What’s happening where you live...

Horticultural society: On Sunday July 31 there is an open garden event at Sunnydale, Plain Road, at the home of John and Mary Elphick from 2.30-4pm. The cost is £2.50 and all proceeds will go to support MS. (Note that this date was changed from the 24th.) There is a second cream tea on Sunday August 7 at 7 Barnes Walk, at the home of Anne Boswell and Rob Thompson. Same time and cost but this time it is in aid of Marden in Bloom. Correspondent: Martin Hider Tel: 01622 736327 mhider5@ gmail.com Church meeting: The parochial church council will meet at St Nicholas Church on Monday, July 25. Correspondent: Alison Dickerson, 75 Chatham Road, Sandling, Maidstone, ME14 3BB Tel: 01622 762334 malcolm.dickerson@ btinternet. com Summer holiday activities: Hands up for adventure! There will be summer holiday activities including climbing, body zorbing, pedal carts, archery, disc golf and the cave bus at The Kent Scout Centre, Lower Grange Farm, Grange Lane, in July and August. Sessions are from 9am-noon and 1pm-4pm for ages eight to 17. The cost is £18 per session to include three activities (activities are subject to availability). For details and bookings see the website www.lowergrangefarm.co.uk/summer or phone 01622 766840. Tyland Barn: On Wednesday, July 27, Marvellous Marine Day family event is from 11am-3pm. Join in a day of marine activities, things to make and seaweed pressing. With Julie Thomsett and Fiona White, Kent Wildlife Trust. Thanks to HLF funding there is no entry charge, donations gratefully received. Children must be accompanied by an adult and it is suitable for wheelchairs. No booking required; for information go to info@kentwildlife. org.uk or call 01622 662012 (Monday -Friday). Wildlife day: The next Wildlife Study Day is on Saturday July 23 entitled Arable Wild Flowers and Their Conservation. An introduction to these rapidly declining, frequently overlooked but often beautiful plants, focussing on the rarer species of the chalk. Suitable for beginners and intermediates. It will be at Tyland Barn with a site visit to Ranscombe Far, Reserve led by Richard Moyse, Ransombe Farm project manager, Plantlife. Normal fee per person per day is £27, £5 off for Kent Wildlife Trust registered volunteers, senior citizens, unemployed and students. Booking Wildlife Study Days, to For details contact Tyland Barn on 01622 662012. Website www. kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/ tyland-barn Correspondent: Marian Reader, 33 Ringwood Road, Maidstone, ME15 7EG Mob: 07711 811066 Tel: 01622 746249 marianreader@ blueyonder.co.uk Lost prescription glasses: Paul Wicks lost his prescription glasses at the Mote Park Race for life event on Saturday at around noon, near the ice cream van. They are Converse black frames in a black Puma material type case. He can’t see without them and would be really happy if anyone could find them. Contact Paul Wicks on Facebook if you find them or contact the Whats On in Maidstone Facebook Group page. Many thanks. Mote Park Pre-School: This successful pre-school at the School Lane Scout Hut gives the children a good early years provision and generates income for the Scouts. However, the Scouts have decided not to allow external organisations to rent it, leaving the pre-school children with no setting. If anyone knows of other suitable venues in the area that would benefit from a regular income and being associated with a great activity like Mote Park Pre-School, ring 07891 801222. Summer bazaar: On Sunday, July 31 from 1pm-5pm, there will be a Summer Bazaar at St Martins Church hall, raising money for community events. Stalls including face painting, hook a duck, ice creams, raffle prize and lots more. Pitches still available. Phone 07960 989785. Unfortunately some information given out previously, including a phone number, was incorrect and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Successful day: The Friends of South Park held a successful Day in the Park on July 17 helped by a glorious sunny day. The Friends were promoting membership and informing park users of their plans (led by the volunteer group) to replace the old roses in the beds outside the pavilion. The Friends are trying to raise money for this project and visitors had the opportunity to donate £5 to sponsor a new rose. This will be ongoing throughout the year and will be open to anybody who would like to help. There was plenty of interest in the plant sale (which completely sold out) and refreshments provided by the South Park WI including wonderful cakes. If anybody is interested in the future of South Park and would consider becoming a member (annual fee just £1) you would be welcome. Meeting are held four times a year in the Hockey Club, Armstrong Road. Contact membership secretary Brian Smith-Lowther, email larniebrian@gmail.com if you would like to join. South Park WI: Jill Fissenden retired on July 13 after 30 years of service in the Office at Cornwallis Academy. Friends from South Park WI wish her a happy, healthy retirement. St Martins News: There will be a speaker from Porchlight (a charity working across Kent to help vulnerable people) at St Martins Church, Northumberland Road, Shepway at the 10am service on July 24. All welcome. Correspondent: Andrew Watson, 9 Barn Meadow, Staplehurst, TN12 0SY Mob: 07715 572772 Tel: 01580 891986 staplehurst.report@ btinternet.com Summer fair success: The school would like to thank everyone who supported the Summer Fair last Saturday, whether you helped on the day, made cakes or donated bottles. The fair was a great success, raising £2,325. Sewerage-system plans: Last Monday, Yalding provided the venue for a meeting of the Kent Flood Risk Management Committee in the village hall. Among the speakers was Martin Banks, Southern Water’s sewage policy manager, who was asked by the flood warden from Headcorn, what he had meant by a ‘DAP’ – the answer was a Drainage Area Plan. This response prompted the question: “Will one be done for Headcorn? If so when and will it be made public?” “The Headcorn and Staplehurst DAPs are to be prioritised because of their particular circumstances” (there was no need to mention any house-building programmes) “and these will be published in 2017.” The capacity of our sewage plant is in question, and some say it has reached its maximum capacity; but nobody seems to be really sure what the actual situation is. What is known is that ‘adequate’ sewagetreatment capacity is a condition of the planning approval for the Hen & Duckhurst development, and one of the reasons for the rejection of the Fishers Farm application. It is logical that the DAP for our village will include an assessment exercise to establish if there is spare capacity in the sewage system here and, if necessary, a development project to increase its capacity to meet future requirements, which would have a serious impact on the future of our village. By Googling Martin Banks Southern Water much information can be found, and its Five Year Business Plan for 2015-20 can be found at www.southernwater.co.uk/ Media/Default/PDFs/final-businessplan-2015-20.pdf Council surger: On Saturday July 16, Cllr Claridge will be in the library to answer your questions from 10am-11am. PARISH COUNCIL: Christmas Lights. To maximise the effect, it was decided to concentrate the lighting between the traffic lights and All Saints’ Church this Christmas. While this might disappoint residents in Station Road, the intention is to increase the impact of our decorations in the heart of our village. Dance Summer Showcase: Three cute ‘infants’ Charlotte Smith, Lylah Jones and Maizie Duke stole the show, which was held in the hall at the Malling School last Sunday. They performed to the lively number I Like To Move It. We were also represented by our really talented ‘juniors’, a group of four with I Knew You Were Trouble and Multi-sport activity camp: The Cricket and Tennis Club has organised a five-day programme of fun activities for children from Monday to Friday, July 25-29. The sports will include cricket, football, rounders, tennis and mini-Olympics. Booking is essential; £30 a day or £120 for five days, with a sibling discount £100 for the five days. Early drop-off and late pick-up options can be catered for. There will be qualified coaches with enhanced