News Lunch thanks
MAIDSTONE Mayor Marion Ring has said thank you to the borough council’s frontline workers by treating them to a fish and chip lunch on August 27. Eighty staff were recognised for
the frontline duties they performed during the Covid-19 pandemic at their depot.
Cllr Ring said: "This lunch was
the very least I could do as their mayor to say thank you to them."
Fatal crash
A WEST Malling man has died fol- lowing a collision in Pembury. The incident happened at about 11.40am on Thursday, August 27, at the junction with Woodsgate Way in Pembury High Street. The crash involved two vehicles – a grey BMW 335 car and a red Honda VFR800 motorbike. The rider of the Honda, a man in his 30s from West Malling, died at the scene.
New landlord THE famous Dog and Bear pub in
Lenham has a new landlord. Fraser Pearson (48), who has taken charge of the Shepherd Neame premises, has worked in hospitality for more than two decades. Mr Pearson previously ran the Chiltern Hundreds in Maidstone and a pub in Tenterden.
Fire in woods
FIREFIGHTERS tackled a wood- land blaze in Seven Mile Lane, Mereworth, on August 23. Two fire engines and an all-ter-
rain vehicle were sent to the scene at 2.30pm, and crews tackled the flames using hosereel jets, flexi packs, water buckets and a fogging unit. No casualties were reported. The cause is currently not known.
Tip queues
QUEUES for Tovil tip are the worst in the county, with waiting times of 14 days to get a slot. Kent County Council, which runs the recycling centre, recog- nises Tovil is much in demand and has announced plans for another dump which will serve the north- ern half of town.
Pub ‘brawl’
FOUR men aged between 17 and 47 are on police bail after an al- leged disturbance outside a pub in Tovil on August 7. Four men and a teenager were injured and re- quired hospital treatment.
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Bomb team called to tackle suspect device
A BOMB disposal team was called to a property in Coxheath after “potentially live” ammunition was discovered.
The suspected explosives were found in the grounds of a manor house in Amsbury Road on Fri- day, August 21. Residents nearby were told to stay indoors while experts dealt with the device.
According to local reports, a new tenant was
clearing out
when she came across what she thought were shotgun cartridges strung together with lengths of wire.
Police speculated the device
was to be used as a bird-scarer or to deter intruders. The army’s Royal Logistic Corps’ explosive ordnance dis- posal (EOD) team parked its van on the driveway while two police cars were used to prevent vehicles using the road. A six-wheeled robot, often used in conflict zones, was employed initially to assess the danger. A Kent Police spokesman said:
“A number of objects were found attached by wires to what ap- peared to be shotgun cartridges. “On inspection by an EOD team it is believed the items had been
used as improvised bird-scarer devices or intended to deter poachers or intruders. They had possibly been left in place by a previous tenant a number of years ago.
“They were not deemed to be dangerous but have been taken away by EOD to be destroyed. No offences have been committed.” The property is understood to
have been let to a family until re- cently and the current occupant had moved into the house only a
matter of days before. It is not known who made the grisly discovery on the perimeter of the house. A neighbour who asked not to
be named said: “It’s not every day that the bomb disposal team rocks up in your road and wheels out one of those robot things to check a suspect device. It must have been a grim discovery for the per- son who found it.
“They did the right thing, though. No dramas in the end.”
Parishes to fight homes plan
PLANS for 250 homes on land at Forty Acres Field, East Malling, will now go to a public inquiry on De- cember 1. Wates Development have ap-
pealed against the borough council’s decision to refuse the application. David Thornewell, chairman of
East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council and local county councillor Trudy Dean (pictured) led objections on grounds including prematurity to adoption of a local plan, damage to communities and the countryside. Over 3,000 people have objected
to the plan, many preferred a pro- posal to designate the site part of an extension to the Green Belt. Parish councils are raising £60,000 for legal representation at the planning appeal in October. Cllr Thornewell said: “Local people
feel very strongly that house builders will build over all our green spaces, despite the fact that the borough
council has delivered the Govern- ment’s housing targets, and the draft Local Plan lists enough sites to do so again, without Forty Acres. Cllr Dean added: “This could be
our last chance to defend this open space and achieve added protection from the Green Belt. It is crucial we can match the legal representation of Wates and that comes at a cost.” A spokesman for Wates Develop-
ment said: “The site will deliver 250 new homes, 100 of these would be affordable homes secured for peo- ple with a local connection to the area, as well as other public benefits including 27 acres (65% of whole site) of new public open space, up- graded footpaths towards West Malling train station, play spaces and a new home for the Larkfield Community Church.”
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