Lottery grant secures Brighter Futures scheme
A SCHEME that supports elderly people in the borough has been saved from closure by a £470,510 lottery handout. Voluntary Action Maidstone received the fund-
ing boost for its ‘Brighter Futures for Older Peo- ple’ project from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme – one of four projects in the South East to share a total of £1.46m.
Brighter Futures members celebrate their lot- tery ‘win’
The scheme, based at Maidstone Community Support Centre in Marsham Street, has been running since 2005 and offers a range of serv- ices and activities for those aged 70-plus, in- cluding a door-to-door escorted transport service for shopping and social trips, and a be- friending scheme. It was due to close as KCC had withdrawn its funding, but VAM's chief executive officer, Char- lotte Osborn-Forde, said: “Our Brighter Futures service has been saved by this grant. This really popular scheme already helps 700 people in Maidstone and will be able to continue and grow for another five years.” The grant will enable the service to expand to Staplehurst, Marden and Headcorn. Two buses will be leased and additional staff and volunteers recruited. Brighter Futures won the Queen’s award for volunteers in June.
Green light for 20mph trials near schools
THE go-ahead has been given for 20mph speed limits to be tri- alled outside a handful of schools in the borough. However, the only scheme to
be backed by a traffic regulation order (TRO) is Leeds and Broomfield Primary. Local county councillor Gary
Cooke said he was “delighted” that the school in Lower Street was at the top of the list. He hoped officers
ported by a 1,000-signature pe- tition. Cllr Jenny Whittle, who has championed the campaign for a 20mph limit near both the viil- lage’s primary and secondary schools, was told that Kent Po- licewould not support a TRO in Ham Lane and that it was more suited to a 20mph advisory be-
Signs and line improve-
ments will be trialled in West Lane, Hunton, and two schemeswill also be set up near primary schools in Maidstone – St Francis’ in Queens Road and South Borough in Postley Road. The borough’s Joint Transport
get the scheme going as quickly as possible as the B2163 is busier than many A roads, with “heavy traffic thundering through the village in the ab- sence of a bypass that is needed”, he added. Meanwhile, an advisory 20mph limit using signs and flashing lights will be used in Ham Lane, Lenham, where the speed-cut campaign was sup-
KCC cabinet member for highways Bryan Sweet- land said: “We have listened to par- ents, county council members and residents. This trial will be conducted outside primary schools without using traffic-calming measures, such as speed humps, to slow cars down.We want to find out what difference lower speeds can make and whether measures, such as signs and road mark- ings, can improve safety outside schools.”
tween Cherry Close to Malt- house Close. Police say they have limited resources to proactively enforce traffic offences and require new speed limits to be “self-enforc- ing”.
Greens want speed cuts everywhere CALLS for 20mph limits to be extended to residential areas across the borough have been made by the Green Party. Stuart Jeffery, who addressed the JTB, welcomed the schools experiment as a “small but good step in the right direction”. Afterwards, he added: “I hope that once these schemes have
been shown to be effective KCC will consider bringingMaidstone into the 21st century by giving all its residential streets 20mph limits, as in other county towns. “It is quite disgraceful that Maidstone is at least five years be- hind places such as Oxford, Norwich, Lancaster and Portsmouth.”
A MOTORISTS’ lobby group claims Maidstone Tories have succumbed to political pres- sure on the 20mph issue. The Kent branch of the Asso- ciation of British Drivers (ABD) said: “We believe this push for 20mph outside schools is a Trojan horse to justify county- wide imposition of these artifi- cially low limits, which are likely to apply 24/7. ABD spokesman Brian Mac- dowall said: “Maidstone Con- servatives have capitulated to the Greens/Lib-Dems.
Lower limit is a ‘Trojan horse’
He said the Green Party
wants all residential streets downgraded to 20mph, but added: “They have not given any accident statistics for in- juries caused by alleged speed- ing to justify these widespread downgrades, yet they are easily available.” Mr Macdowall quoted from a
2008 KCC report of a three-year study outside 154 Kent schools
Board (JTB) heard the schemes should all be in place by the start of next year and be reviewed by spring 2013. It is hoped the trials
will reduce drivers’ speed, change parents’ perception of traffic dangers
near
schools and encourage them to let their chil-
dren walk or cycle there. Cllr Cooke, who, as previous
JTB chairman, took up the issue with Kent Police, said members need to be open-minded about what is learned from the pilot. However, he added: “I hope
that children’s safety through- out the borough will be en- hanced.” Members were also told there
were no child fatalities in Maidstone road accidents last year. On average, there are 10 child-injury accidents a year, including one serious – of which very few are outside schools.
Of 211 crashes recorded
(two fatal, 18 serious and 191 slight), only 17% occurred within 300m either side of the school gate. Both the fatal crashes and
78% of serious injuries hap- pened away from the school gate. He said: “Facts are an incon- venient truth for Greens”, and added: “A far more beneficial approach than blanket penali- sation of drivers would be a greater emphasis, in school and at home, on road safety.”
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JOHN
MUNSON SHOW TIME
The Comedy of Errors
The Changeling and Hazlitt Arts Centre
THE popularity of much of Shakespeare’s plays is their modernity. London modern dress productions of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and ‘Richard the Third’ have been sell-outs. Local director Rob Fork-
nall’s Changeling and the Hazlitt Arts Centre gave us an absolutely knockout ver- sion of ‘The Comedy of Er- rors’. One left the show wondering: “Why isn’t this turned into a successful comedy series?” It was an absolute hoot
from start to finish. Another Boughton Monchelsea suc- cess.
Jake Hendricks played the
twins, both Antipholus. Le- ander Deeny played the twins Dromio. Just to see these two switching charac- ters, body language, misun- derstanding and fezzes, brought roars of laughter in- terspersed with continuous chuckles. Lucy Thatcher as Adriana
and Rachel Nussbaum as Lu- ciana were the two gorgeous females who contributed to the general merriment and confusion. The way they gave us the lines would have made Shakespeare himself laugh with pleasure. David Corden, Henry Farmer, Vivienne Keen and our own local Tom Oakley made a powerful supporting cast.
Great costumes. Effective, simple set. No throat mikes and we heard every word. Rob Forknall directs this
year’s Hazlitt panto – should be good.
Quality mark MAIDSTONE solicitors Gul- lands has been granted mem- bership of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. To achieve this mark of ex- cellence for the home buying process, practices must un- dergo a strict assessment, com- pulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual re- views.
Leisure centre theft A CAR was stolen from the car park at Maidstone Leisure Cen- tre after a suspect gained entry to the staff room. Keys taken from the area were
used to steal an 09-reg black Fiat 500. An Apple iPhone and cash were also taken.
East 29
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