Town gears up for gas works High Street


OWNERS of cars parked illegally during the gas main works in Maidstone town centre may return to find their vehicles gone. So much chaos is already anticipated by South-


ern Gas digging up Stone Street and Knightrider Street that the council will be taking no prisoners when it comes to irresponsible parking. Steve Goulette, assistant director for environ- mental and regulatory services, told the town’s business forum that the council would be using a mobile towaway truck to remove cars causing extra problems during the roadworks. He said: “This isn’t about parking tickets. It’s


about keeping the traffic moving. If we find a vehi- cle illegally parked, it will be towed. We can’t af- ford the time to do otherwise.” Knightrider Street is due to be closed for three


months starting in April, after which sections of Lower and Upper Stone Street will be closed as work progresses south out of town. Proposals to put warning signs about congestion


on the M20 were met with disapproval by Town Centre manager Bill Moss, however, who said: “We are talking about the livelihoods of our shopkeep- ers here.” Mr Moss said he would be urging Southern Gas to increase the number of teams on the job and work through the night to reduce the contract from 50 weeks to nearer 30. He said: “The amount of disruption to the town


will be phenomenal - and at what cost to our traders?” Southern Gas has already said it needs a reduc-


Knightrider Street will be closed for through traffic for three


months


tion in traffic of between 10 and 15% if the town is not to become gridlocked, which it anticipates will happen as motorists choose alterna- tive routes in and out of town. One of the biggest problemswill be


at the junction of Stone Street, Knightrider Street andWatTylerWay, where a tunnel under the road has to be hand-dug because of the prolifera- tion of service pipes and cables. Work here is due to take place pri- marily overnight, but Mr Moss said he would be pressing for more night work and an increased labour force.


Plea to drive late night taxi marshalling forward


MORE funds are needed if Maidstone’s highly-successful taxi marshalling scheme is to stay on the road. The scheme, whereby two people monitor and control ac- tivity in the town’s main taxi ranks from 1-5am at weekends, has led to a reduction in crime and violence when the pubs and clubs turn out. It costs about £8,000 a year to


run the service, which taxi drivers say has been a huge help in reducing earlymorning incidents. Denis Conyon, chairman of


theMaidstone Taxi Proprietors Association, said: “The mar- shalling scheme makes life


MAIDSTONE has put the brakes on two private hire drivers after they were caught illegally plying for trade. The council is also keeping


a close eye on cabs from neighbouring boroughs who illegally pick up fares in Maidstone town centre. Two drivers who appeared


before the council’s licensing committee in January were reprimanded and given strong warnings about their future conduct after being caught out on “test purchases” in No- vember last year. Both were suspended from driving – one for four weeks and one for three weeks. Hackney carriages – black


cab taxis – can pick up off the street in the area for which they are licensed but private hire vehicles can only pick up passengers who have pre- booked their journey by phone or in person at an office. Similarly, hackney car-


muchmore comfortable for the drivers by nipping any poten- tial incidents in the bud. Peo- ple can get tetchy while waiting for a cab when they have had a lot to drink and it is very easy for incidents to flare up.”


The taxi association already contributes financially to the scheme but it has now been suggested that clubs and other licensed premises help fund it.


“Inmyview, thetownisa


much safer place to be now than it was a few years ago,” said Denis, who retired in 2011 after 50 years at the wheel. “There is a real team effort at


Taking a stand over fare trade


riages licensed by Maidstone are only allowed to pick up passengers within the borough – and cabs from neighbouring areas such as Medway or Ton- bridge and Malling can drop off, but are not licensed to then pick up ongoing fares. The council carries out regular checks to ensure the taxi trade, private hire and hackney car- riages, operate to the rules which protect thetradeandthesafety of thepassengers.


work in the town to make it an appealing place to visit.” The town’s Night Time Econ-


omy Forum chairman, Paul Al- cock,


suggested that


stakeholders contribute to- wards the cost of taxi mar- shalling – particularly the licensed premises and venues who served alcohol to the cus- tomerswho then went on to re- quire a cab. Violent crime in the borough


has fallen over the past five years, largely due to the efforts of the town centre community activity, effective and better- trained door staff and im- proved policing, the forum heard.


Cabinetmember for the envi- ronment, Cllr Marion Ring, said: “It is so important to keep track of what private hire cars and hackney taxis are doing.” Dennis Conyon from Maid-


stone Taxi Proprietors Associ- ation has already raised the issue with the town’s business forum and been assured that the council is making an in- creased effort to enforce the law, using covert operators. However, it is difficult to manage and enforce, as rival operators try to cash in on Maidstone’s busy night time economy.


Kingswood neighbourhood plan meeting


A PUBLIC meeting is being held at the Kingswood and Broomfield Village Hall to discuss the forthcoming Neighbourhood Plan. The parish council will be giving a presentation to residents in a meeting on Monday March 19, starting at 7.30pm, which will be chaired by Cllr Terry Baker. Cllr Baker, who was co-opted to the parish council in November,


has been appointed as the councillor to take on the responsibility of the Parish Neighbourhood Plan.


It is hoped sufficient numbers of people will attend the meeting to form aNeighbourhood Forum which can then take the plan forward.


business boost SHOPS and restaurants are tak- ing advantage of prospective improvements to Maidstone High Street, with a number of new names opening. Cabinet member for eco- nomic development and trans- port, Cllr Malcolm Greer, visited several of the businesses to see the opportunities avail- able once the regeneration work is complete. With less than four months


left of the refurbishment proj- ect, it is on time and on budget. Cllr Greer said: “The work is


of a very high standard and now shops are seeing the re- sults they are beginning to move their business into the High Street. “This was my aim when I launched the scheme in 2009 and now we are on our way to creating more jobs, giving business more opportunity and really helping the eco- nomic development of the town.” On completion, a programme


of events is planned to encour- age more footfall to the High Street.


Headcorn builders


buck industry gloom A HEADCORN company is bucking the building industry gloom by winning more than £12.5 million of new contracts, including a luxury subter- ranean house in Hampstead, London. Chris Sturdy and Jim Casey,


joint managing directors of CS Solutions Design & Build, have also forged partnerships with a Kent architectural practice and several local sub contractors to help deliver the projects. Mr Sturdy only launched his building services business three years ago after a 22-year army career, initially working on small projects such as house ex- tensions and garage conver- sions. But now he andMr Casey are celebrating a raft of new con- tracts, including a luxury home in the exclusive London suburb of Hampstead.


Cuts bite at KCC THE county council is pressing ahead with plans to lop £340m off its budget by 2015. Some 600 council jobs will be


shed this year and a further 400 next year as part of the cost-cut- ting bid. In the coming year, the coun-


cil plans to cut £815,000 off li- brary funding, £848,000 off community safety, £670,000 off road safety awareness schemes and £436,000 off sports devel- opment. However, domiciliary care for


the elderly stands to lose £4.8m while support for young people leaving care will lose £3.9m.


26 South Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40