Wednesday November 7 | 2018
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OF TONBRIDGE
INSIDE
Bravery award for teenagers after arrest of sex offender TWO teenagers from the town have received commendations for bravery at the National Police Chiefs’ Council [NPCC] awards. The ceremony in Bloomsbury Street, London honoured members of the public who have attempted to help those who are vulnerable and have put themselves at risk to prevent crime. Elisa Marsden and Samuel Kearns received silver medals for helping police arrest a sex offender. They received their awards from Chief Constable Sara Thornton, Chair of the NPCC, and Kent Police Chief Constable Alan Pughsley.
Commentary A man approached 14-year-old Elisa near Tonbridge Castle on 19 July 2017 and asked her to look at an indecent image on his phone. She shouted for help and 14-yearold Samuel Kearns came to her aid. Elisa explained what had happened and asked him to call the police. The two children then followed the man for 16 minutes, providing a commentary of what was happening over the phone. They tried to persuade adult bystanders to help them, but the suspect told the passers-by that Elisa was his daughter. On his way to Tonbridge train station, the man was seen throwing his mobile into the river – Elisa took the police back to the spot later. The pair followed the man to the station and alerted security staff. Two off-duty Metropolitan Police officers on the platform heard Elisa
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RUNNING ON EMPTY Dame Kelly closes her café to focus on new ideas Page 5
WE WILL REMEMBER
Armistice centenary – and the inspirational village Page 8 SWEET MUSIC The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, presents Head Girl Izzy Leale and Head Boy Alex Downs with a plaque marking Hilden Oaks’ 100th anniversary at St Saviour’s Church during his visit to the town last week. Turn to page 4
Housing on Haysden’s Green Belt because brownfield sites ‘used up’ By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk THE council insists there are no more brownfield sites in the town for building new houses under the draft Local Plan. The document, which closes for public comment on Monday [November 12], shows the location of all new housing in the borough up to 2031. A total of 6,828 homes must be built by then – including 480 around Lower Haysden Lane, adjacent to the Country Park on land designated as Green Belt. This means there is a presumption against development to preserve boundaries with the countryside and stop urban sprawl. But it can be overridden if there are ‘special circumstances’. A further 352 houses will be built at the old Coblands nursery on Trench Road. One of the criticisms of the Local Plan is that sites such as the old Colas com-
pound on Vale Road and Southern Salads on Cannon Lane, regarded as ‘brownfield’ or previously developed, are sitting empty. But they are not technically regarded as brownfield because they have been earmarked for commercial development to create jobs, rather than residential.
‘We still need to keep employment. A healthy economy is necessary to support housing’ The council says there is only room to build 250 houses on official brownfield sites across the whole of the borough. Louise Reid, Chief Planning Officer at Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, told the Times: “You can see, it doesn’t go very far towards meeting our need. “We’ve looked at them all, we’ve been
really successful at building on our brownfield sites up to now and in effect what’s happened is we’ve used them up. “There were lots in the town centre which have been really successful in using them up last time and the time before that – like Medway Wharf Road – which is why we have so few left. “I know people have pointed out brownfield sites but it’s a misconception,” she added. “Actually they are employment designation sites. That’s where the confusion comes in. “We still need to keep employment in the borough. A healthy economy is necessary to support housing. “And there could be lots of activity going on in the background, and people just see an empty site. There’s a lot of interest in that land.” Mrs Reid stated that the town has ‘had a lighter touch in terms of Green Belt’
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FULLY BAKED IDEA
Jane Beedle reveals why she helped Tree of Hope Page 56
JUST OVER THE LINE TJs edge their way to victory in frantic thriller Page 70