Valley Conservation Society

Holder of the KCC Award for Volunteering Excellence

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund

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­­­­­MEMBERS’ NEWSLETTER  No 99                                                               _                   May 2009
 

Last chance

to book for

James Sherwood  

 

TICKETS are on sale now for our next show – the talented comedian and pianist James Sherwood. If you haven’t yet bought your ticket do so quickly. James earned his comedy spurs writing for the hit radio shows 'The News Quiz' and 'The Now Show'.He launched his solo show 'Songs of Music' at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe.  He will perform for us at the Boughton Monchelsea Village Hall on Saturday, May 16.    Tickets are £8 (children £4).Send cheques made out to Valley Conservation Society and an SAE please to:    Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone, ME15 6DN or leave a message on 751926.   Get a taste of the show by watching the clip on www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk6uZDh5dxw

 

                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                           

Saturday, May 16

Spring

 

                        Goslings on our ponds

 

Spring is sprung                                                                   Our ponds off Cave Hill are currently

 The grass is riz                                                                    teaming with new life – animal and

 I wonder where dem goslings is                                        vegetable. Why not make a visit?

De little boids is on da wing

Ain’t that absoid!

De little wings is on da boid!

 

 

JOIN THE LOOSE VILLAGE WATER SAFARI

 

ON Sunday, June 28, thirteen gardens that all have the Loose Stream either flowing through them or close by will be opened to the public to raise money for the Ellenor Lions Hospices.

 

There will be free parking in Brooks Field, entrance via Kirkdale. Take some loose change with you as there will be teas, crafts and plants to purchase.

 

Admission to all 13 gardens costs £5 (children 50p) with a map available. The event takes place between noon and 5pm.

 

Next meeting

The next meeting of the executive committee will be this Wednesday, May 6, starting at 7.30pm at Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone. Members are always welcome to attend. Call 751926 for directions.

Farewell Neil

MOST people would agree there has been a drop in what the modern jargon prefers us to call ”anti-social behaviour” while PCSO Neil Lettington has been on the beat in South Ward.

 

It is with regret then that we learn of Neil’s imminent departure, although we understand he is not transferring far. His replacement as PCSO will be Matt Williams, and we also have a new community PC, Ian Packer. They can both be contacted at the Maidstone Urban Neighbourhood Policing Unit on 01622 604391 and you can also reach Ian by email on  ian.packer@kent.pnn.police.uk

 

Mystery: a step nearer solution?

MEMBERS may recall that in our March newsletter, we reported how Carolyn Noble from Hertfordshire had contacted our chairman, Bryn Cornwell, seeking information about this painting of the Loose Valley which she had inherited from her parents.

 

The heirloom painting

 

Although Bryn was able to identify the scene as a representation of Heron Pond, in the upper valley, on land now owned by Loose Swiss Scouts. The painting’s origins, or why it ended up at a farm sale in Devon, remained a mystery.

 

The only clues on the painting are the initials AGC and the date 1868 on the reverse of frame. But now a reader has recalled his family having a painting of All Saints Church in a similar style and he recalls the artist was Albert George Cruttenden, who possibly once had a studio in Union Street, Maidstone.

 

Does anyone have any further information? Contact Alan on 01622 751926.

More history

On the subject of tracing names from the past, some members might like to spot their own relatives among the following lists. The names are the householders listed in the Maidstone Directory, published by the Kent Messenger in 1929. The directory, price four shillings, was discovered by Leslie Field, a former resident of Farleigh Hill, Tovil, now living in Senacre, who found it in a drawer after the death of his uncle.

 

Beaconsfield Road 1    King, Frederick 3    Bonner, George 5        Griffiths, Henry Bertrand 7    Dadson, Arthur Harry 9    Dadson, George 11  Sills, Mrs 13  Reed, Wallace Sydney 15  White, Harry 17   Wilding, Richard 19  Vidler, Charles Herbert 21  Holme, Henry 23  Vye , Charles 25  Runacres, Arthur 27  Waite, Williams 29  Tugwell, Ellen 31  Taylor, Thomas Henry 33  Gardener, Charles George 35  Webb, William 37  Bedelle, Rose E. 39  Peak, Albert 41  Spain, Henry 43  Slaughter, Henry 45  Fletcher, Penrose J 47 Kingsland, Alfred 49 Birch, Edward 51  Brigden, Henry Spores Tovil Adult School   Cave Hill Turner, Edith (Lower Crisbrook Mill) Wood, Herbert Edward (Crissbrook House) Goldsmith, F.H. dairyman Langley, Ewart (Hayle Mill House) Green, Herbert (Paper Mill) Green , John Barcham (Mount Ararat) Barnes , Harry (Staple Cottage, Godlands) Russell, William (Lodge Gate, Godlands) Kirby, Laurence (Ivy Mill House) Crissbrook Cottages Wood, Ewart Langley L.   Cross Cottages 1          Archer, Fredrick 2          Senior, Alfred 3          Martin, A.   Tovil Quarry Copper’s Cottages 1          Holman, P. 2          Eves, William H 3          Ranger, Sidney 4          Epsley. Albert Edward 5          Epsley, Arthur John 6          Mandivelle, Mrs   Cooper’s Yard 1          Sunnacks, George 2          Scotcher , Robert 3          Burrage, Frederick 4          Tugwell, Archibald Caleb 5          Woolven, Walter 6          Tutt, Alfred

Church Street, Tovil 1          Spice, Mrs 2          White, William 3          Smith, W. fishmonger 5&6     Hood, William John, newsagent 7          Norton, William F. 8          Tucker, James 9          Farley, Walter 10        Wynn, Mrs 11        Smith, John Charles 12        Miller, Charles 13        Gaskin, Charles, Ernest 14        Franks, Frederick 15        Glover, Alfred Frederick 16        Weaver Ernest G. 17        Lawrence, Albert, general shop 18        Boorman, Frederick 19        Pattenden, Mrs 20        Ruck, Leigh 21        Morris, Reginald Bartram 22        Simmons, Frederick 23        The Victory P.H. Mrs Eliza Drowley 24        Gilham, Joseph 25        Hodge, Frederick 26        Robins, Samuel 27        Baker, John Thomas St Stephens Church Farleigh Hill Cousins, Berty Rose Inn Goldsmith, Frank Herbert, grocer and dairyman Mills, Charles Alfred Bonny, James R. blacksmith Alabaster Passmore and Sons Ltd, printers   2          Bills, Mrs 3          Hart, H.A. 4          Bromley, Horace 5          Saffery, James Henry 6          Tugwell, Edmund 7          Crouch, Frederick 8          Wilson, Thomas 9          Sears, Alfred 10        Presnell, A.F. 11        Constable, Mrs E. 12        Brislee, Mrs 13        Hodge, Edward 14        Jenner , George Thomas 15        Bishop, Mrs J.C. 16        Martin, Albert 17        Price, William 18        The White Horse, Smith, Harriett, Mrs. beer retailer 19        Bowles, Harry 20        Cheeseman, Mrs 21        Scotcher, William, John 22        Marsh, George 23        Watts, Mrs 24        Martin, Thomas 25        Burrage, Edith 26        Gurr, George 27        Glover, Mrs A.E.

Hayle Mill

P J LIVESEY has submitted an application to Maidstone council (MA/09/0597) requesting the remaining planning conditions attached to its Hayle Mill development to be discharged. It says it has completed the landscaping, parking, water pollution tests and other conditions imposed on it when planning permission was granted by a Government inspector back in September 2005.

The remaining condition, Number 23, that required the firm to complete the conversion of the listed mill buildings BEFORE selling any of the new build properties, the firm has blatantly flouted already, and MBC is prepared to turn a blind eye to that just as it has to the fact that Livesey has failed to replace the listed louvers to the windows of the drying loft as per its planning permission.

Kent International Gateway

MOST members will be aware of the enormous Kent International Gateway proposals for a road-rail freight depot across 285 acres at Bearsted.

Maidstone council has been around 18 months considering the application, but officers have just published their report. They have concluded that KIG will not operate primarily as a transfer point from road to rail, but will for the most part be just a huge warehousing centre for regional distribution. They anticipate that it would result in 5,500 movements of HGVs EVERY DAY in and around Maidstone. Since it will operate 24-hours a day every day of the year, that’s more than 2m lorry movements a year.

Naturally, residents in Bearsted, Hollingbourne and nearby villages are most worried about this, but be in no doubt that everyone in Maidstone will suffer from the traffic implications.

Maidstone council’s planning committee meets this Thursday (May 7) to vote on the application. Because of the large number of people expected, the meeting will be at the Maidstone TV Studios in New Cut Road, Grove Green, starting at 6pm. All welcome.

 Above, the new pond wall  restored with stones retrieved from within the pond itself

The circle of life

THEY say that every thing moves in circles and that if you wait long enough it all comes round again.

A good example this month might be the admission by the Transport Minister Lord Adonis that there was an urgent need to complete the dual carriageway through the missing links along the A21 – a project that had been ready planned, financed and ready to go when this Government came to power in 1997 and cancelled it. It just took 12 years for them to admit they were wrong and to get around to re-presenting it as if it were their own idea.

The same is true of PIPKIN.

Three years ago, Kent Highways ruled that the issue of which highway projects should proceed – given there is never enough money to do them all - should not be left to the community’s elected representatives because (Lord help us!) they might be swayed by public opinion. Instead each scheme should be measured against some cold clinical point-scoring ranking system. The result was PIPKIN - Prioritising Investments Programmes for Kent’s Integrated Network.

It sounds logical, scientific and thoroughly modern, but of course in fact it has proved to be a tool that has prevented almost every locally demanded traffic improvement scheme from gaining approval.

One big factor in the scoring system was the history of KSI (Killed or seriously injured) accidents on the road being examined. The result was that unless you had had someone die on your piece of road, you were unlikely ever to get the zebra crossing or traffic calming that you wanted. This always went against the grain for local communities since they felt that identifying a potential danger and averting the risk before someone was killed was more important.

PIPKIN also had no way of measuring the lack of use. If a road was so dangerous that parents kept their children in the back garden the whole time, that dads drove to the paper-shop instead of walking down the road, and that horse-riders and cyclists avoided it like the plaque, then its showed up as perfectly safe  - a road without a problem. That was not how the local people perceived it.

However, finally KCC is grudgingly admitting that PIPKIN has failed to meet people’s aspirations. Kent Highways is now in the process of drafting a new policy to be called SPS - the Scheme Prioritisation System.

It has been examining seven weighting options. As we go to press, the cabinet member has yet to decide which package to follow, though two factors are almost bound to be included: a greater weighting for schemes that increase road safety, tackle congestion and improve accessibility, and secondly the Joint Transportation Boards for each area (a mix of county and borough council ward members) will be able to give extra points to their eight most preferred projects.

This is the ideal solution for KCC, because it gives the illusion that everything remains strictly scientific, while at the same time actually allowing councillors to respond to public demands.

So we’re almost back to square one.

Website: You can visit the Society’s website on www.valleyconservation.org.uk

You can email the chairman on bryncornwell@yahoo.co.uk or phone him on 01622 746514.

Good Lord! It’s the Lieutenant’s deputy!

TOVIL Parish Council rightly has high aspirations for the parish – and there was an illustration of this at the annual parish meeting last Tuesday (April 28) when they secured the services of not one but two visiting dignitaries – Colonel Godfrey Linnett, a deputy Lieutenant of Kent, and Cllr Peter Parvin, the Mayor-elect.

A ballot paper full of local borough councillors were also present along with around 35 members of the public. The meeting at the Maidstone Hockey Club premises in Armstrong Road heard reports from representatives of the various groups operating within Tovil – the Scouts, Brownies, Church, school and playgroups, on what they had been doing over the past year.

Our chairman Bryn Cornwell gave the Society’s report.

New Hall

A RECURRING theme from many of the representatives of local groups speaking at the parish meeting was the need for Tovil to get its own community hall.

Carole Hardy, reporting on the Guides and Brownies, repeated her desire to bring the Tovil pack back to meeting in Tovil – a plea she makes every year. Chris Morgan Jones, speaking for the governors of the Archbishop Courtenay School said the intention was that the facilities of the new school, due to be built in Eccleston Road, would be fully open for community use in the evenings. The school was currently scheduled for completion in September 2011.

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Printed and published by Alan Smith, Bockingford House, Cripple Street, Maidstone, ME15 6DN.