20mph pilot zones in Medway pushed back
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Councillors have pushed back on calls to introduce a 20mph pilot zone in Medway.
There are currently 10 areas in the Towns where drivers are restricted to 20mph.
Councillors were considering 20mph pilot zones
But calls had been made by members of Medway Council s Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee to introduce another 20mph zone in pilot form.
They said money from the Members Priorities Fund - money designated by councillors towards community projects - should be used to kickstart the scheme, ideally in an area with lots of schools.
Instead, cabinet members opted to continue introducing permanent 20mph schemes on a case-by-case basis where evidence suggest it would help road safety issues.
Watch police raid newsagents in Chatham and Gillingham and find thousands of illegal cigarettes
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Updated: 15:41, 04 March 2021
A hide containing several thousands untaxed cigarettes was found in the yard of a convenience store.
Police raided several shops over two days and seized 123,040 cigarettes and arrested eleven peopled during an operation targetting illicit tobacco sales in Chatham and Gillingham.
Police empty the hide found at Payless Convenience Store in Gillingham
The raids were carried out in partnership with HM Revenue and Customs, Medway Council, the Home Office and Kent Fire and Rescue Service on February 26 and 27.
As well as the cigarettes, 19.8kg of rolling tobacco were also found and nine men, aged between 19 and 42, and two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit tax evasion.
Help to stop smoking for people in Medway kentonline.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kentonline.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Attwood family plan to build 800 homes in Capstone Valley rejected
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Plans to build 800 homes in a rural location have been rejected by councillors.
Members of Medway Council s planning committee unanimously refused a bid to build on agricultural land at East Hill in Capstone Valley.
The East Hill site
The proposal, put forward by the Attwood farming family, also included a two-form entry primary school, shops and three play areas for the site which runs along North Dane Way in Lordswood.
The council s head of planning Dave Harris said: This proposal would harm the character, function and appearance of the countryside, would harm that Area of Local Landscape Importance, (would have) unacceptable impact on the setting of the country park and would also be unacceptable in terms of its impact and viability of the rural footpath network.
St John Fisher RC Comprehensive given go-ahead for new school in Rochester
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The relocation of a secondary school has been given the go-ahead.
St John Fisher RC Comprehensive will move to the playing fields off City Way, Rochester, after councillors agreed plans for pupils to move out of two outdated facilities.
Birds eye view of the new development of St John Fisher RC Comprehensive in City Way, Rochester. Picture: Wates Construction Ltd
Students currently learn at two sites in Maidstone Road and Ordnance Street in Chatham which developers say are costly to maintain due to their age.
During a virtual meeting of Medway Council s planning committee yesterday (Wednesday), ward councillors said whilst they approved the relocation of the school, they were worried about the impact the development would have on residents living in City Way, Elmhurst Gardens and Boundary Road.