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News
1st April 2020LATEST: West Malling church saved from closure
A CHURCH at the ‘heart of the parish’ has been saved from closure following a public outcry to stop it being sold for housing. The St. Thomas More Church in West Malling had been ...
13th March 2020HOUSING CRISIS: Society says borough council 'panders' to developers over roads
AN INFLUENTIAL community organisation has accused Maidstone Borough Council of delaying road improvements to convenience house builders. The Bearsted and Thurnham Society, referring to the ...
HOUSING CRISIS: Parish council body says Kent's homes' targets are too high
A BODY representing parish councils in Kent has identified a housing crisis “as a result of trying to achieve targets set by Government”. Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC) sent a ...
HOUSING CRISIS: Leeds Castle will 'fight its corner' if threatened
THE chief executive of Leeds Castle, one of the county’s foremost tourist attractions, has expressed his fears about over-development in this area of Kent. Sir David Steel, while recognising ...
M20 ROADWORKS: Full details of schedule next week - official
THE SMART motorway contractor and Highways England have issued the folowing statement regarding M20 works in the coming week. It says: 09 March to 15 March Work to reduce congestion and ...
LENHAM HEATH: Ashford MP Damian Green says MBC 5,000 house plan 'is wrong'
FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green, the MP for Ashford, has rejected Maidstone Borough Council’s (MBC) plan to put 5,000 houses on Lenham Heath. The Liberal Democrat-led MBC is the ...
COUNCIL TAX: Public face inflation-busting increase in April
COUNCIL tax-payers are to be hit with an inflation-busting rise in charges in April. Liberal Democrat-led Maidstone Borough Council voted through the hike of 2%, taking the average bill for a ...
EXCLUSIVE: Golding Homes rapped for failings in electrical fire safety
ONE of Maidstone's biggest providers of social housing, Golding Homes, has been served a regulatory notice for"high risk" failings over electrical safety, Daily Downs Mail has ...
Deputy mayor Wendy Hinder dies after a short illness
MAIDSTONE'S Deputy Mayor, Cllr Wendy Hinder, has died after a short illness. She was taken ill at the end of January with a suspected stroke but we understand she took a turn for the worse ...
EXCLUSIVE: Secret council 'housing crisis' meeting ends in anger and accusations
A MEETING to discuss the council's decision to delayits controversial 'call for sites' (CFS) excercise, which may see 28,000 homes built in the borough, descended into near chaos on ...