Town centre parking is ‘too cheap’ say bus companies


CHEAP parking charges make it more at- tractive for people to drive into town rather than use public transport. That was the claim of public transport ex- ecutives during a traffic congestion review by Maidstone Council’s regeneration and economic development overview and scrutiny committee. Nu-Venture managing director Norman


Kemp said: “Maidstone Council makes it easier for people to drive into town. Parking charges are very good in Maidstone and, compared to bus fares, it’s very easy to jump in a car and find a parking space.” Arriva’s business development manager, Robert Patterson, said: “We try to attract customers. We have a range of weekly and monthly tickets to make it cheap and easy- to-use services. “But when it is very easy to drive into the town centre and parking is very, very cheap,


that will have an impact on local bus serv- ices.” The executives also criticised:


Unpredictability of the town centre gyra- tory system Lack of bus lanes like the one in London Road Poor parking enforcement on roads and at schools such as Loose primary.


ices to be cut or reduced. Committee member Cllr Jenni Paterson


STEWART Smith, business development manager of Streamline Taxis, suggested operating traffic lights only during peak times at the Cripple Street junctionwith Loose Road,Maidstone, as a means of reducing congestion. He said that the lights are important in weekday morn-


ings and evenings to get to and from Five Acre Wood School in Boughton Lane, but that they could be switched off at other times.


They argued that these problems cause congestion that add to journey times and discourage passengers from travelling by bus, so reducing income and causing serv-


said: “We are in a ‘Catch 22’ situation. Bus operators need to run a viable service but the public perception is that it is infrequent, unreliable and expensive. “Is there anything we can make as a sug- gestion to persuade the man in the street not to get in his car at 7.30am to go to work?” The committee recommended to Malcolm Greer, cabinet member for economic development and trans- port: Tougher parking enforcement, particularly at Lower and Upper Stone Street Allowing transport companies’ views to be taken into account in the upcoming core strategy docu-


ment Begin lobbying KCC to install a real-time bus service monitor at the temporary bus station at The Mall.


Call for integrated bus and rail hub Revamp for rail


MAIDSTONE Council has been urged to set up a transport hub to include a new bus station at Maidstone East train station. RoyalMail plans to sell off its processing, distribution and de- livery centre in Sandling Road, near to the train station, and transfer the first two services to the Cuxton area. The delivery office is likely to transfer to the former Whatman site in the Parkwood Industrial Estate, where planning permission is being sought. Maidstone Council’s regener-


ation and economic develop- ment overview and scrutiny committee has requested that the borough looks into buying the Royal Mail land and creat- ing the town’s first purpose- built bus centre. Buses currently wait in the covered area next to Maidstone Gateway, off King Street. But this was never a dedicated bus station and the committee heard complaints that stationary vehi- cle engines cause noise pollu- tion for locals. Cllr Clive English said: “It is


quite clear that the redevelop- ment of Maidstone East station and the neighbouring Royal Mail building brings together an unusually large development opportunity that we are un- likely to ever get again. Despite asking frequent questions to the


site looks likely MAIDSTONE Council chief executive Alison Broom sees redevelopment of the Maid- stone East station site as a re- generation opportunity. But she has not stated whether it should be earmark- ed as a transport interchange. “We have worked with the landowner to help select a development partner and we can now expect specific pro- posals to come forward,” she said. Cllr Malcolm Robertson


The bus stopping area next to the Gateway is only temporary


council, I am not hearing much feedback. “We need a transport inter- change as part of a proper de- velopment. We need to recommend this to the cabinet member in the strongest possi- ble terms. Norman Kemp, managing di-


rector of Nu-Venture Coaches, offered his backing for the scheme. He said: “The current bus sta-


tion was never intended for that purpose. There is a huge oppor- tunity for the borough to make Maidstone East a large transport


interchange. We would still want to get between there and The Mall shopping centre but the buses will then not be hang- ing around there. “We don’t want to be bad neighbours. With a bit of fore- sight we could find somewhere with more space to make it more attractive for people in Maidstone to use public trans- port.” The committee agreed to for-


ward the recommendation to Cllr Malcolm Greer, cabinet member for economic develop- ment and transport.


said it was “very good news”. Most of the land belongs to Network Rail Properties, which, he said, had seemed “rather tardy” in the past. “They have missed a few op- portunities when the market was good,” he added. The likelihood of the nearby RoyalMail sorting of- fice becoming available meant there could be a “very large site”, including the old Victoria hotel and the station car park. Mrs Broom said the council would advise on what is ac- ceptable on the site. The area has been the sub-


ject of several exciting, but ultimately abandoned plans.


Round the clock lighting will help security


THE proposed new Royal Mail Delivery Office in ParkWood would be built on a 0.72- hectare site. The planning application states that it would replace a redundant warehouse and offices on the former Whatman complex, off Bircholt Road. The delivery office would comprise a ground-floor sorting hall with ancillary offices, plus first-floor offices at mezzanine level. The total internal area would be 1822 sq m. A proposed footpath would provide pedestrian access to the new facility. The design statement said: “The proposal retains the open nature of the operational


yard and car park with 24-hour camera surveillance, secure boundaries and ensures that there are no hidden areas that could promote anti-social behaviour. “The proposed use will be active almost 24 hours a day, and accordingly the associ-


ated lighting will provide better night-time security.” Maidstone Council will decide on the application, which would enable the closure of the current site in Sandling Road (pictured, left).


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