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Let’s make most of Jubilee Square 


WHAT a great boost our new Jubilee Square should be to Maidstone. I have seen the dream emerge, followed the political contro- versy – but bided my time for a personal opinion. I visited the official opening


when the job was effectively completed and most construc- tion mess cleared away. It was a very uplifting experience. I had


little idea what Iwas going in to on the day – but left with a feeling of a very joyous public occasion to mark a significant im- provement in our town centre. Maidstone is now much more pedes- trian-friendly, with wide pavements and a new area at the top of High Street suitable for a range of events. Hopefully there will be entertainment to


add substantially to the town centre offer, but I also have visions of specialised mar- kets and a location which can be used for commercial bookings that mix public inter- est with sales and marketing. Clever busi- nesses could find this a rewarding venue. Ideally the whole area would be traffic


free – but we need bus and taxi routes through the centre. The layout for bus stops seemsmore logical


– and the taxi driver I spoke to was delighted to be waiting at theKing Street junction with High Street. He thought it made sense and


A WHITE and blue Carrera Val- our mountain bike was stolen from the communal car park underneath Wallis Place, Hart Street.


Several aerials were stolen


from vehicles parked in Clif- fordWay, Maidstone. A black Kona Hoss mountain


bike and a Carrera bike were stolen from the bike shed at Lee Heights, Bambridge Court, Ringlestone. A silver Ford Sierra, registra-


tion number J276 SRD, was stolen from Raggatt Place,West Park Road. Two bikes, including a lady’s


red mountain bike, were stolen from a shed in South Park Road.


Fence panels were stolen


from an unoccupied property inWoodside Road, Mangravet. Adoorbellwas stolen from an elderly person’s home in Park Way. An intruder ransacked a shed


in Pevensey Court, St Peter Street. It is not sure what was taken. The petrol tank of a W-regis- tration blue Peugeot was drilled in an underground car park in Church Street and the fuel drained. A number plate was taken


from a white 11-registration Ford Transit van in Allington Way, Allington. A door bell was stolen from a


house in Sutton Road. A shed was broken into at a property in South Park Road. Scaffolding was taken from


the front garden of a house in Marion Crescent, Shepway. A black mountain bikewith a


46 Town MailMarks


DENNIS FOWLE - President Kent Campaigning Journalist of the Year 2001 email: dfowle2011@aol.com


should be good for business. There have been a few early teething problems and no doubtmorewill arise, but these must not detract from improvements I think are highly significant for Maid- stone. Let’s hope Maidstone Council can find more grantmoney to complete the job down to the river. I can recall the time when Maidstone


was a pedestrian nightmare, with heavy traffic in Week Street, High Street, Bank Street and Gabriels Hill.Now just about all of it has gone, together with the noise and the fumes. It has totally changed my view of visiting the town centre. For the sake of our future as the top shopping, eating and entertainment centre in Kent. I hope many others feel the same. The Queen’s statue fits comfortably in


to the new square. As I looked at it during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations I mused about her statue joining Queen Victoria. Could a benefactor come forward? I think we know it would be a popular addition to our town.


Cricket’s return THEsigns continue to improve for


a return of county cricket to Maid- stone. This summer, Kent County Cricket Club is staging five 2nd XI matches at The Mote CC ground, and reports about the quality of the wicket continue to impress. The county club has written to The Mote CC in support of a pro-


posed pavilion and other ground improve- ments, and expressed a desire to bring first-class county cricket matches back to the centre of Kent with its huge population in Maidstone and the Medway Towns. The an- nual Maidstone Festival has been missed by so many since 2005. The cricket club is being encouraged by Maidstone Council to submit a robust planning application which would include these major ground improvements fi- nanced by some enabling residential de- velopment on part of the site. The club is engaged with specialists to try to achieve this over the next few months. If the development all comes about over


the next two years or so it will lift enor- mously the sporting profile of this magnif- icent site and clubs with their homes there. The improvements could help sustain the site for generations to come. Kent’s first match at The Mote was in


1859. There is now a new and wide deter- mination to see this great tradition revived.


Beat the criminals IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE PHONE: Police: 222 Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111


sticker reading “Spirit” was taken from the bike storage area in Stafford Gardens, Tovil. A property in Dickens Road, Ringlestone, was broken into and copper piping was stolen. Two people wearing dark cloth- ing were seen running away from the property. Thieves got in to a silver Re-


nault Trafic van at the recycling centre in Tovil Green Business Park, Burial Ground Lane,and stole cash. Parts of amodel gypsy caravan and a child’s playhouse were stolen from the gar- den of a home in Sussex Road, Shep- way, but were later recovered. The sus- pects were white men, both aged about 16 and about 5ft 8ins tall. One was wearing a dark blue and green hooded top with a large printed logo on front, and the second wore a dark hooded top and trousers. Scrap copper and brass were


stolen from the rear garden of a home in South Park Road. The conservatory door of a


home in Shelley Road was forced using a spade, but nothing appeared to have been stolen. Arearwindowwas forced at a


home in Upper Fant Road, Fant, and two handbags containing


cash, cheques and cards were stolen. A shovel and an axe were


stolen by thieves who broke in to a shed at a property in Upper Fant Rd, Fant. Both were later recovered. The padlock on a shed in the garden of a home in Shelley Road, Fant, was forced, but nothing was stolen. The front door of a home in


Price Court, Church Street,was forced and a TV, a decoder and DVDs were stolen. The fire door at Flam- ingHenry’s, in the High Street, was damaged but the offenders failed to get entry. A man was threat- ened in Wyatt Street, and cannabis was stolen from him by a white man,


aged between 35 and 40. He was described as being 6ft tall, of heavy build, and wore a red jumper and black tracksuit bot- toms. Two toy filling pumps were


stolen from a garage in Hillary Road, Penenden Heath. Petrol was siphoned from a Renault Scenic parked on a driveway in Cloudberry Close. Two tool boxes with tools


were stolen from a vehicle in the underground car park at Hayle Mill, Hayle Mill Road, Tovil. The thieves are believed


to be two males in their late teens or early 20s. One had dark hair and a dark top. The other had spiky dark hair and a dark top. They were seen driv- ing away in a silver Ford Fiesta with its number plates ob- scured. Diesel was taken from a blue 02-registration Citroen Picasso in Mote Road. A cycle steering column and


two cycle wheels were taken from a communal bike shed in Wallis Place, Hart Street. A victim had a wallet stolen


in Brewer Street byaman who slumped against him pretend- ing to be drunk. The suspect was aged 35 to 40, with ginger hair, and wearing a turquoise top and trainers. ThedoortoabluePeugeot


206 parked in the top car park of Lidl in The Broadway shop- ping centre was levered, but nothing was stolen. A blue and white Vertigo


child’s mountain bike was stolen from the play park in Heath Road, Barming. A silver BMX bike was stolen


from the front garden of a home in King Edward Road.


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