News


Bail hostel plan dumped amid residents’ concerns


A CONTROVERSIAL plan to ex- pand a bail hostel in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, has been shelved. It follows sustained concerns by borough councillor Jonathan Purle and local residents who feared crime in the area would increase. The Ministry of Justice, via the National Probation Service, planned to add an 11-bedroom block to the existing facility. After a virtual meeting with Maidstone Borough Council offi- cers, the MoJ withdrew the plans, although Cllr Purle worries the same scheme may be repackaged and resubmitted later.


Cllr Purle (Con), pictured, has written to senior MoJ officials ask- ing them to make clear their plans and to address restrictive covenants that limit possible uses of the land to the rear of Fleming House. He led a vocal campaign on be-


to visitors THE Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone has re- opened. Visitors are once again able to browse the shelves for books, in- stead of being offered a limited service during the Covid-19 pan- demic.


order the book they wanted in ad- vance. Printing and computer ser- vices remained open.


The opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday.


I’m pleased to say that it’s the first round to us. But we’ll have to see whether they choose to come back for more. What the local residents really need now is not another plan- ning application or efforts to nobble the local Police into withdrawing their objection, but a meaningful plan from the Ministry of Justice to reduce the harm being caused by the ongoing use of Fleming House as Kent’s only ‘Approved Premises’. “It cannot be right that of all the places in Kent, it’s people in our part of Maidstone who have to put up with the nuisance and crime em- anating from this place.


half of the local residents who feared a spike in crime if Fleming House was expanded. The application was all but scup- pered when Kent Police lodged an objection to the plan. Cllr Purle said: "It’s been a short but vigorous campaign so far and


“It has to be obvious that if you


take high-risk offenders from across the region and release them here, without adequate supervision, there is going to be trouble for local people.”


The MoJ said the plan was in line with expansion across the UK.


Library open Direct action on Mall masks


A SHOPPING centre will start contacting schools directly after a spate of complaints about school children flouting COVID-19 guidelines. The Mall in Maidstone has re-


Until now, library users had to


ceived a number of criticisms from guests about pupils from the local area shopping without masks and not socially distanc- ing.


Capital and Regional, the company which owns the town centre mall, says security will be taking note of any schools to be


contacted for non-compliance. The Government announced back in July that face coverings are mandatory for people visit- ing shops.


A Capital and Regional spokesman said: "We’ve advised security to remind school chil- dren aged 11 and above to be mindful of government guide- lines while visiting the centre following a number of com- plaints from guests about groups of school children shop- ping without face-coverings.”


Council warned of appeal costs


THE building firm behind re- jected plans for 250 houses at Forty Acres Field at East Malling has warned the local planning au- thority it faces legal costs of £250,000 if it wins an appeal. The message came in a letter from Wates Developments to the boss of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.


A letter from David Brockle-


bank, Wates’ executive managing director, to Julie Beilby, chief ex- ecutive of TMBC, set out the risks associated with costs being awarded against the council fol- lowing an inquiry, which is due


44 to start on December 1. Quoting a similar appeal in


Tandridge, Surrey, where legal fees amounted to more than £250,000 were awarded to the house builder, the letter said: “Wates takes no pleasure in mak- ing cost claims against councils, a burden that falls squarely on local taxpayers. “However, we are prepared to


make such claims where a coun- cil has acted unreasonably”. A statement from TMBC said: “The decision to refuse the Wates proposal was taken after lengthy public debate by members of the


planning committee, in full knowledge that the applicants could appeal and the council may incur significant costs in defend- ing any such appeal.” David Thornewell, chairman of East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council stated: “I think Wates should have waited until that pro- cess is completed. It would be more democratic to wait, given that the public were encouraged and did respond in great numbers to the local plan review process.” “Trying to pre-empt that pro- cess undermines public faith in the planning system as a whole.”


downsmail.co.uk Driver in fatal


crash named A MAN killed in a serious crash in Kingswood has been named as Paul Hooker. Mr Hooker was travelling in a white Mercedes GL350 when it overturned in Pitt Road, between Langley and Kingswood, at about 11.25pm on September 21. The vehicle is understood to


have been travelling from Horse- shoes Lane.


Family and friends left floral tributes at the roadside. Locals believe his car may have flipped after hitting a pothole. Kent Police’s Serious Collision


Investigation Unit is investigating the circumstances, and officers are appealing for any witnesses to con- tact them.


Hospice ‘still


struggling’ HEART of Kent Hospice chief ex- ecutive Sarah Pugh has admitted “things are still tough” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fundraising to enable the hos-


pice to support the seriously ill is the key issue, says Mrs Pugh. She added: “Our local commu- nity, trusts, foundations and busi- nesses have been extraordinary in willingness and ability to help us navigate through the challenges.” Many major fundraising activi-


ties have been defeated by virus re- quirements and the hospice has had to look in other directions. These include an accumulator challenge, an Art of Kent auction and knitting/buying Unity Mitten tree decorations.


Festival back


but online MUSIC@Malling will be back for its tenth festival between October 17-20.


For the first time it will be live and online. Concerts will be avail- able to purchase online and there will be free talks and outreach events.


Among the many artists per- forming at the festival will be vio- linist Una Palliser, pianist Sophia Rahman, Sam Burgess, a stalwart of the UK jazz scene, and Lizzie Ball, with her celebrated colleagues from Classical Kicks exploring an eclectic journey through many mu- sical styles and genres.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56