News Cancer op for
MP Crouch MP TRACEY Crouch has had surgery to remove cancerous tis- sue from her breast and is to un- dergo a course of chemotherapy. The member for Chatham and
Aylesford revealed on Facebook in August the latest develop- ments in her fight against the disease. She
wrote: “The surgeon
has done her job brilliantly and the cancer is all out of the
breast, with good clear margins. “The sentinel node had some disease on it, but it had not spread any further. So good news.” Because doctors fear a “high
risk” of recurrence, Miss Crouch has started a course of chemother- apy, which may cause baldness. She intends to carry on working.
PC house re
AN overheated computer is be- lieved to have started a house fire in Maidstone.
The incident happened in Charlton Street on Saturday, Au- gust 22. Two fire engines attended, and
crews wore breathing apparatus while using hose reel jets to extin- guish the flames. There were no casualties.
Killing trial THE trial of a man accused of
killing Maidstone father Jason Orwin will take place next year. Lance Colston (36), of Ton- bridge Road, is alleged to have killed Mr Orwin (55) in Bower Place last month.
downsmail.co.uk
Builders demand to see Otham messages
DEVELOPER Bellway Homes has asked for records of correspondence relating to the development of land next to the ancient church at Otham from 16 elected borough councillors, Downs Mail can reveal.
Members from across the politi-
cal spectrum have been informed that they must surrender “without limitation letters, emails, records of conversations and mobile phone correspondence” between March 1 and June 30 this year.
They learned of the request made under Freedom of Informa- tion legislation from a member of the Maidstone Borough Council policy and information team on August 24.
The councillors emphatically re-
jected Bellway’s application for 421 houses in Church Road, Otham, in July.
The builder had already indi- cated it would appeal and in- structed a London law firm to fight
the refusal at an inquiry to be held at the end of the year. The FoI requests have been made of Cllrs Keith Adkinson (Lab); Anne Brindle (Con); Karen Chappell-Tay (Con); Clive English (Lib Dem); Robert Eves (Con); Paul Harper (Lab); Ashleigh Kimmance (Lib Dem); Malcolm McKay (Lab); Gordon Newton (Ind); Lottie Parfitt-Reid (Con); John Perry (Con); Jonathan Purle (Con); Denis Spooner (Con); Val Springett (Con); Bryan Vizzard (Lib Dem) and Paul Wilby (Lib Dem). Earlier this year, the house- builder served similar requests on Downswood parish councillor Gordon Newton and county coun- cillor Gary Cooke. Cllr Newton
faces a similar request as a borough member. The policy and information team officer wrote to members: “A search for this information was un- dertaken and has identified corre- spondence from yourself that falls within the scope of the request.” The Otham housing dispute be- came a test of wills between un- elected officers, who recommended approval and warned of large costs should it fail to defend Bellway’s appeal, and the elected members. Councillors and opponents pointed to serious road safety con- cerns and the development’s prox- imity to the historic church at Otham. Bellway declined to comment.
‘Act quickly to avoid increase’
Continued from page 1 We
understand planning
oifcers at MBC, helped by the Kent Association of Local Coun- cils, came up with a figure which would equate to 1,600 homes a year for 15 years on top of what has already been built. Cllr Clive English Liberal Democrat chairman of the MBC planning committee, said an extra 34,000 houses is not out of the question. He added: “We want to avoid that sort of increase. What we're
proposing is far from ideal, but we hope people will understand.” Under the new rules, housing devel- opments, new schools and
hospitals would get approval au- tomatically in pre-designated growth areas, while renewal pro- posals would get permission in principle, subject to basic checks.
Former town planner and parish and borough councillor Denis Spooner agreed witrh Cllr Burton (pictured) Local Plan re- view must proceed quickly or “risk being overtaken by a very uncertain and unpredictable new system”. We understand opponents of large housing proposals, such asthe 4,000-home MBC-backed scheme at Lenham Heath, are watching developments care- fully. l Opinion, pages 45 & 46
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