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County council to hand over windmills to save cash

Local Democracy Reporting Service Cranbrook WindmillLocal Democracy Reporting Service
Cranbrook Windmill is one of those currently in county council hands

Eight of Kent's historic windmills will no longer be funded by the council.

Kent County Council (KCC) wants to save the annual £150,000 it costs to look after the structures by handing them over to special interest groups to run and maintain.

Labour councillor Barry Lewis put forward a recommendation to the environment and transport committee to keep hold of the windmills because he said the annual cost to do so was “chicken feed”.

The motion was defeated by eight votes to six.

The buildings were acquired by KCC as the so-called owner of last resort between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s.

But the council’s financial constraints - with £83m in savings needed in the financial year beginning in April 2025 - means it is looking to hand them over to special interest or heritage groups who can pay for day-to-day upkeep.

Jo Burn/BBC Chillenden WindmillJo Burn/BBC
The scheme will see windmills such as Chillenden handed over to local groups

The eight windmills, which are are either Grade I or Grade II* listed, are:

  • Chillenden Mill
  • Union Mill, Cranbrook
  • Herne Mill
  • Draper’s Mill, Margate
  • Meopham Mill
  • Davidson’s Mill, Stelling Minnis
  • West Kingsdown Mill
  • Stocks Mill, Wittersham
Jo Burn/BBC Paul Allen, chair of Friends of Chillenden Windmill, sitting in the windmillJo Burn/BBC
Paul Allen fears for the future of Chillenden Windmill if it leaves council ownership

Critics are concerned that offloading the buildings will threaten their futures.

Paul Allen, chairman of the friends of Chillenden windmill, said it would be too big a project for his group to take on.

But he fears a private owner would not provide the long term security the council has done.

He told BBC Radio Kent: "Once something has gone, it has gone forever.

"If it went into private hands, however good willing the person was, that might fail, that might end. His or her successors might change and have a completely different view."

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