DELIVERED TO 5,000 HOMES

AUGUST 2012 Published by Kennington Community Forum

Follow the Forum at www.kenningtoncf.kentparishes.gov.uk and on Facebook

Phil quits Independent Party

Best-ever Fayre smashes records

CALL FOR CROSSING GAINS SUPPORT

IT was the wettest June on record but the best-ever Kennington Summer Fayre. A record crowd, estimated at more than 2,500, enjoyed a great day of family entertainment. The final amount raised for local voluntary organisations and chari-ties is expected to be nearly £10,000 — a record amount. Kennington PTA made £1,900, St Mary’s Church £1,000 and the Scouts £850. Early morning drizzle and a brisk breeze threatened to put a damp-ener on the day, but the sun came out and crowds poured in. Bell ringers rang a special peal from St Mary’s Church and then Towers Cheerleaders led the Mayor of Ashford, Cllr Bob Davidson into the arena for the opening ceremony and the dedication of an oak tree planted to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by Ken-nington Community Forum.

The Cheerleaders put on a thrilling display and were followed by the Downs View Infants choir, Hyung Je Martial Arts, the Reel Eire Dance Show Team, Fitness and Judo dis-plays, Impact Dance and Cheer, and Soak the Vicar! Attractions included a children’s funfair, owls, rescued greyhounds, guide dogs and beat-the-goalie. There were long queues for hot-dogs and ice creams. The 35 stall-holders all did well and some had sold out by mid-afternoon. “The atmosphere was friendly, vibrant and fun, and there was something for all the family —

So cool: Nothing beats a nice ice cream Picture: PETER BAINES

THE need for a pedestrian crossing in Canterbury Road where the footpath from Little Burton Farm emerges has been raised several times via Kennington Forum and is now gaining momentum. It has the support of county councillor Andrew Wickham He said: “An extension to the footpath is not going to happen so this is something to consider instead.” Cllr Wickham became involved after Ted Pragnell told a meeting of the Forum that it was agreed 80 years ago to extend the footpath on the Little Burton side of the road but nothing had ever happened. Andy Padgham, KCC traffic engineer, said: “It is a very tricky location for a zebra crossing. There are some possibilities, but we need to show there is sufficient demand for it.” If you support the idea of a crossing please contact Cllr Wickham or Forum chairman Chris Morley. Details in back page information panel.

whether it was books for me, plants for my wife or fair-ground rides for my little girl,” said Mark Street of Ball Lane. “The entertainment was also top-notch, made all the more enjoyable by knowing how much of the talent is drawn from Kennington.

“So many people value the Fayre as it give people a sense of belonging and community.” Natalie Grove of Kennington Cricket Club said: “We had a great day. We have never done anything like this before so we weren't quite sure what sort of money we could raise. As it turned out, we raised a lot more than we expected. I’ve lived in Kennington for 40 years and attended most of the Fayres. This was by far the best and I loved the layout.” Grand Draw winners: Back Page

BIN MEN WILL TAKE PLASTIC THERE could be big changes to rubbish and recycling collections in Kennington. From April, if all goes to plan, plastic, Tetra Pak cartons and cardboard will be collected along with paper, glass and metal. Domestic waste which cannot be recycled or composted is used to produce electricity. No waste will go to landfill. Further details when the contract is finalised by the council in the autumn.

KENNINGTON councillor Phil Sims has resigned from the Ashford Independent Party. He will serve the rest of his term on Ashford council unaligned with any group. Phil won the seat last year from the Tories. He had campaigned against

plans to build homes in North Kennington and development which included the Hockey Club

site in Ball Lane. He said: “This will make no difference to the way I represent the people in my ward, and I still support the

Party’s manifesto."

£50,000 BOOST FOR CRICKET CLUB KENNINGTON Cricket Club has received £50,000 from Sport England towards the £100,000 needed to replace its ageing pavilion. Treasurer John Cunningham said: “After we have met potential contractors in August we will have a clearer idea of the timescale to complete this major project.”

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KENNINGTON

Community Forum

represents the views of

people living and working in

Kennington and communicates

those views to Ashford

council and other statutory

organisations. It is an

independent, voluntary group

with its own constitution.

THE Forum is led by a

Core Group comprising the

Chair, Treasurer, Secretary

and up to nine other mem-

bers. It is supported by an

officer from Ashford Council.

YOU will be very welcome

at the Forum’s meetings which

are held every two months at

St Mary’s Community Centre,

Rylands Road.

31 JULY, 7.30pm

25 SEPTEMBER

AGM, 7.30pm

Ideas galore for new look at Bockhanger

THE £470,000 paid by Kent County Council to developers to resolve a legal dispute over land earmarked for the Goat Lees primary school is an absolute scandal. Taxpayers will have to foot the bill because of an appalling blunder the authority wanted to hush-up.

The huge settlement was only disclosed after a Freedom of Information Act request.

The site, off Hurst Road, Kennington, was given to KCC as a developer’s contribution when work began on the Goat Lees estate in 1998 — on condi-tion that work on the primary school started within 12 years.

When the deadline passed the land had to be returned to the Goat Lees development consortium.

Area education officer David Adams says the authority still does not accept the devel-oper’s claim. Yet KCC decided not to contest a scheduled High Court hearing and agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

The long-running dispute also reflects badly on the developers who have cashed in on a project that would benefit the community at a time of constant cut-backs. Both parties should hang their heads in shame. THE EDITOR

U3A — the University of the Third Age — has no exams or degrees. It is an organisation, largely vol-untary, run by and for people no longer in full time employment. It has more than 250,000 members and Kent has dozens of branches. Wye and District has more than 100 members, some from Ken-nington. Activities include out-

ings, scrabble, bridge, old-time dancing, current affairs discus-sions and book groups. If you wish to find out more you are invited to a Coffee Morning at St Mary’s Community Centre, Rylands Road on Tues 14 August from 10.30am to 12.30pm. For more details go to www.u3asites.org.uk/wye or call David Mann on 01233 623051.

A disgrace!

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN

LOCAL residents put forward their views on the future of the heart of Bockhanger at a public consulta-tion. The site includes Bockhanger Library, Bockhanger Community Centre, shops and open space. Over 50 people attended the event and had an opportunity to discuss ideas with officers from Ashford Council, Kent Libraries, and bor-ough and county councillors. Hang 10, the youth service for Ashford, were also on hand to find out views from younger residents. A wide variety of comments were record-ed, and views on the appearance of the square ranged from “tired” to “a useful community resource in need of smartening up”. Visitors suggested new activities

which they would be keen to help organise at the Community Centre, from trampolining through football training to theatre. Derek Standing, chair of the Bockhanger Redevelopment Site Steering Group, said: “We were pleased with the constructive feedback and we plan to hold a further event later this year to look in more detail at ideas for improvements to the area.” Derek can be contacted on 01233 639032 or email derekwstanding@ntlworld.com READ ON . . . Bockhanger library welcomes volunteers through its Time2Give scheme. The library is

open Mon 2-5pm, Wed 10am-1pm,

Fri 2-5pm and Sat 10am-2pm

BOCKHANGER Community Centre

can be hired for many purposes including: parties, wedding receptions, cultural events, club and group meetings. Rates: Monday to Friday 9am-7pm, £7.50 per hour. Monday to Friday 7pm-11pm, £11.45 per hour. Saturday & Sunday 9am-11pm, £15 per hour For all inquiries please contact Nikki on 07860 169353

TWO boards dated 1777 which hang in St Mary’s Church, Kennington, are to be restored thanks to a donation of £2,046 from The Friends of St Mary's. The boards detail an-cient bene-factions to the Parish.

THE REV Richard King will be switching his day off from Fridays to Mondays from 14 August.

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Stop drivers speeding before someone dies S

OMEONE will be killed soon if steps are not taken to stop speeding and poor parking in

Faversham Road, fear residents. They are angry that despite many accidents — three of them serious — no action has been taken by the police or Kent Highways. It was only after the latest acci-dent, when urgent concerns were raised, that traffic experts decided to arrange a site meeting to look at ways of solving the problem. Faversham Road resident Peter Powell said: “When the WI Hall is in use — at any time of the day — cars park from the end of the yellow lines up the road on that side towards Broadhurst Drive. “Traffic coming up the road does not give way to oncoming vehicles, who have precedence, but acceler-ate to pass parked vehicles. The 30mph speed limit is grossly exceeded, particularly if there is a line of parked cars. “There have been at least three serious incidents in the last two years. The latest was on 5 June when a vehicle coming up the road hit a parked car and overturned. It can only be a matter of time before someone is killed.

County councillor Andrew Wickham is getting a traffic regulation order to enforce the zig-zag lines outside Kennington schools which will outlaw the type of parking seen here. He hopes it will be in force by September.

TIME IS UP FOR ZIG-ZAG PARKERS

Bollards could save verges

Above: Call for speed

checks

Write off: This parked Nissan Micra was hit by a car

KCC Highways is considering installing bollards to stop people parking on the grass verges in Faversham Road. While some residents keep the verges outside houses between Vicarage Road and Ulley Road in good condition, many others are being used for parking or for vehicle turning and the grass becomes mud.

The verges do not belong to the properties but are, like the lime tree avenue, the respon-sibility of Kent Highways and should be an attractive feature of that part of Faversham Road. KCC went to some ex-pense about three years ago to reinstate many of the verges.

It is an offence to drive over double yellow lines, cross the pavement and park on a verge or park on wider pave-ment where it exists — outside the Rose Inn for example.

“Pavement parking is a real problem. I’ve lost count of the times I have seen elderly people in electric buggies and mothers with pushchairs having to bump into the road to negotiate a route around vehicles.”

Mr Powell said if the double lines were extended towards Broadhurst Drive it could reduce the number of accidents, broken mirrors and cars mount-ing the pavement.

He said traffic calming was urgently needed, whether it be islands, speed humps or tabling.

Mrs Sandra Blackmore, who lives near Towers School said: “Cars race up and down the road often mounting the pavement because of large oncoming vehicles and not

having time to slow down. Trying to get in and out of our driveway is a nightmare and we are often abused by drivers. County council-lor Elizabeth Tweed paid for two speed indicators, but unfortunate-ly they have no effect at all. “Speeding traffic is having a knock-on effect as cyclists use the paths. Parents who drive children to school often park on the kerbs.” Cllr Tweed has asked police to carry out speed checks.”

LATE NEWS: KCC traffic engineer Andy Padgham said: “This site is to be looked at as a crash remedial measures issue. This means that there is no need for any finance to be input from county council-lors’ highway funds. Any required expenditure will come from the KCC Highways safety budget.”

INCONSIDERATE drivers are still blocking paths and parking near bends. To report them call 101

MESSAGES now appear on the call board at New Hayesbank Surgery if appointments are running more than 30 minutes late. Winter flu jab reminders will NOT be sent out this year.

THE LUCKY 7 coffee shop and off-licence in Faversham Road closed after the landlord obtained a High Court Writ of Possession.

MONEY for good causes and projects is available from borough councillors. Cllr Michael Claughton (Bockhanger) has used part of his £2,750 allow-ance to give a Jubilee bench to the residents of Gerlach House. Any groups or organisations in need of assistance should contact their ward member.

Summer Fayre Draw winners

Information COUNTY COUNCILLORS: Elizabeth Tweed 01233 714689 elizabeth.tweed@kent.gov.uk Andrew Wickham 01233 840902 andrew.wickham@kent.gov.uk

BOROUGH COUNCILLORS: Kennington: Phil Sims 01233 627603 philip.sims01@gmail.com Bockhanger: Michael Claughton 01233 635969 michael.claughton@ntlworld.com Bybrook: Andrew Buchanan 01233 627696 andrewjohnbuchanan@hotmail.com Little Burton: Marion Martin 628811 marionmartin168 @btinternet.com Boughton Aluph: Winston Michael 636644 winstonmichael@aol.com NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE : Kennington: Tom Knight 07772 226032; Little Burton: Fergus Mackay 07772 225992, Bockhanger: Jason Brett 07772 226047. Bybrook: Covered by all of the above. IF NONE IS AVAILABLE DIAL 101 NEW HAYESBANK SURGERY: 624642 KENNINGTON FORUM: Chris Morley, chair, 01233 611196 chris.f.morley@gmail.com Sandra Dunn, secretary 01233 634165 sandradunn@sky.com

Kennington News is published quarterly. Editor Robin Britcher

01233 634410 kennington.news@hotmail.co.uk

@kenningtonnews

ELLA BARNES was one of the youngest carriers of the Olympic torch. After her run in Canterbury 12-year-old Ella of Friesian Way, Kennington, said: “It was the best day of my life.”

1. Night of Luxury for Two at East-well Manor: Owen Wanstall; 2. Day trip to France with P&O Ferries: Emily Walker; 3. B&B at Holiday Inn, Bybrook: Scotts; 4. Picnic Hamper: Barton; 5. Cookery lesson: Chris Twydell; 6. Champagne: Gordon Thrussell; 7. Cricket bat signed by Kent 2012 squad: Ayres; 8. Rimmel make up bag: Kennington Jnrs PTA; 9. His and Hers perfume: Pearson; 10. Simon and Matt Halls voucher: Green; 11. Wine and 10 cans of Stella: Towers Interact; 12. Shep-herd Neame tour: Imogene; 13. Cuddly toys: Quested; 14. Cinnamon Spice voucher: J Graham; 15. Foot-ball: Crouch; 16. Old Mill voucher: Connelly; 17. Christie’s Hair and Beauty voucher: Heritage; 18. His

and Hers perfume: Smythson; 19. Marino’s Fish Bar voucher: Robin Beresford; 20. Old Mill voucher: Wood; 21. McDonald’s voucher: Peter Newson; 22. Boots gift set: Cunningham; 23. Imagine Play Cen-tre voucher: Sage; 24. Football: Dear; 25. Play tunnel and tent: Burrell; 26. Old Mill voucher: Ken-nington Jnrs PTA; 27. Giant jigsaw: Handley; 28. Aroma Garden vouch-er: Curry; 29. Marino’s Fish Bar voucher: Kennington Jnrs PTA; 30. Slow cooker: Pearson; 31. Imagine Play Centre voucher: Pricker-Cook; 32. Kingswood membership: Hyland; 33. Turkish Delight: Chris Morley; 34. Cupcakes voucher: Kennington Jnrs PTA; 35. Fitness First Member-ship: Kennington Jnrs PTA

SIGNS put up on the green in Grasmere Road were removed after complaints from residents who feared the land was going to be fenced in or developed. The signs were to protect the green from unwanted use, such as travellers moving onto it. An

Ashford council spokesman said: “They would give the council a stronger case if it ever needed to act to prevent misuse. “In no way were they meant to deter people from using the green for walking their dogs or other recreational activities.”

SURE STEPS Children’s Centre has been judged “Outstanding” by Ofsted inspectors. They said the Kennington centre was very welcoming and children made excellent progress. Free events for under-5s in August include messy play, arts and crafts and a toddler energy session at the centre in Belmont Road and a picnic on Little Burton Farm estate. For more details call 624857.

KENNINGTON JUNIORS won the Large School Shield for the sixth con-secutive year at the Ash-ford and District Primary Schools Olympics. More than 700 youngsters took part in the event at the Julie Rose Stadium. Every competitor was given a commemorative T-shirt. PUPILS were allowed time off school to watch the Olympic torch pass through Ashford.

FUNDING is available to provide new facilities for young people in Goat Lees to hang out and have fun. Anyone aged 11-19 who wants to be part of a youth project group, which will make decisions about what equipment is installed should contact Sally-Anne.logan@ashford.gov.uk

or call 01233 330 293.

THE WI goes from strength to strength with the gardening, walking and arts group proving particularly popular. On 14 August members visit Eastbourne. Anyone interest-ed in joining the WI is invited to a Taste and Tipple evening on 14 Sept. Details from Ursula Jones

PHOENIX Primary school would welcome volunteers to come in on a regular basis to listen to the children read. If you are able to spare some time please call 01233 622510.

MORE BACK WATER PARK MORE than 200 people visited the Conningbrook Lakes exhibi-tion and were able to comment on plans for transforming the site into a country park with water sports, a restaurant and 300 homes. The project was well received with the only concerns being extra traffic and the “S-bend” in Willesborough Road. The Brett Group is expected to submit a planning application in September. If approved, the public could be allowed on part of the land next spring, using facilities at the Julie Rose Stadium. www.conningbrooklakes.info

TWO ANGLING clubs at Little Burton have folded and the lake now needs work done to maintain its ecological value. It is hoped help may be available from the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership, Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and The Conservation Volunteers.

Six of the best

OUTSTANDING! IF YOU have difficulty using or accessing public transport a car service is available. Call Volunteer-ing Ashford on 01233 633219.

LISTEN: AHBS Community Radio broad-casts on 107.1 FM. It is entirely commercial free and is run by volunteers.

© GRENDEL