Kate Kersey and the Bearsted and ThurnhamSociety.


downsmail.co.uk


Office: Madginford Hall, Bearsted, ME14 8LH 01622 630165


Emails: clerk@bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk deputy@bearstedparishcouncil.gov.uk


Chair: Michael Bollom Clerk: Sarah Lewis


Options for future of our village pond


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