Times of Tunbridge Wells 20th October 2021

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Police hunt attacker of woman walking home from shops

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RESTAURANT & BAR

A WOMAN walking home alone from a Tunbridge Wells supermarket at the weekend was attacked by a man. When she shouted for help members of the public went to her aid and the attacker fled.

The woman, who was in her 40s but has not been named, was taken to hospital and later allowed home after treatment.

The incident happened at around 7.35pm on Saturday (October 16) on Major Yorks Road close to The Pantiles.

She was on her way back from Sainsbury’s heading in the direction of the A264 Langton Road when she was approached by a man, believed to be in his twenties and wearing a dark blue baseball cap.

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FUEL FRENZY: Queues at Sainsbury’s in Tunbridge Wells at the weekend

WOODED AREA The road where the woman was assaulted last Saturday

Entire board of governors quits in row over running of school

By Richard Williams THE 12 strong board of governors at a primary school have resigned claiming that County Hall has made their position ‘untenable’.

Governors at St Paul’s Primary School in Rusthall have walked out because Kent Count Council, (KCC) repeatedly ‘moved the goalposts’ when it came to the running and funding of the school.

The voluntary aided school, which is funded by both KCC and the local diocese, educates just over 100 pupils and sits on Rusthall high street.

Last Thursday [October 14], the entire governing board voted by a majority to

resign with immediate effect.

School governors are the overseers of a school and are the largest volunteer force in the country. It is not unusual for one or even two governors of a school to resign as part of any protest. It is rare for an entire board to walk out.

‘The pressures have been immense and KCC keep moving the goal posts’ In a joint statement issued exclusively to the Times, the governors said: “Having studied and discussed at length the

school’s current situation and challenges, together with the communications and expectations placed upon us by Kent County Council, the collective agreement is that we are unable to achieve what is being asked of us as a board.

“To enable the school to thrive in the direction that Kent County Council expects it to go, for the pupils and the community, we are relinquishing our duties to enable the Council to appoint a board with the necessary strategic skill bases to achieve and realise their vision.

“Each of us want the very best for

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• MPs will continue to meet constituents face-to-face after death of their colleague. Full story page 2.

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

this week… MPs ‘conscious of risks’ but will REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY: The Royal British Legion has celebrated its 100-year anniversary as ‘normality’ is planned for this year’s service. P4

CLOSING THE TILL: Postmistress has retired after 32-years of service as villagers buy the post office. P10

SCOTTISH PLAY: Production company Get Out Of My Space will be performing Macbeth at Kingdom in Penshurst. P30

FEVER AT HEVER: Head gardener at Hever Castle & Gardens speaks about the autumn planting schedule that’s ahead. P26

still meet constituents face-to-face He told the Times that despite the death of his fellow back bencher, he would not be making any changes to his surgery meetings.

He said: “I think that it is essential to my work as an MP that I am able to be in constant touch with my constituents, including meeting face to face.

“At my constituency surgeries people come to see me for help with difficult and often personal problems and meeting in person can often be the best way to understand and act on them.

By Richard Williams DESPITE the death of one of their colleagues at the hands of a suspected Islamist extremist, local MPs say they will not be changing the way they meet their constituents in public.

Veteran parliamentarian Sir David Amess died after being stabbed at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Friday.

He had been holding his constituency surgery – where MPs meet their constituents to discuss issues that the parliamentarians can help with.

A 25-year-old suspect, Ali Harbi Ali, remains in police custody on suspicion of the Conservative MP’s murder and is being held under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

‘I want to be accessible to any constituent who needs my help’ The attack on the Southend MP last week, which police are ascribing to Islamist terrorism, has led to fresh scrutiny over the

DEVASTATED Greg Clark security of MPs. It comes just five years after Batley and Spen MP, Jo Cox, was murdered by a far right extremist.

Local parliamentarians have said despite the risks, they have no plans to change their security arrangements.

Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, said yesterday (Tuesday) he was ‘devastated’ on hearing the news of the death of Mr Amess, who he described as the ‘warmest, most encouraging and generous-spirited of colleagues’.

Mr Clark had been on the way to his own surgery at the Gateway in Tunbridge Wells when he heard of the attack. He went on to meet his constituents as the news continued to break.

Risks “I am conscious of the risks involved - including those to my hardworking team - and we do take precautions. The local police have always been very helpful in keeping us safe.

“But at the end of the day I want to be - and enjoy being- accessible to any constituents who wants to talk about a policy or needs my help.”

Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat also spoke on the tragedy, at the weekend, saying: “Political violence – sometimes by individuals, sometimes by militias - has caused anguish and pain and achieved nothing. Thousands have

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ACCESSIBLE Tom Tugendhat

Entire board of governors quits Police hunt attacker in row over running of school of woman walking home from shops Continued from front page

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been murdered, my friend David Amess is the last of so many. He would be praying he’s the last.”

His office told the Times yesterday that as with most members of parliament Mr Tugendhat had been on the receiving end of ‘plenty of abuse’, but he would not be making any changes to his security in the wake of the death on Friday, as the MP wanted to be ‘open and accessible as possible’.

Wealden MP Nus Ghani was unavilable to comment, but she expressed her shock at her colleague’s death at the weekend, saying: “The threat of violence and actual violence against MPs, just going about serving the public is getting worse.”

RESIGNED Rusthall’s St Paul’s Primary School

Continued from front page Rusthall St Paul’s and hope a way can be found to ensure that it remains a successful and viable school in the heart of this vibrant community. The pupils and people of Rusthall deserve it.

“We extend our sincere thanks and congratulations to the Head Teacher, the staff, the current and former pupils as well as the wider community for the work and effort put into Rusthall St Paul’s during the period we were in governance.

“We are proud to have played a role in helping lay the foundations for strong academic results and create a fantastic school at the heart of Rusthall.”

One of the governors told the Times the school’s most recent Ofsted report was rated as ‘good’, but that indecision at KCC made it impossible to run the school.

“The financial pressures we have been under have been immense and KCC keep moving the goal posts as to how and what we can spend the money on.

“Something gets agreed and then six months later KCC change their mind. It has meant we have been unable to even put in place a three-

year plan. It has made the situation untenable.”

He continued: “Everybody wants the best for the school, and this is the last thing we wanted to do, but clearly if KCC do not think us as volunteers are doing the job, they want us to do, then they will have to get somebody else in to run it.”

Improvement KCC said they were ‘disappointed’ by the decision of the governors to resign en masse.

Christine McInnes, the authority’s Director of Education, said: “Kent County Council’s approach to school improvement is to build a supportive culture in which we will jointly work with school leaders to drive improvement for the benefit of pupils, parents, and carers.

“We are disappointed that the governing body of St Paul’s Church of England Primary School has chosen to resign at such short notice. We will continue to work with the school’s senior leadership team to ensure that moving forward there is a strong base from which the best outcomes for the whole school community can be achieved.”

This story was broken online by One Media at timeslocalnews.co.uk on Friday [October 15].

Police say the woman was then assaulted. Her attacker fled after she shouted for help and members of the public came to her aid.

The Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate were seen in the area following the incident and Kent Police say they are now appealing for witnesses.

Detective Sergeant Richard Crowhurst said: “We are making a number of enquiries and piecing together the events that led up to the assault.

“I would like to appeal to any motorists who were in the area at the time of the incident to review their dashcam footage and come forward if they have anything that may help the investigation.

“We would also like to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 01622 604100

ASSAULT The woman was attacked in Major Yorks Road

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

NEWS IN BRIEF

Oliver and Olivia top local baby name list THE most popular baby names have been revealed in Tunbridge Wells with Olivia and Oliver topping the list again.

According to National Statistics, 14 out of 551 babies born in the town last year [2.7 per cent] were named Olivia, and ten out of 543 [1.8 per cent] were named Oliver.

Amelia and George were the second most popular girls and boys names in Tunbridge Wells, although Ivy, which has entered the national top ten for the first time proved less popular in the area with just three baby girls named it.

Olivia and Oliver have remained the most popular names across England and Wales for the fifth year in a row, although if different spellings were taken into account, variations of Muhammed would be the UK’s most popular boys’ name.

Centre gets green light THE Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has given the go ahead for the new community centre to be built in Paddock Wood.

Paddock Wood Town Council [PWTC] has been trying to build the £3million multi-use facility that will include a 40-place nursery, hall, car parking, since 2014, when they first earmarked a site on the edge of Memorial Park just outside the town centre.

Following approval by a planner at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council planning committee the application had to be referred to the Secretary of State for the final approval.

Michael Gove approved the plans yesterday [Tuesday October 19].

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LUNAR LANDSCAPE The giant moon in Calverley Grounds at the weekend [picture David Bartholomew]

MORE than 10,000 people visited one of the many attractions at this year’s Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival, organisers have said.

The event, which culminated at the weekend with the unveiling of a seven-foot moon in Calverley Grounds, has been one of the most successful to date with record number of visitors and sell-out shows.

Over 300 puppets took part in this puppetry takeover that took place across nine of the town’s iconic venues and open-air civic spaces including Calverley Grounds, Royal Victoria Place, Trinity Theatre, Assembly Hall Theatre, The Pantiles, Camden Centre and The Forum.

A further 100 puppets were made during the workshops run in collaboration with local charity Mental Health Resources for teenagers and workshops run by expert model makers from Aardman Animations in Royal Victoria Place.

Audiences Thousands of people visited the centrepiece of the Festival, Luke Jerram’s awe-inspiring touring artwork Museum of the Moon in Calverley Grounds while the free puppetry shows on The Pantiles drew in audiences of over 2,000.

Joint Festival Directors Alison Bundy and Ailsa Molyneux said: “We’re delighted that this year’s Festival has been so well-received.

“We’ve had overwhelmingly wonderful

feedback from participants and visitors of all ages.

“It was so gratifying to overhear comments from visitors to the Moon including one who said that in all his 21 years he’d never had such a good

Hospital waiting list hits another record high six-months in a row

Saturday night.

“The Festival seems to have brought such joy and we hope, that with continued support, to be back in 2023 with an even more exciting and ambitious programme.”

Coronavirus update ...

Hospital admissions and rates of virus fall

A FORMER public toilet block in Tonbridge is to go on sale at auction with a guide price of £60,000.

The brick building at the busy roundabout junction of The Ridgeway and Shipbourne Road sits on 0.13 hectares of land and is being sold for development by Clive Emson Auctioneers.

Auctioneer John Stockey said: “There might be other uses the land can be put to, but any changes would require the necessary planning consent to be obtained.

“The brick building has a tiled roof and is close to the edge of the road. We anticipate that investors will be interested.”

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Puppetry organisers over the moon as event attracts thousands to town

Tonbridge toilet sale

GREG CLARK MP

Local News

THE number of people being admitted to hospital in Tunbridge Wells with Covid-19 has fallen by two thirds.

In the seven days to October 6, just six people were admitted or diagnosed with Covid-19 at either the Pembury Hospital or the Maidstone site.

During the same period at the beginning of September, around 25 people a week were being admitted with the virus, and at any one time there were more than 30 patients on the Covid wards.

Spike

By Richard Williams THE number of people waiting for treatment at the Trust that runs Tunbridge Wells hospital has reached yet another new record for the sixth consecutive month.

According to figures from the NHS, 37,306 people were still waiting for treatments such as general surgery or other non-emergency procedures in September at the two hospitals operated by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

Highest This is the highest number on the waiting list since records began in 2007 and up from August’s 37,060, although the 246 increase is much smaller than in previous months.

The backlog was rising by 1,000 people a month since March, when the figures first reached the highest levels since records began in 2007.

Around 73.6 per cent of people are currently being seen within 18 weeks, a small reduction in

wating times since last month when it stood at 73 per cent.

The operational standard is 92 per cent, although that target ha snot been hit since the pandemic began.

The longest waiting lists at MTW are for Ophthalmology Service with 7,570 patients waiting to be seen, and general surgery, including knee and hip operations, which has a backlog of 4,549 patients.

The average wait time for non-emergency treatment at MTW currently stands at 11.1 weeks, although there are 49 patients who have been waiting over a year.

The latest figures come amid a national picture where a total of 5.7 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment, and there are nearly 10,000 people waiting for more than two years.

NHS England and NHS Improvement has told hospitals to stabilise the number of patients waiting for hospital treatment, keep year-plus waiters at current levels, and eliminate two-year waits by March next year.

The falling admissions come a month after children returned to school at the beginning of September.

Rates of the virus are also on the wane across the area.

Tunbridge Wells has recently seen a spike in reports of positive tests for Covid-19, reaching more than 550 cases a week at the end of last month – the highest in Kent, although this has fallen with 495 cases recorded in the seven days to October 11.

Nationally, of the 377 local areas in the UK, 327 (87 per cent) have seen a week-onweek rise in virus rates and 50 (13 per cent) have seen a fall.

Despite the falling figures locally, health officials are urging people to have their flu and Covid-19 booster vaccines over fears the two viruses could push the health service to breaking point this winter.

Flu kills almost 11,000 people each year under normal conditions but with various lockdowns, incidents of influenza have been low, sparking fears of a winter spike.

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Full Remembrance service back as poppy sellers also set to return

By Taylor Catton THE Remembrance service in Tunbridge Wells will ‘return to normality’ this year just as the Royal British Legion [RBL] celebrates its 100-year anniversary.

Last year a socially distanced and scaled back service of remembrance took place in the town due to the Covid pandemic (see right picture).

In previous years, the service has seen more than a thousand residents pay their respects alongside the war memorial in front of the Town Hall.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council says the service of remembrance, which will take place on Sunday, November 14, will be back to normal for 2021.

A spokesperson for the Council said: “This year there will be a parade at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday. The format of the event will return to how it was before the pandemic and unlike last year we do not envisage having to restrict public attendance.”

REMEMBERING The service is expected to return to normal as in 2019 [pictured left] following the socially distanced event held last year [right]

Restoration It comes as RBL is celebrating its centenary, having been formed in 1921 before becoming the largest Armed Forces charity with 180,000 members, including 110,000 volunteers.

Speaking to the Times John Cohen, who chairs the Tunbridge Wells RBL said: “We didn’t operate during lockdowns and Covid because we were restricted to a limited amount of people and because of restrictions.

“Instead, I took it upon myself to write newsletters to our members via email to keep in touch.

“We had to live stream last year’s Remembrance Day because we were only allowed no more than 30 people into the venue compared to where we can get up to a thousand people pre Covid and hopefully we would like to have that many people this time around.

“I look forward to full representation and a return to normality.”

This year, organisers expect to see a full turnout of ex and current forces members, MPs, the Mayor as well as the general public.

Poppy sellers will also return to the streets, thanks to a new influx of volunteers.

In 2019, the Times reported how the RBL was struggling to recruit volunteers in the Borough to help with the poppy appeal and organise events.

But this year it has seen an improved number of local people that have come forward to help the charity.

‘Volunteers are the lifeblood of the poppy appeal’ Phil Danton, Chief Fundraiser at the RBL in West Kent said: “As with all charities the never-ending task of enlisting new volunteers is

an ongoing one and every year people stop being able to help, but new volunteers emerge to swell our numbers.

“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the poppy appeal and their enthusiasm is sometimes breath taking, with the hours they put in and the work they carry out.”

He added: “The preparation for the collection this year is gathering full pace and we have already planned to have multiple manned stalls in places around Tunbridge Wells.

“We hope to be covering all the major supermarkets with static manned stalls and have a presence at the main train station. There will be other collecting opportunities throughout the main collection period October 28 through until November 14.

“We are pretty confident that should anyone need any Poppies or want to donate to the charity, then they should easily find an opportunity to do so.”

Commemorating a century of support for armed forces 100 YEARS The RBL and local dignitaries last week

REMEMBERING THE FALLEN The service of Remembrance and Parade takes place on November 14 at the War Memorial in Tunbridge Wells at 10.45am.

John Cohen, RBL chair, said: “After the Service there will be a March Past by the military and cadet units plus civilian groups, with the mayor Cllr Chris Woodward taking the salute on the steps of the Town Hall.

“The Tunbridge Wells Salvation Army Band will play before, during and after the Service.

The Tunbridge Wells Sea Cadets Band will play as the Parade marches past the mayor.

“The Royal Tunbridge Wells Orpheus Male Voice Choir will support the hymn singing during the service and sing two pieces without accompaniment while the wreaths are being laid.”

By Robert Forrester LAST week the Royal British Legion in Tunbridge Wells celebrated 100 years of the national organisation with a remembrance service held at the War Memorial.

Among the attendees on October 9 were the Mayor Cllr Chris Woodward, Deputy Lieutenant Jacques Arnold, Greg Clark MP, leading civic figures, and representatives of 3rd Battalion Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, 579 Sq (EOD) Royal Engineers, Cadets from Skinners’ School CCF and TS Brilliant Sea Cadets.

The Legion’s Royal Tunbridge Wells President David Wakefield laid a wreath after the Last Post was sounded, two minutes silence was held, and the Legion’s Standard dipped in respect.

Later in the afternoon, a Thanksgiving Service took place at Christ Church during which the Rev Gordon Taylor placed a Centenary Pennant on the Branch’s Standard, and paid tribute to the service and sacrifice of those in the Armed Forces, and to the work of the Royal British Legion.

John Cohen chairman of the RBL said: “The RBL is celebrating it’s 100

years all over the country, and the Tunbridge Wells Branch has been keen to thank the people of the town for their generous support for the Legion since 1921, to help members of the Armed Forces and their families in need. Following the Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial and the Thanksgiving Service, the Centenary Tea was a lovely way to celebrate.

“It was the first gathering of the Branch and its supporters since before lockdown, which made it even more special.”

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

MP and Council call to scrap airport plans

By Johnathan Banks TONBRIDGE MP Tom Tugendhat is to speak at a public meeting calling for Gatwick Airport to scrap plans to bring its second runway into use.

The airport is currently holding a public consultation to hear views from local residents about its proposals to bring its emergency

FLIGHT PLAN Gatwick wants to open a second runaway

‘It will come as no surprise that I will be strongly opposing this proposal by Gatwick for a second runway’ runway into full time use.

The plans will see air traffic above Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas significantly increase.

Campaign group Gatwick Obviously Not say the plans will see 70 per cent more passengers using the airport, generate more than 35 per cent extra flights and increase CO2 emissions by 50 per cent.

Martin Barraud, chairman of the group says they have a called a meeting to encourage residents to respond to the meetings, and Tonbridge MP Mr Tugendhat has agreed to speak.

It comes after Mr Tugendhat along with seven other local MPs, including Tunbridge Wells’ Greg Clark, formed a co-ordination group to highlight their constituents’ concerns over the airport expansion.

Mr Tugendhat has previously said: “It will come as no surprise that I will be strongly opposing this proposal by Gatwick for a second

runway and will do all I can to stop it.”

The meeting also follows a unanimous vote at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council where all 48 members backed a motion to oppose Gatwick’s plans at the Borough’s Full Council meeting this month.

The motion, brought by Lib Dem councillor, Ben Chapelard, read: “Tunbridge Wells Borough Council continues to oppose any further

expansion of Gatwick Airport.

“This council does not support the airport’s proposal to use its northern runway for routine use as it will lead to more flights and more pollution for our residents. The environmental damage this will cause goes against tackling the climate change emergency.”

Gatwick say the plan to bring their emergency runway into operation use will create more than

Red tape means no cycle lane and £600,000 funding returned

By Robert Forrester A PLANNED cycle lane for St John’s connecting Tunbridge Wells to Tonbridge has been turned down, and the £620,000 earmarked for the project has had to be handed back.

The money was originally part of a £1.4million payment from the Government’s Local Growth Fund, given to KCC by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership [SELEP] in 2014.

But according to councillors at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council [TWBC], Kent County Council, who had to come up with the design of the

project, took so long, the funding was withdrawn.

Council officials say they proposed a ‘strong case’ to spend the SELEP money on an extension to the A26 cycle lane from Southborough Common to Mabledon – just before the junction with the A21 in Tonbridge.

Design TWBC spent around £10,000 on consultants drawing up the plans, but SELEP has now rejected the project, as it was not at the design

phase due to delays at KCC. The money, which was first made available to TWBC seven years ago, is to now be returned and spent elsewhere in the South East.

Cllr Peter Lidstone, a keen cyclist who represents St John’s for the Lib Dems, says there is ‘no political will’ at KCC to develop green schemes such as the cycle lane.

He told the Times: “There are five schools along St John’s Road but hardly any of the pupils cycle to school because it is too dangerous.

“On the section between Southborough and Tonbridge you really are a sitting duck as cars

SCRAPPED The cycle lane would have connected St John’s to Tonbridge

18,000 jobs and generate £1.5billion of economic benefits to the local area. It will also increase capacity at the airport by around a third.

The airport’s consultation was launched on September 9 and is expected to close in December.

The meeting hosted by Gatwick Obviously Not takes place on Tuesday November 9 at Penshurst Church, in Penshurst. are accelerating to go to the A21 and you find yourself in the middle of the carriageway.

“Now delays by KCC mean we have lost the chance for this cycle lane and the money has had to go back.

“There just seems to be no political will at KCC for these sorts of schemes, even though the Conservative government is very keen on them.”

A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “Working with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, KCC officers helped to develop plans for improvements to the A26 for cyclists.

“These were unfortunately not carried forward by the body awarding the funds, the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.

“We will continue to work with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to explore opportunities to promote active travel in the future.”

Residents reject 20mph limit COUNCIL officials in Tonbridge are to meet next month after residents wholeheartedly rejected the town-wide 20mph speed lmit introduced during the pandemic.

As part of the government’s active travel scheme, Kent County Council [KCC] imposed the limit across the entire town of Tonbridge to encourage cycling and walking.

As the schemes had to be ‘shovel ready’, there was no public consultation, so KCC decided to ask the retrospective views of Tonbridge residents in March.

The results show that the majority of the people who responded to the survey objected to the town-wide 20mph limit, with 74 per cent of people disagreeing with the scheme.

Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) said they did not believe the 20mph limits will make Tonbridge healthier, 56 per cent didn’t think the town was safer and 63 per cent thought it wasn’t cleaner.

Of the 1,123 responses received, just 61 people (14 per cent) thought the 20mph limit would encourage active travel.

The Joint Transportation board in November will have to decide whether to keep the scheme, scrap it, or scale it back.

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

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End of furlough sees fall in jobless as vacancies rocket

By Richard Williams UNEMPLOYMENT continues to fall in the borough despite the end of the government’s job retention scheme and record vacancies are being reported.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics [ONS] show that the number of people having to rely on out of work benefits has dropped in Tunbridge Wells for the seventh month running.

The number of people registered as unemployed at the Jobcentre has been on the decline since February, when the country was under the last lockdown.

According to the ONS, there were 2,330 people claiming out of work benefits in September, down from 2,400 in the month of August.

This is the lowest rate of unemployment since

April 2020, the month after the UK went into its first lockdown.

Back then, unemployment rocketed from 1,130 in March 2020 to a high of 3,325 in August last year—the highest rate of unemployment in Tunbridge Wells since the 1993 recession, caused

by Black Wednesday in 1992..

Unfounded Fears that the end of the government’s Job retention Scheme last month would see a rise in unemployment appear to have been unfounded with local recruiters seeing a ‘record high’ demand for temporary workers.

Neil Simmons, who runs TN recruits, told the Times: “The end of furlough hasn’t changed anything for us, we haven’t noticed any difference.

“We have multiple vacancies across all of our divisions; Legal, Accountancy, Automotive and general office-based support vacancies.

“We have seen an increase in demand for temporary workers and the number of temps we have working with our clients is at a record high and climbing all the time.”

He added that to cope with demand, the agency has had to employ three more full-time recruiters.

He continued: “We have strong relationships with numerous people who operate within the recruitment sector across the UK who are reporting record months and quarters.

“Our peers, like us, cannot see any slow in the demand of staff for at least the next six months.”

The falling unemployment in Tunbridge Wells comes amid a national backdrop of record vacancies across the UK, estimated to be up to

nearly 1.2 million in September.

This is compared to an unemployment rate in the country of 4.6 per cent of 1.5 million and may sectors struggling to fill roles.

The hospitality sector is finding it the most difficult to recruit, according to the ONS, with nearly a third (30 per cent) saying it is harder than normal to fill vacancies.

Former Jobcentre to get a new look

DEVELOPING The former Jobcentre in Grosvenor Road

A PLANNING application has been submitted to Tunbridge Wells Borough council to convert the former Jobcentre n Grosvenor Road into a new residential development.

The Times revealed last month how there were plans underway to turn the former office owned by the Department of Work and Pensions into apartments, and now the plans have been sent for approval to town hall planners.

The Jobcentre was closed back in 2018, with all claimants in the area now being sent to Tonbridge.

The Grade II listed building has sat empty ever since.

Originally called the Carriage House, the

building was originally a carriage factory and built around 1891 in the Queen Anne style of brick with terracotta details.

Targets It is now to be converted into 14 residential units, varying from one to three bedroom flats, although as the plans are being reused to develop a brownfield site, there is no requirement for any of the apartments to be affordable housing.However, developers PPR Grosvenor Tunbridge say that the project will contribute toward the Borough’s housing targets.

In their planning application, the company says: “The proposed development will secure the future of an important heritage asset by introducing a viable use, whilst making an important contribution to the Council’s housing supply.”

Justine Rutland, Lib Dem councillor for the Culverden ward where the former Jobcentre sits, shas welcomed the development. She said: “The old Job Centre has now been empty for over three years.

“We need new homes, so I am really pleased to see plans for it to be brought back into use, especially as it is a lovely Grade II listed building

Ashdown Forest under threat after planners had to approve new builds COUNCILLORS in Wealden have been forced to approve a housing development in Crowborough that will have a ‘significant impact’ on Ashdown Forest because the authority cannot prove it has an adequate supply of housing.

The result could see more developments built on the area surrounding the forest—one of the largest in the South East and also sparked the inspiration for the Winnie the Pooh stories.

Wealden District Council is among a number of local authorities in the area that has had its Local Plan rejected by the Planning Inspectorate.

AT RISK Wealden Council is struggling to defend AONB like Ashdown Forest from developers and [right] the plans aimed for the edge of the forest

Rejected Local plans outline where houses and other infrastructure is to go. Wealden, along with Sevenoaks and Tonbridge & Malling District Council have had their plans rejected after failing to plan for enough houses to meet the local area’s housing needs.

The Local Plan at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which has caused controversy for proposing thousands of new homes in Paddock Wood and around the village of Tudeley in Capel, is about to be sent to the Planning Inspecto, following several rounds of consultation.

However, the Inspector kicked out Wealden District Council’s plan last year after it failed to communicate with other authorities about where it could build new houses after the district fell short of the number of homes the government

had asked it to build.

Now, the authority has found itself unable to prevent the building of developments in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty [AONB].

Last Thursday (October 14), the north planning committee at the authority had to approve plans for two detached four-bedroom houses on land to the north of Eridge Road in Crowborough.

The development sits within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), next to Ashdown Forest, and is outside of Crowborough’s development boundary.

Despite protestations from ward councillor Kay Moss (Independent) along with Crowborough Town Council and residents, planners found themselves powerless to prevent the housing project.

In a report handed to the committee, a council planning officer admitted the development would likely have a ‘significant impact’ on Ashdown Forest, although planners were powerless to stop it.

The planning officer said: “It is acknowledged that the site lies close to but beyond the defined development boundary in the adopted plan.

“However, at present the council cannot currently demonstrate the required five-year supply of housing land.

“In this context, the National Planning Policy Framework advises that proposals for housing developments should be favourably considered … unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”

The planning committee voted by seven to three to approve the development.

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Car dealership sells for £65million

By Richard Williams

SHIFTING GEAR The Motorline dealerships in Tunbridge Wells are now under new ownership

ONE of the largest car dealership brands in Tunbridge Wells has been sold.

Motorline Holdings runs forecourts across the South East including the Volkswagen, Audi, Lexus and Toyota dealerships in Dowding Way in the industrial estate.

The group has now been bought for £64.5million by Marshall Motor Holdings, which already has 37 dealerships across the country including Nissan, Peugeot and Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda centres across the country.

Marshall said with the acquisition, its brand coverage now amounts to 85.4 per cent of the market.

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Crowborough expansion for local estate agent A TUNBRIDGE WELLS estate agent has opened their first branch in Crowborough.

The family-business, KMJ, was set up by David and Suzanne Johnson and named after their three children Katrina, Marc and Jack who also all now work for the company.

Their new branch has opened at 2 Old Bank Chambers on London Road in the East Sussex town.

MD David Johnson said: “Luckily, we are already known by many people in Crowborough as we have been selling homes around Tunbridge Wells for many years from our Tunbridge Wells office, and Crowborough seemed the ideal location for our second branch.

Retire

Developers

Motorline’s revenues in 2020 were £695.2 million with pre-tax profit of £2.1million. It has around 1,500 staff who transfer to Marshall, including around 50 employees in Tunbridge Wells.

Glen Obee, Chairman and previous owner of Motorline said: “Following a period of almost 50 years from when our father founded Motorline in 1972 and having worked within our family business for over 40 years, my brother Thomas and I have decided to retire from the industry that we have enjoyed working within throughout our careers.

“We would like to pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of our employees and to our brand partners for their support and contribution to the outstanding success Motorline has been able to achieve.

“Under the excellent leadership of Daksh Gupta and his management team, the newly expanded Marshall Motor Group will be even better placed to embrace the future dynamics of the changing motor sector.”

“For those that don’t know us, we are a family business providing a very personal and professional service.

“We sell all kinds of property from studio flats through to family homes including detached houses, semi-detached housed, terrace houses and up to and including the larger prestige homes.

“We also work with local developers on land sales; so if you believe your property may have potential for development or a piece of land that may be suitable for development and you’d like to release some cash, contact us today.

“You may think the piece of land you have is too small but you’d be surprised at the designs that developers can come up with.

The news comes as Crowborough has been named as one of the leading hotspots in the UK for rising house prices.

The Wealden town has seen the eighth largest increase in house prices in the country over the last 18 months. Full story page 20.

Daksh Gupta, Marshall Motor Holdings chief executive said the acquisition of Motorline is in line with a strategy which includes growing both further scale with existing brand partners and developing scaled relationships with selected new brand partners.

‘We would like to pay tribute to the hard work and commitment of our employees for their support’ He added: “We are delighted to announce

the acquisition of Motorline which is in line with our strategy which includes growing both further scale with existing brand partners and developing scaled relationships with selected new brand partners.”

The deal was brokered by Tunbridge Wells law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore, who advised Motorline on its sale.

Joanne Gallagher, Partner and Head of the Corporate team at the law firm said: “We are delighted that this complex deal, which has taken many months of careful planning, has now come to fruition for our long-standing client.

“We are pleased to have been able to advise the sellers on this important transaction, to help complete this transaction successfully.”

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Record success for hospital THE Trust that runs Tunbridge Wells hospital has deployed a new electronic patient record from Allscripts to help facilitate joined up care.

The rolling out of the Sunrise Electronic Patient Record (EPR) was announced in June this year, and is now up and running across both the Trust’s Pembury and Maidstone emergency departments.

It is being used for paediatric inpatient services, gastroenterology, neurology outpatients, the emergency department and ordering tests and making referrals across the trust.

MTW say the system stores all of a patient’s medical history in one place, so clinicians have access to it whenever they need it.

The deployment has already produced clinical benefits, such as a reduction in manual,

time-consuming processes.

It has also reduced the number of hours patients are waiting in the emergency department by 110 hours per day due to the reduced time it takes to get a patient from the department into a clean bed – down from an hour and a half, to about 30 minutes in each hospital.

The automation of labelling alone has saved staff eight hours per day in the processing of pathology forms which frees up time for hospital staff to spend more time caring for patients.

Additionally, because all information is recorded and stored within the EPR, clinicians have a better overview of each patient’s care pathway.

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Young people wanted for some Elite training EARNING AND LEARNING Successful applicants will be paid for training in jobs such as reception work

Real time Nick Sinclair, director of operations at MTW said the solution allowed the trust to move away from ‘pencils and rubbers’.

He said: “What it does is it takes real-time information from our two hospital sites and gives our clinical site managers visibility of all our beds and their status – is a patient in them, is that bed empty and ready to be occupied by the next patient or is it empty and waiting to be cleaned?,” Sinclair said.

“On the other side of it we have the real time view of the patients who are waiting for those beds, whether they are from the theatre, the emergency departments or any planned admissions.

“It allows them [clinical managers] to best manage our capacity so our patients get access to a bed as quickly as possible when they need one.”

He aded that the next steps for the Trust is to deploy Sunrise across all inpatient adult wards for core clinical documents. integration of the Kent and Medway Shared Care Record.

By Robert Forrester A LEISURE group is seeking people aged 18 to 24 to be part of a paid training programme within its hospitality brands.

Elite Leisure Collection, which owns One Warwick Park Hotel, Salomons Estate, Bewl Water and One Media UK Ltd – publisher of the Times – was orignally formed in 2008 under the name Markerstudy Leisure. It employs over 80 full and part time staff across West Kent & East Sussex.

Hospitality Due to continued growth the group says it is launching a programme aimed at both graduates and school leavers looking for a career in hospitality.

The fully paid 12-week programme is aimed at individuals looking for a career in hospitality

but who are not sure which area to specialise in.

The group says it is looking for 12 ‘hardworking and passionate hospitality stars of the future’ to begin the programme in 2022.

The successful applicants will work and train in a range of hospitality roles from guest relations and operations to housekeeping.

Previous entrants to the Elite Leisure training programme have gone to land successful careers at the company.

Zoe Ward, currently a receptionist at Salomons Estate run by the group, took part in the last programme run by the company.

She said: “I joined Elite Leisure when I recently graduated and wanted to pursue a career in hospitality, the induction, ongoing training and support has been great.

“Having passed my probation, I’m now on a development program within the company to give me the skills and knowledge to move into a supervisor role. I love being part of the team.”

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CHEERS [L-R] Julia McKenzie, of Cellar Head Brewing Company and brewer Joe Dann, with Chris McKenzie and Jake Balfour-Lynn

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Groombridge postmistress steps down after 32 years

By Taylor Catton A LONG-SERVING postmistress has closed the till on her working life in the village after 32 years of ‘loyal and devoted service’.

Former secondary school science teacher Rosie Wyatt moved into Groombridge with her husband Ted in 1989 after feeling the need to enjoy village life and a change in career.

The couple decided to run the local Post Office where Mr Wyatt took the role of postmaster until Rosie became postmistress in 1997 after her husband passed away.

Speaking about her move, she said: “We wanted a change of career and location. We liked the idea of running our own business and we really liked Groombridge.

“The village was very welcoming, it is a lovely area. The best thing about running Groombridge Post Office is the people – they

and staff the shop. The new Post Office is now under construction for a full refurbishment with the branch expecting to reopen on Thursday, October 28.

Keen Parish Clerk, Debbie Siddle, said: “The survey showed overwhelming support from all ages for taking on the Post Office.

“This is a close-knit community, and we hope to have lots of volunteers keen to work in the shop.

“The lovely people, who currently serve in the Post Office, will continue to be employed to work there as they have the knowledge and expertise.”

‘The lovely people, who currently serve in the Post Office, will continue to be employed to work there as they have the knowledge and expertise’ are very friendly and appreciative customers.”

As reported in the Times in August, Withyham Parish Council has bought the village Post Office after it conducted a survey where residents were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the Post Office, which was under threat of closure, with 98.9% voting to keep it.

A similar number also said they would be happy for their council tax to be used to secure

LAST POST Groombridge Post office and [right] postmistress Rosie Wyatt who is retiring

Making amends at the repair cafe

By Robert Forrester A COMMUNITY initiative where items ranging from broken phones to old dolls are repaired by a team of talented and helpful volunteers is back up and running.

The Repair Café were forced to close their working stations during the pandemic, but after successful events in September and October where almost 100 items were fixed and restored back to life, the café is wanting to help more people at their next event.

Taking place at Trinity Theatre, Church Road, the next workshop is pencilled in for November 6, with their doors opening at 10am and closing at 1pm.

The day includes more than just a quick fix, but instead encouraging people to stop for a cup of tea and to grab a slice of cake. A small donation is required when visiting.

WE WILL FIX IT: Technicians at the repair cafe last week

Phantom knitter is back after hiatus REFERRING to herself as ‘definitely not Banksy’s nan’, a mystery knitter, who hides behind their knitted disguise, is back spreading warmth and smiles around town courtesty of her creations.

Known as the Yarnbomber, the artist has been posting his or her much loved work around Tunbridge Wells on Instagram for a number of years, but they have recently been absent.

Landfill During their last meeting (October 2) volunteers were able to fix items ranging from rings, lamps, dolls, cushion covers, windchimes, a food mixer and mobile phone.

With more than 20 stations available at the café, which includes household and garden electrical, mechanical, textiles, jewellery, bikes, small furniture, knife sharpening, computers, phones and miscellaneous. The team on hand were able to fix two out of every three items brought in this month.

Speaking to the Times, Café organiser Chris Murphy said: “The Repair Cafe has been a delight to start with, as the volunteers and visitors are enthusiastic and are keen to prolong the life of the items brought in to save them being thrown away and perhaps going to landfill unnecessarily.

“We have such a range of skills represented

Mystery built up over years and I feel privileged that these people give their time for free for such a great environmental endeavour. One thing I am keen on is for more people to use the cafe, especially younger people.”

Families He added: “We can repair some phones, tablets and bicycles.

“I would love to see more families, there is so much we can do with modern items and throwing items away and replacing them should

be a last resort, especially if people gave us a try.

“We open at 10am and close at 1pm, the last repair is accepted at 12.30pm.

“We are located in Trinity Theatre, Church Road, Tunbridge Wells. The car park at Trinity Theatre is pay and display but we can help unload if you just want to unload and go and park elsewhere.

“You do need to stay with your item when it is being repaired.”

For more information, email twellsrepaircafe@gmail.com or visit facebook. com/tunbridgewellsrepaircafe

In the past the Yarnbomber has created art on lamppost and post boxes, and has knitted support for Sir Captain Tom Moore and the England Football Team at Euro 2020.

Now the mystery knitter has returned with a new piece of work called The Pump, and it is hoping to raise cheer on the petrol crisis.

The Yarnbomber told his or her Instagram followers: “It’s been a while but I thought we could do with sharing the pain a bit! Apologies for the radio silence, things have been a little hectic over the last few months. Anyway, hope this raises a little cheer.”

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

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Wedding courses No French visitors for Southborough twinning association for brides to be A WEDDING venue has arranged several classes to help you put together your own wedding.

The Curious House located at The Bell in Ticehurst, East Sussex has organised a range of courses from November 8-10 to help you achieve the day of your dreams. They include photography and floristry workshops in order to help you save money and create a unique day.

Katy Donaldson will explain how to capture special moments using iPhone photography, while professional florist Lucinda Watts will share her inside knowledge of suppliers and how to make simple buttonholes, bouquets, and gorgeous table centres.

Professional print artist Clare Dales will also be on hand during the two day courses to help you design your own theme, personal to you, which you can use to create your very own wedding or party stationery.

For more information about fees and details on how to book, visit curioushouse.net

TWINNERS: Members of the SHDOFA

By Connor Alldritt A SOUTHBOROUGH association has been unable to welcome guests from the twinned organisation in France for their annual meeting for the first time in its near 30-year history.

The Southborough and High Brooms twinning association [SHDOFA] held their AGM on October 7, which had been delayed since March due to the pandemic.

It was the first time in the association’s 29-year history that guests from the northern French town of Lambersart, which is near Lille, were unable to attend.

In 1992 Southborough was twinned with the French town of Lille, and a twinning charter was signed to maintain a friendly relationship between the two parties, promoting links

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between the two regions, especially in the educational and cultural fields as well as to encourage exchange visits.

Chaired The society was due to hold its meeting in March this year, but was pushed back due to the pandemic. Instead, for the first time in its 29-year history guests from the twin town were unable to attend.

The meeting was chaired by the President and current Mayor of Southborough, Cllr Dianne Hill.

Speaking to the Times, spokesperson for SHDOFA, Brian Bissell said: “The event went very well as usual and was well supported, but for me, having been a member of SHDOFA for 29 years, since its formation in 1992, we all missed

meeting up with our friends from Lambersart.”

He added: “They are a delightful group of people and I particularly missed not being able to exchange stories of how life has been during lockdowns and of course our experience coming out of them. We hope it won’t be too long before we can meet again.”

Attend Plans were discussed for 30th anniversary celebrations next year when it is hoped the French guests will be able to attend.

The association has also made plans for a trip to the Somme in the Spring of 2022. There will also be the traditional barbecue in August and a trip to Fête de la Deûle, the annual river festival in Lambersart, near Lille in northern France.

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

‘Green is good’ PM tells investors as he pledges £200million for new schemes POWER TALK Boris yesterday with Bill Gates

BORIS Johnson has called for billions of investment into green technologies as he said governments and the markets must work together to tackle climate change.

The Prime Minister announced a new partnership with Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to drive an extra £200 million of private sector investment in green power schemes in the UK. Mr Johnson said the power of consumer choice and the trillions of dollars able to be invested by companies were essential for creating green growth and jobs.

He was speaking at the Government’s Global Investment Summit aimed at attracting overseas funding for UK projects.

Agenda The Government rolled out the red carpet for business chiefs including Microsoft founder Mr Gates, with lavish receptions at Downing Street and a gathering hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle on offer for some of the key investors.

Downing Street said plans being announced at the summit would see £9.7 billion of new overseas investment in the UK, creating 30,000 additional jobs.

The Prime Minister said the ‘green industrial revolution’, the freedom to deviate from European Union regulations after Brexit and the ‘levelling up’ agenda were three reasons why firms should invest in the UK. Addressing business leaders at the Science Museum, Mr Johnson said the Covid-19 pandemic showed the need for governments and the private sector to work together to tackle a global crisis – with a similar effort now needed to address climate change.

Ahead of the Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow, which starts on October 31, Mr Johnson told investors: “I can deploy billions – with the approval of the Chancellor, obviously – but you in this room, you can deploy trillions.”

Mr Johnson said there was 24 trillion US dollars represented in the room at the Science Museum summit in London.

“I want to say to each and every one of those dollars, you are very welcome to the UK and you have come to the right place at the right time.”

On the day the Government publishes its net zero strategy for cutting emissions, Mr Johnson said the UK had a responsibility to lead the world in decarbonising because as the birthplace of the industrial revolution ‘we were the first to knit the deadly tea cosy of CO2 that is now driving climate change’.

The Prime Minister said the Government was

making ‘big bets’ on electric vehicles, gigafactories for battery production, hydrogen and solar power.

Setting out the UK’s ambitions for hydrogen, Mr Johnson said it was ‘part of the solution’.

“To drive a digger or a truck or to hurl a massive passenger plane down a runway, you need what Jeremy Clarkson used to call ‘grunt’ – I think there may be a technical term for it – but ‘grunt’.

“Hydrogen provides that grunt, so we are making big bets on hydrogen, we are making bets on solar and hydro, and, yes – of course – on nuclear as well, for our baseload.”

Mr Johnson said ‘The market is going green’ as he urged investors to put their cash into efforts to develop cleaner technology.

The UK Government has already committed £200 million for the development of green energy solutions.

Facebook told to publish child harm study FACEBOOK must ‘publish what they know’ about the harm its platforms cause to children, the Health Secretary has demanded.

Sajid Javid told MPs he was “astonished” to learn that an internal study by the tech giant found 17% of teenage girls said Instagram, owned by Facebook, made their eating disorders worse.

He criticised the social media company for not sharing the study with parents, healthcare professionals and politicians, adding that it must “do the right thing” and publish information it holds.

Earlier this month, former Facebook data scientist Frances Haugen accused the business of being aware of apparent harm to some teenagers from Instagram and being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation.

Evidence Ms Haugen has come forward with a wideranging condemnation of Facebook, with tens of thousands of pages of internal research documents she secretly copied before leaving her job in the company’s civic integrity unit.

Facebook has said her allegations are misleading and claims there is no evidence to support the premise that it is the primary cause of social polarisation.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Javid said: “Facebook didn’t think it was appropriate to inform parents, healthcare professionals and legislators, so I do think that it is time for Facebook to do the right thing and publish what they know.”

No face-to-face targets for GPs

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THERE is no ‘set number’ for how many face-to-face appointments GPs should provide, the head of NHS England has told MPs. Amanda Pritchard said that many patients liked face-to-face appointments but that others found phoning a GP or going online more convenient.

Data shows that 58% of patients were seen face-to-face in August in England, compared with 54% in January and more than 80% before the pandemic.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid set out plans last week for more cash for GPs, but also ways in which they can be named and shamed in league tables depending on how many patients they see in-person.

Steer It comes as a snap poll for the British Medical Association (BMA) found doctors “overwhelmingly” rejecting the Government’s plan, with 93% of 3,500 GPs saying it was an unacceptable response to the crisis.

Speaking to MPs on the cross-party Commons health committee, Ms Pritchard said: “I’m really conscious that the vast, vast majority of colleagues in general practice have worked, and continue to work, absolutely tirelessly.

“In fact, they’re the building block of the NHS and they continue to be.”

She said the package announced last week was about the ‘need to put some money behind supporting general practice’.

She added: “I think we have really tried to steer away from saying that there is a kind of a right number for face-to-face versus other types of access, because what’s clear is many people absolutely do prefer face-to-face access, GPs are required to provide it, it’s part of the contract, but for some populations, it’s going to be a particular number, for others it will be different.

“So what we’ve talked about in the document is respecting patient preference.

“Because what I hear is many, many people say it is hugely convenient being able to phone a GP or do a digital consultation, ‘it saves me lots of time unnecessarily travelling to a GP practice’.

But it’s absolutely right that that isn’t going to work for everybody and it’s not going to work for every circumstance, and therefore respecting patient preference is the bit that we have said is really important here.

“So, for those practices… where the percentage of face-to-face care is very low, that does feel out of step with what we’re hearing across the rest of the country, and we need to give them particular support.”

NHS England’s medical director, Professor Stephen Powis, said there was no doubt GPs were busy at the moment and A&E departments were busy for a ‘variety of reasons’.

FOR EVEN MORE NEWS VISIT: timeslocalnews.co.uk

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

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‘Multiple failings’ found in report into the child abuse allegations against Lord Janner CHILDREN who reported being sexually abused by the late Labour grandee Lord Janner were ‘let down by institutional failings’, a damning inquiry into police, prosecution and social services responses to their allegations has concluded.

Leicestershire Police officers investigating decades of abuse claims against Lord Janner regularly “did not look beyond the often troubled backgrounds” of the alleged victims, who said they were abused in children’s homes in the county between the early 1960s and the late 1980s.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) accused Detective Superintendent Christopher Thomas, who led Operation Dauntless, the third police investigation into Lord Janner, of being “uninterested” in the allegations, while colleagues were “quick to dismiss” some testimonies.

Denied Lord Janner, a Labour MP from 1970 until 1997 when he was made a peer in the House of Lords, was charged with 22 counts of child sexual abuse offences, relating to nine different boys, in 2015.

He died with dementia later that year while awaiting trial, and always denied the allegations.

Professor Alexis Jay, who is chairing the wide-ranging abuse inquiry, said: “Despite numerous serious allegations against the late

Lord Janner, police and prosecutors appeared reluctant to fully investigate the claims against him.

“On multiple occasions police put too little emphasis on looking for supporting evidence and shut down investigations without pursuing all outstanding inquiries.”

She also said Leicestershire County Council had a “sorry record of failures” relating to abuse at children’s homes dating back to the 1960s.

The report described the decision-making of both Mr Thomas and Roger Rock, reviewing lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, as “unsound and strategically flawed”.

Prof Jay added: “This investigation has brought up themes we are now extremely familiar with (across the whole inquiry), such as deference to powerful individuals, the barriers to reporting faced by children and the need for institutions to have clear policies and procedures setting out how to respond to allegations of child sexual abuse, regardless of the prominence of the alleged abuser.”

More than 30 complainants were involved in the inquiry, with their lawyers describing how poor children in care were on a “conveyor belt to abuse”.

They alleged being seriously sexually abused in a range of locations, including schools, a flat in London, a hotel, Lord Janner’s car and the Houses of Parliament. The report was particularly critical

FAILINGS Lord Janner died in 2015

of Mr Thomas, the senior investigation officer in 2006.

It said: “Our overriding sense is that Det Supt Christopher Thomas was uninterested in this investigation, and his decisions to limit the inquiries undertaken appeared to be reflective of a wider failure to pursue the investigation with the rigour it deserved, rather than being motivated by a wish to protect Lord Janner or

Jude Law pulls the strings as puppet arrives in Kent A GIANT puppet of a Syrian child refugee has landed in Kent and taken its first steps in the UK as it continues its 5,000-mile journey symbolising “millions of displaced children”.

Little Amal has travelled through much of Europe after setting off from the TurkishSyrian border in July and will finish in Manchester.

The 3.5-metre tall puppet of a nine-year-old girl has been greeted by communities all along its epic journey, designed to highlight the plight of child refugees.

It was greeted by actor Jude Law on Folkestone’s Harbour Arm after arriving in England on Tuesday.

The puppet’s long trek is intended to be a walk for all the children, many unaccompanied and separated from their families, who are forced to undertake extraordinary journeys under life-threatening conditions.

“Little Amal will walk so that we don’t forget them”, organisers say.

The puppet was made by War Horse creators Handspring Puppet Company from a moulded cane body with carbon fibre head, arms and legs.

show him undue deference.”

The inquiry did not examine whether or not the allegations against Lord Janner were true.

But it found ‘crucial statements’ in 2000’s Operation Magnolia police investigation were ‘brushed under the carpet’.

The final IICSA report, taking in all 19 strands of the inquiry, is expected to be laid before Parliament next year.

Line closure Tunbridge Wells to Hastings Saturday 23 – Friday 29 October 2021 For seven days buses will replace trains while we carry out essential work to strengthen the railway cutting at Wadhurst tunnel.

Please plan ahead and check before you travel.

Find out more at networkrail.co.uk/Wadhurst

PUPPET MASTER Jude Law with the Amal puppet in Folkestone

NEWS IN BRIEF

Officer charged with child sexual abuse

Slow cars to 10mph say Insulate Britain

Businessman admits Rolls Royce killing

A SERVING police officer has been charged with child sexual abuse offences.

Lee Cunliffe, 40, a detective constable, was charged with 11 offences on Tuesday, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said.

The officer, based in the Salford district, is charged with multiple counts relating to child pronography as well as misconduct in public office and perverting the course of public justice.

He was bailed to appear before Magistrates on October 26.

NATIONAL Highways should reduce motorway speed limits to as low as 10mph when Insulate Britain protests on a carriageway, a member of the campaign group told the High Court.

Dr Diana Warner, a member of Extinction Rebellion offshoot, demanded that the roads agency work with protesters to ‘ensure safety for everyone’.

Her comments came during a High Court hearing where a judge extended an injunction granted against the group.

A BUSINESSMAN has admitted mowing down a pedestrian with a purple Rolls-Royce near Buckingham Palace.

Qatari Hassan Nasser Al-Thani, 42, from Prince of Wales Terrace, Kensington, west London, killed Charles Roberts while behind the wheel of his Rolls-Royce Wraith on August 22 2019.

The 66-year-old died at the scene of the crash in Duke of Wellington Place.

On Tuesday, Al-Thani appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

14

NEWS

Education

FOR EVEN MORE NEWS VISIT: timeslocalnews.co.uk

Thomas Mansfield

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GRAND OPENING MP Tom Tugendhat cutting the ribbon at the new centre

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Hillview School for Girls has officially opened a new centre which aims to help young adults regain their confidence and reconnect with learning. The Times finds out more about the exciting new post-16 school engagement offering

By Eileen Leahy HILLVIEW School for Girls in Tonbridge officially launched its new educational enterprise The View@East St earlier this month.

The satellite school is located at Bordyke End in the town and was opened on October 8 by Tom Tugendhat MP (pictured above).

The View@East St supports Post 16, Level 1 & 2 learners to access education and eventually move into Level 3 education - or employment. In 2019 and in liaison with Kent County Council, Hillview School for Girls identified a need for wider Post 16 provision to run as part of the highly successful Hillview Sixth form; which currently caters purely for Level 3 learners.

The main school is oversubscribed and has a physical capacity of 1400 but there is very limited land for development at the original site which led to the need for a satellite premises.

The View@East offers both Hillview School for Girls and other post Year 11 secondary school children from West Kent the opportunity to develop a broad range of additional mental health and educational services.

Official The centre informally opened in November 2020 but rapidly grew in numbers resulting in it being oversubscribed by September 2021.

In addition to the many parents, students and staff from both Hillview and other local secondary schools at the official opening were officers from The Education People and The Regional Schools Commissioner’s Office.

During the event Hilary Burkett, Headteacher at Hillview School for Girls, recounted the View@ East St journey as well as the challenges faced to enable the centre to be opened. She also explained the rationale behind the specialist satellite provision while Teresa Copeland, the centre’s manager, read out some emotional and reflective statements from parents and students who have already benefited from the venue, and all it has to offer students since it opened.

One of them read as follows: “This setting has

‘The new site will develop a broad range of additional mental health and educational services to benefit all secondary school children’ been an absolute lifeline for our son and for our family. Imagine the saddest, most broken young person you can who wants to engage with life and school - but simply can’t…. And imagine a person, a provision, a setting that can offer that young person a lifeline to regain their confidence and the opportunity to re-engage in education - and that is our son and our experience with Viewpoint. He is coming back to life, back to the young man we know and adore. We have a long way to go, but this finally feels a firm step in the right direction.”

A Hillview spokesperson told the Times: “The centre was established to ensure that every child had a place in education and positive life chances for the future. So far it has had a significant impact on many young people’s lives and given them hope for the future. Not only has it had a positive impact on their futures, but it has enabled young people to be happy and engage in a wider way at home and in their personal lives.

“The View@East St is the only centre of its kind in the UK and as any pioneering centre needs support to secure financial sustainability and hopefully to develop new systems and methods for future similar centres to be established in other areas of the country.”

They added: “Hillview and The View@East St wish to thank everyone who has taken part in the journey so far and are continuing to do so in the future. Establishing and operating a centre such as this is a team effort and we have the greatest team possible doing so.”

Donations can be made through the school’s crowd funding page and in future the View@East St centre will be seeking corporate sponsorship.

Further information at hillview.kent.sch.uk

2021 Christmas at Salomons Estate Tunbridge Wells OnE nighT in VEgaS

a VEry BuBlÉ ChriSTmaS

This December Salomons Estate is staging a number of Las Vegas themed party nights so you can celebrate in style with friends, family and colleagues.

make it a Holly Jolly Christmas with the show that has Everything in it and will definitely leave you Feeling Good.

‘One Night in Vegas’ Party Nights include: Glass of prosecco on arrival.

3 course choice festive menu.

Casino tables.

Disco and dancing until 1am.

Dress to impress / Vegas Vibes.

£45

One night only Thursday 9th December 2020

Available Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays throughout December

Glass of prosecco on arrival.

2 course choice festive menu (main and dessert).

Live singing from the ‘Bublé Experience’ tribute act.

Disco and dancing until 1am Dress to impress.

TimiNGS Arrival from 7pm, 1am finish.

Dinner service time will be confirmed nearer the time.

£49.50

per person Available for groups of 8 people or more.

TimiNGS Arrival from 7pm, dinner served 7.30pm, live entertainment 9.30pm-11pm disco and dancing until 1am finish.

per person

FESTiVE aFTErnOOn TEaS Afternoon Tea is a special treat, and what better time to treat yourself and your family and friends during the Christmas season.

Available 20th November-23rd December Traditional

£21.50 per person

Prosecco

£26.50 per person

Children’s

£11.50

(smaller portion, available for children aged 12 and under only)

24hr advance booking required, bookings cancelled on the day will be asked to pay 50%.

FESTiVE lunChES

DinE WiTh SanTa

Gather your friends, family, neighbours or colleagues and enjoy a festive lunch within our stunning country house, set within 36 acres of picturesque landscape, the perfect way to get into the festive spirit.

Sunday 12th December Enjoy a three course Sunday roast suitable for the whole family as Santa makes his way round to hear all your stories and Christmas wish lists.

Available 20th November-24th December Enjoy a two course or three course lunch from our festive lunch menu.

2 courses

£24.50 per person

3 courses

£29.50 per person

minimum numbers and venue hire charges apply for private dining.

Drawing room (minimum 45 people) Theatre (minimum 70 people) Conservatory (minimum 20 people) Gold and Leighton (minimum 20 people)

COUNTRY HOUSE

Adults

£29.50 per person

Children

£16.00 per person

includes a gift from Santa for every child.

Tables available between 12pm-4pm

To book please email reservations@salomons-estate.com or call 01892 515152

16

NEWS

Weekly Comment

FOR EVEN MORE NEWS VISIT: timeslocalnews.co.uk

Alan Bullion Liberal Democrats

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Alan Bullion represents Southborough Town Council for the Liberal Democrats and is the Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrat Communications and Press Spokesman.

Spending a penny has never been so difficult TUNBRIDGE WELLS is far from alone in losing most of its public conveniences in recent years. Over the past decade more than 2,000 public toilets have shut across the UK. Last week it was announced that all of the public loos across Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable could be closed, or charges introduced, as the local council looks for annual savings of over £50,000.

Like Tunbridge Wells, these are popular tourist and shopping destinations. As Caitlin Moran wrote in September on the national Times Magazine Twitter feed: “How to get people back to the High Street. It’s a no-brainer. More public toilets and benches, please!”

There are no longer any public toilets south of the Calverley Grounds in Tunbridge Wells. And even the male toilets in that park were in a disgusting state during the recent busy Local & Live weekend music festival.

The Pantiles for example no longer has any facilities, despite the footfall from its many well-attended food and

drinks events and jazz evenings.

There used to be public loos located by the corner of Union Square, where coach parties used to draw up, now lost to the new Potteries development.

Also there were toilets below the bandstand and in the former Corn Exchange.

Accesible I gather there are new facilities opening shortly at the Pump Room, at the far end of The Pantiles, but I have yet to ascertain their opening hours to the general public.

We are told to spend a penny in the local cafes and pubs, but this is not always welcomed by their proprietors.

And some of these also have their toilets located in the bowels of old buildings, accessible only via flights of steep and narrow stairways, not always safe for disabled people like me, or parents with babies and young children.

But it is not just the Town Centre that lacks loos. High Brooms station, which

now has over 1 million passengers a year, still has no public conveniences or waiting rooms, despite being busy during the day with pupils attending the local schools, as well as the commuter traffic from many passengers, including myself.

Fortunately there are some solutions, which are largely in the hands of our Borough Council, to whom we pay our local taxes.

These are to open up facilities at the Town Hall, where I understand they are seeking new tenants to maximise use of the sprawling town centre building. And then AXA are also looking to repurpose their offices.

Other possibilities include former loos at Chapel Place, for example.

I have written to our MP Greg Clark to press him for some urgent answers. Now let’s see more action from Borough Council chief executive William Benson.

It is not just the infirm and elderly such as me who are affected and can be caught short when we are out and about, after all.

NOWHERE TO GO: Cllr Bullion at High Brooms Station

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Letters

NEWS

17

And another thing…

This is the page where you, the reader, have your chance to express your views or comments on what’s going on in our part of the world. We like to hear from you. You can email us at newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk or you can write to the Editor, Times Local News, Salomons Estate, Tunbridge Wells TN3 0TG

The No 1. grot spot in Tunbridge Wells is the former ABC Cinema site.

A recent residents’ survey showed that 92 per cent of residents want the council to purchase the land under CPO terms. These comments were first made in 2013 but equally could apply today.

In 2020 further CPO musings were made but nothing materialised. In 2021, the leader of the council has taken up the mantle.

After 21 years of inertia, I am personally engaging with Michel Gove and Greg Clark to invite them for a sit down to find a solution.

At the very least the developer could be put on notice, but unhelpful comments from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council that this site is a developer’s graveyard have not helped.

A CPO funded by the sale of assets could purchase the land at cost price and simply turn into a focal point green space, a regular weekend market and ad hoc events, all at nil cost to the taxpayer.

A full sale of Council assets including the Civic Centre would generate £70million plus, enough to pay for a CPO and re-start RTW. A new Town Hall Arts Centre, owned and operated commercially could host, cinema, theatre, exhibitions and a myriad of events,

Water regeneration What a pity that there is a new water feature when the historic one around which the town was built is in need of regeneration and failed to secure enough public funding (October 6, p3).

Will Dandara be paying for the maintenance of this new feature, or will it become just a pond with a stone in the middle?

Graham Salmon Tunbridge Wells Scrap housing plan The Tunbridge Wells Green Party has written to Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Councillor Tom Dawlings recommending that he suspend the Pre-Submission Local Plan (PSLP) in the light of Boris Johnson’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference.

The PSLP proposes building half its 8,500 new houses in the Tunbridge Wells Green belt, however, the Prime Minister said that when looking down on the UK via Google Earth: “You can also see how much room there is to build the homes that young families need in this country, not on green fields, not just jammed in the South-East, but beautiful homes in brownfield sites in places where homes make sense.”

bringing much needed revenue to the town.

With failing revenues, deteriorating assets and shop closures, the council is in complete denial about the future of RTW and have instead been seduced by a co-working contractor who has promised a free Town Hall refurbishment and a pot of gold – however they do require a £5m surety against loss in case things don’t work out.

A Global Co-working survey stated recently that only 40% of contractors make a profit and the risk increase as the market reaches saturation. Most end up as NfP Even the council’s own portfolio manager said this is a huge ask.

Let’s not forget, £11million wasted on the aborted Calverley project, a huge over-spend on the Amelia building and a Town Hall with 20 per cent occupancy.

The council does not have a strong track record in making commercial decisions and is about to embark on another ill-conceived idea.

P.S. Why have Councillors voted against a reduction in numbers when the recent residents consultation demanded it?

Peter Kirkup Tunbridge Wells

action in its delivery.

Better to do it on shore in a much more sensitive and environment aware manner: the checks and balances here would be better than anything overseas. Is he content to be hostage to foreigners?

John Ward Moorhouse Tunbridge Wells

Opposing airport is not NIMBYism With reference to Mrs A Wood’s somewhat crass letter in your paper last month (Times, September 8).

Just because residents in Tunbridge Wells who occasionally use airports object to hundreds of thousands more aircraft flying low over their town all day and night – bearing in mind these jets bring with them appalling extra noise and cancer-causing pollution to the air that we breathe (not to mention a significant incremental contribution to global warming) – doesn’t mean we are hypocrites and NIMBYS. Saying so is akin to accusing anyone who is concerned about the planet, but happens to drive a car, heat their home, or travel on a train or bus is likewise – a patently absurd notion!

Allowing hundreds of thousands of additional planes to deprive those living in the town of a good night’s sleep and a little peace and quite is lunacy, especially at a time when we can all see the threats that come with climate change and global warming.

Norma Pinkerton Tunbridge Wells

When is a pavement a footpath?

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council seem unable to differentiate between a pavement & a footpath!

This arose out of the fact that a motorist regularly parks on a pavement along London Road, Southborough. Now this is a complete parking, not half on road/half on pavement.

This car is causing a huge obstruction as to get by you have to step out on the road, especially if a mother with a pushchair or somebody on a Motability scooter. Having evidenced such this was reported to TWBC to do something.

However, their response was incredulous as they said both a pavement and footpath were the same! The dictionary defines a pavement as ‘a raised paved or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a road’, whereas a footpath is ‘a path for people to walk along, especially a right of way in the countryside’. No mention of vehicular traffic parking on pavements.

Their view is that in order to take action there has to be signs that parking is prohibited and double yellow lines on roadway. Apparently, it could take 2 years to get KCC confirmation and get the signage prepared. That is incredible given that within a very short time nearly all side roads were shown as 20 MPH, with masses of signage everywhere; certainly did not take 2 years.

Meanwhile the pavements are being damaged by cars parking on them as they are not built as robustly as roadways.

I do appreciate that some roads are very narrow and there is no option but have to park partly on pavements, but the area is question has much wider pavements. No wonder the Borough Council get so much flak.

John Pearce Tunbridge Wells

Gas should be from home Paul Stepto (last week’s Letters) hides his light under a bushel: he’s a big wheel in the local Green Party, though he omits to state this. Like politicians who are reluctant to face up to a glaring but unacceptable fact, he deliberately missed my point which is that if we are to burn gas – as we must, on our way to a totally green future, then it should be sourced at home.

At the moment we export to other countries the downsides of the exploitation of fossil fuels and leave ourselves vulnerable to hostile foreign

Following the shock byelection defeat in Chesham & Amersham, Boris Johnson recently sacked Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister Robert Jenrick, and he would not have said what he did unless there are to be radical changes in the Government’s housing requirement for the South East.

We have thus written to Council Leader Cllr Dawlings recommending he suspend submission of the PSLP to the Planning Inspectorate, to avoid an embarrassingly and costly irrelevant public examination with the Inspector next year.

Adrian Thorne Broadwater

Green policies cost I am not sure John Ward Moorhouse’s letter did espouse the enthusiastic burning of fossil fuels – Paul Stepto’s letter [October 13].

What he suggests – and I’ve re-read it, is a pragmatic approach: we use and will continue to need to use fossil fuels, so why not use the homegrown variety: Mr Stepto distorts what has been advocated and betrays his doctrinaire, driven, politically dogmatic: ‘my way or the highway’ attitude.

His joy must be unbounded by rising fuel

We do our best to publish letters in full. However, the Editor reserves the right to edit any letter. Please ensure that letters do not exceed 250 words

PEPPY SAYS

CARTOON BY PEPPY: (Follow her on Twitter @Peppyscott)

It is inertia over the cinema site

costs, lower consumption, a further Green levy proposed, people unable to afford to heat their homes, but will he be happy to see deaths from hypothermia compete with those from Covid this winter?

Richard Heath St John’s

FOR EVEN MORE NEWS VISIT: timeslocalnews.co.uk

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Local News

NEWS

AHT RESIDENCIES

NO STRINGS Xxxx xx x xxxx xx x x xxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx

FUN FOR ALL Xxxx xx x xxxx xx x x xxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx

COMEDY | TUE 19–SUN 24 OCT COMEDY | THU 4 NOV

MUSIC | FRI 5 NOV

COMEDY | SAT 6 NOV

SPOKEN WORD | FRI 12 NOV

FAMILY | SAT 13 NOV

AMADIGI MUSIC | SUN 7 NOV

OPERA | TUE 9 NOV

S I M P LY SCHUBERT A BRIDGE NOT FAR Poohsticks bridge will stay in East Sussex

MUSIC | SAT 13 NOV

CLASSICAL | SUN 14 NOV

COMEDY | WED 17–THU 18 NOV VARIETY | FRI 19 NOV AHT RESIDENCIES

ICE SKATING | FRI 19 NOV–MON 03 JAN `22

COMEDY | SAT 20 NOV

PANTO | FRI 17 DEC–MON 03 JAN COMEDY | WED 19 JAN `22

MUSIC | SAT 22 JAN `22

MUSIC | FRI 28 JAN `22

COMEDY | SAT 4 DEC

COMEDY | SUN 5 DEC

MUSIC | THU 20 JAN `22

MUSIC | FRI 21 JAN `22

COMEDY | SAT 29 JAN `22

MUSIC | WED 02 FEB `22

assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk T U N B R I D G E W E LLS ROCKING IT FACE OFF forThefull details and toOf The book Local act All Above tickets visit our website festival is family friendly

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Life&Times

HOMES • INTERIORS FOOD • DRINK • HEALTH WELLBEING • ARTS CULTURE • TRAVEL • BOOKS MOTORS and MORE...

DARK MATERIAL

Prepare for a performance of Macbeth at Kingdom with a powerful difference

P30

20

Homes & Interiors

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Crowborough property market rocketing as town makes list of house price hotspots

Property Focus

By Richard Williams HOUSE prices in Crowborough have risen by nearly a fifth since the start of last year, with the East Sussex town in the top ten locations for surging property prices in the country.

According to Rightmove nearly threequarters (71 per cent) of areas across Britain have hit record asking prices, since the start of 2020.

In Crowborough, there has been an 18 per cent increase in the average asking price of a home in that time.

The average house price in the Wealden

PROPERTY FRENZY Crowborough has seen a surge in house prices [picture David Brooker]

“There’s been significant growth across so many areas of Great Britain over the past year, which is reflected in the new price hotspots, where six different regions appear in the top 10.

Below is a list of the average asking prices in September 2021 and the percentage increase for the top 10 hotspots, according to Rightmove: UK’S PROPERTY HOT SPOTS:

‘There’s been significant growth across so many areas of Great Britain over the past year’ town as of September 2021 was £501,537, the online estate agent says.

Rightmove’s figures suggest that houses have increased in value by an average of £90,000 in the last 18 months.

This is the sixth highest house price rise for any area in the UK. Toxteth in Liverpool has seen the biggest

growth in house prices, with a 20 per cent increase in the average cost of a new home.

Accrington in Lancashire, Retford in Nottinghamshire and Heywood in Greater Manchester closely follow with a 19 per cent increase, Rightmove said.

Five of the top 10 hotspots are in the North West of England, a region where

Health hazard for renters A FIFTH of people who rent in England are being harmed by their homes, research has claimed.

Some 22 per cent of renters said their physical or mental health is being harmed by poor housing, according to the charity Shelter.

It commissioned YouGov to carry out the survey of 3,197 renting adults in private or social rented homes in April.

Some 19 per cent said their housing situation was affecting their or their family’s mental health, while 11 per cent said the same for their physical health – working out at 22 per cent overall.

Issues Based on the English Housing Survey, which estimated that there were 8.4million renting households in England in 2019-20, this equates to around 1.9million households with their health affected.

The survey found that common issues plaguing renters include damp and mould (affecting 26 per cent of renters), being

unable to heat their home (26 per cent), constantly struggling to pay rent (21 per cent) and fear of eviction (21 per cent).

Renters experiencing one of these issues were three times more likely than renters without such issues to say their housing situation was harming their health.

A separate poll for Shelter, of private renters only, found that 22 per cent said their housing issues or worries had made them physically sick.

A further fifth said these issues had negatively affected their work.

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “The cost of poor housing is spilling out into overwhelmed GP surgeries, mental health services, and hours lost from work.

“The new Housing Secretary must get a grip on the housing crisis and tackle a major cause of ill health.

“Listening to the calls flooding into our helpline there is no doubt that health and housing go hand in hand.

“Yet, millions of renters are living in homes that make them sick because they are mouldy, cold, unaffordable and grossly insecure.”

asking prices have risen by 8 per cent on average since September 2020.

Across Britain, the average asking price stands at a record £338,462, up by 5.8% compared with September 2020, Rightmove said.

Tim Bannister, director of property ROAD data at TO theFORTUNE online estate agent, said: This Kent town holds the most value

1. Toxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside, £151,958, 20 per cent.

2. Accrington, Lancashire, £139,220, 19 per cent.

3. Retford, Nottinghamshire, £210,761, 19 per cent.

4. Heywood, Greater Manchester, £194,634, 19 per cent.

5. Brixham, Devon, £318,859, 18 per cent.

6. Crowborough, East Sussex, £501,537, 18 per cent.

7. Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, £165,322, 18 per cent.

8. Moortown, Leeds, West Yorkshire, £327,804, 17 per cent.

9. Penwortham, Preston, Lancashire, £251,478, 17 per cent.

10. Great Sankey, Warrington, Cheshire, £270,621, 16 per cent.

Government to hand local councils £58million to develop derelict land COUNCILS across the UK will be entitled to claim a share of a £57.8million fund earmarked by the government to build homes on brownfield sites.

The money will go on developing those derelict sites that have previously been built on but are no longer in use.

The investment will transform ‘unloved and disused’ sites into ‘vibrant communities’ with the demolition of derelict buildings and other unused sites, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said.

The funds will also help get ‘hardworking’ people on the property ladder and boost local communities, as well as protecting countryside and other green spaces, the department said.

As well as the 5,600 extra homes, the investment could also support up to 17,000 jobs across the housing and construction sector and the wider economy, the DLUHC said.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, said: “We are levelling up and backing home ownership in every

corner of the country, delivering new high-quality, affordable homes and creating thriving places where people want to live, work and visit.

Protect “Making the most of previously developed land is a Government priority and it will help protect our cherished countryside and green spaces.”

The DLUHC said an allocation of £5 million would be given for self and custom-build projects, giving local people the opportunity to build and design their own homes.

Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnew said: “This support being provided to local authorities is another clear demonstration of this Government’s commitment to levelling up the country.

“The latest projects to benefit from this support, through brownfield land release funding, will not only help unlock underused public sector sites for homes, but also help deliver jobs and save money.”

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19 U

An exceptional Victorian conversion of 19 uniquely designed apartments.

Overlooking the Common, with the town centre and The Pantiles on the doorstep and trains to London only 400m away, this exclusive development represents town centre living at itsWells best.

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In the heart of in Tunbridge Wells – opposite the Common, round the corner Royal Tunbridge Wells from the main train station and town centre amenities – The Retreat is ideally 55 LONDON ROAD • TUNBRIDGE WELLS • KENT • TN1 1DR An Exceptional Victorian conversion consisting of situated to balance work and play.

19 UNIQUELY DESIGNED APARTMENTS

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An imposing Victorian landmark transformed by an award-winning regional developer into a range of stunning one, two, and three bedroom apartments, all with communal gardens and some with private outside space.

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Why • A well-connected, central location for young professionals and London commuters alike.

• Served by multiple bus routes and Julien H e w i t tmainline train services, perfect for Playing Field down-sizers.

• A sound investment opportunity in a well-established commuter town.

AVAILABLE TO RESERVE NOW

Visit the show apartment, by appointment only

01892 514100 info@maddisonsresidential.co.uk for further information:

ne: 01892 514 100 Email: info@maddisonsresidential.co.uk

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Half term

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Child’s play 7 days of activities

Half Term is now underway for a lot of schoolchildren with others breaking up this coming Friday. Stuck on what to do to entertain your little ones untilt the end of the month? Then here are a few fun ideas:

23-3i October

Treat the kids to a spooky day out and dress up in your scariest Halloween costumes!

©&TM Spin Master Ltd. All rights

only £3 entry pp

HEVER CASTLE Young thrill seekers can learn how to become perfect little monsters as part of the Ghoul School audio trail (£1)* at Hever Castle.

They will encounter a spooky array of teachers who will impart their delights, frights and a few vampire bites. Sport your spookiest costume to really get the most out of the Ghoul School trail.

Young visitors can also take part in a garlic bulb planting workshop to try and ward off vampires and spot ghostly decorations around the grounds.

For older and braver visitors Halloween Scream also takes place with a two-part interactive experience in both the Castle and the cellars underneath after dark.

The Halloween Scream experience features live actors and special effects and is designed by AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment.

Visitors can choose to journey through the castle in a 15 minute walk through an immersive interactive experience including sights, sounds and smells. They will come face-to-face with the phantoms and witness Sir Doyle’s assistant attempting to capture the ghost of Hever Castle on film in The 13th Frame.

In the second part of the experience visitors will be transported back to 1940 when the bombs of the blitz are headed for Hever Castle.

Descend into the cellars below the castle and take refuge from the airborne attack as part of

the second of the 15 minute interactive experiences; but be warned – a far more terrifying encounter awaits you in a hidden labyrinth. The depraved Doctor Lockwood is

reserved.

See Skye & Rubble at intervals on 28t h

October

HALLOWEEN TRAIL RIDES ANIMAL FARM DATES) LIVE ENTERTAINMENT (SELECTED & MORE GHOULISH FUN! * subject to change

Book tickets at www.hopfarm.co.uk Maidstone Rd, Paddock Wood, Kent TNi2 6PY

2591-02-Halloween-Half-Term-TOTW-Ad-130x160mm-AW.indd 1

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Half term

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

conducting bizarre medical experiments inside SUBstratum. Halloween Scream is for those aged 14 years and over, costs £25 and must be prebooked. For more information about Ghoul School and Halloween Scream visit hevercastle. co.uk/whats-on *Please note numbers are limited to Ghoul School so entry does not guarantee inclusion in the trail.

THE HOP FARM Treat the kids to a spook-tastic feast of fun for the half term holidays at The Hop Farm Family Park in Paddock Wood! Dress up in your best Halloween fancy dress (optional!) and come and join in!

Attractions include our ever-popular Giant Jumping Pillows, Driving School, Magic Castle, Outdoor Adventure Play Area, Childrens Rides and animal farm including a reptile house, mini-cows, horses, ponies, donkeys, llamas, goats, guinea pigs, rabbits, alpacas, birds and more.

Live entertainment in the Big Red Barn and more tricks and treats! Features include a Halloween trail* And a special bonus! On October 28, PAW PATROL’S SKYE & RUBBLE will be visiting. Get into this spirit of the season and have a fun day out at The Hop Farm Family Park!

Advance booking only. Entry tickets only £3 per person. Book online: hopfarm.co.uk

KENT & EAST SUSSEX RAILWAY This October half-term, board a train and learn more about which creatures will soon be preparing for their winter slumber as the days get shorter and colder.

Your children can complete our nature quiz (or activity sheet) and make their own wildlife mask during the journey. Sit back and relax as you travel together through the beautiful Wealden countryside.

Make sure you keep your eyes peeled though and if you are lucky, you may spot some of our resident animals and birds on your journey.

Prices include activity sheet and mask for each child. Tickets offer freedom of the line during the day of your visit aboard our heritage steam or diesel trains between Tenterden in Kent and Bodiam in East Sussex. Trains depart Tenterden Town station at 10.40 am, 11:45am, 1.15 pm and 2:20 pm daily from Saturday 23rd to Sunday 31st October 2021 except Monday 25th and Friday 29th. Save on fares by booking online in advance: kesr.org.uk Online prices: Freedom tickets £49.00 Family ticket (2A + 2C) £19.50 Adults (15 years +) £13.50 Child (3-15 years) Pre-booking strongly advised.

There is free parking for customers at Tenterden Town station and Northiam station.

The return journey from Tenterden to Bodiam takes approximately 2 hours but Freedom tickets purchased online, mean you can choose to return on a later train.

SPA VALLEY RAILWAY Dr Frankenslime’s Trick or Treat Express is packed full of slapstick comedy, magic and mayhem . Running on Saturday October 30 and Sunday 31 it is set to be another sell-out show, departing from Tunbridge Wells West at 16:15 and 18:00, returning approximately 1hr 15mins later. The performance is brought to you by the wonderful Radtastic Theatre. spavalleyrailway.co.uk

THE NATIONAL TRUST At Bodiam Castle in East Sussex you can embark on the bats trail to find out what they like to eat and how they live – you might even see a couple in their favourite places!

Or why not create some wild art at Emmett’s Garden, near Sevenoaks? You can collect

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natural materials from the ground such as sticks and colourful leaves and fashion a leaf crown at one of the craft stations in the glorious garden. nationaltrust.org.uk

LEEDS CASTLE Bones the Skeleton is hiding somewhere at Leeds Castle and your help is requireed in order to find him!.

Children and parents (including mummies!) are invited to come and explore the grounds, as Bones has left different clues and riddles for you to solve, which will lead you to his secret whereabouts. leeds-castle.com

TAYWELL FARM SHOP Looking for a fun day out? Then why not take the children to Taywell’s in Goudhurst?

Grab a wheelbarrow and pick the perfect pumpkin from its patch!

The good news is that there’s no need to book and you only pay for what you pick. Wellies advised! taywellfarm.co.uk

AUTUMN WONDERS AUTUMN WONDERS

ENJOY THE CHANGING COLOURS OF THE SEASON BY RAIL This half term everyone can enjoy spotting wildlife along the railway ENJOY THE CHANGING OF THE SEASON BY RAIL and take part inCOLOURS free on-board activities for children.

This half term everyone can enjoy spotting wildlife along the railway BOOK SAVE and take part in ONLINE free on-boardAND activities for children.

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Arts & Antiques

antiques

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Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Flight of fancy

W

HEN DID man start thinking about flying?

The origin of this quest has long been lost but stories and myths of flight attempts can be found throughout the ancient history of almost any culture.

On the 7th of December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright completed the first heavier-than-air human flight with their newly invented flying machine after years of experimentation.

The flight only lasted 12 seconds and covered 850 feet: it is a very short distance but it represents one of the biggest steps in modern history.

After this first successful attempt, the first areoplanes had simple two-bladed propellers such as the very rare walnut Belgian Gnome Helice Normale propeller, that was probably originally mounted on a Belgian Jero Farman 16, pictured below.

One of the first crafts made for military

Ejector seat Aircraft items are popular

purposes was the F.E.8, designed at the Royal Aircraft factory for the British AirForce. It was a single-seater airplane with a forward firing-machine gun and it made his maiden flight in 1915.

This original propeller was mounted at the back of the aircraft so that the pilot could fire the machine guns mounted on the front. Wood propellers were made from many layers of mahogany, glued together and perfectly balanced to achieve maximum strength for the aforementioned aircraft.

Jet powered A couple of years after the beginning of the First World War, this design was already outdated and replaced by new and more efficient engines. The Aircraft Manufacturing Company (AIRCO), soon became the most profitable aircraft company in the world producing thousands of airplanes for the British forces during the conflict. (High resolution image supplied separately.)

By the end of the war many towns and cities had built their own airports. New security tools were created and aviation engineering was becoming more and more complex. The jet powered engine was developed at the same time by Germany and the United Kingdom and it soon replaced the propellers which had already reached their power limits.The new crafts could carry a higher number of passengers and reach new speeds and heights.

The superbly detailed and highly polished ejection seat pictured on the left

Alexander Pushkin, of Pushkin Antiques in Tunbridge Wells High Street, talks about the value of aviation antiques ...

belongs to a British first- generation jet-powered bomber: the Royal Airforce Canberra Jet. Its production started in 1949 and it was in service until 2006, when it made its last sortie.The seat was designed

by Martin Baker, a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety- related equipment for aviation. Nowadays it has been converted into a fully functional chair and a wonderful talking point.

The first airplane to be built exclusively to transport passengers en masse was the de Havilland DH 106 Comet in 1952.

Seventeen years later the legendary supersonic airliner Concorde made its first test flight taking off from Toulouse (France). In 1976 the first commercial Concorde flights took over from Heathrow airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle. A small elite of wealthy passengers could cross the Atlantic Ocean in under three and a half hours, flying at twice the speed of sound. Only fourteen Concorde airplanes were effectively running: seven with AirFrance and seven with British Airways.

This model prototype, at 1:24 scale, was realised by the popular model makers AGM (Aeronautical & General Models). It was made around 1969, when BOAC was the UK’s national airline and it was NOSE FOR SUCCESS Concorde memorabilia is valuable

assumed that the Concorde would be flying in these colours. However in 1974 BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) was merged with other airlines companies to form British Airways (BA). Therefore the supersonic aircraft never flew in this livery, making this a very rare model.These models were made for marketing purposes to be presented in one of the top travel agents.

Concorde passengers flew far above other flights and cruised much faster to their destinations. They were offered exclusive lounges in every airport and superlative service and cuisine during their flights. Nevertheless, the career of this record-setting airliner didn’t last long.

In July 2000 an Air France Concorde suffered a tragic accident that resonated in the aviation industry. It was the end of an era for supersonic passenger flight.

In 2003 the last British Airways Concorde flew on its final flight. The 13 remaining Concorde aircrafts are now exhibited in museums around the world. Not many people today can say that they had the privilege to fly breaking the sound barrier and the Concorde still remains a legendary engineeristic masterpiece, the symbol of our insatiable desire to fly.

Arts & Antiques

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

27

Bringing you the opportunity to invest Gorringe’s auctioneer Joseph Trinder tells the Times about some of the exciting items that will be heading to their auction house and sales rooms in the near future Joseph Trinder

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HOSE who have read my recent weekly articles will have learned of the highest selling lots in our latest quarterly fine sales, culminating on September 28 as we sold a small but impactful work by Canaletto for £300,000.

As you will know by now, I do not have to be hard pressed to wax lyrical about the virtues of antiques and green benefits that come about when buying ‘brown’ furniture.

As yet another 800 lot weekly sale approaches at Gorringe’s, we bring you an opportunity to own a piece of quality English oak furniture - one which comes not only with a pat on the back from the environment, but also with a charismatic little hitchhiker – the famous critter that is Robert

Thompson’s, aka Mouseman’s iconic and everpopular carved mouse signature.

Here we see an adzed oak refectory dining table. The planked top above octagonal carved supports, one adorned with the characterful carved long-tailed signature.

Synonymous with high quality British craftsmanship and a subtle beauty through simplicity of design, Mouseman is among the best-known and well-loved names of English furniture of the early 20th century.

Guided by the principles of the Arts & Crafts movement (a stylistic favourite of mine also) Thompson was lead by the ideals outlined by the likes of William Morris, John Ruskin and William De Morgan – with Morris’ famous quote “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” clearly visible in Thompson’s work. He is

SIGNATURE An oak table by ‘Mouseman’

believed to have first issued his now famous signature whilst working beside a colleague in 1919, in which the expression of being ‘as poor as a church mice’ was used - all the more apt as Mouseman is now remembered in part for his celebrated work in churches throughout Yorkshire in the form of pews, stools and candlesticks.

His works range in size from napkin rings up to whole suites of bedroom and dining room furniture and can range in value from below £100 to many thousand pounds – with typically larger pieces often fetching higher prices, but date (the earlier, the better typically) as well as colour and patina being key factors in the desirability and ultimate value of a piece.

Gorringe’s have been fortunate to see many such objects pass through our sale galleries, over 60 in recent months and years, culminating in our June summer fine sale of this year, where we achieved a quite remarkable £10,000 for a dressing chest [pictured right].

Yet our October 25th weekly sale features an arguably equally impressive piece which may well likely be more approachable in price. A slightly more typical form, this large refectory table is estimated at just £500-700.

Compared to the cost of a modern equivalent, this piece of bespoke

craftmanship in solid oak is a very affordable option and one which comes with zero of the environmental impact that buying a modern piece, massmade overseas will dish out.

So, in time for Christmas, why not take home a beautifully handcrafted one-off piece which will have no environmental impact, will only improve in appearance (and perhaps value) in time and will come with a really rather sweet and familiar friend!

If you would like to discuss viewing or taking part in our sales, bidding or consigning, please contact me directly via the following email address: josepht@gorringes. co.uk

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New patient package includes: • Mini consultation with one of our Consultants to discuss your symptoms, either virtually or face-to-face • An MRI scan (on one area only) • A follow up face-to-face consultation to discuss your results and treatment options.

The package price for this service is £790*

One stop back pain diagnostic clinic Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells Hospital

Call 01892 888199 Visit nuffieldhealth.com/hospitals/tunbridge-wells/ back-pain-diagnostic-clinic

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Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells Hospital Kingswood Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 4UL

Arts

arts

28

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Celebrating the life and work of a very talented artist who went from Tonbridge School to the Tate Gallery ...

DYING ART Study of an Old Man by artist Anthony Whishaw

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NEWS

FOR EVEN MORE NEWS VISIT: timeslocalnews.co.uk

Local News

Wednesday September 29 | 2021

Arts

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

29

The Old Big School Gallery at Tonbridge School is currently showing From Tonbridge to Tate: an exhibition of the life and work of former student Anthony Whishaw RA. On until November 7 it is an introduction to and a celebration of the 91 year old artist’s work. The Times finds out more about it

A

NTHONY Whishaw is an intriguing and influential figure who, at the age of 91, still paints daily.

The talented artist, who is globally renowned having exhibited at some of the world’s finest galleries, attended Tonbridge School as a boy from 1944 to 1948.

And now his alma mater is celebrating Whishaw’s oeuvre by holding an exhibition at the school’s Old Big School gallery.

Impressive The impressive show began last month and is on until November 7. It includes several works that were created during Whishaw’s time at Tonbridge, including cartoons of staff and some very early paintings that he has never exhibited to the public until now.

Whishaw’s work, which deals with

explorations of memory and experience, can be found in many prestigious international collections including The Royal Collection and the Tate Gallery; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; the National Gallery of Wales; Seattle Museum of Art, USA and Sharjah Museum, United Arab Emirates.

Anthony also has many awards to his name, covering the decades from the 1950s to the 1990s. These include the South East Arts Association Painting Prize (1975), Arts Council of Great Britain Award (1978), Greater London Council Painting Prize (1981) and John Moores Minor Painting Prize (1982).

Selina Skipwith, Independent Curator and Art Advisor is responsible for putting the exhibition together. She told the Times: “It has been a great privilege to curate this exhibition. It is not often that one gets the chance to exhibit the work of a Senior Royal Academician in the school he attended as a boy, and which was instrumental to starting and supporting him on his artistic career.

“The planning for this exhibition has made Anthony reflect on how important his time at Tonbridge was, and how much of his practice has its roots in his time at school.

“He remains forever STUDIO grateful to the school for Anthony at work awarding him the Judd

EXPERIMENTAL Polymer Chain is a modern piece

‘It is not often that one gets the chance to exhibit the work of a Senior Royal Academician in the school he attended as a boy’ scholarship in his final year. This enabled him at the age of 18 to move to London and begin his studies at Chelsea School of Art, and from there on to the Royal College of Art where he studied alongside Frank Auerbach and Bridget Riley.”

Selina added: “Anthony hopes that his journey ‘From Tonbridge to Tate’ will inspire current and future students to embark on their own artistic journeys.”

In addition to the main exhibition, there will be an evening talk with Selina Skipwith on Thursday November 4. The talk will cover Whishaw’s highly successful and varied practice, from its earliest beginnings as a student at Tonbridge School to the present, still painting every day in his studio at the age of 91.

From Tonbridge to Tate: An Exhibition of the Life and Work of Old Tonbridgian, Anthony Whishaw RA runs until November 7. No booking is needed for the exhibition and all are welcome.

Old Big School opening times are as follows: October 23-24 - Open to Public – 12pm-4pm October 30-31 - Open to Public – 12pm-4pm November 4 - Evening Art Talk – 7pm-9pm (Booking for this event is required: claire. hartwhite@tonbridge-school.org) November 7 - Open to Public – 12pm-4pm

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Arts

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

“This is going to be a really visceral, gutwrenching and emotional performance” Tobias Cornwell, founder of the immersive theatre group Get Out of My Space tells Eileen Leahy all about their new production of Macbeth and why it promises to be a powerful performance with a dark difference . . .

F

ROM October 19 to 31 theatre production company Get Out Of My Space will be performing Macbeth at Kingdom in Penshurst.

So far, so predictable you might think but if you have ever been to a Get Out of my Space show you will know that this creative collective are far from predictable given their penchant for putting the audience right at the heart of all the action.

“The iconic Shakespearian masterpiece Macbeth will be done in a way like it’s never been done before,” teases the immersive theatre group’s founder Tobias Cornwell.

“You will be transported straight to the battlefield itself, exposed to the thunder, lightning and rain, on the edge of Kingdom’s woodland, in Penshurst.”

Tobias adds that audiences will need to wrap up warm and bring their waterproofs because there will be no cosy theatre to hunker down in.

Visitors will be a key part of the production.

“This is going to be a visceral, gut-wrenching and emotional display, exposed entirely to the elements, and we’re taking you with us on this journey,” he continues.

“With only the best seats - the front row available, we invite you to sit amongst the action itself. With the crown and Scotland on the line,

‘With Macbeth we are giving you something real, something tangible, something you’ll never forget’ this is no time to sit back and watch from a distance!” declares Tobias referencing the infamous wild and remote Scottish location for this tale of power, lies and murder.

Tobias goes on to say that upon arrival at Kingdom audiences will be handed a torch and with no other sources of light, it will be up to them to unveil this story from the darkness.

“You never know what’s lurking in the shadows and it’s up to you to find out what’s there. There are no rules, we have thrown out the play book, and the action could come from anywhere, so be alert at all times.”

Tobias says that Get Out Of My Space pride themselves on creating experiences which you can’t get from the TV in your living room.

“There’s only so much streaming services can offer you. With Macbeth we are giving you something real, something tangible, something

POWER COUPLE Will Beynon (Macbeth) and Sara Nelson (Lady Macbeth)

Advertise with us...

Times of Tunbridge Wells Largest circulated newspaper in the area Out every Wednesday Total weekly reach 57,000+

01892 779 580 or email advertising@onemediauk.co.uk

LOCAL NEWSPAPERS

Arts

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

31

BATTLE CRY Peter Watts plays Macduff and Duncan

FAIR IS FOUL AND FOUL IS FAIR Esmée Cook as Banquo

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11:53

Tell your dog to clear their diary At Bruce’s Tunbridge Wells we’ve packed all our expertise into designing a doggy day care dedicated to unleashing happiness and enriching the lives of dogs and their families.

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you’ll never forget. After being cooped up for so long, we want to make you feel alive and free once again.

“Opportunities like this don’t come around often, so grab it with both hands.”

The alternative production will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes with no interval and will run nightly from 7.30pm.

“This is going to be punchy, packed and relentless. This will be like nothing you’ve ever seen. We are in this together - we are fighting as one. For one night only, we are all Scotland.”

Finally Tobias adds that if you’ve never seen a

Our new centre was designed and built with only the best for your dogs in mind.

The new centre features a Puppy Preschool, Sniffing Safari, Curiosity Corner and Zen Garden.

Why not book a visit or virtual tour and enjoy a FREE taster session to begin your dog’s adventures!

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Call Bruce’s on 0345 835 7000 or visit www.bruces.dog

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Shakespeare play live before, or you’ve been put off in the past, the company’s aim is to demonstrate just how stunning one of his shows can be.

“We are not howling to the skies, there is no self-indulgence, this story’s power comes in its simplicity: one man’s greed and ambition being his success and downfall. So if you’ve been tempted reading this then let me give you a gentle nudge… you won’t regret it.”

Macbeth runs from October 19-31st at Kingdom in Penshurst. Tickets start from £20. www.gooms.co.uk

Food & Culture

food

32

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

“Sustainability and the environment have always been two of the most important factors for our farming model”

Paley Farm near Cranbrook is making a stand for sustainability and to also ensure its animals are the healthiest and happiest they can be. Eileen Leahy speaks to its owner and visionary Charlotte Brooks about what this ethos means for the business and its livestock and customers Firstly, for those who don’t know about it can you give us a brief history of Paley Farm?

We have owned Paley Farm for the last seven years. Set in the Garden of England, Paley Farm is home to our 800-acre mixed livestock farm and on-site shop where we sell our grass-fed lamb, beef and free-range pork along with chicken and wild game. Historically, Paley Farm was a prestigious hop and fruit farm, owned and farmed by the same family for just shy of 100 years until we took it over in 2014.

Whereabouts are you located and what do you enjoy most about farming in this area?

We are located near Cranbrook in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is the most idyllic setting for a farm.

We are nestled between many villages and really enjoy being part of this community, with a great mix of other farmers, customers, pubs, and restaurants. It is the perfect setting for us to work with a sustainable mentality and regenerative practices.

What breeds do you specialise in?

Along with our Farm manager, Edward Hall, we have always been very passionate about farming native breeds that would suit and complement our grass-based system. We farm Sussex Cattle, Romney Sheep and Saddleback/ Tamworth/ Welsh Pigs.

The pedigree Sussex cattle roaming the farm today are excellent forage converters, producing the highest quality beef. The farm’s Romney and

Dorset Down flocks graze outside all year round, turning our acres of permanent pasture and herbal leys into the highest quality lamb and mutton.

Our rare-breed Saddleback, Tamworth and Welsh pigs root and wallow in their communal paddocks, growing slowly at their own pace.

A CUT ABOVE Paley Farm prides itself on superior cuts

You are renowned for your sustainability and environmentally friendly approach to farming, why is this so important to you?

Sustainability and the environment have always been two of the most important factors for our farming model. Our primary focus in achieving gains in these areas are to improve the biodiversity and soil across the farm, whilst

striving to produce some of the best tasting meat available today. We feel this can only be achieved when livestock farming is not only sustainable but also providing an environment for the animals that encourages health and happiness. Our ethos and our systems work in harmony with nature, allowing us to accomplish our goal.

Why do you think it makes such a difference to farm this way?

We take great pride in the quality of our animals, be they produced for breeding or eating. We are also very aware that as custodians of the farm, it is our responsibility to look after and improve it.

The livestock run in a rotational grazing system, which maximises the potential of the pasture in a sustainable way. This results in the pastures having longer rest periods, better growth and improved wildlife and biodiversity.

We see the farm as a whole and not in its separate parts. Thus we have a woodland management plan in place to create different areas of habitat along with a great crested newt conservation project and waterway management. In the relatively short period of time that we have implemented these changes, the difference is very noticeable.

Tell us about the grass your animals are fed on which ensures a better taste and quality of meat?

Acres of mixed herbal pastures (leys) have been sown, with the pastures containing a wide

Food & Culture

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

33

‘We take great pride in the quality of our animals, be they produced for breeding or eating’ variety of plant species. These leys are a mixture of grasses, legumes and herbs that are deeprooting and resilient to climate change. They have the ability to tap into different levels of the soil profile and nutrient sources in order to withstand a harsher climate.

Soil health is improved by building organic matter, storing carbon and improving biodiversity, which creates its own fertiliser by fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere. Most importantly, these grasses and herbs improve the diet of the animals and therefore the quality, flavour and nutrition that is produced. And the animals love them!

You recently had a campaign to publicise this farming ethos. What did that involve and how was it received?

The Sheep and Cattle at Paley Farm are all Pasture For Life certified. Earlier this year, we were part of Pasture For Life’s takeover of their social media pages. This was great fun and well received. We also hosted a Farm Walk where local farmers, who also run similar systems, came together to discuss their experiences and learn from one another.

Can you tell us a bit about the products you offer to the general public?

We sell our meat online via our website and in our newly opened shop at Paley Farm, where we encourage our customers to come along and see what it’s all about from Pasture to Plate. Our Artisan Craft Butcher has a wealth of knowledge within the industry, having run his own successful butchers, Peter Speight in Tunbridge Wells.

Cinema.

EVENT CINEMA

THE BIG SCREEN EXPERIENCE MINARI. ANOTHER ROUND. NOMADLAND. DIRTY DANCING. THE FATHER. MOANA. IN THE HEIGHTS. THE SOUND OF METAL. OUR LADIES. THE BLUES BROTHERS. LIMBO. ROMEO & JULIET. AFTER LOVE. HOOK! · TRINITYTHEATRE.NET · 01892 678 678

TWO’S COMPANY Andrew and Charlotte Brooks of Paley Farm

And do you service any local restaurants, pubs or cafes and if so can you tell us who they are please?

We are very excited to be supplying a Green Michelin Star restaurant, The Small Holding in Kilndown, and their sister restaurants The Curlew and Birchwood. We are delighted to supply some fantastic local businesses, from TN17 in Sissinghurst, Taywell Farm Shop in Goudhurst to local pubs like The White Hart in Wadhurst. More recently, we also supply Robin Read’s The Counter, a real treat of a supper club.

Finally what your plans for the next few months . . .

We are looking to establish our shop; opening up the range to stock other local produce and eventually our own homeware range.

Obviously, we are now in the run up to Christmas which creates a great buzz around the farm and shop, and we are looking forward to serving and talking to all our customers.

In 2022, we would also like to add Butchery and Rural experiences to our offering.

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Wine

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Raise a glass to these brilliant Burgundy wines

This week Times Drinks Editor James Viner heads to eastern France to recommend three fine, yet more-affordable, white and red wines that exemplify why Burgundy is so fêted by diehard wine enthusiasts. A votre santé!

R

enowned for its distinctive, terroirdriven wines produced mostly from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes respectively, Burgundy is a fairly small, landlocked wine region in eastern France that makes some of the planet’s most sought-after, high-priced wines. It’s Europe’s northernmost fine red wine district where the vineyards – and not the producers – are classified.

Given ever-more stratospheric prices, Burgundy is glaringly not the most obvious option when searching for inexpensive bottles, but wines that are both characterful and (pretty) reasonably priced aren’t impossible to find.

Select Burgundy first by the grower and then appellation, seeking bottles from producers you like in the less prominent, more generic, regional appellations such as Bourgogne, or for Village wines rather than those from more exorbitantly priced Premier/ Grand Cru vineyards.’

1) TOP-VALUE RED BURGUNDY: 2019 ‘Escargot’ Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine Damien Martin (£14.50-£15.96, Lea & Sandeman) Early-ripening, aromatic, Pinot Noir is rightly dubbed the ‘heartbreak grape’ because of its sensitivity to imperfect growing conditions.

Burgundy is where it reaches its finest, most dreamy expression but yields need to be kept in check and vines need to be sympathetically sited to help protect them from westerly winds, to shield

from frosts and to capture the optimum amount of sunlight (typically favouring east- and southeast facing slopes).

Enter Damien Martin’s delightful appellation Bourgogne snail – check the label – an exquisitely perfumed, fruit-forward (think silken cherries, ripe damsons, bramble and forest fruits), unoaked red ‘bargain-dy’ with soft, graceful tannins, refreshing acidity and silky texture. The fruit exhibits a lovely depth through the lingering finish. The word charming, if not seductive, comes to mind. Give it a whirl and see what the fuss is all about. One for roast beef or a roasted whole duck. The price/quality ratio is exceptional. Great value, and ready now. Serve cool to the touch in a large glass just a third full to enjoy its beautiful perfume.

2) SAVOURY COTE D’OR RED FROM A CENTRAL VILLAGE NEXT TO BEAUNE: 2017 Jean-Jacques Girard Savigny-lès-Beaune (£20, Co-op) Such is the undeniable finesse and sheer drinkability of this wellpriced, mid-weight Pinot that once I reached it towards the end-point of a memorable Co-op tasting at the WSET’s school in Bermondsey last week, I committed the mortal tasting evil of swallowing a soupçon. The 48km (30mi)-long, 305metre (1000ft)-high escarpment known as the Côte d’Or (a contraction of “Côte d’Orient,” meaning oriented eastwards)

FOUR OTHER (COMPARATIVELY) AFFORDABLE BURGUNDIAN BOTTLES: ‘Good value’ is not an expression that is much used with reference to fine Burgundy, but there are still options, if you know which producer and appellation to look for. Bear in mind that superior Pinot Noir is never cheap as it’s very difficult to get right, partly because – unlike chardonnay – this capricious, thin-skinned black grape cannot be successfully made from high yields lest it will be unappealingly light and lean (especially in cooler vintages).

• Two lower-cost whites:

2018 Daniel Barraud, Saint-Véran en Crèches (£21.25-£23.75, Lea & Sandeman) – superior Mâconnais from altitudinous south-east facing slopes in southern Burgundy is Burgundy’s most celebrated wine region. Jean Girard tended these vineyards from 1529, and now Jean-Jacques maintains the family’s patrimony. The wine matured for 15 months in barrels around two to three years old, adding a supple structure and creamy component to the lush, ripe red fruit. Just when you think you have finished tasting the wine, it stays some more. An intellectually intriguing and sensual wine, with a haunting bouquet, that will evolve in the glass (like both wines above).

Pour from the bottle (not the decanter) and drink within a day. Young roast game birds would be a delicious match.

It’s a cracker! Outstanding value from the Co-op.

2019 Jean-Marc Brocard, Sainte-Claire Chablis (£14.95, The Wine Society), tense, stony, filigreed, mouth-watering & limpid. It’s oyster o’clock!

• Two ‘budget’ reds:

2018 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Bourgogne Rouge (£25, Berry Bros & Rudd) – racy, affordable red, mainly from Pinot vineyards previously classified as a village wine from Chorey-lèsBeaune.

2019 Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Rouge (£25, Berry Bros & Rudd) – another winner from a brilliant young micro-négociant. Also seek out Leroux’s nutty & toasty 2018 Bourgogne Blanc, also £25 at Berry’s.

3) WHITE ‘BARGAIN-DY’: 2019 Edouard Delaunay ‘Septembre’ Chardonnay, (£12.99 mix six, Majestic) Burgundy’s top white wines are among the most imitated in the world. Great value for money, this has a classic Burgundian nose with hints of orange blossom, white peach, barley sugar, hazelnut and citrus. Grapes from the Côte d’Or are supplemented by an assortment from the heights of the Mâconnais, enhancing the wine’s roundness and fruitiness. Barrel fermentation coupled with extended lees stirring has worked well to provide the wine with some complexity; there are layers of almost thick and chewy, ripe stone fruit, even hints of frangipane, melted butter and nougat. This has a great mouthfeel, with the flavours reaching a crescendo on the lengthy finish and aftertaste. Impressive offering with no lack of acidity. Hello roast chicken, scallops with chorizo, eggs Benedict and Dover/lemon sole fried with butter. A fantastic bargain regional blend from a revived old Burgundian name.

Books

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Times book reviewer

HANNAH KIRSOP

AWARD WINNING CRIME

The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven (published by Constable, priced £8.99)

When Washington Poe’s name is found on the body of the third victim of a serial killer active in the Lake District, the ex-Detective Inspector is brought back in from suspension to aid the investigation. He is soon partnered with the awkward but bright Tilly Bradshaw – the perfect foil to Poe’s character – and they work together to track down the criminal led by a set of clues, linked to crimes from the past, that only Poe could possibly interpret.

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger award 2019 for Best Crime Novel of the Year, this is an atmospheric and brilliant, if somewhat dark, detective story with an appealing & charismatic double act in Poe and Tilly which works wonderfully to lighten the mood.

9/10

Hannah Kirsop grew up in Kent and now lives in Horsmonden with her family. She loves to read and share recommendations and runs Bainden Book Club for a group of local women to discuss interesting fiction and non-fiction in a range of genres. You can find www.baindenbookshelf.com online or on Instagram: @baindenbookshelf

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RUSSIAN HISTORY

The Shoemaker and his Daughter by Conor O’Clery (published by Black Swan Ireland, priced £9.99)

Spanning over 100 years of Russian history from the turn of the 20th century to the present day, O’Clery offers an insight into the story of Russia and the Soviet Union through the eyes of one family whom he knows well, married as he is to the eponymous daughter. Part political history and part family biography, the book shines a light on the complexities of life for Stanislav Suvorov, Marietta, Zhanna and Larissa under the regimes of the different leaders of those times, both celebrating some of the positives and exposing the harsh realities for many.

Covering politics, history, geography and simply the normal ups and downs of family life, this is a hugely insightful, enjoyable and fact-filled book shaped around engaging characters within an ordinary Russian family.

8/10

April In Spain by John Banville

The bookcase…

published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £14.99 (ebook £8.99). Available now In his latest compelling crime novel John Banville returns to his heavydrinking Irish pathologist Quirke.

While on holiday with his enigmatic psychiatrist wife in the Basque city of San Sebastian, he spots a half-remembered face.

A restless and curious Quirke tries to identify the young woman – long-thought dead – and sets in motion a train of events threatening to uncover political and familial scandal and bring about deadly consequences. April In Spain is a brooding, controlled book, gradually unravelling the

We hope you also enjoy these other books we’ve picked for you to read this week…

Peak Mind by Amishi Jha

published in hardback by Piatkus, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available October 19 With all the day-to-day challenges of life in the 21st century, our attention can be pulled in all directions as we juggle busy home lives and work assignments. Things can pass us by as we get easily distracted, with our minds wandering – so we’re not actually living our lives fully in the moment. Neuroscientist Dr Amishi Jha has dedicated her career to researching what we can do to increase our attention, be more aware and more present in the now – which can improve our response to times of high stress.

Jha specialises in mindfulness and the results of her many experiments, which she shares in depth in this book, prove we can strengthen our attention by practising for just 12 minutes a day. If you’re new to meditation, it’s simple to grasp as Jha speaks to the reader on a personal level and doesn’t overcomplicate things.

She writes in a way that’s easy to get on board with.

(Review by Karen Sykes)

8/10

8/10

Burntcoat by Sarah Hall

published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £12.99 (ebook £14.99). Available now Edith is making preparations for her death. A privilege and last rite not all get, especially not those dying in their thousands during a pandemic.

Deadly Years later, she has finished the national memorial she was commissioned to make and, a carrier of the AG3 virus, is tying up loose ends as the deadly disease finally catches up with her. As Edith closes the door to her studio at Burntcoat with her lover Halit, the book captures the suffocating

isolation we can all recall from recent lockdowns. It articulates the utter separateness of the past, the before and the now with brutal clarity, the birdsong in the place of traffic and those left irrevocably changed, suffering as the virus recedes. But it is more than that – a goodbye revelling in bodily pleasure, pain, and touch with prose visceral and saturated. The words, like the virus, linger. Perhaps, as wood’s transformed by fire, we too can be remade. (Review by Jemma Crew)

8/10

mystery while taking time to explore issues around Irish politics, contrasting cultures, social class, relationships and love.

Killer The building tension unfolds across beautifully observed 1950s London, northern Spain and Dublin.

Banville’s complex and expertly crafted characters – from cold killer Terry Tice to Quirke’s determined daughter Phoebe – are portrayed in taut and insightful prose. An absorbing story worth taking the time to enjoy.

(Review by Tom Pilgrim)

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Gardening

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

GREENFINGERED Neil Miller, head gardener at Hever Castle & Gardens

Gardening

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

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Yellow fever at Hever

Thought the gardening year was over? Think again says Neil Miller, Head Gardener at Hever Castle & Gardens, who reveals to Vikki Rimmer how every autumn its glorious grounds are planted with a host of beautiful bulbs - including many daffodil varieties - which will guarantee swathes of vivid colour for visitors to enjoy next year

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T’S EARLY autumn and while the sweeping or blowing of leaves may be high on your list of jobs, choosing and planting your bulbs should be at the top.

We have over 50,000 daffodils on the Estate at Hever Castle & Gardens, close to 90,000 snowdrops, and we will plant 25,000 tulips in the autumn, but as a bulb obsessive I can say “that’s still not enough” and so this year I have ordered enough bulbs to cover a new 70 square metre site.

This October I have chosen to plant up a new grassland area close to The Arbour with red and white bulbs that will flower from March through to June. I have selected red tulips Tulipa Linfolia (a pretty dwarf red) and Tulipa prasestans ‘Zwanenburg’; these striking red tulips will flower late April through to May alongside Narcissus poeticus (pheasant’s eye) a daffodil with white petals surrounding a flattened red/ orange cup. The swathes of red and white in this area of the Estate will be a design tribute to the Tudor Rose.

Bulb planting I have selected a smaller bright yellow daffodil called ‘Quail’ (stems 20cm) from Taylors Bulbs as well as the white ‘Tullybeg’ (in consultation with bulb specialist and 25 time Gold RHS medalwinning Johnny Walkers) and have ordered 7,000 of these as well as more ‘Ice Follies’ to plant up on the Outer Moat at Hever Castle.

Bulb enthusiasts will tell you, planting hundreds of bulbs can be tough on the knees, and the hips and so I have asked Lubbe & Sons Bulbs Ltd to bring their mega bulb planting machine in which simply makes a slit in the turf and drops the bulb into the ground.

There are advantages (other than saving your knees) to bringing in a machine planter; it’s far quicker because it can plant anything between 200-400 bulbs per m2, it minimises damage to bulbs and is minimally invasive for the soil where many insects make their home.

As the site that we are planting up is grassland, the bulbs will be planted in randomised patterns, enhancing biodiversity of the area and encouraging the early pollinators to buzz merrily here.

SIMPLY SCENIC Hever plants bulbs now for a bright spring display One of the first perennials to bloom after the frost, daffodils are a symbol of positivity, resilience and the promise of what’s to come.

Daffodils come in all sizes from 5-inch blooms on 2-foot stems to half-inch flowers on 2-inch stems, and unlike other bulbs, that can often dwindle and die after a few years, some daffodils have outlived their owners!

If you are bamboozled by the hundreds of daffodils on offer, can I suggest the following as fantastic ‘do-ers’.

Specimen varieties:’Georgie Boy’ and ‘Gentleman at Arms’.

‘Georgie Boy’, a white daffodil with strong yellow cup, was registered in 2013 to mark

FOR THE GRASSLAND AREAS: 1. Narcissus ‘Penny Hill’, an all-yellow daffodil, with a deep cup is a striking and sunny choice

2. ‘St Keverne’ is a fantastic large, all yellow daffodil with large flared trumpet, that we have positioned on the way-way into the Castle in order to stun in March

3. ‘Ice Follies’ is an example of a daffodil that starts out yellow but turns white when open; it's fantastic for borders and natural areas and can also tolerate pots and containers

4. ‘Golden Joy’ does what it says on the tin - it's a beautiful and delicate full yellow daffodil 5. ‘Camelot’ has a golden yellow trumpet with large rounded petals 6. ‘Heamoor’ in light yellow and deep yellow combined opens with a fully double

bloom that's almost carnation-like in appearance

7. 'Rip Van Winkle' looks unlike any other daffodil with its multi-petalled almost 'fluffy' appearance that wows!

8. Tete à Tete is fantastic if you are looking for smaller narcissus to plant beneath a tree or along a bank; then these sunny yellow blooms with short stems are wonderful for grasslands or pots

9. Daffodil 'Birma' with its tall stems is a stand out and striking narcissus. The yellow petals hold a deep orange trumpet 10. Narcissus 'Shrike' is fantastic for pots and is good at coping with wet and windy weather. With a frilly peachy cup/trumpet and outer white petals, this is a beautiful daffodils for naturalised spaces too

the birth of HRH Prince George and was shortlisted for Plant of the Year at Chelsea 2014. ‘Gentleman at Arms’ was registered in 2016 to mark The Queen’s 90th birthday. This daffodil, which flowers in mid-April to coincide with her majesty’s actual birthday, was named after the Queen’s ceremonial body-guards who accompany her on royal occasions.

Later flowering varieties: ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ (a late bloomer - April) is a beautiful double flowering daffodil that can bear up to 4 flowers per stem. The white petals have small yellow, and sometimes orange, frilly petal centres Narcissus ‘Thalia’ owns its beautiful snowy white pointed petals and dares all to take her photograph as she blooms later in the season alongside the early tulips Planting Advice: - First of all ensure that your planting site is either partial or full sun because daffodils love the early spring sunshine and if they’re in a cold spot or shady spot of the garden they can be very sluggish to get going - You will need well drained soil and not too wet and although we do have daffodils who like to dip their feet in their Outer Moat, the general rule of thumb is ‘well-drained soil’ - Make sure that you source your daffodils well - we obtain ours from Taylor’s Bulbs and seek advice from Bulb master Johnny Walkers - You will want to plant your bulb, pointy end up, 3 times the dept of the bulb, so if you have a bulb that is 3” in size, ensure your hole is 9” deep - Space your bulbs 5 to 6 inches apart - You can use fertiliser if you’re unsure of the quality of the soil - After blooming, let the daffodil plant rebuild its bulb for the next year. The leaves stay green while this is happening. When the leaves begin to yellow, then you can cut the leaves off but not before.

VIBRANT Daffodils symbolise new beginnings and rebirth

GOING POTTY Neil Miller planting in his garden shed

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Motoring News

Wednesday October 20 | 2021

Motoring News

This week… n

Car values

n

MG new electric car

n New Tourneo Connect

Three-quarters of UK motorists now struggle to value a used car

DRIVING TOWARDS A KINDER FUTURE Volvo is creating a whole new ethical car family

MARKET VALUE A survey has found most of us can’t identify a car’s worth

CLOSE to three-quarters of UK car buyers have difficulty with gauging a used car’s value, a new survey has highlighted.

A study of 2,000 car buyers by automotive marketplace CarGurus found that 71% of people incorrectly identified the current market value of a vehicle, despite 58% of those included in the survey saying that they were confident in predicting how much it was worth.

Participants in the study were shown five vehicles and asked to gauge how much they thought each was worth. They were told that each vehicle was two years old and had covered 20,000 miles.

Those involved in the survey consistently over-estimated the value of the cars, with 38% of people over-valuing the BMW 3 Series by ‘at

least’ £4,000, while a tenth over-estimated the price of a Ford Fiesta by at least 25%.

The greatest discrepancy, however, came with the electric Nissan Leaf. Respondents overvalued it by 20.3%, adding £3,978 to the car’s true value of £19,565.

Car market Chris Knapman, editor at CarGurus UK said: “The UK’s used car market has rebounded strongly following the Covid-19 lockdowns, driven by a combination of pent-up demand, an increased desire for personal mobility, and a global semiconductor shortage that is stifling new car production and therefore driving people to search for used models

instead.

“This increased demand means that, compared with a year ago, the average days on market for cars listed on CarGurus has fallen by 18% while prices over the same period are up by 29%.”

Though 80% of those aged between 18-24 said that they felt very confident in their ability to value a car – compared with 64% of 35-44-year-olds – this confidence was not reflected in results. In fact, older respondents consistently outperformed the younger members of the survey when it came to valuing a car.

In fact, just 8% of 18-24-year-olds correctly identified a BMW 3 Series’ price, compared with 30% of those aged 35-44.

Ford reveals new Tourneo Connect, which is based on the Volkswagen Caddy

FORD has revealed the new Tourneo Connect, a seven-seat MPV that shares its platform with the latest Volkswagen Caddy.

Although the front end has a completely new look, the rear end is very similar to the VW while the interior dashboard has also been carried over, albeit with Ford parts, materials and software for the infotainment system.

It’s available with two wheelbase options – short and long – with seven-seat capability on both. The second and third row seats can be folded or removed to create more storage space when not in use.

If carrying particularly long items, the front passenger seat can also be folded to create more space.

There’s a sliding door on each side to make it easier to get in and out wherever the vehicle is parked, while practicality is enhanced further through lots of cup holders, storage bins and charging ports.

Trend, Titanium and Active trim customers can also specify ergonomic seats that have extended leg supports and four-way electric lumbar adjustment.

The Active trim has been targeted at those who live outdoor lifestyles, getting more rugged SUV-like styling touches including 17-inch alloy wheels, metallic-effect skid plate and additional body mouldings.

Other trims have distinctive styling touches too, such as bonnet stripes and a new bumper for Sport, satin chrome detailing and privacy glass for Titanium, and a gloss black grille surround for Trend.

In the cabin, there’s an 8.25-inch screen as standard with a 10-inch unit included on higher trims or as an optional upgrade on lower ones.

A digital instrument cluster is standard on Sport models or optional on Titanium and Active trims, too.

Standard safety equipment across the range includes lane-keep assist, front and rear parking sensors, and cruise control.

Upgrades include adaptive cruise control and blind spot information.

Under the bonnet there’s a choice of a 1.5litre petrol engine with 112bhp, and a 2.0-litre diesel engine with outputs of 101bhp and 120bhp. All-wheel-drive is available on the more powerful diesel engine when specified with a manual gearbox.

MG introduces revised ZS EV with new look and longer range MMG has updated its ZS EV, increasing the electric car’s range while refreshing its exterior design.

The brand’s bestselling electric model gains a new 72kWh battery pack enabling a range of up to 273 miles, compared with 163 miles offered by the previous model. MG has also stated at a smaller 51kWh battery option with a 198-mile range will join the line-up next year.

Features Capable of charging at speeds of up to 76kW, the MG ZS can be charged to 100% in as little as 42 minutes on a rapid charger, or 10 and a half hours via a conventional 7kW home charger.

The exterior of the MG ZS features a new frontend design incorporating a stamped-effect

from grille which has been designed to aid with aerodynamics. The LED headlights are redesigned too, while the rear bumper has been reshaped as well. New alloy wheels are also available, a new side-opening charging port has been fitted too.

Inside, there’s a 10.1-inch tablet-style infotainment system that features new graphics and improved functionality. Aspects such as climate control and charging functions can also be accessed through MG’s iSMART smartphone app.

The ZS also benefits from a new instrument cluster, while top-end Trophy models will also receive wireless smartphone charging.

Prices for the ZS – which is one of six models in MG’s current line-up – are set to be announced next month, along with more information about the specifications available with the car.

H ENGINEERING PROUDLY UNDERTAKE THE RESTORATION OF CLASSIC & VINTAGE VEHICLES.

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