From the Dover Express, 12 June, 2014.

From the Dover Express, 12 June, 2014. By Mike Sims.
HGVs thundering past mill at risk to structure.
New signs ‘increase’ traffic past building and river wall.
THE new £4,000 road signs in River are so confusing they have led to a rise in lorries thundering past the 200-year-old Crabble Corn Mill, according to its concerned chairman.
It is feared that the increase in the number of heavy goods vehicles is damaging the road, historic, mill and the river wall. The latter is already suffering two leaks.
The Express reported last month that two new signs, believed to have cost in the region of £2,000 each, had been erected in an attempt to stop lorries driving through River.
But they were widely mocked by perplexed parish councillors and residents, who accused the county council of installing them in the wrong place.
Mill chairman Harry Reid said this week: “The sign erected at the junction of Valley Road and Lower Road is confusing.
“If I read it correctly it is directing HGVs along Lower Road and past a 200-year-old mill.
“The mill was never built to withstand such vehicles. Since erecting this sign and the one on Crabble Hill opposite Lower Road, the heavy traffic has increased through the village and along Lower Road.
“Kent Highways and Councillor Geoff Lymer have certainly given no consideration whatsoever to this wonderful old mill, which a few volunteers work tirelessly to keep open for future generations.
“Councillor Lymer may well think these new signs are fit for purpose, but he obviously knows very little about the mill or indeed the village of River, and neither does Kent Highways.”
Mr Reid said the river wall had leaked twice due to the traffic, heaping more pressure on the mill’s volunteers.
The Lyndhurst Road resident said: “The more that heavy traffic uses Lower Road, the more likely that a river wall will give way completely and cause damage to nearby property.
“Neither these river walls or the mill itself were built to withstand this.
“They have also not given consideration to the fact that families stand along the Lower Road railings feeding the ducks, with no protection against such vehicles as there is no pavement on the river side.”
County councillor Lymer, who paid for the Valley Road sign using his member funds, said the signs “do conform to the Vienna Convention for road signing and the Guildford Rules”.
He added: “I am still looking at various routes proposed to me. None of the suggestions so far, in my view, stand up to scrutiny.
“I will not make any decisions until all ideas have been exhausted.”
 

RUBBISH: Paul McMullan with his fine.
A PUB landlord who challenged the parking ticket he was given while clearing up fly-tipping has lost his appeal.
The Express reported last month that Paul McMullan, who runs The "Castle Inn" in Russell Street, had been slapped with a £70 fine while trying to tidy the rubbish dumped near his boozer.
Dover District Council parking department said: “The charge was correctly served because the vehicle in question was parked on double yellow lines in Russell Street at 1.34pm on July 19 in contravention of the waiting restrictions. Your reasons for parking in contravention are not acceptable grounds for cancellation. The civil enforcement officer first noticed the vehicle parked at 1.26 but did not log you into his computer until 1.33pm.
“He did not see any loading or unloading taking place either to or from the vehicle during this time and loading must be continual, adjacent, regular and timely. Therefore, the notice was issued correctly”
Mr McMullan now has 14 days to pay.
He said: “If that’s what the council is going to do when I try to help then f*** you, they can move it themselves.”
 

A PUB landlord has thanked the Express for helping him get his parking ticket quashed on appeal.
The Express recently reported that Paul McMullan, who runs The "Castle Inn" in Russell Street, had been slapped with a £70 fine while trying to tidy rubbish dumped near his pub.
Dover District Council initially refused to cancel the ticket, but the authority has now caved in.
Mr McMullan said: “To make sure they saw the story I cut and pasted it out of the Dover Express and sent it straight to Sue Young, the parking boss at the council.
“A day later she accepted the appeal. It’s one-nil for the power of the press this time round.”
An e-mail sent to Mr McMullan said: “The circumstances described in your representations have been accepted and the penalty charge notice has been cancelled on this occasion.”
 

BEST NEWCOMERS: Jonathan Neame with the Kerensa and Tom Miller
A KINGSDOWN couple have scooped a top pub gong.
Tom and Kerensa Miller, who run the "Zetland Arms" in Kingsdown, were crowned new licensees of the year at the annual Shepherd Neame Pub Awards.
The prize was presented by the brewery’s chief executive Jonathan Neame during a glittering ceremony at the "Conningbrook Hotel" in Ashford on Tuesday July 8.
The couple - who were up against 347 other pubs across London and the South East - received £500 and a magnum of Taittinger champagne.
Mrs Miller said: “Tom and I are very proud to receive this award. We hadn’t run a pub before we took on the "Zetland Arms," so it was a challenge to begin with. But our hard work has definitely paid off and we are really enjoying ourselves."
 

CRUNCH TALKS: Express chief reporter Mike Sims and editor Simon Finlay discuss town centre drunks with Ch Insp Steve Barlow and Dover MP Charlie Elphicke
The operation complements Reduce The Strength scheme whereby off licences are asked the to sell alcohol above 6.5 per cent abv (alcohol by volume) to known street drinkers.

C-RACK-ING ALES: Delighted Steve Jenkins and Trish Guiiiford receive their award from Camra branch chairman Martin Atkins.
THE "Rack of Ale" micropub has scooped an award - less than a year after opening.
The Park Street establishment, run by Steve Jenkins and Trish Guilliford, won the Campaign for Real Ale’s (Camra) Dover branch Cider Pub of 2014 award.
The award recognises the welcome, service, atmosphere and overall value at the pub, as well as the quality of the drinks.
The pub faced tough competition from the "Berry" in Walmer, the "Just Reproach" in Deal and the "Green Oak Cider Works" in Waldershare.
The "Rack of Ale" opened in October last year and developed a reputation for super ales, ciders, snacks and its friendly atmosphere, according to Camra.
The pub went through to the finals of the Camra Kent Cider Pub of the Year - but lost to the "Great Tree" in Ramsgate.
 

EMPTY HANDED: Members of the Phoenix Knights pool team
A TRIUMPHANT pool team claims they have still not received their trophies, several months after topping their league.
Phoenix Knights, who play at the Pheonix Railway Club, won the second division of the White Cliffs Dover Pool League.
But members missed the trophy presentation in February after a mix up with dates, and claim they still have not been given their individual prizes.
Member Malcolm Woodgate, 55, said: “The team pays £25 to enter per season and that is supposed to cover things like trophies, yet we won the league and haven’t received them.
Dragging on.
“It’s not on. We missed the presentation due to a mix up with the dates, and this has been dragging on ever since.”
Of the six members of the team, one has reportedly received his trophy from the league but Mr Woodgate insisted others are still empty-handed.
Mr Woodgate, a former mental health manager who is on longterm sick after a car crash near Kearsney in 2005, added: “We just want what’s rightfully ours.” League committee member Darren Burrows said he had heard there had been “issues” over the trophies and directed this paper to league chairman Nick Flynn.
Mr Flynn repeatedly said “no comment” when approached by the Express.
He added: “It’s got nothing to do with the Dover Express.
“They’ve had 28 weeks to get them. I keep getting stupid e-mails and as far as I’m concerned it’s all sorted.”
Mr Flynn then hung up.

 

JD Wetherspoon gives up on property it never used.
JD WETHERSPOON has finally sold the former "Snoops" nightclub building in Castle Street, the Express can reveal.
A company called Dover Heritage and Regeneration, based in Hertfordshire, has purchased the empty lot. It is unknown what the firm intends to do with the largest building in central Dover, which was on the market for around £150,000.
But Dover District Council leader Paul Watkins said: “It’s encouraging to see the building being purchased by a new owner.
“One hopes that they will do a major repair on the building and bring it back into use.”
Criticised.
Wetherspoon, which bought the property 11 years ago, had been criticised for letting it fall into a state of disrepair.
In January, the pub chain was issued with a legal demand from DDC, under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act, to smarten up the building.
Now Dovorians will hope the site can be returned to its former glory. The building was home to the UK’s first “super cinema” in 1931, before being converted into a nightclub in 1982 - first called "Images" and then "Snoops."
A spokesman for the Dover Society, which has campaigned for the building to be renovated, said the sale gives some hope for “this once grand property”.
He added: “We wait and see what happens next. There are various opportunities. Demolition could leave an ugly scar but, properly landscaped, the site could become an attractive feature. A costly upgrade could provide a useful centre for the community.”

NO COMMENT FROM DHR.
Dover Heritage and Regeneration (DHR) is based 105 miles away at a Ipcation called The Studio in Elstree, according to Companies House.
But around 200 other firms -including Cristiano Ronaldo Ltd, Pet Adventure Land Ltd and Hulk Ltd - are also based at this address.
The business was incorporated in June 2012 and was called “Star Park Management (Hinckley) Ltd” up until March 25, when it changed its name to DHR.
On the Companies House website, the business is described as "other business support service activities not elsewhere classified”.
The Express contacted DHR several times last week but the firm was unavailable for comment.

PIER Three restaurant closed in December - just 10 months after opening.

Owner Rob Wright, who spent his inheritance renovating the empty Bench Street property, wanted to “bring something back to the town”.
But the born and bred Dovorian shut his dog-friendly eatery last month because of a lack of footfall.
Mr Wright told the Express: “Basically we shut as the break clause was up.
“It was loved by everyone but not visited by enough people to keep it viable to stay open.
“I kept ploughing money into it but at the end of the day one man in one small business can’t change a whole town’s way of thinking.
“There were days when I sat in front of the window and you could count on one hand the amount of people that walked past throughout the whole day.”
CLOSED: Pier Three, run by Rob Wright - pictured with his wife Sara, son Jake and dog Cass - has closed due to a lack of footfall