£2m High Street deal is signed
CONTRACTS have been signed for Maidstone’s High Street regenera- tion. Work begins in September and will be completed in time for the Olympic torch’s visit to the town next July. Maidstone council’s cabinet
member for regeneration, Cllr Mal- colm Greer, said: “We launched the High Street project in 2009 and a lot of hard work and effort has gone into getting to where we are today. This is the crowning achievement of three years’ hard work and will boost our economy over the next 20 years.” Eurovia, formerly Ringway, will
in Kent and by investing in the teeth of a recession Maidstone will be better placed to prosper when the good times return. We congratulate the borough council on its foresight and ambition. “The council is also investing heav-
carry out the work from the Chequers Mall entrance in King Street through to High Street as far as Pudding Lane and including Bank Street. Work on the £2m project is set to start in
the autumn and will take 32 weeks to com- plete. There will be a two-week break over Christmas.
Deal sealed: (l to r) Architect’s’ chief Matthew Letts; David Waggett, of Eurovia, and MBC leader Chris Garland, with Malcolm Greer, cabinet member for regeneration, who is holding the contract for the £2m High Street scheme.
Cllr Greer added: “I cannot wait for Sep- tember 5 when the work will start. Our town is going to see such a transformation.” Town centre manager Bill Moss echoed
his thoughts. “The town already enjoys the status of being the largest shopping centre
New roads repair firm for Kent KENT’S roads and pavements are to be maintained by a different contractor from September. Lancashire-based company Enterprise was the county council’s preferred bidder for the annual £66m contract. Enterprise could face fines for poor performance – such as missed deadlines – of up to 3% of its profits. The company, which also has contracts with Staffordshire and Shropshire plus four Lon- don boroughs, will have to pay commercial rents to use the council’s highways depots. Previous contractor Ringway, which was not shortlisted, had free use of KCC’s buildings.
ily in the museum extension and Mote Park improvements. To complement these major projects private industry is pouring money into Maidstone, thus ensuring the town has an exciting and vibrant future.” An extensive consultation pro- gramme has meant that bus operators, disability focus groups, retailers and the public have all played a part in shaping the final designs by architects Letts Wheeler. The practice won a de- sign competition entered by 76 firms from across Europe.
The High Street scheme is expected to
create 100 jobs and bring more than £4m of new spending to the town. During the works disruption will be kept
to a minimum and an information point will be available at 40 King Street.
Web meetings could save on travel costs COUNCIL officers can save money by holding web meetings rather than running up travel expenses. Maidstone is trialling a system of virtual meetings on the internet,
Noise complaints MAIDSTONE Borough Council last year received 779 neighbour-related noise complaints, which included loud music (50%) and barking dogs (44%).
said head of ICT services Dave Lindsay. Documents can be dis- cussed without officers having to leave their desks. A web camera costs £30, so travel savings could soon add up. Mr Lindsay said that, depending on the out-
come of the pilot scheme, there could be op- portunities to interact with ratepayers. Hewas answering a question by cabinet member, Cllr Eric Hotson, about engaging with the public via the web.
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