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£20m to cut carbon and protect environment


A GRANT of £20m has been won by Kent County Council to reduce carbon emissions, centred on the county town,writes Ciaran Duggan. Energy projects will be created


to “decarbonise” the authority’s large estate, which includes hun- dreds of office buildings, children centres and libraries. This


includes solar park


schemes, heat pump initiatives and funding towards the upgrade of light bulbs to LED. The grant must be spent by September 30. Carbon emissions on County


Hall’s estate have reduced by 50% from 2010 to 2020, with more pro- jects in the pipeline. It comes nearly two years after County Hall declared a climate emergency and eight months


Stolen dog is recovered in


house search A STOLEN dog has been found safe in Coxheath. Marshall, a cane corso crossed with a presa canario, was taken from a rescue cen- tre in Essex last month. He had been placed at a temporary home in Kent, where it is alleged the animal was sold on and subse- quently never returned to the rescue centre.


Enquiries led to planned


search warrants at two prop- erties in Tonbridge and one in Coxheath during the early hours on March 12. The stolen dog was found in Coxheath. A second dog and nine puppies discovered at a property in Audley Av- enue, Tonbridge, were seized as part of the investigation, along with a quantity of cannabis. Two people were arrested. A 38-year-old man and a 32-


year-old woman have been detained on suspicion of theft, fraud, possession of class B drugs and money laundering.


Enquiries concerning the circumstances of the animal theft remain ongoing.


after KCC vowed to reach net- zero carbon on its estate by 2030. Around 86% of £27million in-


vestment required to make KCC’s estate carbon-neutral has been se- cured by the Conservative ad- ministration in recent years. A £5.5million scheme has been in development in Kent since 2016, which aims to replace fossil fuel heating like gas and oil with heat pumps. KCC is aiming to create a low- carbon heat network in the centre of Maidstone, next to the Kent History and Library Centre, in James Whatman Way.


The project would allow heat to be extracted from the River Med- way and used to provide warmth at Maidstone County Hall, the Kent History and Library Centre and HMP Maidstone.


A range of technologies will be used to generate the energy, in- cluding a water source heat pump and solar thermal energy. Work is likely to start in March


2022, with the scheme anticipated to be in operation in 2023. A detailed report on the plans


was be discussed by KCC’s envi- ronment and transport committee on March 18.


News COVID group


for ex-patients A NEW Facebook group has been set up to support residents who received treatment for COVID-19 at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital.


The group, named the MTW COVID-19 Experience Group, is the first of its kind and will be a safe place for former patients to chat about their experiences. To join, log into Facebook,


search for “MTW COVID-19 Ex- perience Group” and click join be- fore answering three questions – which hospital you were treated in, when you were treated and the area you live in.


Nikki Lewis, MTW NHS Trust’s interim patient experience lead, said: “Creating a peer sup- port group for those recovering from COVID-19 who are no longer under the care of MTW, means they can connect with like- minded people in one place and talk freely about their experience overall.” Robbie Goatham, Healthwatch Kent manager, said: “We know from chatting to people who have had COVID-19 that it can be a lonely experience. We also know that some people are still strug- gling several months on.”


Pair collapse


TWO men were taken to hospital in a serious condition after col- lapsing in Maidstone town centre. Emergency services cordoned off part of the River Medway at around 9.30pm on March 15. An ambulance spokesman said:


"I can confirm we were called to reports two people had been found collapsed in need of medi- cal attention. "Ambulance crews attended the scene and the male patients were assessed and treated at the scene before being taken to hospital in a serious condition."


Events are off Sowing the seeds...


PUPILS at Boughton Monchelsea Primary School spent a damp March morning sowing wild flower seeds along Church Street. Led by their teacher Mrs Roots, the group entered the orchards and learned about the field’s history. Cllr Caroline Jessel said: “The children loved sowing the seeds and kept coming back for more. Although the scattering was a little haphazard, the end result after a bit of foot-stomping was perfect. “The children are all keen to return in the summer to see the flowers blooming and to count the insects enjoying the wildflowers.”


ALL events on council land be- fore June 21 have been postponed or cancelled, according to a coun- cil report.


Maidstone Borough Council


awaits a Government study ex- amining how large events can be staged without the need for social distancing, using mitigations such as testing.


Organisers of all events on council land must submit man- agement plans to the national Safety Advisory Group.


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