Christmas at the council
All your seasonal information in one place
Christmas and New Year opening hours
Maidstone Borough Council will be open as
usual until noon on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24.
The offices, at Maidstone House, will then be
closed for Christmas from Thursday, December 25 and will reopen at
8.30am on Monday, December 29.
The council will then be closed on New Year’s
Day, Thursday, January 1 and Friday January 2. Business will resume
as normal on Monday, January 5.
The Visitor Information Centre at the Town
Hall in the High Street will close at 1pm on Christmas Eve. It will
re-open on Saturday, December 27, from 10am to 5pm and will be
closed on Sunday, December 28. On New Year’s Day, Thursday, January
1 and Friday January 2 it will also be closed.
If you want to remember loved ones Vinters
Park Crematorium grounds, halls and the book of remembrance will be
open from 9am to 4.30pm throughout Christmas and New Year. The main
gates at Maidstone Cemetery will also be open every day during
Christmas and New Year from 10am to 4.30pm. The pedestrian
gates at Mangravet Avenue and Pheasant Lane will be open from 10am
to 4pm.
Information is available 365 days a year from
the council’s website, digitalmaidstone.co.uk. A 24-hour payment
hotline is available on 01622 602544 and for Maidstone council
emergencies over the Christmas and New Year period call 01622
602000.
Cruise into the county town
for Christmas
Park up and sail down the River Medway this
Christmas for a stress-free ticket into town.
Maidstone Borough Council is bringing back
Park and Sail for another year to offer residents and visitors to
the borough a hassle-free alternative to driving into town for
their Christmas shopping.
The hourly service runs every Saturday from
now until December 20. Simply park at the Museum of Kent Life and
hop on board the Kentish Lady.
The journey will start at the Allington Lock
by the Malta Inn and anchor in at the Archbishop’s Palace in
Maidstone. The fare is £3 return for adults and £1 return for
children.
The service is subject to river conditions and
if you require any more information call 01622 753740.
If you don’t fancy life in the shipping lane,
and don’t want to search for a parking space in the centre of town
why not try the Park and Ride service, also offered by Maidstone
council.
Every Saturday from now until December 27
there will be extra buses running on the council’s park and ride
services from London Road, Willington Street and Sittingbourne
Road.
On Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24,
there will be a normal service and there will be no services on
Sundays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.
If driving is the easiest way for you to look
for the perfect presents, visit digitalmaidstone.co.uk to find out
where is best place to park.
Have a Merry Christmas from
Maidstone Market
Turkeys, fruit and veg, holly wreaths,
mistletoe and seasonal plants will be on sale at Maidstone Market
in the lead up to Christmas.
Maidstone Market will be selling an array of
festive items, along with its usual helpings of food, clothing,
children’s toys, electrical appliances,
DVDs, CDs, plants and pet accessories.
The market will be open every Tuesday and
Saturday throughout December, except on Saturday, December 27.
And there will be stalls in the Agricultural
Hall every day from Saturday, December 20 until Christmas Eve,
Wednesday, December 24.
There is plenty of parking in around the
market area, as well as a free shuttle bus from The Mall Chequers,
Maidstone.
Christmas and New Year refuse
collections
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Normal collection day
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Actual collection day
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Monday, December 22
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Monday, December 22
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Tuesday, December 23
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Tuesday, December 23
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Wednesday, December 24
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Wednesday, December 24
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Thursday, December 25
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Friday, January 2
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Friday, December 26
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Saturday, January 3
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Monday, December 29
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Monday, December 29
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Tuesday, December 30
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Tuesday, December 30
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Wednesday, December 31
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Wednesday, December 31
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Thursday, January 1
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Friday, January 2
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Friday, January 2
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Saturday, January 3
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Recycling due for collection on
Thursday, December 25 will be collected on Friday, January 2
Recycling due for collection on Friday,
December 26will be collected on Saturday, January 3
Recycling due for collection on
Thursday, January 1 will be collected on Friday, January 2
Recycling due for collection on Friday,
January 2 will be collected on Saturday, January 3
Extra side waste will be collected between
December 29 and January 9 only.
There will be NO changes to collections during
the Easter, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday and August Bank Holiday
2009.
Please put your refuse and recycling out by
6am over Christmas and New Year and put any extra rubbish, suitably
contained, next to the bin.
For more information, call 01622 602162 or
visit digitalmaidstone.co.uk
Council has recycling all
wrapped up
This Christmas make sure you reduce, reuse and
recycle your rubbish to cut down the estimated extra three million
tonnes of rubbish that UK households will generate that equals
about 7,000 football pitches.
Instead of just throwing away your wrapping
paper Maidstone Borough Council is urging residents to recycle it
along with cardboard packaging, glass bottles, jars along with
other items at various sites around the borough.
If you have received the new fortnightly
recycling service wrapping paper and cardboard packaging can be
taken to cardboard recycling banks at ‘bring’ sites or put in your
green bin or black box. Larger boxes will be collected if
presented alongside your recycling.
If you are still on the current weekly service
treat wrapping paper like cardboard. Do not put it in the paper
recycling banks or your kerbside paper box.
Christmas cards can be taken to the council’s
cardboard banks, put in your green bin or black box, if you are on
the new recycling collection service, and at special Woodland Trust
banks at TK Maxx, Tesco, WH Smith and Marks & Spencer stores
from January 2 to January 31, 2009.
If you get an electronic gadget from Santa then think about
recycling your old one at a nearby Oxfam shop. It’s easy to do,
good for the environment and won't cost a penny. Bring your old
mobile phones, iPods, PDAs, inkjet cartridges or digital cameras
into Oxfam and they can be turned into money for tools, seeds and
schoolbooks.
And if you have opted for a real Christmas
tree this year it can be recycled at the council’s household waste
recycling centre at Burial Ground Lane in Tovil or residents can
put it out with their garden bin or green garden waste sacks.
Have yourself a Merry
Christmas at Maidstone Museum
Maidstone Museum has got a programme of
activities, crafts and story telling on offer this festive
season.
On Tuesday, December 9 the story of Pinocchio
will be on offer for children under 5. Come along between 10.30am
and 11.30am for the story telling and craft activities. The cost is
£2, which admits one adult and up to two children.
On Wednesday, December 10 an adult art class
will be teaching how to book bind. For just £10, visitors can learn
to make a single section stitched notebook with cloth spine and
decorative cover, and then a second book out of the skills learnt.
You need to take along a sheet of patterned wrapping paper for the
covers.
This is suitable for people over 16 and is on
from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Call 01622 602838 to reserve tickets. There
is a maximum 15 places available.
In the week running up to Christmas on Monday,
December 22 children can make wooden snowman decorations. The craft
session is open from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30 to 3.30pm. It is
recommended for under 13’s and cost £2.
On Tuesday, December 23 there will be the
Nutcracker story and themed activity from 10.30am to 11.30am or
1.30pm and 2.30pm. This activity is for under 5’s and costs £2,
which admits one adult and up to two children.
On the same day there will also be a chance to
make origami angel decorations. This free event is recommended for
under 12’s and is on from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to
3.30pm.
In time for the New Year why not pop along to
the museum and make a costume calendar card. On Monday, December 29
you can come to one of the drop in sessions from 10.30am to 12.30pm
and 1.30pm to 3.30pm to make a costume which opens into a calendar
card, inspired by the museum’s costume collection. The cost for
this is £2.
On Tuesday, December 30 children can enjoy a
tale from Percy’s Park –The Rescue Party. Under 5’s can come along
between 10.30am and 11.30am or 1.30pm and 2.30pm for the animal
storytelling and craft activity. The cost is £2.
Finally to finish off the seasonal activities
in style you can turn back time and make a pop-up scene from
history. Come along between 10.30am and 12.30pm and 1.30pm and
3.30pm to make a pop-up scene from history.
Choose between the Jurassic period, the
Egyptian Pyramids, and A Tudor Castle. The cost is £2 and is
recommended for under 12’s.