Millions of reasons to be cheerful
MAIDSTONE is bucking the trend in the face of gloomy economic news elsewhere. A total of £200m is being invested in the County Town's cultural, leisure, education and hospital infrastructure. Also, the town centre has far fewer empty
shops than the rest of Kent - an average of 10%. The national rate is 14.5%. And in recent weeks the borough council
has been seeking residents' views on how to make Maidstone even better, in terms of jobs, housing, regeneration and transport. Cabinet member CllrMalcolm Greer, who
is deputy leader of the ruling Tory group, said Maidstone is the envy of other local au- thorities in Kent, which are being forced to put a stop on big capital projects. Cllr Greer said that at a recent KCC leaders
THIS couple are chatting and smiling as if nothing unusual has happened... It certainly had rush-hour motorists scratching their heads as they passed the Texaco fill- ing station in Ashford Road, near Square Hill. Maybe someone was in such
a rush to get money from the garage's cash machine (behind the overturned Skoda Fabia) that they nearly made another hole in the wall! A police spokesman said:
“The driver of the car was not injured but he was taken to Maidstone Hospital as a pre- caution.”
meeting, a couple of them came up to him and said: "You are clearly ahead of the game.” Major schemes include:
Maidstone Museum's £4m East Wing ex- tension opening soon
High Street improvement under way - £2m
Mote Park major facelift - £2.5m, backed by the Lottery
Library and History Centre - £10m KCC project part-finished Leisure Centre - £6m upgrade completed
Mid Kent College - £23m on planned new facilities
Future Schools Trust - £62m investment in two academies (Cornwallis and NLL) St Augustine’s Academy - £12.5m new
Nearly a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ machine
build planned at ex-Astor of Hever site Senacre vocational skills studio - £1m
Private hospital planned near Newnham Court - £78m. Meanwhile, the town now has a high-
speed train link to London. Take-up of the Maidstone West to St Pancras service has been "good". And the council has been consulting the public on how to bring 10,000 jobs to Maid- stone in the next 15 years as well as deliver- ing thousands of new homes. Council leader Chris Garland said “Maid-
stone really is bucking the economic trend and is becoming the place for businesses, residents and local authorities to invest in. Maidstone is now moving ahead after many years of inactivity.”
‘Harmful’
extension PAUL Hinkly’s appli- cation to erect a two- storey side extension toahomeinBlythe Road,Maidstone, was turned down. Maidstone Council
ruled that the scheme, “by virtue of its scale and design, would erode a visually im- portant space be- tween dwellings within Blythe Road, significantly harming the character and ap- pearance of the sur- rounding area.”
Socks appeal MAIDSTONE-BASED charity Slide Away is en- couraging youngsters to raise money for the char- ity by turning up at school wearing the silliest socks. Slide Away has con-
tacted schools in the Maidstone,Tonbridge and Malling areas for their support by having a silly socks day on October 7 and asking pupils to bring £1 as a contribution to the charity. The charity helps young people who have lost someone dear to them. Info: Louise-07970 597715 or louiseweb-
ster@slideaway.org.nfo:
01227 774999 20 Town Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330
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