John Balcombe Brings Light to Life !

A broken street lamp in the Royal British Legion Village has now been fixed thanks to prompt action by John Balcombe.

The lamp had been broken for months, causing concern for retired residents of nearby Charles Busby House and Duchess of Kent Court.

John said,
"Hundreds of residents of RBL Village are elderly or disabled. Poor lighting results in people falling over and injuring themselves and dark corners increase the likelihood of crime and vandalism. I am pleased I was able to help and speed things along."

Local residents contacted John Balcombe after calls to EDF Energy and Housing 21 were not followed-up. Within days an engineer had visited the site and lamp was repaired.

"We are all very grateful to John for his prompt action - no-one else seemed willing or able to help."

-Mrs L of Charles Busby Court

If you know of any other broken street lamps, or would like to report dumped rubbish, graffiti, over-growing hedgerows, abandoned cars or uneven pathways - contact your local Conservative Action Team.

Email: jabalcombe@yahoo.co.uk

Age of the Blog!

Aylesford Conservatives are embracing internet "Blogging" to improve communication with local residents.

Britain's top political "blogger, Iain Dale, (pictured above with local councillors and candidates), visited Chatham & Aylesford on Friday 26th January to help launch the Conservatives new interactive on-line diary, aimed at improving communication between politicians and the communities they serve.

Aylesford Conservatives will be using their blog-site to keep residents informed about local issues and campaigns to improve services and facilities.The Blog will also contain "fast links" to enable readers to contact their local councillors and service providers, such as Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and Kent County Council.

Iain Dale is the former owner of "Politicos" bookstore in Westminster. He is now a TV presenter and also writes Iain Dale's Diary (an on-line diary that attracts 300,000 readers every month).

Speaking at a meeting in Chatham, Iain said,

"Increasingly, people are turning away from newspapers and traditional media. The internet is a growing influence on how people obtain their news and information. Aylesford Conservatives deserve to be congratulated for having the foresight to embrace blogging and for taking such a progressive outlook.

"Chatham & Aylesford's Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Tracey Crouch, added,

"We are always looking for new ways to communicate with local communities. Younger voters in particular are far more likely to join in the political debate if they can do so on-line. This is a really exciting development and indicates how local Conservatives are in touch with new ideas."

Aylesford Action Team

After the meeting held at the Aylesford working mens club on Thursday 25th January 2007, we are now a team of 20 residents, who are working together to fight the case against the proposed Barratt housing development at the former Somerfield site, Aylesford.

The following list of names make up the Aylesford Action Team:

David Smith
John Balcombe
Michele Smith
Gary Bailey
Liz Bailey
Tony Barrett
David Barber
Tony Bough
Barbra Donague
Martin Collins
Mike Mahoney
Sven Marson
Suzgo Nyirenda
Lynne Reade
Ted Sargent
Brian Taylor
Brian Wallace
Sally Holloway
Sarah Harrington
Tony Smith

If any other members of the community would like to contribute their time or have any issues or information to help fight the case please contact either David Smith or John Balcombe

Barratt's Action Group Meeting

Dave Smith has arranged the first meeting of the Action Group formed to campaign against Barratt's proposals for the Somerfield Depot site.

The meeting will be held on Thursday 25th January 2007 in the upstairs meeting room at the Aylesford Club, Rochester Road, starting at 7.30pm.

If you would like to attend the meeting please contact Dave Smith on 01622 715487.

Please note: We are not opposing the development of this site in general. Far better to have decent and well planned family homes than a disused industrial site. Our objection is to the density of Barratt's plans which is totally out of character with the rest of the village. Click HERE for full details.

If you would like to sign the petition against Barratt's proposals, click HERE.