CCTV contract decision faces ‘call-in’ challenge


A CONTROVERSIAL decision to award Maid- stone’s CCTV monitoring contract to Medway Council is being reviewed. Some councillors and many businesses are not happy about the prospect of a “remote” service, especially when Maidstone Town Centre Man- agement’s bid was on the shortlist. Even council leader Chris Garland cast his vote


in favour of monitoring being kept in Maidstone when the full cabinet decided by 3-2 votes to opt for Medway. The portfolio holder for commu- nity safety, Cllr JohnWilson, sided with Cllr Gar- land. But the vote for Medway means the current town centre monitoring arrangementwill end next spring, unless there is a last-minute change of heart. The issue is due to be debated at a special scrutiny meeting on November 30 after the cabinet decision was ‘called in’ by Independ- ent Cllr Mike FitzGer- ald. Thefearisthat monitoring Maidstone’s CCTV from the Medway Towns will undermine its effectiveness because of the latency – techni- cal delays – of a system located 10 miles away, plus staff not being as familiar with local geog- raphy. But a few months ago,


Ch Supt Matthew Nix told Maidstone Business Forum that a similar partnership between Med- way and Swale had “worked really well”. He added that “once you got over the staffing is-


sues” the quality of service and public safety ele- ments had been maintained, if not actually increased. It was Maidstone Town Centre Management (TCM), a private limited company dedicated to improving the town’s trading environment and its image, that last year launched a campaign to persuade the borough council to put the contract out to tender. TCM succeeded – and entered the bidding bat-


tle itself along with 13 other firms. At the time, town centre manager Bill Moss


said: “If we move to the final stage of bidding we will be proposing to run the service from the town centre, hopefully with the current staff.” In the end, TCM


WHEN Medway Council entered into a CCTV partnership with Swale 18 months ago, Cllr Mike O’Brien, portfolio holder for community safety, said: “This agreement is a first for the county and part of Medway’s ambition for its CCTV control centre to become a regional hub. This is just the start. “We are always looking at ways of running services as efficiently as we can without affect- ing quality or performance and collaborating in this way with other local authorities is a good way of achieving that.”


was one of three shortlisted bids to enter into a partner- ship arrangement with


Maidstone


Council for 24-hour x 7-day cover. A coun- cil officer’s report rec- ommended Medway on both cost and quality. The cabinet supported it – but only just.


‘Despicable’ care of 78-year-old assault victim Continued from page one


supportive. But the way mum was treated at hospital was ab- solutely disgraceful.” Howard detailed the timetable


of shame (his times are approxi- mate): 1.10am Mrs Thomas arrives at hospital 1.40 She was booked in 2.15 Seen by triage nurse 3.30 Nurse checks her vital signs - but only after her son’s complaint 5.15 Howard complained "vig- orously" a doctor had not seen her. Original triage nurse cleans her wound and glues it 7.20 Doctor finally sees her. But Howard said: "I had to go


to the doctors' desk and say, 'she has been here for over six hours, when are you going to see my mum, and he said,OKI'll see her now'.


"They did not give a monkey's. They gave her a 10-minute once-


waiting she had not even been given a cup of tea. "She was saying she wanted to


go home and let her GP see her in the morning. So we had two hours of calming mum down. "It was terrible, despicable." A spokesman for Maidstone


and TunbridgeWells NHS Trust said: “We are sorry that Mrs Thomas had to wait for longer than we would have wished to see a doctor. “A&E at TunbridgeWells Hos-


pital was exceptionally busy that evening. “Mrs Thomas was immedi-


Jean Thomas before the brutal assault


over, an X-ray and sent her home. It was just horrendous.” Howard claimed his mum’s mental state was not checked. He added: "The shock was set- ting in and after four hours of


awful lot seems to happen around the town. But I feel we sit here constantly, cap in hand, [asking] may we have one sign, may we have something else. I feel as ifwe are always at the back of the queue." She said she did not know how the “crash savings” are calculated but added: "I don't par- ticularly want to have to knock on a resident's door to apologisewhensomeone living in that house has been injured due to high speed down these roads." Cllr Blackmore suggested the reason there


had beenno fatalities was that cyclists venture out very early on Sunday mornings to avoid HGVs and that parents keep their kids away


4 South


ately assessed, her condition was monitored and she was treated by senior nurses through- out her time in A&E. We ex- plained and apologised to her and her family about the wait to see a doctor. “We have since revised the doctors’ rota in A&E at TWH to increase cover at busy times.”


Rural roads being turned into ‘race tracks’ Continued from page one


from cycling on local roads and instead take them to BewlWater or Bedgebury. "Isn't that a shamewhen you live in a rural area.” She added: "At the moment we have too


many people using these roads as race tracks. There are times when it really is treacherous. I'm not trying to be dramatic, it really is not safe." The meeting discussed the contention that


there is no point in cutting speed limits if they are not likely to be enforced. ButCllrDaley, anex-Maidstone mayor, said:


"This whole business about not being able to do anything is something I find quite pathetic as an argument.” He questioned what was the point of "local-


Wait for survey results goes on Continued from page one


over HGVs had been on the agenda "for year after year". She added: "If I was a res-


ident attending the JTB for the first time I would feel no attention is paid to this item because it has been sitting there so long. "I think it's disgraceful


that results have been known for several months and yet certain councillors have never received the de- tails, even though we have been promised them by var- ious member of KHS. "I find it disturbing that


there can be a change in personnel and items seem to almost fall off the person's to-do list." County councillor Paulina Stockell contributed £2,000 from her member highways fund to the cost of the sur- vey, aimed at establishing the origin and destination of HGVs travelling through Yalding, but she had not re- ceived feedback on the out- come.


Earlier, parish council chairman Geraldine Brown, who has champi- oned the issue for many years, said she was "ex- tremely disappointed" the survey results had still not been distributed even though Cllr Blackmore had asked for them at the April meeting. She said a meeting, in- volving Cllr Stockell and JTB chairman JohnWilson, was being arranged for No- vember, though that had been requested a while ago. Cllr Brown, who has regu-


larly lobbied JTB meetings, added: "I'm sorry I'm here all the time but I'm very passionate about this. But I'm also really cross that things don't happen when they can." A KHS spokesman said


the Yalding issue would be considered as part of Kent's freight transport strategy, which will be reported to the JTB's next meeting.


ism" if parish councils have no clout ingetting things done they feel are desperately needed. Fellow Lib-Dem Cllr Stephen Beerling


asked: "Whatever happened to common sense? “Why can't the agencies pay attention, not


to what's in their little bible, but to what peo- ple who live there say.” He said officers should put the rules to one


side and go and seewhat is happening on the ground. Cllr Paulene Stockwell said both schemes


need doing. The quality of life is “dire” due to speedingHGVs. She added that the police had supported a speed limit reduction in Green Lane back in 2005.


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