News & Events

Welcome to the News page.  Here you will find information on any forthcoming events and local items of interest.  Also take a look at the Diary page for a rundown on what's happening in Leeds.

Click on an item in the News Scroller on the right, to jump to that particular item.

Send your items for inclusion to the webmaster - Details on the Contact Us page.

Can't see the News Scroller?  The scroller uses Javascript and a iFrame.  You may not have Javascript enabled or your browser might not support iFrames.
Click here to find links to the most popular browser upgrades.

Murder Mystery Night

31st July

Book now

01622-861314

Murder Mystery Night at the George Inn

"All That Glitters"

To celebrate Jenny & Geoff's second year at the George

Bookings now being taken, £20 per person.  Places are limited.

The plot is set in the 1930's and includes a Pimms or Pint, Ploughman's, followed by strawberries & Cream

Back to top

Boot Fair

A chance to rid yourself of
unwanted clutter!

Sunday, 3rd August
11.00am to 3.00pm

£5.00 per pitch

Further details from Norman on 880482
or Jenny at The George on 861314

Back to top

Women's Institute Jumble Sale

Please bring items for the sale to the Village Hall on the morning of the sale at 10.00am.

No large pieces of furniture please.

Any enquiries ring - 861614

Back to top

Friends of Kent Churches Annual Sponsored Bike Ride and Walk

This event has been running for over 20 years and this year promises to be a really successful day. The event takes place on Saturday 13 September 2008 from 10am to 6pm.

Over 700 churches across Kent will be involved, welcoming riders and walkers, often with refreshments. Money is raised through sponsorship and is shared between your nominated church and the Friends of Kent Churches, who give grants for church repairs. Last year more than £140,000 was raised.

Plan your own route, long or short, flat or hilly, challenging or relaxed, whatever suits you.  This is a lovely day out for all the family.  Visit the website – www.friendsofkentchurches.co.uk for more information, sponsor forms, tee-shirts and more.  Or contact – Carolyn Millen on 01622 843383

Back to top

Leeds Castle Annual Raft Race - 2008

Click on the images to enlarge

Back to top

Letter from Kent Highways

Local resident and Parish Councillor, Jenny Griffiths wrote to Kent Highways to express her concern about the increasing volume of HGV's using the B2163 through Leeds.

As we all know the weight limit is 17.5tons, this is often ignored.  The Police are now actively prosecuting those that ignore the restriction.  You can help by recording any over-weight vehicle you see travelling through the village - more details on our Over-Weight Vehicle page.

Some may think we are just bored and have nothing better to do - I would invite them to sit in my home and feel the building shake when one thunders through the village.

Click on the letter to the right to view the full size copy - You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it, details on how to obtain it free are here.

Click to enlarge

Back to top

Leeds Has Got Talent - Toby to Appear in West End Musical

We are very proud to announce that Leeds resident Toby Graham has been chosen to appear as Fredrich, the eldest Von Trapp boy in the London West End musical "The Sound of Music".

Toby, who has been a keen member of the village amateur dramatic society since the age of five, won the part following a series of auditions in London with children from across the South East of England.

He is currently in the middle of 6 weeks intensive rehearsals and he will start a four and half month stint performing at The Palladium in front of up to 2,200 people from the end of June until mid November.  For Toby it is a dream come true.

Back to top

Friends of Leeds & Broomfield Churches - English Country Garden (or ten)

There are few, if any, pleasanter ways to spend a summer Sunday afternoon than ambling around other people’s gardens. Just as golf is said to be a good walk spoiled, a garden tour is a good walk enhanced: by the change of scenery as you enter each successive plot, by the change of pace as you pause to look around, and by the exchange of comment and conversation with the gardens’ owners and with other visitors.

You don’t need to be a gardener to enjoy such an outing, though it probably helps. Anyone who likes a little gentle, non-strenuous exercise in the fresh air and sunlight, and a little gentle social interaction in the process, will find it most agreeable. And if it can be done in support of a good cause, so much the better. All of which made the Garden Safari organised by The Friends of Leeds and Broomfield Churches on Sunday 8th June an ideal such occasion.

No fewer than ten households in Leeds, Broomfield and Kingswood were brave enough to open their gardens to public scrutiny, and the few miles between them could easily be completed at a leisurely stroll in the six hours available – or in considerably less time by car. A clockwise circuit starting from either church brought the visitor first to Pink Cottage, the owners of which have made ingenious use of a site that slopes down from a productive vegetable area at the top past grassland speckled white with moon daisies to a beautifully-designed sitting-place that seems to float above the pond at the bottom. Just a little way further up Broomfield hill are found Fairview Barn and Roses Manor Farm and, both featuring well-tended decorative gardens close to the house leading to wilder areas further afield. The meadow at Roses Manor Farm, though copiously planted with new trees, affords excellent views across the countryside beyond.

On to Kingswood, first to 8 Ashford Drive, an ideal spot for a refreshing cup of tea in one of its pleasantly-shaded corners - a text-book example of how different areas of interest can be created in a relatively small space. The garden at 2 The Walk is relatively formal, and immaculately-tended, whilst that at 13 Whitehall Drive was notable both for the variety of vegetables thriving in its well-organised plot and for the overhanging tulip tree, which has just bloomed for the first time after being nurtured for twenty years.
Thorndycroft is another garden to which great care and hard work has clearly been devoted, and imagination too in the use of all kinds of ornamental material, from wellington boots to construction components. It was also one of several places on the circuit which had interesting plants for sale at irresistible prices.

Castle View on the way back towards Leeds provides just what it says, an excellent view of the castle from the front, with the bonus of a neat and flourishing garden to the rear, full of many varieties of rose in full bloom, all helpfully labelled. From there to Back Street is a lengthy stroll, but one amply rewarded by two delightful gardens: Seymour’s Oast, which manages to combine elegance with comfort and practicality for the benefit of the resident children and cat, and Arnold Yoke, which is also elegant and comfortable. The latter offered the added benefit of a splendid spread of tea and cake, which the visitor could enjoy in beautifully-planted surroundings, soaking up the atmosphere while reflecting on a well-spent afternoon.

All the gardens on display were of a very high standard, all had their own individual features of interest and all had been prepared for the occasion with evident pride and skill. The Garden Safari was an excellent example of how a community can rally round and organise an event to help a worthy local cause, at the same time as giving visitors a most enjoyable experience.

Back to top

Over-Weight Vehicles - A Major Problem in Leeds

 Click on Images to Enlarge

The Maximum weight limit for vehicles through the village of Leeds is 17.5 Tons.

HGV's are now a common sight travelling through the village, they cause delays to other vehicles, cause obstructions when two meet and can't pass each other, they cause the homes along the road to shake.  Most are foreign, but an increasing amount are UK registered - so no excuse.

Go to our new 'Over-Weight Vehicle' page and report your sightings via the on-line form, you can even send us a photo.  Alternatively, download the over-weight vehicle log below and bring it to the Parish Council Meeting at the village hall (every 2nd Tuesday in the month), we can the log it and pass it to our village PCSO and the Police.  The Police are actually following up your sightings, and a number of fixed penalties have been issued.

Check out this video on Meridian News

The size of the vehicles and quantity of traffic that use the B2163 through Leeds increases all the time, spoiling the quaint village that Leeds is - Highlighting the fact that Leeds needs its bypass.

Back to top

St. George's Day Celebrations

Click on the images to enlarge

Back to top

LADS Panto 2008 - Has Leeds Got Talent? Yes It Has!!!

Click on images to enlarge

WOW! WOW! WOW!

For those who went to the Leeds Pantomime this year – you will know what I mean!  This was really a fantastically good pantomime! The kids loved it! The young loved it, the mums and dads loved it and the grannies and grandpas loved it!

The whole cast really performed out of their socks! The pianist accompanied the cast brilliantly, the costume maker and the make up artist did an amazing job! The lighting and the special effects team were “spot on” and the cast of Snow White was magnificent. From the smallest animals, the gnomes, the maids, Mr Wot who make us all get up off our bots, Lester the Jester, the wicked, wicked step-mother, the beautiful Snow White and her oh! so handsome Prince Charming, the saucy Dame, and the King with his endless legs! The wizard with his “orrible stew” and the scarey skeletons – and the lovely Wishing Well fairy – not forgetting the unforgettable Old Hag! - all put so much into the production. Wonderful, Wonderful stuff!

Congratulations to the Director, the Producer and set designer, the stage managers and builders, the painters, the props person, the sound effects just to everyone who made this year’s pantomime so memorable!. The work in bringing this quality of production starts months ahead, the work on helping the children to play their part well, the drilling of the rest of the cast takes a huge commitment in time and effort but it was really much appreciated by all who saw this production.

How do you follow THAT? Can’t wait for next year’s production!

Thank you Guys!

Back to top

Kent International Gateway - Have Your Say

At a meeting of the Joint Parishes Group on 8th November, representatives from many local Parish Councils were updated by Maidstone Borough Council, including its Planning Department, with regard to the Application submitted by KIG. The proposal poses two major impacts – TRAFFIC and the ENVIRONMENT. There is no doubt at all, that this Parish would be directly and adversely affected should the Application be approved, so please read on for relevant points – it’s frightening!

• The site, described as ‘the biggest development in Kent in our lifetime’, runs from Thurnham Lane in the West, to Junction 8 M20, Holllingbourne to the east, covers 247 acres of land, is 2.5k long, and sits at the base of the beautiful North Downs escarpment – there would be a massive visual impact, particularly from the Downs.
  
• The largest of the 8 warehouses would be 120,000 square meters - six times the size of Bearsted Village Green or 10 times bigger than the largest B & Q warehouse, and 14m high
  
• Major pollution would result – light, noise, vibration, water aquifers, etc. and destruction of the environment and natural habitat would be catastrophic - – the light and noise generated would undoubtedly affect this Parish
  
• Water courses, roads, footpaths and bridleways would need to be either diverted or closed altogether
  
• Major road work would be required on the A20 from the M20 roundabout to Willington Street, but there is no proposal to widen the already congested M20 or make any alteration / improvement to the busy Junction 8. It would also seriously impact on other local roads leading to these major routes.
  
• 3000 lorry movements, mainly maximum size HGVs primarily from Continental Europe, every 24 hours – that’s 125 per hour, or roughly 2 lorries entering or leaving the site on the Ashford Road every minute of the day and night!
  
• Creation of new railways sidings, with line running into and through the warehouses, with constant shunting, loading / off-loading 24 hours a day
  
• Extensive re-modelling would be required, with most spoil needing to be moved from the site, creating major traffic implications
  
• 3,500 jobs would be created over the 7 year building period, primarily (80%) for warehouse operatives and drivers. It is estimated that less than 10% would live in the local area, resulting in a huge increase of vehicular movement, housing and health implications for the work force, a large percentage anticipated from eastern Europe
  
• Potential for major accident and / or terrorism attack – would our already busy and overstretched emergency services be able to cope and who would pay – likely the local community
  
• Serious quality of life issues and loss of rural peace and quiet, especially for those living closest to the development – Bearsted, Thurnham and Hollingbourne.
  

Further details and a lot of information regarding this Application can be found on MBC’s Web Site at: www.digitalmaidstone.co.uk or you can also visit the site or sign up to the ‘STOP KIG’ campaign at: www.stopkig.org where you will also find a map of the proposed development site – this map is also displayed on the Parish notice boards.

The local press and media will also continue to feature the development and updates – KM, Downs Mail, Radio Kent, local TV news, etc., so keep an ear or eye out for further information from these sources

The Parish Council is opposing this development both in its own right and also as a member of the Joint Parishes Group, and no doubt many residents will also wish to make representation individually – the more people who object, the stronger the case for refusing the Application will be.

The initial date for comment is 27th November, there is still time for you make your feelings known regarding this development up to and beyond this date, either on line or by writing to: Steve Scott-Brown, Planning Department, Maidstone Borough Council, 13 Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, ME16 8HG - quoting reference: MA/07/2092

Back to top