Wednesday July 25 | 2018
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Times OF TONBRIDGE
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Residents face new charges for dumping waste
MOVING ON
Weald of Kent Headteacher celebrates annexe Page 4
By William Mata WASTE Recycling Centres could start charging for non-household waste under new plans set out by Kent County Council [KCC]. Customers at the ‘tip’ would pay £4 to drop off a standard black sack of soil, rubble or hardcore waste, or £6 per bag or sheet of plasterboard. The proposal will go to a public consultation after a draft was approved by KCC’s Environment Committee.
Savings County Hall stands to raise £4million from the scheme – which is £1million more than it currently spends annually in processing non-household waste. A KCC spokesman said: “The county council believes this option will offer savings, whilst still maintaining this valuable service. “Waste management officers are developing projects and policy changes designed to reduce demand on site and create revenue streams for nonhousehold waste.” Sites at Wadhurst and Forest Row have shut and he added: “Other councils are considering closing waste centres, reducing opening hours or not accepting various types of waste.” KCC claim current waste infrastructure ‘will not have the capacity’ to meet expected levels of waste growth. Almost half of all disposal sites in England now charge. The consultation process will last for 12 weeks from next month. The public can make their views known by visiting www. consultations.kent.gov.uk
A LION FOR LUNCH PURR-FECT: Cat lovers in Tonbridge are in for their very own treat – the opening of a café ‘staffed’ by their feline friends. Paws will enable customers to mix and mingle with 11 cats that have the run of the café. Pictured are (L-R) Lauren Lucas with Patch, Sharon Stranger and Silvana Valentino-Locke with Belle, from Romney House Cat Rescue, and owner Elaine Lucas with Frank. See page 4.
Rugby legend supports local charity Page 10
Community group provides free lunches for children in holidays A GROUP has been set up to offer free hot meals for families in the town who are struggling to feed their children over the school holidays. FEAST, which stands for Families Eating And Sharing Together, is launching its Summer Lunch Club in the Methodist Church on Higham Lane once a week. The first meal will be served on Wednesday July 31, with 30 to 40 people having been invited via a referral system – through agencies, schools or groups like churches. They will also receive a food parcel to take home. Schoolchildren from poor families are eligible for free school meals, but FEAST says: “Food costs are rising, most families are feeling the strain on finances as everything costs more and more.” “And for some families without the free school dinners over the school holidays, that extra cost can really be stressful. We hope to make things a little easier for them.”
The organisers hope to expand the service to include the other school breaks and half-terms, using more churches as venues on other days of the week. The project has been set up by the people behind the Tonbridge Parent Support Group, with help from foodbanks attached to other churches in the town.
17.84 per cent of children are living below the poverty line after housing costs are taken away The decision by FEAST to step in and help comes on the back of startling statistics published by the pressure group End Child Poverty this year. It showed that in the borough of Tonbridge & Malling, 17.84 per cent of children are living below the poverty line after housing costs are taken away. The worst affected area of the borough is Trench ward in north Tonbridge,
where almost one in three children, 32.48 per cent, are poverty-stricken – 322 in total. A child is deemed to live in poverty if their family lives on less than 60 per cent of the median UK household income – around £248 per week. The idea for FEAST originated in a conversation between a steward at the Methodist Church, Lee Athwal, and Essie Andrews, co-founder of the Parent Support Group. “Lee worked with children at scouts and youth groups, she’s worked in lots of different places like shelters – she knows what’s going on,” said Mrs Andrews. “I was helping at a community lunch for the elderly at the church and she told me that she had wanted to do this for a long time but it never materialised. She never had the support or interest.”
Continued on page 4
WHAT’S ON
Tiddler & Other Classic Tales at the EM Forster Page 60-61
HOW’S THAT?
Primary schools take part in Kwik cricket festival Page 78