Cllr Charlton addressing the launch party
Valley Conservation Society
Holder of the KCC Award for Volunteering Excellence
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund
Community plan
launched on
boat trip up
the Medway
AFTER two years’ graft, the team of residents and parish councillors working on the Tovil Community Plan – similar to a parish appraisal – have come up with the goods.
The plan was officially launched (November 1) aboard the Allington Belle, as the paddle-boat made its way up river from Maidstone to East Farleigh and back.
On board were the leader of Maidstone council - Cllr Chris Garland, the Mayor – Cllr Denise Joy, members of the Council’s cabinet, South Ward borough councillor John Wilson, representatives from Loose and East Farleigh parish councils, members of Tovil Parish Council and of the working group that had devised the plan. Our chairman, Bryn Cornwell, was also there.
Although the occasion was a jolly one with a finger buffet and Champagne to toast the launch, the intent was serious. Tovil Parish chairman Glyn Charlton explained that he was seeking a wide awareness of the plan to ensure Tovil’s views were to the fore in any future discussions that would affect the area.
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Cllr Charlton addressing the launch party |
The Plan - a 32-page document illustrated with photos and maps - charts both Tovil’s history and its hopes for the future, as relayed to the working group through input from residents.
Cllr Garland described the plan as "a very professional document" which he hoped other parishes in the borough would emulate. He said: "It will be extremely good to have this as a guide when ideas for Tovil are considered."
Cllr Wilson said: "Tovil has long been tarnished by its association with the tip. There is so much more to Tovil and this plan shows it in a much better light."
Cllr Charlton said: "The plan highlights what a diverse and beautiful place Tovil is to live - so near the amenities of the town, yet it stretches out into the countryside, encompassing a huge variation of lifestyles. Tovil has changed over the past few years from a huge industrial area to a residential area and these changes will continue.
“The plan highlights the need for improved infrastructure like doctors, dentists and chemists and the need to ease traffic speeds and volumes. It also questions whether it is the right position to have a refuge tip. Tovil is a high profile and much under-valued place to live."
Every home in the parish will receive a free copy of the plan during the coming weeks.
*Further information from the parish clerk, Alison Chew, on 01622 675628.
North Loose online
THE North Loose Residents’ Association has launched a new website. It is www.northloose.co.uk.
The association caters for residents mainly in the non-parished area of South Ward, ie those outside Tovil. Those interested in joining can contact the secretary, Jacquie Day, on secretary@northloose.co.uk
The NLRA holds a number of social events during the year – and the next one is their annual quiz night on Saturday, November 22, which will be at Loose Junior School. The questions start at 7.30pm. Ideally they are looking for teams of six, but will amalgamate couples and singletons into a team on the night. Tickets are £5 per head, which includes a ploughman’s supper. Take your own drinks. Tickets from The Dolly Tub in Boughton Parade or from Joan Simkins on 01622 744291.
Loose Valley Conservation Area Partnership
THERE will be a meeting of the partnership on Wednesday, November 19, starting at 7.30pm, at the Loose Swiss Scouts Headquarters in Pickering Street. All welcome.
On the agenda are the Valley Enhancement Plan and the location of way markers to be placed around the Conservation Area.
A draft copy of the enhancement plan can be viewed on the LVCAP website: www.loosevalley.org
CPRE Kent
A REMINDER that the Kent branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England holds its AGM on Friday, November 28, at the Lenham Community Centre in Groom Way, Lenham.
Your Society is affiliated to CPRE so all VCS members are welcome to attend. Lunch can be provided (cost £8) at 12.30pm prior to the AGM, which starts at 2pm. The guest speaker will be nature-writer Richard Mabey. Further details from 01303 815180.
“The end of Maidstone” - continued
MEMBERS will recall that in the last newsletter we reported on a meeting of Maidstone council’s Local Development Document Advisory Group, who roundly condemned the rather weak response drafted by officers to the Government’s latest revision of the South East Plan – a revision as one councilor put it that would result in “the end of Maidstone as we know it.”
The backbench councilors wanted the Cabinet to beef up the response before it went off to Government. Well the response was strengthened – or in council speak - made “more robust” – but was it enough?
The redrafted reply raised the four main points that had concerned the advisory group: the increase in Maidstone’s housing target from 10,080 to 11,080 homes; the declaration of the figure to be a minimum rather than a target; the abolition of policies to protect the strategic gaps between Maidstone and surrounding communities; and the need to ring-fence future development with policies requiring them to have sustainable infrastructure first.
But whereas in the redrafted response the council said it would:
“strongly object to the dilution for the “conditionality” in Policy CC7 and elsewhere, requiring the provision of infrastructure in advance of development.”
That it would:
“strongly object to the deletion of Policy for Strategic Gap.”
That it would:
“strongly object to the substitution of housing “targets” with “minimum figures”.
When it came down to the housing figure, it said only that the council would:
“challenge the justification of local need and capacity advanced by the Secretary of State to support an increase in the Maidstone district housing figure from 10,080 to 11,080 over the period 2006-2026.”
The response than went on to open wide the door for the Government to impose the 11,080 figure, by saying:
“In the event that sufficient evidence of local need and capacity is produced to justify an increase in the Maidstone district housing figure, to seek the extension of the period of the existing Growth Point agreement from 2016 to 2026 with additional funding.”
The council is very proud that it has secured in total £5m of extra Government grant for voluntarily accepting 10,080 homes over 8,200 previously, by opting for “Growth Point Status”. Now it is saying: “We’ll take another 1,000, but give us a bit more cash.” One wonders how much they would be happy with - about another £2.5m?
These sums are trivial when you consider the extra cost of building schools, roads, libraries, doctors’ surgeries etc for this additional population, or the unquantifiable value of the lost time we will all suffer as we sit in the ever-lengthening traffic queues caused by the rising house numbers.
Robust it’s not.
When The Lights Went Out
OUR October play proved to be a riveting piece of social drama, enjoyed by everyone in the 90-strong audience. Stroud Theatre Company are to be congratulated on a very professional show. Together with the proceeds of a raffle and the snack bar, the event raised £109 for the Society.
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He’s back! THE egret has returned to Reeds Pond. He was first sighted on Tuesday (Nov 11).
The bird has appeared every autumn for the past four years, usually staying until the end of March. His mate is yet to arrive.
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Membership
We are delighted to report that membership has climbed to a satisfactory 501 members this year. However, that still leaves us short of our highest ever total – 508 – achieved two years ago. A membership form is attached. If you can encourage a friend, relative of neighbour to sign up for the rest of 2008, they can stay a member for 2009 free. Membership is £2.
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Join now for what’s left of 2008 and get 2009 membership free!
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 2008/9
I/We should like to join the Society:
(Please include your title and first name)
Name: 1) ………………………………………………………………
2) ….......……………………………......…………………….
Address: ………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………Postcode……………………………….…
Phone: ………………………… E-mail: …………………….. Mobile: ………………………
I would prefer to receive newsletters by e-mail: Yes/No
Signature(s) ………………………………… .. ….………………………………
Membership is £2 per year. Send your application and your cheque made payable to
Valley Conservation Society to:
Colin Holman, Membership Secretary, Flat 3, The Manor, Hayle Place, Cripple Street, MAIDSTONE, ME15 6DW
I enclose a cheque/cash for £…………….. (Donations welcome)
______________________________________________________________________________
Office use only:
Issued: Donation: £ Membership Nos
Support LAA’s TV footpath bid!
THE Loose Amenities Association has won through to the final round in a competition to secure a “Peoples Millions” lottery grant.
The money from the Big Lottery Fund – up to £50,000 for each group - is allocated according to votes cast by Meridian TV viewers.
Each evening for four days starting on Monday, November 24, two good causes go head to head, with viewers voting for the one they believe should receive a grant.
LAA is bidding for money to improve the footpath on the land they own through the Loose Valley.
The idea is to make the path more accessible – for both the able-bodied and wheel-chair-bound and even for the visually impaired, through the use of tactile signage.
Each hopeful cause gets the chance to broadcast a short pitch for its project and LAA make their bid on Tuesday, November 25, at 6pm.
They will be up against a bid from Minster Parish Council to establish the Minster Pedal Break - a cycle path with amenities such as toilets, benches and a drinking fountain.
LAA has a more than 50/50 chance of winning, since the best runner-up will be announced on Friday and they will also get a grant – so Loose has a five out of eight chance of success!
We urge members to vote - and to encourage their friends to vote - to help Roy secure the grant.
Under the terms of the contest, the phone number you need to ring is not released until the day –and only votes cast on the day between 9am and mid-night count.
So on Tuesday 25, find the number by accessing the Big Lottery website:
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/peoplesmillions
Or look in the Daily Mirror, where it will be published,
Or wait for the number during the 6PM broadcast on Meridian.
Calls cost 10p from a BT landline.
The winner will be announced the following evening – so let’s make Wednesday a day of celebration!
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Remember, Remember, 25th November
Vote for Loose Valley |
Appalachian Roots
THOSE still hoping for tickets for our forthcoming show on November 22 will be disappointed. We are completely sold out.
Grant team
YOUR Society is also keen to take advantage of grant-funding opportunities as they become available. We have been advised by other groups that it is a good idea to prepare bid projects in advance and to have them to hand whenever an opportunity arises.
To this end, the Land Management Committee has drafted a list of proposals that it intends to cost up ready.
Small Projects:
A selection of native bulbs and plants for in and around the ponds.
Erect a bench over-looking Lower Crisbrook Pond
Build a pond-dipping platform
Naming of Treacle Wood – possibly in stone
Medium:
Stone walling course
Fencing to make safe the boundary adjacent to the footpath leading to Mount Ararat.
A long-term strategy for management of the large sycamores in Treacle Wood
Rebuild the pond wall and overflow drain off, adjacent to the sluice at Lower Crisbrook Pond, which is breaking up.
Large:
A stone replacement of the “bailey” bridge at the footpath leading to Mount Ararat.
Construction of an equipment store.
Restoration of Lower Crisbrook Mill – this project could accommodate the equipment store.
Establish and repair the leaks from the pond walls.
The projects are in no particular order. They will submitted according to the type of grant available. But in the meantime, we would be pleased to hear your views on their ideas, or perhaps hear any new ideas of your own. New faces willing to join the project team would also be very welcome
Contact our chairman, Bryn Cornwall on 01622 746514
Help needed
YOUR Society is keen to play its role in a new grouping being established to foster the green spaces along the River Medway, upstream from Maidstone. The Green Spaces Group will include borough and parish councilors and interested community groups on both sides of the river. We would like a member to accompany our committee member Jim Williams as one of two VCS representatives on the new body. Volunteers please to Bryn on 01622 746514.
The history puppets
THE next talk to the Loose Area History Society will be entitled Puppets, Piers and Pantomime. It will be presented by Alan Stockwell on Monday, December 8, at 7.30pm in Loose Infants Hall. All welcome. Admission is £2.50 – pay on the door. For more details, call 01622 741198
Bob Bevan
IT IS with sadness we note the passing of Robert (Bob) Bevan on November 3. Bob had been a resident in the Loose Valley for 49 years. A partner in D.R.Nolans chartered surveyors of College Road, Bob continued to go in regularly to his office almost until his final illness. He was 85.
Bang!
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THE sack hoist at Upper Crisbrook Mill that overhangs Hayle Mill Road was struck by a lorry this month. The driver failed to stop, but the incident was witnessed by residents and he was tracked to the Hayle Mill site where he was delivering. There is an urgent need for KCC to stop dragging its heels on the traffic-calming scheme for the Lower Loose Valley. (The scheme includes kerbing at the footprint of the hoist.) Tovil Parish Council is paying for the scheme so for once Kent Highways can’t cry poverty as their excuse. Let’s see some action. Work Party BRYN and his team are continuing with the Tuesday work parties – either on our ponds or at Treacle Wood.
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A recent project involved making safe a large boulder at the top of the ragstone quarry face in Treacle Wood.
The boulder had been dislodged by tree roots and was threatening to come down. The gang cut it clear and allowed it to fall in a controlled descent.
New faces at the work party are always welcome. The gang starts work at 11am. Details from
Bryn on 01622 746514.
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Curiously, in clearing away the brambles from the rock-face,
the team have uncovered the representation of a human head in the
stone. Can you spot it?
New Line Learning – a public meeting
THE North Loose Residents Association together with South Ward Cllr Ian Chittenden has arranged a meeting with the developers of the former Oldborough Manor School site in Boughton Lane in November.
Preparation work on the new school starts in December and construction in the New Year.
To find out exactly what is planned, and to raise any concerns you have directly with the developers, go along to the meeting on Tuesday, November 25, at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church Hall in Boughton Lane. All welcome.
Further information from NLRA chairman Joan Simkins on 01622 744291.
Farewell to The Rose
THE Rose pub, at the foot of Farleigh Hill in Tovil, has gone. It was demolished very quickly in just two days last week.
The building had become derelict and an eyesore since it served its last pint three years ago, nevertheless it is yet another significant feature of the Tovil landscape to have disappeared.
Tovil parish council had attempted to have the pub listed to help preserve it, but were unable to persuade English Heritage that the building, that had been much altered over the years, was of sufficient architectural integrity.
The exact date of construction of the last building is unknown, but was before 1851. It was timber- framed with lathe and plaster. However, the parish was able to find out that the site had been home to an inn since at least 1750.
The owners have permission to build 14 flats in its place.
Where has all the rubbish gone?
MEMBERS who braved the persistent drizzle to litter pick along the banks of the River Medway on Sunday, October 26, in support of the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership’s Great River Rubbish Roundup, were delighted to discover just how little litter there was.
The usual collection of mangled bicycles and shopping trolleys was made, but in terms of ”ordinary” litter such as crisp packets, beer cans and drinks cartons, the volunteers struggled to fill a handful of bags. Perhaps the message is finally getting through…
Website:
YOU can visit the Society’s website on www.valleyconservation.org.uk
You can email the chairman on bryncornwell@yahoo.co.uk
Next meeting
ALL meetings of the Society are open to all members to attend. The next meeting of the executive committee will be on Wednesday, December 3. We will meet at Flat 3, The Manor, Hayle Place, the home of Colin and Jane Holman, starting at 7.30pm. Call 746514 for directions.
______________________________________________________________________________-Printed and published by Alan Smith, Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone, ME15 6DN
