Harrietsham Primary School

The New Primary School opened on 5th September having moved from the old site on Ashford Road to West Street.

"Harrietsham school provides new primary school facilities at a sensitive green field site near Maidstone, Kent. The new school is a single storey structure built on a sloping site with the rear of the building embedded in the slope. This allows the existing ground levels to flow into the sinuous organic curves of the roof.

The primary structure is a steel frame founded on mass concrete trench footings. Pre-stressed beam and block construction provides a solid ground floor. Timber ’I‘ beams spanning between the steel frame provides a light weight roof structure supporting standing seam and green roofs." Source : Elliot Wood Projects

Muslim case 'dominated' pregnancy

A woman who was abused by her boss after she converted to Islam has said the way she was treated hung over her throughout her first pregnancy. Caroline Elgedawy, 32, from Harrietsham in Kent, won an employment tribunal case on Thursday against Lincoln insurance firm Hanover Park Commercial.

The tribunal ruled she suffered discrimination over remarks made by chief executive Andy Halstead.

Mrs Elgedawy is due to return to work from maternity leave next week.

Dominated pregnancy

But she is still waiting to hear how much compensation she will receive and Mr Halstead has said he "could not possibly comment" on whether she would return to work.

"This should have been a time when I was enjoying my first pregnancy," she said.

"But this has dominated it."

Mrs Elgedawy, who has a baby daughter, became a Muslim after she married her Egyptian husband, Reda, last year.

She told the tribunal in Nottingham Mr Halstead became abusive over her decision to eat only halal meat at the firm's Christmas party.

"I was totally disgusted by his behaviour. He had completely humiliated me," Mrs Elgedawy told the four-day hearing, at which she represented herself.

The firm denied the allegations.

Mrs Elgedawy, 32, who earned £52,000-a-year as head of business information and strategy, told BBC South East Today she was "extremely disappointed" at her treatment.

"There was no reason why I should make up such a story," she said.

"Frankly, I am relieved it is over and now we can start to move on."

Source

M20 is 'as noisy as a nightclub'

Residents who live near parts of the M20 motorway in Kent are subjected to noise levels similar to those from nightclubs, a report has suggested. An environmental health officer from Maidstone council monitored the noise between junctions eight and nine from Hollingbourne down to Ashford.

The readings showed levels which would usually result in planning applications for new homes being rejected.

Noise reduction work is already under way between junctions four and five.

The Highways Agency is installing an environmental noise barrier along 2km (1.25 miles) of the M20's coast bound carriageway near Aylesford.

Maidstone council's Steve Wilcock took readings further along the motorway on the Fairbourne Lane bridge at Harrietsham.

He described the figures as "startling".

The morning rush-hour showed a maximum peak of 94 decibels (dB), with an average background noise level during daytime of 79dB.

Mr Wilcock said anything above 72dB would normally prohibit any new house building taking place in the immediate vicinity.

A Maidstone council report in 2003 suggested 26 ways of dealing with noise pollution, but the levels at Fairbourne Lane have actually increased in the three years since.

Source