Conservatives set out for another year 


SO the Tories have another


year at least in power to imple- ment their Maidstone Council plans and had good cause to cel- ebrate at the election count where their overall majority in- creased from one to five. There were so many factors


this time, making predictions al- most impossible. It was the slump in the national Lib Dem vote that was key. After years in the doldrums, Labour will be encouraged by some signs of a local resurgence – but not enough to give them a single seat. The political cycle will change things for Labour andmanywill welcome a return of sensible socialist comments to the local scene. But nationally they still suffer


from appalling handling of the economy by former Prime Min- ister Gordon and his cabinet –


MailMarks


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


leaving us all very deep in the Brown stuff. His profligate use of credit


card UKmeans we shall all pay a very heavy price for years. I can never forgive him. It takes a brave, dedicated per-


son to be a councillor with eco- nomic problems dictating so much. But the localTories seem ambitious and confident andwe must all wish them well.


Enjoying hidden lake APOLITICAL row inMaid-


 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Postal delivery bother Dear Sir - I read with interest your comments on postal deliv- eries. They have bothered me for some time. Though we live in the town boundary we can expect to re- ceive our post anytime from noon to late afternoon. Most concerning is that on


some days we get no delivery at all.


Someone who lives in a dif-


ferent part of the borough told me when he challenged Royal Mail he was told certain deliv- eries were curtailed. How does that help someone operating a business from home?


DonWright By email


Dear Sir-Iwas interested in reading your comments on the Royal Mail deliveries in the April edition of Downs Mail and to make you feel better you might like to know of our ap- palling service. Up to approximately two months agowe had an excellent service, but then Royal Mail re- arranged all the rounds and changed the staff. Since that date we are contin-


ually missing post and on con- tacting senders we are assured that it has been sent but clearly not delivered. As a result, I have kept a


check on deliveries and dis- cover thatwe now only get a de- livery every other day. We have tried to contact Royal


Mail, but if you can make head or tail of their website you will understand why we have been unsuccessful.


Bryan Dewar Spot Lane Bearsted


34 East


Roadworks, hurry up! Dear Sir - Regarding the road clo- sure in Hollingbourne, there is concern at the speed at which the project to replace the gas pipe is progressing. HGVs are required to travel a significant distance eachway on account of this. Those making the decisions have not thought far enough ahead. There was no enthusiasm for the operation to be completed in two weeks with a 24-hour operation, which many believed the best solution. However, the whole operation


can be speeded up with the gas authority setting in operation two men at the other end and even another two in the middle. The two men already working on the job are apparently only working five days a week, from 8am till 5pm.


D.JWright


Snagbrook House Hollingbourne


Bus decimation Dear Sir -This is to say that I ap- plaud your efforts to bring atten- tion to the plight of elderly residents in Grove Green, now that the bus service from there to Maidstone has been decimated. I intend to do what I can to re- store the service.


John Ripley, By email


Paying for doormen Dear Sir - I readwith some inter- est the report regarding the Baby- lon nightclub and the trouble that occured there, although I was surprised to hear it was the Gurkhas, usually a very polite and courteous set of people. In- deed, it is the English (British) residents of Maidstone and sur- rounding areas that pour into Maidstone every Saturday evening, who should be blamed formost of the trouble.


stone is bringing to prominence one of the town’s most beautiful


hidden gems. It is the magnificent lake on


the Mote Park boundary of the privately-owned Turkey Mill complex. Many will not even know it exists. The lake itself is owned by Maidstone Council with a long lease to Turkey Mill and is seen as part of the waterway system for Mote Park. Historically the council de-


cided to retain ownership of the lake and a move now by the controlling Tories to raise sub- stantial funds for the council in these grim economic times by selling it to Turkey Court is being challenged by the Lib- Dems.


Whatever the outcome I hope


the public will be encouraged more to visit and enjoy a stun- ning part of Maidstone I found by chance. On a press visit to an event


staged in The Orangery at Turkey Mill I slipped out to view the magnificent grounds and this led to a walk around the lake with its impressive stone boathouse and dramatic waterfall. I could not believe what I had


found – it was quite magical. That is an experience I hope many more can enjoy.


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


Almost every nightclub and


bar now has a group of security doormen at the entrance and in- side. I should know, I am one of them! Now why should clubs and bars feel the need to employ us? If you seriously don't know,


then please visit Maidstone one Saturday evening and watch and listen. It is rare that there is no trouble of one kind or another. Abusive and aggressive cus- tomers are not rare, overly intox- icated


customers are


commonplace and although ac- tual fights are not happening all of the time, the frequency is in- creasing. Often, the first line of defence


are the doormen, all of whom have been trained, passed strin- gent checks and paid a lot of money for their licences so that they can keep the customers safe.


What is their reward? Door-


men are often threatened, occa- sionally ganged up on and generally abused as they carry out their duties.Most of the time they attempt to carry out their duties in good humour, and at- tempt to be courteous and polite to customers upon entering and leaving the bar or club where they are stationed. For this they are very poorly


paid, mostly between £10- £12.50 an hour, which may sound reasonable. However, take into consideration that they do suffer the abuses mentioned above and are very occasionally the targets of violent assault, then thewages they receive pale into insignificance! Surely they should receive a


better renumeration than they currently do? Name and address supplied


Fewermuseum staff Dear Sir - I learned from Downs


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Mail (April) that Simon Lace was picked byMaidstone Coun- cil 'to give it (Maidstone Mu- seum) a kick up the backside'. So far, he has kicked the coun-


cil with a controversial exten- sion by running up a £3.7 million bill, having only raised £2.2 million according to your article. To help reduce the deficit he is 'kicking out' experienced, able and senior staff such as the keeper of natural history, mar- keting, premises managers and security staff. These losses of staff alonewill seriously damage the ability of the museum to maintain a lead- ing position in the museum world and damage its ability to properly perform the functions that all feel are both desirable and essential to a successful fa- cility. Howmany valuable itemswill


have to be disposed of to make up the shortfall? How many items might already have gone at a figure less than their true value? Is there an inventory with valuations? Is there, perhaps, a case for in- vestigation by the district audi- tor?


Gordon Littlewood By email


Concert thanks Dear Sir - The Bearsted &District branch of the NSPCC raised £861.22 at their recent concert by Mixed Blessings - for whom we’d like to thank. We'd like to thank our sup- porters for raising this money for the NSPCC which will help damaged children turn their lives around and head to a brighter future.


Loretta Rogers,


Member of the Bearsted & district committee, NSPCC.


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