Wednesday April 4 | 2018
All the news that matters
YOUR
FREE PAPER
Local, National and International
Times OF TONBRIDGE
Protesters criticise INSIDE £2.1million price tag on River Lawn HEART AND SOUL
Gladys celebrates with British Heart Foundation Page 2
By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk THE campaign group Keep River Lawn Green (KRLG) have questioned the price tag placed on the riverside site. The half-acre plot has been valued at £2,125,000 by Tonbridge & Malling District Council (TMBC), whose Cabinet voted to sell it to private developers last October. But KRLG, who succeeded in having the site designated as an Asset of Community Value, say the cost is higher than expected. They asked to see the documentary evidence of the costing but the council refused, forcing KRLG to lodge a Freedom of Information request.
PHOTO: Craig Matthews
‘The value seems to have been inflated as if planning permission had already been secured’
Chocs away for Haysden’s Easter egg-stravaganza... HARRIET McNEIL (left) and Alana Quigley brave the elements to take part in the popular Easter Egg Hunt at Haysden Country Park on Good Friday (March 30) despite the torrential rain. The
park will be holding a Woodcraft Workshop on Friday (April 6) from 9am to midday, including a den-building session with a park ranger and making dream catchers. Call 01732 876166.
KRLG are also examining the implications that the valuation will have in terms of the density of any subsequent development. Mark Raymond, Chief Corporate Policy Officer at TMBC, said the sum ‘is the minimum amount that the council will be looking to achieve on disposal’. “This appraisal has been arrived at following consideration of all relevant matters, including the planning status of the land and any property-related or environmental issues,” he added. KRLG’s Chairman, Mark Hood, said: “Unless you are part of the establishment, TMBC plays hard ball. “Why award Asset of Community Value
status if you are then going to deliberately attempt to price community bids out of the process? “Normally such status allows the community to buy at a price reflecting its current use as undeveloped land, but in this case the property’s value seems to have been inflated as if planning permission had already been secured.” KRLG are approaching funding sources and benefactors including property owners nearby with a view to finding a sympathetic buyer. They are also consulting the Kent branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and the Open Spaces Society about the implications of development. On Tuesday (April 3) they submitted an application to Kent County Council to have River Lawn designated as a village green. Mr Hood said: “The thought of having a concentration of residential housing in an area already adjacent to the second worst pollution hotspot in the borough is contradictory to TMBC’s obligations to minimise the effects of developments on Air Quality Management Area No 2 – or Tonbridge High Street.” “It is typical of TMBC to attempt to price out a bid by the community to buy back land it already owns to prevent it disappearing under a sea of concrete. There will be no negotiation and no discount.” The issue of cost is compounded by the fact that the council has admitted it sold adjacent land on River Walk to developer Assura at below the market value in order to facilitate the construction of the new medical centre on the site of the old Teen
Continued on page 2
DOWN TO EARTH
Meet the new Bishop – and his best friend Bart Page 3
WEATHER WATCH
Singin’ In The Rain musical comes to soggy town Page 52
ANGELS CHANGES
New Chairman appointed as club seeks revenue Page 71