- Hosepipe ban announced for Kent and Sussex, BBC News (Aug 03, 2022)
- Appeal for water customers to be mindful when turning on the tap, southeastwater.co.uk (Jul 11, 2022) — South East Water is asking people to be mindful of the amount of water they are using as hot temperatures push up demand beyond levels expected for the time of year. Water latest, southeastwater.co.uk
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.[1]
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.
Regular events[edit | edit source]
- 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
Climate action[edit | edit source]
- Impact Report, Tonbridge and Malling, impact-tool.org.uk, added 21:31, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
- Near-you: Tonbridge and Malling, takeclimateaction.uk, Friends of the Earth sourced data, added 09:43, 15 October 2021 (UTC)
- Place-Based Carbon Calculator, "Why we built a Place-Based Carbon Calculator", Aug 25.[2] Very helpful graphics for communities to... "know why footprints vary and what we can do about it", "use the map to zoom to your area of interest" eg local communities in Malling, Philralph (talk) 14:24, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
- Extinction Rebellion Tonbridge and Malling closed group on facebook
- Setting Climate Committments for Tonbridge and Malling, Quantifying the implications of the United Nations Paris Agreement for Tonbridge and Malling, Feb 2020 carbonbudget.manchester.ac.uk
- Opportunities to reduce energy use, stimulate economy, cut bills & reduce running costs of buildings, transport & industry thereby creating a happier, healthier, more prosperous place, & tackling climate change. pcancities.org.uk
References
Environment quality activism[edit | edit source]
Report a problem on the road or pavement - kent.gov.uk
Open spaces activism[edit | edit source]
Community orchard[edit | edit source]
Macey's Meadow
Community orchard. Regular working parties and (historically) community events twice yearly advertised on local (West Malling) notice boards.
Other initiatives
The Old County Ground is cricket ground, located at West Malling, historically called Town Malling, in the English county of Kent. It is known to have been used for cricket matches in 1705 and has been the home ground of Town Malling Cricket Club since their formation in 1827. Known under various names throughout its existence, the ground hosted 14 first-class cricket matches between 1836 and 1890.
Manor Park Country Park is a country park in West Malling, Kent, England. The 52-acre (210,000 m2) park, formerly the private gardens of the nearby Douces Manor, was purchased from the manor's owners by Kent County Council in 1973 to be converted into a public open space. The park is legally protected as public recreational land in perpetuity by Fields in Trust as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge.
Rural sustainability[edit | edit source]
- Medway Valley Countryside Partnership
- Valley of Visions, landscape-scale project from November 2007 to June 2013, that worked in partnership with communities, schools, landowners and local organisations to conserve the landscape, wildlife and rich heritage of the area. It also encouraged residents and visitors to learn about, enjoy and celebrate this stunning part of the AONB, nestled between Rochester and Maidstone in mid Kent.
Arts, sport and culture[edit | edit source]
- West Malling Community Choir, a friendly and inclusive local choir
- Malling parkrun, takes place at Leybourne Lakes Country Park, Larkfield
- Sofa to Saddle, local (West Malling) cycling group aiming to make cycling accessible to everyone. Regular local social and club rides.
Communities online[edit | edit source]
- eastmalling.net, independent project providing information and news for residents and visitors of East Malling
Community safety[edit | edit source]
Cycling activism[edit | edit source]
- Tonbridge Bicycle Users Group, public group on facebook, added 16:24, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
- West Malling on CycleStreets, plan a cycle journey
Ethical consumerism[edit | edit source]
MY WORLD refill hub on facebook. Kings Hill based community eco refill hub. Zero waste products, all sustainable (petrochemical and palm oil free), vegan and cruelty free.
Food activism[edit | edit source]
- Communigrow, charity committed to promoting and teaching the benefits for people and local communities of growing local, fresh and affordable produce in an organic and sustainable way.
- Spadework - farm shop
- Malling Harvest Festival Supper, 2010[3]
Health and wellbeing[edit | edit source]
- Right to Know, Learn about the systemic and environmental trends that could be impacting your health. right-to-know.org, enter your postcode for local results, added 10:26, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
- West Malling Wellbeing Index, communitywellbeing.coop.co.uk
- West Malling Group Practice, includes maps of locations but disappointingly, unable to find related public transport information on the site Philralph (talk) 08:14, 8 January 2019 (PST)
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle[edit | edit source]
- Malling and District Repair Cafe, Bin it? No way! added 15:29, 27 September 2022 (UTC)
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.
Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]
- Journey planner, kentconnected.org
- Live departures and arrivals - West Malling, National Rail Enquiries
- JourneyCheck West Malling to London Victoria
- National Rail Enquiries: Station facilities for West Malling, Station Facilities for East Malling
Resources[edit | edit source]
see separate article: Malling community action resources
News and comment[edit | edit source]
see also: Campaigns
2021
Café and water sports facility in Leybourne Lakes Country Park to open in 2022, Nov 3[4]
2019
Malling parkrun Event #200 includes "an amazing number of donated food bank items for the Trussell Trust". Read the "moving item" in Malling park run Event #199[5]
2018
We could build more than a million homes on brownfield land… so why aren't we? Feb 28...[6]Kent news
2017
14% of Tonbridge and Malling is 'Built on', compared to 6% nationally, Nov 9[7]
2016
Following West Malling Parish Council's decision to produce a Neighbourhood Plan, and the formal approval process, the Parish Council is asking residents 4 questions to help start the process. You can see a summary of answers from West Malling residents who attended the event on 3rd July, but also still give your answers via the PC website. See our talk page for a sample response, October.
East Malling Green Belt Questionaire
2014
Communigrow still needs more 'friends'. If you live locally and might be interested in this local food project please get in touch, December 8[8]
Local concerns[edit | edit source]
Overdevelopment[edit | edit source]
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.[9] 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...See also: Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England
Campaigns[edit | edit source]
- Broadwater Action Group, based in East and West Malling,[10] 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
Near you[edit | edit source]
Gravesham - Maidstone - Medway - Sevenoaks - Tonbridge
External links[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ MAP Action plan 2009-2011, Introduction (link no longer available)
- ↑ climate.leeds.ac.uk
- ↑ link no longer available
- ↑ tmbc.gov.uk/news
- ↑ www.parkrun.org.uk/malling
- ↑ cprekent.org.uk
- ↑ bbc.co.uk
- ↑ Communigrow - Kent Community Supported Agriculture
- ↑ bbc.co.uk
- ↑ Press release, broadwateractiongroup.co.uk