Such sad days for the local press MailMarks
THESE are very sad times for
local newspapers with so many closing in the harsh economic climate. I cut my journalistic teeth in Sittingbourne and the Medway Towns and the deaths of the East Kent Gazette and Medway News have really tugged at the heartstrings. These had been such strong newspapers in their prime – right at the heart of local com- munities. They join an expanding ceme-
tery of local newspapers never to be seen again – and many others are on the brink. Communities will be so much poorer for their demise. Local and parish pump news is so im- portant to most of us and local newspapers aremuchbetter and convenient at presenting this than radio, television and web- sites.
Although I have not lived in Sittingbourne for more than 50 years, I still want to know what is happening there. I kept a sub-
DENNIS FOWLE - President Kent Campaigning Journalist of the Year 2001 email:
dfowle2011@aol.com
scription going at the Gazette until its demise. I am glad the KMGroup has quickly started a successor so I will know about old friends who have died, the results of cricket matches I once played, the big changes happen- ing in the town, the flashbacks to events I recall and so much more. Without local newspapers,
who is going to report on the work of the local councils, en- courage debate and hold others to account when things go wrong? Most local newspapers have flourished on the back of prop- erty, motors and jobs advertis- ing. In the recent desperate
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Rotate street darkness Dear Sir - With respect to your piece con- cerning the debate whether street lights should be switched off to save money (Town, Christmas); yes, perhaps it may be necessary to do this, but let me personally point out a couple of things. The most likely streets to have their lights turned off are the side streets and cul-de- sacs, where there is not as much traffic movement. That is all well and good, but I do think that the type of crimes committed late evenings and early mornings in those areas will increase because the perpetrator can carry out their offences under the cover of complete darkness, whereas perhaps strategically-placed street lights would deter them to a degree. Therefore, let the council take note, if
they are thinking of turning street lights off down side streets/cul-de-sacs, then I advise them to do it on a rotating basis, so that criminals cannot get used to certain streets having their lights out every night at the same time. If there is no actual pattern of the lights
being switched off it will not make it so easy for them to commit crime under cover of darkness. Name and address supplied
Use our town shops Dear Sir - As ever, your wonderfully inform- ative publication (South, December) has just dropped through my letterbox, and I have to a comment to make about the article on page 16, "Christmas on your doorstep". It is all verywell the Town Centre Manage-
ment quote from Bill Moss extolling the virtues of Maidstone. I happen to agree with him, in the most part. However, I recall that some time ago Cllr
economic years all these sectors have suffered seriously and ad- vertising has been much re- duced. On top of this, the internet grows in influence and has become an advertising com- petitor. In the Maidstone area, the
KentMessengerGroup has faced major challenges and is cutting back and adapting as it endeav- ours to regain past strengths. We on the Downs Mail have
not depended so heavily on property/motors/jobs advertis- ing and still enjoy the support of many local businesses. But they too feel the economic
pinch - and so does the Downs Mail. We now reach about
90,000 households in the Maid- stone areawith our four editions and we know how much this service is appreciated in the community. We work hard to keep it all going – but know cru- cial times are ahead. I cannot imagine Maidstone without the Kent Messenger and Downs Mail. As a newspaper- man I declare a vested interest – but I know many feel the same.
Clean up panto I hope next season’s Hazlitt pantomime cuts the sleaze and ups the charm. Iwas uncomfort- able at a matinee with my seven and five-year-old granddaugh- ters viewing characters ‘needing a slash’ and ‘cracks in bottoms’ humour. So much is dumbed down nowadays and I was appalled by the tone of much of Aladdin’s script. Our innocent children had
some fun. Butmypanto days are certainly over.
You can write to us at: Downs Mail, 2 Forge House, Bearsted Green Business Park, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME14 4DT or e-mail:
info@downsmail.co.uk
Richard Ash admitting that he and his wife always travelled to TunbridgeWells to shop as Maidstone had nothing to offer them.How can we take a pride in our town when our elected (and paid) representatives cannot bring themselves to so do? Jeanne Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted
Museum is an eyesore Dear Sir - I had to chuckle to myself when I read the article about the newmedical cen- tre in Bower Mount Road, Maidstone (Town, December 2011), The article concluded with the words:
“The council demanded the inclusion of ragstone to the site boundaries to ensure the development fits in with the character of the area”. Fine. I have no problem with this philosophy. Bearing this inmind, why was the dread-
ful design for the museum extension al- lowed to go ahead? It hardly complies with the thinking applied to the medical centre development. Such a lovely old building is being ruined by the add-on and the expres- sion: “One rule for us and another for you” springs to mind. Eric Pennington, Whitchurch Close, Maidstone
Still waiting for yellow lines Dear Sir – For a long time, residents of Foley Park have been begging for double yellow lines to be put in Tudor Avenue. There have been many “near misses”
where cars have been parked opposite the T- junction into Norman Close, on the bend at the bottom of TudorAvenue and on the brow of the hill off Sittingbourne Road. All of these make it virtually impossible to see oncoming traffic.
Allington home proposal ADAM Underwood has applied to erect a three- bedroom home at 1 Kilndown Close, Allington. His planning statement said: “The proposed de- velopment is of a modest size, inkeeping by design and size of existing properties in Kilndown Close. The dwelling will match the existing property.” Maidstone Council will rule on the application.
42 Town
Loose extension blocked THEproposed erection of a side extension at 29 MayfairAvenue, Loose, was refused. Maidstone Council felt the front eleva-
tion would be an incongruous feature “causing significant harm to a prominent focal point at the entrance to MayfairAv- enue”.
With all the money being spent on re- vamping the High Street, I would have thought some money could have been set aside to correct this very dangerous situation. It was promised it would be done last Janu- ary!
Mustwewait for a serious accident or a fa-
tality to occur before we get some action? Call me cynical, or could the reason for the delay be because themajority of cars parked there are council employees’ vehicles? Lynn Jung, Saxons Drive, Foley Park, Maidstone
J8 sandstone quarry concern Dear Sir - In your December 2011 edition you have an article about the proposed develop- ment at M20 J8 by Gallagher, who plans to develop a large warehousing complex in the area. Part of the text says: “Gallagher plans to re-
duce the elevated area of farmland by up to 40ft so that the development is not visible from the A20 and Bearsted area”. Is this statement just a euphemism for “we want to extract the sandstone in the area and create a sandstone quarry, whichwill later be turned into an industrial storage depot.”? At the junction of Old Mill Road and the
A20 you have what used to be the Caves Café (in the 1950s) and behind this is a small sandstone quarry that, in the 1960s, was used as a lorry park for some company vehicles. In the sandstone behind the café you had a system of caves that covered quite an area. When they start extracting the sandstone it
will be interesting to find out the extent of the caves and if any interesting artefacts turn up. It is hoped they don’t extract too much sandstone or the site could be flooded by the River Len, which borders the southern side of the site. RGLuck, Fernhill Road, Fant
Trees stop homes plan ANapplication to replace an existing bun- galow with two new homes at Chareda, Pickering Street, Loose, was blocked. Maidstone Council felt the close prox-
imity of the westerndwellingwould result in future pressure for the removal orprun- ing of protected trees.
You can e-mail the Downs Mail —
info@downsmail.co.uk
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