Progress on Marden move

Marden hockey players are set to start next season in their new home – a year later than planned. Drainage works are under way at the site in Maidstone Road after Marden Hockey and Cricket Club resolved a potential tax issue relating to the £3m-£4million development. It means the developers will be able to reclaim VAT on the project, erasing fears Marden could be left with a big tax bill. Marden’s Clive Baxter, who is managing the project, said: “We, as a club, felt that the VAT could be reclaimed and there was a potential risk that it couldn’t. “The VAT needed to be settled – it was rather a large sum of VAT – so we just wanted to be sure that there wasn’t going to be any challenge by the HMRC. “VAT law is very, very complicated. We had to get in consultants and help and in the end we had to get a ruling from HMRC, who also took quite a long time.” Marden hoped to start the 2016/17 season in their new home after selling the Albion Road ground for housing. They’re a year behind schedule but are on course for the 2017/18 campaign which starts in September. They will be joined by the village cricket club next year, with the tennis club also moving in. Mr Baxter said: “There’s some final detail just to sort out before things start moving at speed. “Obviously with the weather being so nice and dry, it just made sense to get the drainage done. “It’s future-proofing, really, so that as soon as we’ve got the contract signed we can then move forward, whatever happens with the weather.”