post arrive now? At our rural home in East Farleigh, it used to be a race a year or two back between the newspapers and post arriving first at around 7am. Then the post fell back to


about 9am. In more recent months it has been about lunchtime. Now we are starting to see deliveries closer to 5pm. To accommodate the vast


size of modern newspapers and safeguard staff when we had a lively dog we attached a letterbox to the garden gate. We are well used now to


many cold, mystery walks to that gate! We will leave the box there.


The way things are going it will save being awakened in the middle of the night after the next change in Royal Mail schedules! Just as well almost every-


thing urgent now arrives by email.


The fond days of post haste MailMarks


SO what time does your


DENNIS FOWLE - President Kent Campaigning Journalist of the Year 2001 email: dfowle2011@aol.com





Business is tough I MUCH admire the small


shopkeepers who put in long hours to provide a smiling, ef- ficient service to make a liv- ing.


But then I like going in to the


new Tesco Express shops which offermuch the same va- riety as large supermarkets and simple, modern shopping. In theMaidstone area, Tesco


keeps growing. Another at the foot of Loose Road could be the 10th outlet – and probably not the last. Small shops are rightly worried. Business life is so often very


tough – and I see only one winner here.


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


You can write to us at: Downs Mail, 2 Forge House, Bearsted Green Business Park, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME14 4DT or e-mail: info@downsmail.co.uk


The value of railings Dear Sir – I cannot understand Cllr Malcolm Greer’s logic in the metal railings being scrapped (East, March), as they were to help maintain public safety in the first place, not to create a more unsafe environ- ment. I think that taking them down


was just a cost saving exercise, so when they are damaged they don’t have to be replaced and they can get recompensed for the scrap metal value they fetch. So wake up Malcolm, we are not all dimwits! Mr R P Rowe, Upper Road, Maidstone


Link road failure Dear Sir - I refer to the item on the M20 Junction 8 site in your March edition. I note that Cllr Chris Garland has discounted the chance of the link road from Junction 8 to the south of Maid- stone being built in the foresee- able future and probably not until after 2026. This is despite the fact that a clear promise was made to build the link a number of years ago. This is a long-standing issue


on which the Conservative ad- ministrations of both Maidstone borough and Kent County Council have had a complete blindspot for many years. Both councils have consistently failed to deal with the traffic problems resulting from the ab- sence of a link road, affecting both the town centre and the eastern suburbs of Maidstone,


to the detriment of the residents whom they represent. Those re- sponsible clearly have little un- derstanding of the daily effects on residents of their failure to deal with the problem and I am afraid that Cllr Garland's pro- jected timescale for the possible construction of the link road may well be too late for me and possibly for many others. Cllr Garland is my represen-


tative on Maidstone Borough Council but I am afraid that he and his Conservative colleagues on both the borough council and county council have now lost my trust and support as a result of their complete failure on this matter.


Charles Lucas,


Willington Street, Maidstone


All in 13 minutes Dear Sir - I have just seen the "Agenda and decisions and draft minutes" of the cabinet meeting of Maidstone Borough Council on Wednesday March 9, 2011 (available online at .http://moderngov.maidstone. gov.uk/ieAgenda.aspx?M=721& AI=0) I skimmed through them, reading some bits and skipping others. On reaching the end of the document I was surprised and shocked to realise I had spent far longer reading about the meeting than it actually took. During the course of this meeting: Eleven decisionswere taken relating to the High Street im- provement project, committing





Support traders SO is Government really


going to strangle much crazy legislation which throttles and discourages small businesses? I wrote recently that no one should become an MP without working for six months in a small business after I heard of proposed changes in maternity and paternity leave. It seems the Government


now really is listening and would like to encourage enter- prising and risk-taking busi- nesses. But let’s wait and see! With all that’s happening in


our economy just now, they arebyfar ourbesthopefor a brighter future.


the council to spending mil- lions of pounds. A report of the director of regeneration and communities was considered and a recom- mendation to full council was agreed to disband the Strategic Housing Advisory Committee and replace it with a Housing Consultative Board with new terms of reference. Four decisions relating to


the updating of the Corporate Improvement Plan were taken. The report of the leader on


the Forward Plan was consid- ered and three amendments were agreed. An oral report on Executive Procedural Rules by the head of democratic services was con- sidered, that resulted in two recommendations being made. All this took only 13minutes, starting at 6.30pm and ending at 6.43pm. I was under the impression


that democracy, although re- garded as the best system, was imperfect because it worked so slowly. There are questions we must


ask: Is the ruling party of Maid-


stone Borough Council giving sufficient consideration to the important decisions it is tak- ing?


Are too many decisions being


taken behind closed doors out of the public gaze and then being rubber stamped at formal cabinet meetings? Is this how we want our democracy to work? Many a dictator would look


with envy at the brutal effi- ciency of the decision making process at that meeting. Jim Grogan


The Landway, Bearsted


Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk


Define affordable Dear Sir - I note from Downs Mail’s February edition for Maidstone East, that 30 new homes are planned for Holling- bourne. Of these, the builder’s spokesman told the parish council that 12 “would be af- fordable”. Affordable for whom, Iwould


like to be informed. This vague term seems to crop up when- ever and wherever house-build- ing is planned. Why only 12 “affordable”?


What is the point of building anything unaffordable? Audrey Gardner, Willington Street, Maidstone


Tree removal is good Dear Sir - Having seen the arti- cle in your current edition (East, March) about tree re- movalatMotePark,Ihaveto say that we totally disagree with theviewthatitisabad thing. We both think the clearance


of trees and a lot of unattractive scrub has opened up vistas over the beautiful Mote lake andwill be a great enhancement. Before criticising, wait to see


what planting will be carried out as it develops over the year and how it matures. Yes, it’s a bit of a shock, but


it’s been carried out with ap- proval from KentWildlife Trust – who do exactly what their title suggests! If you look at a lot of the stumps that are left, they most certainly do not look healthy, and those trees needed to be removed. People generally don’t like change, but we personally both consider this a great opportu- nity for renewal and enhance- ment. It is a fact that you have to be a bit ‘over-drastic’ to start with, but youwill see how it all springs back to life with Spring! All for the better and much needed. It is unfortunate that it is al-


ways the negative points that get aired. We are fully in sup- port and are going to enjoy our walks round Mote Park all the more while observing the re- generation.


Denise &


Brandon Broadbent Grove Green


Take an active role Dear Sir - On Thursday May 5, voters will decide who repre- sents them in local elections across England. There will also be a referendum on whether we use the ‘first past the post’ or ‘alternative vote’ system to elect MPs to the UK Parliament. Many of your readers may


want to set up a campaign group, stand as a candidate or start a political party. If so, please check out the rules on the electoral commission’s website.


PeterWardle Chief Executive,


Electoral Commission East 31


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