‘Remote working will reduce response times’


ANDREW Simms, manager of Boots in Maidstone and a di- rector of TCM: “I AM very disappointed with theMaidstone Council’s deci- sion to move CCTV to Med- way.We have worked closely with the police and MBC over the years and have developed an impressive relationship. “Priority has been given to


make sure that our town is safe for citizens and unwel- coming to those up to no good. Security guards, store man- agers and other business lead- ers have forged a great working relationship with the CCTV operational team and we have many examples of great successes recently and in the preceding years. “Its strength is that it is a


local service that thrives on building local knowledge and local working partnerships. “The CCTV system we have


is something we can be proud of.Working remotely from Medway will significantly re- duce local knowledge and re- sponse times. “The safety of the public should be paramount, protect- ing jobs by minimising shop theft is important and I believe that by moving CCTV to Med- way we will see a significant reduction in our ability to achieve both.”


Contract for town CCTV is awarded to Medway


MAIDSTONE Council’s all-powerful cabinet has stood by its decision to award the CCTV monitor- ing contract toMedway Council. Manybusinesses are not happy about the prospect


of a "remote" service, especially as MaidstoneTown Centre Management's bidwas on the shortlist. The all-Tory cabinet decided by 3-2 votes to opt


for Medway. Council leader Chris Garland and the cabinet member for community services JohnWil- sonwere the two who voted against. A few days later, Independents Mike Fitzgerald


and Gordon Newton “called in” the cabinet deci- sion, claiming the “no” votes of the portfolio holder and leader had sent out a “conflicting message” to the public. But, at the ensuing scrutiny committee meeting, Cllr Garland said he and Cllr Wilson ac- cept collective responsibility within the cabinet and would support the Medway decision. “We live in a democracy and a democratic deci-


sion was made. I do not believe the reason for the call-inwas relevant at all,” he added. The upshot is that the current town centre CCTV monitoring arrangementwill end next spring. The fear is that monitoring Maidstone's CCTV


from theMedway Towns will undermine its effec- tiveness because of the latency – technical delays –


IVAN White, chairman of the Mid Kent and Maidstone branch of the Federation of Small Businesses: “MY opinion, along with all the stakeholders involved with CCTV, is huge disappointment that the contract has been awarded to Medway. “When I heard just aweek be-


fore, that the full cabinet was taking the decision, I sent a two-


New path paves the way to The Quarries THE long-awaited southern section of a new public footpath in Boughton Monchelsea has been officially opened. A group of residents spanning several generations performed


the opening ceremony, along with the chairman of the parish council, Cllr Steve Munford,Maidstone mayor Cllr Brian Mor- timer and ward Cllr Mike Fitzgerald. Sixteen years ago, the parish council decided to establish a public footpath, linking the village green and The Quarries, but the work had to be carried out in two separate parts. Although the northern part was completed in 2005, it has taken much longer to finish the 210-metre southern section. In declaring the path open, Cllr Munford gave a vote of thanks


to all those associated with the creation of the path, particularly the generosity and co-operation of the Gill family in allowing the path to be built, as well as the efforts of his two predecessors as chairmen of the parish council, Cllr Ian Ellis and Robin Fuller. The southern part of the path cost £32,000 to build, of which £2,000 came from KCC, thanks to the efforts of Cllr Eric Hotson. The rest was funded by the parish council. The work was un- dertaken by local contractorsWeller Landscapes. Cllr Munford also thanked, on behalf of the village, Cllr Mike Fitzgerald for his work in ensuring the continuation of the number 59 bus service through the village on Saturdays.


A DEBATE is hotting up about whether – and which – street- lights should be switched off to save money. The suggestion emerged in a


report to county councillors but no decisions have been taken yet. At least one Maidstone coun-


cillor thinks there is merit in turning off some lights at night – but not before 1am. The most radical proposal is


for up to 5,000 streetlights to be removed from Kent’s roadsides


22 South


and for another 70,000 to be switched off in the early hours. KCC could trim its an-


nual £5.1m energy bill by as much as 15% (about £765,000). Cllr Malcolm Robertson said


the report presented ideas for members to “kick around”. “I think there will be quite an in- teresting debate. Members will have all sorts of views.” Cllr Robertson said turning


off all – or every other – street- light after 1am on residential es-


of a system located 10 miles away, plus staff not being as familiar with local geography. But a few months ago, Ch Supt Matthew Nix told Maidstone Business Forum that a similar partner- ship between Medway and Swale had "worked re- ally 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 im- proving the town's trading environment and its image, that last year launched a campaign to per- suade the borough council to put the contract out to tender. TCM succeeded - and entered the bidding battle itself along with 13 other firms. At the time, town centremanager Bill Moss said:


"Ifwemove to the final stage of bidding we will be proposing to run the service from the town centre, hopefullywith the current staff." In the end,TCMwas one of three shortlisted bids


to enter into a partnership arrangementwithMaid- stone Council for 24-hour x 7-day cover. Acouncil officer's report recommendedMedway on both cost and quality.


‘Years to regain lost knowledge’


page letter on behalf of small businesses and everyone that works, lives and visits our town, to all cabinet members as Iwas not convinced they appre- ciated that the success of our CCTV system is down to full in- teraction of all people involved.


“Key people are the operators


and if they do not go with the system then all those years of knowledge will be lost and it will take years to regain it. By which time the whole confi- dence in the system is lost. “I sincerely hope our fears are unfounded and that it does per- form well. But we are all very doubtful. Once it has moved, that's it.”


Farmer loses


agricultural fight YALDING farmer Richard Sut- ton has lost the battle to remove an agricultural occupancy con- dition on his property at Or- chard Cottages. He claimed the condition was hindering his attempts to sell his home, garden and five sta- bles on 1.82 hectares of land off Lughorse Lane. But Maidstone Council re-


Maidstone mayor Cllr Brian Mortimer joins residents for the official opening of the Boughton Monchelsea foot- path


Night-long street lighting comes under spotlight


tates might be an option. “So long as it’s applied sensi-


bly, Ithink thereisroomtosave money,” he said. Initially itwould involve cap-


ital investment to install clocks in the lampposts. Previous pho- toelectric systems that switched on and off as it became dark and lighter became unreliable, he explained.  Kent has a total of 118,500 streetlights. In Essex, 91,000 are switched off after midnight


fused this application, claiming Mr Sutton had not “sufficiently demonstrated that the property could not meet a local need for agricultural/forestry worker’s accommodation or that the oc- cupancy condition has outlived its usefulness”.


Call for more parking A SCHEME for more parking off Salts Lane, Loose, has been submitted. The proposal requires engi- neering works around Spring- field, a three-storey Victorian semi-detached house. The planning statement said: “Currently the applicant’s cars are parked on the road and this results in restrictions in road width and difficulty in passing. The proposal would remove all of the applicant’s cars from the road. The local area has many walls made of local ragstone, andthisisproposedtoformthe walls to the parking bays.”


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