ROAD BUILDERS WARNED OFF PLAGUE PIT IN WEST MALLING
January 12, 2005 1:51 PM
Compound Needed For Workers Building The New West Malling/Leybourne By-pass
Local Liberal Democrat County Councillor Trudy Dean has reacted angrily to plans by road builders Birse to place a construction site on Bank Meadows, West Malling. The site is part of West Malling Conservation Area, but is also thought to have been a black death plague pit for burials.
The compound is needed for workers building the new West Malling/Leybourne by-pass due to start in Spring 2005..
Trudy Dean said: "Birse will need to cut into the steeply sloping site. This will damage a beautiful part of the protected Conservation Area, where plants, trees and hedges have been undisturbed for centuries. The history of the site has long been known, both as a plague pit for black death burials and an early tanning industry. Fears of potential health risks in disturbing soils in the past have helped to protect this site from development. The County Council has compulsorily purchased a lot of land to build the by-pass. There must be a better place than this for the construction site."
Trudy has also asked KCC why the application was wrongly described as in "Addington" and nearby residents have not been notified of the application as is normal. Objections to the application must be received by KCC by 21 January 2005 c/o Mr J Crossley, Kent County Council, Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone ME14 1XX.