Anniversary concert BEARSTED Choral Society continued its 40th anniversary season with a performance of Puc- cini’s Messa Di Gloria at All Saints Church, Maidstone. The concert, conducted by Peter Ashley, in-


cluded over 100 singers. It was Bearsted’s first collaboration with Upchurch Choral Society and musical director HelenOsborne. It was attended by deputy mayor Brian Mortimer.


Members of the choral society with Maidstone deputy mayor Cllr Brian Mortimer. Anger over sudden bus changes


BUSusers were takenby surprisewhenArriva ended some services and revised others at short notice. Borough Cllr Jenni Paterson, who represents


North ward, said the company should have posted leaflets at all bus stops or on the vehicles. “It would have been more helpful to people to plan their routes, especially where they have taken buses off. “Bearing in mind it was


such a far-reaching thing, with some services being five or 10 minutes earlier and people having to catch trains, itwould have been welcomed by the public to have made it clear that this was hap- pening imminently.” Matters were made


worse by a delay in the new timetables being printed. They were still not available at Arriva’s Travel Shop two days after the changes. Staff told Cllr Paterson the public had given thema “rough time” over the issue. Downs Mail received a


Borough and Boxley Parish Cllr Wendy Hinder (right) with passengers who are battling to get their buses back.


press release from Arriva on April 6 – and this is the first East edition of the paper since then. The state- ment said the changes result from spiralling fuel prices and a reduction, from April 1, in the amount of reimbursement by local authorities for those jour- neys made by passengers using National Conces- sionary Travel free passes It added: “In most cases, there are minor changes


Service 85 from Senacre Wood to the town will no longer run (Mon-Fri) at 18.55, 21.49 or 22.49 and, from town to Senacre Wood, at 18.43, 21.32 or 22.32. On Saturdays, the 85 will no run from Senacre Wood at 18.43, 21.49 or 22.49 and from Maidstone at 21.32 or 22.32.


placed between Maidstone and Palace Wood by Service 79, which will run through from Penenden Heath in the same way that it does on Saturdays, providing an hourly service across the town. “At Grove Green, Service 19 still provides a link


to the town centre on Mondays to Fridays and will run additionally on Saturdays to replace Service 9. “The timetable of Serv-


ice 59 will be substan- tially revised, with some journeys re-timed and some withdrawnto match the service more closely to demand. “Between Maidstone, Armstrong Road, Plains Avenue, Shepway and SenacreWood, Service 84 will have some revision to its Monday to Friday timetable, but it will no longer run on Saturdays as a result of insufficient demand on that day. Serv- ice 85 will, however, con- tinue to run between the town, Shepway and Senacre every 10 minutes for the main part of the day on Mondays to Satur-


days and half-hourly on Sundays. “The timetable for Service 89 buses between Cox-


to the times of some specific buses on each route, but on others there are more significant changes and some poorly-used journeys – generally early in the day or in the evening –will be withdrawn. “Those services with minor changes are the 5, 8,


12, 17, 71, 72, 82, 85, 101, 135, 334, 575 and 703. “Service 18 will no longer run but it will be re-


Charity bike ride RICHARD Anderson, the book- ing office clerk at Bearsted rail- way station, is cycling from London to Brighton for the British Heart Foundation. Richard, who has worked at


the ticket office for almost 10 years, is undertaking the ride on June 19 for the fourth time. He said: “Most ofmysponsoring is from the customers who travel by train and this year Iwill have raised over £2,000 for BHF.” He went on to thank all those that had sponsored him.


heath and the town centre will be revised and the frequency onMondays to Fridays will be reduced to run every 20 minutes.” However, there was some positive news: “Fre- quency of the 101 between Maidstone and theMed- way Towns will be doubled on Sundays to give a bus every 30 minutes between Maidstone and Gillingham, in place of the current hourly service. “The 155 service between Maidstone and Chatham via the Medway Valley will also be im- proved to run hourly for the main part of the day on Mondays to Saturdays.”


Lost revenue and fuel prices blamed for cuts


ARRIVA’s publicity manager, Richard Lewis, said: “We have had to implement changes to most of our services in the Maidstone area to offset the effects of high fuel prices and a loss of income through the reduced amount we, like the majority of bus companies, are now receiving from local authorities to reimburse us for journeys made free by concessionary pass holders. “The reduction in that revenue is substantial and we have had no choice but to make economies in certain areas. “We have, however, kept any reductions in frequency or overall service level to a minimum.” Mr Lewis said full details were in a special leaflet from the Travel


Shop, but it had run out of copies when Downs Mail dropped in two days after the changes. For more information call 0844 800 4411 or visitwww.arriv- abus.co.uk.


‘An insult’ to non-drivers


Continued from page one


would have to wait over an hour, after being on my feet all day for a number 19 bus home to Grove Green. I didn’t know the bus had finished until I had waited for about 15 min- utes and I asked at the bus sta- tion.


“Six years ago, when the


buses were cut, we were told that everyone in Grove Green has cars, but that simply isn’t true.”


Jillian Green, of Rampion


Close, complained to Arriva that timetables were not avail- able until the afternoon of April 12, causing “confusion for passengers and drivers alike”. She said that the bus com-


pany appeared to have changed the times to fit in “with the KCC penny pinching ideas, which makes life diffi- cult for pensioners with med- ical appointments in Maidstone”. It was also now impossible


to reach the town centre to connect with the Bluewater service leaving at 9.30am. Boxley Parish CllrWendy Hinder was angry after contact- ing Arriva several days before the changes and being assured that Service 19 was not being cut.


“They could have told me


then that it was the 18 that was being cut. It appears it has been done with very little warning. “These are elderly people.


They don’t drive and buses are essential.”  See Letters – page 37


Storage firm’s fence plan withdrawn


LENHAM Storage has with- drawn its application to re- place existing chain link boundary fencing with close- boarded fencing.


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


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