The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Malling. It's an introduction to local networks, groups, and events. Other pages include Malling community resources, Climate action Malling and Ecological restoration Malling.
Save West Malling Farmers Market, Petition set up by local Councillors, change.org (Oct 03, 2024) — calling on Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to lift the four hour parking restriction for traders, so that they can continue to provide a Farmers Market on the fourth Sunday of each month in West Malling- The neighbourhood of East Malling, West Malling & Trottiscliffe, in the constituency of Maidstone and Malling, is one of the one in four neighbourhoods across England that breach multiple nature pollution thresholds, friendsoftheearth.uk (Sep 03, 2024) — New research by Friends of the Earth shows 1 in 4 neighbourhoods classify as nature pollution hotspots. Pollution hotspots are areas where air, water, noise and light pollution levels all exceed safe thresholds for wildlife. Friends of the Earth is calling for the right to a healthy environment to be enshrined in a new Environmental Rights Act. The law would empower communities to hold regulators and public bodies to account to reduce the multiple layers of pollution affecting their areas to better protect wildlife and people.
- Over 25,000 oppose quarry extension into ancient wood, woodlandtrust.org.uk (Aug 02, 2023) — "Over 25,000 of you joined us in responding to the consultation on the shocking proposal."
Events[edit | edit source]
Oct 19, 2024 (Sat) — Malling and District Repair Café, Larkfield Village Hall, mallingrepaircafe.co.uk- Oct 27, 2024 (Sun) — West Malling Farmers Market, westmallingfarmersmarket.co.uk
- Nov 16, 2024 (Sat) — Malling and District Repair Café, East Malling Village Hall, mallingrepaircafe.co.uk
- Nov 24, 2024 (Sun) — West Malling Farmers Market, westmallingfarmersmarket.co.uk
- Dec 01, 2024 (Sun) — West Malling Community Choir, Christmas concert, Malling School, westmallingcommunitychoir.co.uk
- Dec 22, 2024 (Sun) — West Malling Farmers Market, westmallingfarmersmarket.co.uk
Regular events
- Malling and District Repair Café, 3rd Saturday of the month, mallingrepaircafe.co.uk
- West Malling Farmers Market, usually on the 4th Sunday of each month, but may be different in December
- Aylesford Farmers Market, 3rd Sunday each month. Aylesford Farmers Market on facebook.com
- Nov 4 - 10, 2024 (Mon - Sun) — Living Wage Week, livingwage.org.uk
- Nov 13, 2024 (Wed) — Kindness Day UK, Nov 13 annually, aiming to increase the value of kindness in society as well as increase the amount of kind acts that take place, making kindness a greater part in our daily life, kindnessuk.com
- Nov 17 - 23, 2024 (Sun - Sat) — Road Safety Week, brake.org.uk
- Nov 23 - Dec 1, 2024 (Sat - Sun) — National Tree Week, The Tree Council's annual tree celebration. People across the country planting thousands of trees to mark the start of the winter tree planting season. "Trees and hedgerows are some of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against climate change.", treecouncil.org.uk
- Dec 07, 2024 (Sat) — Small Business Saturday, smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com
- Nov 6 - 9, 2024 — Global Donut Days, doughnuteconomics.org
- Nov 07, 2024 (Thu) — Outdoor Classroom Day, celebrating and inspiring outdoor learning and play, outdoorclassroomday.com
- Nov 13, 2024 (Wed) — World Kindness Day, Nov 13, annually, highlighting good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness for good which binds us, randomactsofkindness.org
- Nov 16, 2024 (Sat) — International Day for Tolerance, Nov 16 each year, fostering respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human, unesco.org
- Nov 17, 2024 (Sun) — World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, third Sunday in November each year, worlddayofremembrance.org
- Nov 19, 2024 (Tue) — International Men's Day, Nov 19, annually
- Nov 29 & 30, 2024 — Buy Nothing Day, en.wikipedia.org
- Dec 05, 2024 (Thu) — World Soil Day, un.org
- Dec 09, 2024 (Mon) — International Anti-Corruption Day, Dec 9 each year, unodc.org
- Dec 11, 2024 (Wed) — International Mountain Day, Dec 11, annually, fao.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]
- Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Hub on facebook.com, added 13:04, 27 June 2021 (UTC)
- Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Community, Private group on facebook.com, added 09:09, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
- Friends of the Earth Kings Hill on twitter, added 09:45, 15 October 2021 (UTC)
- Tonbridge and Malling Friends of the Earth on facebook
- Sustainable Malling on - Twitter @greenmalling - pinterest (sign in maybe required). This wiki page can also be viewed as a resource and information page for Sustainable Malling.
Communities online[edit | edit source]
- eastmalling.net, independent project providing information and news for residents and visitors of East Malling
Social inclusion[edit | edit source]
- Pilsdon at Malling, community, based in West Malling. Christian-based Community with its ideals and ethos taken from the Pilsdon Community in Dorset. The first Pilsdon Community was founded in 1958 as a refuge for those in crisis.
- Spadework, independent training organisation, based in Offham, which undertakes tuition in a number of subject areas for adults with Learning Disabilities.
Local concerns[edit | edit source]
Overdevelopment
In common with many areas across the the South East, the constant threat of overdevelopment or inappropriate development, for example locking us into yet more car dependency, pollution and carbon emissions, loss of green space, lack of genuinely affordable housing and imbalances against community interests in the current top down planning system is a concern for many people locally.
14% of Tonbridge and Malling is 'Built on', compared to 6% nationally, Nov 9, 2017.[1] Because of recent and planned new housing the disparity is likely to be growing, with even more of a disparity for some parts of the Borough. It wold be interesting to know what the figure is for Malling and how this has increased over recent years...
New: Via this Land Cover Explorer map, you can see changes in land use / land cover, for example the built up area, 2017-2023: livingatlas.arcgis.com, added 14:41, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
See also: Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England
Campaigns
- Kent quarry extension is one of the biggest threats of the 21st century. Hermitage Quarry expansion plans: If approved, the loss could even surpass ancient woodland losses from the Lower Thames Crossing and HS2 schemes combined, woodlandtrust.org.uk, added 14:04, 9 August 2023 (UTC)
- Broadwater Action Group, based in East and West Malling,[2] added 12:35, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
- Protect West Malling, public group on facebook
- Ryarsh Protection Group, an action group working alongside Ryarsh Parish Council. "Our priority currently (2018) is to object to the proposed 'West Malling Sandpit' which is a large sand quarry located in Ryarsh."
see also: Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England#Campaigns
About Malling[edit | edit source]
Past events
- Nov 5 - 27, 2021, Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Hub's Pledge tree. Every small change we make has a ripple effect influencing and inspiring our friends, families, colleagues and shops and businesses.
- Our Eco Hub is creating a pledge tree in West Malling Library. We hope to get lots of schools, businesses and groups involved to make a pledge to take one step greener and be part of a bigger community movement.
- Make your leaf or leaves from some waste paper or card (preferably in autumn colours!) Write your pledge on it and post the leaf into the library during November.
- We will add the pledges to the tree and share how the tree is growing on our Facebook page @KingsHillandWestMallingEcoHub. Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Hub on facebook.com
- 2010, Malling Harvest Festival Supper (link no longer available)
West Malling is an historic mediaeval market town based in West Kent. Malling, West Malling and hinterland consists of the parishes of Addington; Birling; East Malling; Kings Hill; Larkfield; Leybourne; Mereworth; Offham; Ryarsh; and Trottiscliffe.
The area is unusual in that East Malling, Larkfield and Kings Hill are substantial communities with their own shops and facilities – however they provide the main commercial and industrial estates, leaving West Malling as a traditional market town offering retail shops, services and hospitality to the surrounding area. There are more than 500 businesses in the Malling area.
The parishes are within the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (offices at Kings Hill). The town is actually closer to Maidstone, County Town of Kent, than to Tonbridge; however both are substantial centres accessible to West Malling car drivers, but Tonbridge much less so for car-free households.[3]
Near you[edit | edit source]
Gravesham - Maidstone - Medway - Sevenoaks - Tonbridge
External links
References
- ↑ bbc.co.uk
- ↑ Press release, broadwateractiongroup.co.uk
- ↑ MAP Action plan 2009-2011, Introduction (link no longer available)
