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ALL LIT UP: The fireworks above Tonbridge Castle were among the highlights of the Christmas Festival that drew 12,000 people
College owes money to 300 firms and they probably won’t get it back By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk HADLOW COLLEGE has debts of £40million and owes money to more than 300 different creditors including many small local companies. The figures have been released by accountants BDO, who were acting as administrators for the financially stricken college. Part of the Hadlow Group, the college was the first in the country to be taken into educational administration in May. Its sister site at West Kent in Brook Street has since followed suit - and the BDO Statement of Proposals lodged with Companies House shows it is owed £4million by Hadlow College. Both institutions are now in the pro-
cess of being sold to North Kent College as recommended by the Further Education Commissioner - BDO are overseeing the transaction. The purpose of educational admin-
Shocked that ‘college can continue to operate and dump all its debt’ Contractor Adrian Cross istration is to ensure that there is no adverse impact on the provision of further education despite budgetary issues - called ‘learner protection objective.’ This safeguard means that it is possible that almost none of the 317 creditors will be paid. Only assets which do
not affect the courses will be sold off. One debt that must be cleared is an estimated £9million owing to the Local Government Pension Scheme; BDO has been ‘advised that staffaccrued pension rights will be unaffected’ by the administration process. The Education and Skills Funding Agency, which is part of the Department for Education, is owed more than £10million - which will also claim priority before other creditors are paid off. Tom Tugendhat, who is standing for re-election as MP in Tonbridge & Malling, told the Times: “I have always been clear that the interests of students at Hadlow and West Kent Col-
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Wednesday November 27 | 2019
Crowds flock to ‘best show’ as Christmas Festival lights up the town A RECORD attendance of up to 12,000 people enjoyed the longest Tonbridge Christmas Festival last weekend, with organisers calling it ‘the best show ever’. There was an extra hour of live stage performances on the final day of the free three-day extravaganza, which ran from November 18-20. It culminated on Sunday evening with the Mayor Jill Anderson turning on the Christmas lights. This was followed by a stunning firework display on Castle Lawn. The High Street was packed with stalls and pedestrians, pantomime performers and fairground attractions as the road was closed to traffic throughout the day.
Collaboration The town’s Rotary Club has been staging the event for the past eight years in collaboration with Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. Rotray Past President and Chairman of the Festival Committee Brian Piner said: “They told us last year that the Festival could not get any better, but the Tonbridge Rotary Club just did. “There was an increase in the number of stalls in the High Street and the crowds even bettered Rotary’s expectations with an estimated 12,000, a record attendance joining in the festivities.” He added: “With the number of positive remarks we received, it really added to the eight months of preparation to organise such a successful day.
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