Town gets high-speed London link


HIGH-speed trains are to run from Maidstone West to London St Pancras from May 23. Local rail champion Cllr Malcolm Robertson hailed the peak-time service as great news for the town’s commuters and its economy. He urged the borough council to improve public transport links to the West station and make parking available. A £37.50 return ticket will buy a journey


There will be four trains each way - 06.56,


0726, 0756 and 1913 from MaidstoneWest and 1714, 1744, 1814 and 0625 from St Pancreas. The morning service will take just 47 min-


to London taking less than 50minutes on a comfortable, air-conditioned train. It will stop at Strood, Gravesend and Stratford In- ternational - the latter will make it “very attractive” for Canary Wharf workers, said Cllr Robertson. The downside for many commuters, though, is that St Pancras is


Pink-themed buffet helps charity


STUDENTS from all-girl In- victa Grammar School, Maid- stone, raised around £500 for Breast Cancer Care during a pink-themed buffet. Yr 11 hospitality and cater-


ing pupils held the event, which involved each student cooking three dishes to cater for the 60 guests attending. The food ranged from sausage rolls and Caesar sal- ads to chocolate cheesecakes and cupcakes. It included the serving of


drinks, home-made bread and butter, sweet and savoury dishes. Money was also raised by a raffle.


utes, and 48 minutes in the evening, compared to about an hour between Maidstone East and Victoria. It will only be truly high-speed from Ebbs-


fleet as it will “trundle up” the Medway Valley line on existing third-rail power.


not handy for those who work further south in the capital and face a cramped, onward Tube journey to the office. The news was welcomed by Maidstone


MP Helen Grant, who has been fighting for the return of the fast City service to Cannon Street via Maidstone East since it was axed in December 2009. She said: “While I understand this is still


not the return of the much missed City serv- ice and that St Pancras will not be the ideal destination for many, this is a good start.” Cllr Robertson warned the service would be experimental. “It’s critically important


that a lot of people use it. It could be a case of use it or lose it. He added: “We have to make it work with transport connections and car parking.”


Garage plan refused PLANS for a detached garage in Cranbourne House, Hubbards Lane, Boughton Monchelsea have been turned down. Maidstone Council’s plan-


ning department said the garage’s location forward of the building line and its scale and bulk, would dominate the site and would be an “incongruous and obtrusive feature”, out of keeping with development on the eastern side of Hubbards Lane”.


Students (left to right) Bryoni Hartridge, Chloe Plumb, Kelsey Watts, Beth Ransley with some of the food they made for the event


Drink drive plea KINGSWOOD man Stephen James (61) pleaded guilty to drink driving following an inci- dent in Chestnut Drive in Feb- ruary.


James, who lives in the same


road, was driving a Vauxhall Corsa, and when stopped gave a breath test of 72 mg of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 mg. He was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £260 and billed £85 costs.


New home refusal is upheld on appeal


MAIDSTONE Council’s decision to refuse the erection of a new home in Linton Road, Loose, was upheld on appeal. Inspector Lloyd Rogers echoed the council’s view in August last


year that the proposed dwelling would appear out of place in its setting and cause material harmful to the character and appearance of the area.


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