Sevenoaks News

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
How is your council performing?
Residents who would like to find out more about Sevenoaks District Council’s performance and improvements over the course of the last year can read its newly published ‘Your Council: Our performance 2007-08’. The plan also sets out how well the Council performed nationally against other authorities over the period.

Last year, the Council collected 65 national performance indicators covering many of the services it provides. Overall, more indicators are improving compared to those that are declining. During the period, performance against 41% of the indicators improved and 26% remained the same. Nearly 70% of the Council’s services were in the top half for national overall performance. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Council to investigate options to reopen the Stag
Sevenoaks District Council has agreed to look at the options to reopen the Stag as a matter of urgency after Kino Holdings Ltd withdrew from the venue on 7 July at close of business. The building was handed back to the Council on 8 July.

Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet agreed at its meeting two days later on Thursday 10 July 2008 to investigate the options with potential providers as a matter of urgency, including Kent County Council, to reopen the Stag to provide theatre, cinema and youth outreach programmes.

Cllr Elaine Bracken, Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for the arts, says: "The Council has now committed to look at all the options to reopen the Stag to provide theatre, cinema and youth outreach programmes as a priority. Over the coming weeks we will be considering a variety of options to make sure we get the best deal for the town and for the District." [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Residents encouraged to have their say on New Ash Green proposals
New Ash Green residents have the opportunity to give their views on initial regeneration concepts for the Village Centre at a series of consultation events in the coming fortnight.

Broadway Malyan, the architects jointly appointed by the three owners to develop design options, will present their initial concepts on the following dates:

Friday 18 July, 7pm to 9.30pm at New Ash Green Youth and Community Centre

Saturday 19 July, 10am to 4pm, at New Ash Green Village Hall

Wednesday 23 July, 12noon to 4.30pm, at New Ash Green Library

Local people are invited to come along and comment on the proposals. Broadway Malyan staff will be on hand to answer questions about the initial concepts and Sevenoaks District Council staff will be available to answer questions about the regeneration process. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Have a Halls Green adventure!
Youth Groups in Sevenoaks District looking for an exciting 2009 have the opportunity to apply for free self-catering accommodation at the popular Halls Green Adventure Centre.

The self-catering lodge at the activity centre, which is available for a number of weekends throughout the year, has 21 beds in seven en-suite bedrooms including one with disabled facilities for two people. It also has a lounge, dining room, fitted kitchen and drying room. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Banish the summer blues with five weeks of fun!
Five weeks of summer fun for young people in the District will kick off in just a few weeks when the popular Youth Zone team return at the end of the month.

The team will deliver Sevenoaks District Council’s free In the Zone summer programme, which promises to be better than ever this year when it visits over 20 towns and villages across the District, offering everything from karate to archery, from a fashion design workshop to a teddy bears picnic!

For the first time ever this year the team will be providing a variety of workshops especially for under eights as well as the normal range of activities for those aged eight and over.

Each week has a theme, and kicking off the first week - 'Sport's Week' - on Monday 28 July, will be First Class Football Coaching at Dunton Green Recreation Ground on Station Road when young people are invited to bring along their kit and improve their football skills. [more]

SEVENOAKS CHRONICLE
Young offenders give makeover to Stone Street village hall
A village hall in Stone Street is getting a facelift as young offenders give the building a lick of paint.

St Lawrence Village Hall is benefiting from the handiwork of between six to eight youngsters who are completing community sentences.

St Lawrence Village Hall Society chairman Peter Granville said: "There were some young offenders doing some painting work at the memorial hall on the Seal Parish Council ground and the parish clerk said they were looking for other work."

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Greater choice for social housing tenants
Residents on the Sevenoaks District Housing Register are set to have greater choice over where they live when Kent Homechoice goes live in the autumn.

Kent Homechoice, which is a Choice Based Lettings scheme, will for the first time allow those on the housing register to 'bid' for rented social housing when it becomes available. Properties will be advertised every two weeks via a free sheet magazine and on-line.

Applicants can bid for homes by text message, on-line, over the telephone and via a special coupon. To 'bid' for a property means to register your interest and involves no payment. People will not be able to bid for properties until autumn 2008 when the scheme goes live.

Currently those on the housing register are offered properties when they become available based upon the level of points their application attracts.

Under Kent Homechoice, bids received for a property are short listed into points priority order and where two people have the same number of points, the property will be allocated to the applicant who has been on the Housing Register the longest. [more]

NEWS ITEM SUBMITTED
Drop a clothing size in 30 days or don't pay us a penny!
It’s very easy for personal trainers to promise great results for their clients but another thing entirely for those results to actually come to reality. That’s why this year Evolution Fitness & Nutrition has decided to put the cat amongst the pigeons by promising specific results in a specific timescale...or your money back!

At Evolution, we have promised that ANYONE who commences one of our personal training programmes and doesn’t drop atleast a clothing size within the 30 days, we’ll happily give them their money back AND continue to train them for FREE until they have!

If you don’t, you simply won’t pay! Ok, you’re probably saying, "we've heard this all before and it sounds all too good to be true!" but... if you don’t... You Simply Won’t Pay!

This is not an empty promise we can assure you! No if’s or but’s, you WILL achieve this, and if our previous clients are anything to go by, you’ll achieve a lot more.

Spearheaded by Sam Winkworth, a certified personal trainer and fatloss expert he is VERY confident that you will see a result when you train with him or one of his trainers, or he wouldn’t even consider making an offer like this because he’d stand to lose a lot of money!

Sam wants you to be successful and achieve your goals, he wants to protect his reputation by ensuring that he gets you RESULTS, and yes, he wants to be able to keep the money he’s been paid for training you (Wouldn’t you?)

But... he doesn’t want you to pay for something you’re not getting and he doesn’t want you to feel like you’re taking a risk in any way.

So he’s taking the risk FOR you!

That’s right! Sam wants to take all the risk for you, and say that if you haven’t lost AT LEAST ONE CLOTHING SIZE in the 30 days he promised, and you’ ve followed ALL his advice, not ‘some’ not ‘kind of’, not 'almost’ but every single thing and yet you STILL fail to reach your goal, not only will he refund your money, but he’ll train you for FREE until you do! You can’t say fairer than that can you! No questions, no hard feelings, and you’ll still part as friends!

But don’t take our word for it!

Why not phone around our competitors and see how we compare? We guarantee you won’t find a single trainer that will entertain the idea of a full money back guarantee like ours!

We’ll let you into a little secret! The rest of the fitness industry hates the idea of a full money back guarantee for a results based service. They’re worried that if the idea catches on, then THEY will have to start doing it with their clients and they can’t!

Sam and his team of trainers are offering a FREE TRIAL Session In The Privacy of Your Own Home...

If you want to take advantage of this offer then we'll come to your home and find out what you’d like to achieve . Just quote "Around Sevenoaks" for your free trial session (worth £45) and we''ll give you the opportunity to talk with one of our mobile fatloss specialists.

Alternatively we can train you in one of the four private studios that we have access to.

To find out more, simply call us on 07817 403398 or go to www.evolutionfitnessandnutrition.com.

You'll never get a hard sell when you phone us. We believe that you must be ready to start training with us, not sold into it. You may even find that we send you away for a couple of weeks to think about things and find out more information.

SEVENOAKS CHRONICLE
Breaking news: Council vows to reopen Stag Theatre
Councillors have opted to reopen the Stag Theatre.

Sevenoaks District Council's cabinet has tonight unanimously voted to find a new operator for the London Road arts complex.

And it was revealed that 11 different organisations have expressed an interest in taking over the reins.

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
“Go Wild” for a summer wildlife workshop!
Sevenoaks District residents have the chance to find out how they can attract and protect local wildlife and encourage biodiversity at a workshop later this month.

Places are still available on a first come, first served basis for the Summer Wildlife Workshop on Wednesday 24 July at Sevenoaks Community Centre which starts at 7pm.

At the workshop, guest speakers will be giving presentations on the subjects of butterflies and garden ponds, as well as answering any questions people have regarding local flora and fauna, and advising on how they can ensure their gardens are attractive to local wildlife. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Get yourself S.O.R.T.ed this summer!
Swanley residents can get their health matters sorted for free this summer thanks to a specialist team of fitness professionals.

The Get S.O.R.T.ed (Sevenoaks Out Reach Team) are visiting various locations in the town offering free health information and advice on physical activity, diet and nutrition and mental health.

Whether it be anything from wanting to join a local yoga club, understanding how to read food labels, or just wanting help to start making changes, the Get S.O.R.T.ed team will be able to lend a hand. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Let the energy checker give your home a health check
With the recent increases in gas and electricity prices, saving energy in the home is becoming an increasingly important issue for householders.

So to help residents save money, and in order to work towards a greener future, Sevenoaks District Council is working with the Kent Energy Centre, to offer selected households a free visit from the energy doctor.

The types of advice on offer range from simple no-cost activities, such as checking to ensure that heating controls are being used correctly, to more in-depth assistance such as loft and cavity-wall insulation and central heating improvements. [more]

KOS MEDIA
Two golfers qualify for The Open
Two Kent golfers will take their place in the most prestigious tournament in the world after coming through qualifying tournaments for next week’s Open Championship.

Peter Appleyard from Wildernesse Golf Club in Sevenoaks and Tom Sherreard from Chart Hills near Biddenden will line up alongside the best players in the world at Royal Birkdale.

Both came through one of three tough final qualifying rounds to make the cut, with 96 players all scrapping for four place at The Open.

At West Lancashire Golf Club, Appleyard carded rounds of 72 and 75 to reach a four-way play-off, from which he claimed one of the precious spots. [more]

KOS MEDIA
3rd. Amherst Primary School Sevenoaks
Wentworth Primary School beat Sandwich Junior School to become the 2008 Primary Schools Kwik Cricket Champions of Kent.

The county final is part of the ECB’s national Kwik Cricket tournament and the Kent matches were organised by the Kent Cricket Board and supported by Kent County Council, as part of the Kent Youth Games.

More than 5,000 children from 500 teams took part in the competition The final matches were played at Polo Farm in Canterbury and watched by a crowd of around 500.

Heidi Coleman, Kent Cricket Programmes Manager, said: “All the players can be really proud of their achievements. Particularly impressive was the spirit in which the games were played, especially considering how competitive the matches were.”

Wentworth, from Dartford, and Sandwich received their medals from Kent fast bowler Simon Cook. Both sides will go on to the next stage of the competition, which finishes on Monday July 14 with the national final at Grace Road, home of Leicestershire CCC.

Top five sides:
1st. Wentworth Primary School Dartford
2nd. Sandwich Junior School Dover
3rd. Amherst Primary School Sevenoaks
4th. Upton Junior School Thanet
5th. Hempstead Junior School Medway [more]

SEVENOAKS CHRONICLE
Keys returned as Stag Theatre closes
Failed Stag Theatre operator Kino Holdings Ltd will return the keys to the building's owner after the venue hosted its final show.

The Combe Bank Choral Society performed last night and the Stag is now standing empty - 25 years after it first opened.

Sevenoaks District Council, which owns the Stag but contracted Kino to run it, will be handed back the keys today.

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Council looks at the future of the STAG
Sevenoaks District Council is saddened and disappointed at the closure of the STAG this week.

Kino have agreed to return the keys to the theatre and cinema complex to the District Council tomorrow (Tuesday 8 July) following the conclusion of the Sevenoaks Summer Festival.

The Council is now taking stock of the situation and is starting to consider all the options that are available to it. On Thursday (10 July 2008) early consideration of the situation begins with a report to the Council’s Cabinet.

Cllr Elaine Bracken, the Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for the arts, says: “Naturally the initial reaction to the news was one of sadness and disappointment. However now we need to begin to look to the future and consider all the possibilities that are available." [more]

Kent Messenger
Conway misses out on podium finish
Mike Conway finished agonisingly close to a podium finish during a rain-soaked second GP2 race at Silverstone on Sunday.

A sodden track claimed many of the drivers but the 24-year-old from Sevenoaks hung on to take fourth closely behind Italian Giorgio Pantano. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Residents “Go Wild” for wildlife walks!
Sevenoaks District residents are reminded that they have another chance to explore the wildlife in the district later this month with another countryside treat.

The latest “Go Wild” wildlife walk will take place on Wednesday 16 July starting from Lullingstone Park Visitors Centre at 2.30pm.

The first of these fun and free Wildlife Walks took place on Wednesday 18 June, looking at wildflowers, orchids and associated wildlife and was thoroughly enjoyed by over 40 residents. [more]

SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL
Stag to close after the Sevenoaks Summer Festival
Kino Holdings Ltd has announced that the STAG theatre and cinema will close at the end of business on Monday 7 July.

Sevenoaks District Council, which owns the building, was informed of this decision by Kino today (Tuesday 1 July 2008). The timing will enable all the Sevenoaks Summer Festival events at the theatre to go ahead as normal.

This news was a surprise and disappointment to the Council, as the Chairman of Kino Holdings Ltd attended the Council's Social Affairs Select Committee as recently as 27 May 2008 and gave positive assurances regarding the future of the STAG.

Kino has cited serious and unsustainable financial difficulties that are in part due to the current challenging financial climate, combined with poor recent trading figures during the last month and lower than anticipated attendance at the cinema and theatre over the previous six months. [more]

SEVENOAKS CHRONICLE
Stag Theatre to close in days
The Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks will close on Monday because the operating company has hit financial troubles.

Kino Holdings Ltd has today said it cannot continue to run the Sevenoaks-based arts complex.

The theatre, two cinemas, bars and studio will close at the end of business on Monday.

SEVENOAKS CHRONICLE
Farm death tragedy in Shoreham
The body of a man has been found at a farm in Shoreham.

Police believe the 44-year-old fell through the roof of an agricultural building, sustaining serious head injuries.

Police were called to the farm in Redmans Lane shortly after midnight last night.