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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Council needs guidance Dear Sir – It waswith amusement that I read your article “Hacking claim caused offence”, in which Cllr Pat Marshall claims to have been horrified by a vote that was not on the agenda (she voted in favour at the time). How is it, then, that at the April meeting of


the parish council, the same Pat Marshall seconded a vote proposed by Cllr Richard Ash, which was not on the agenda, and in- deed, not within the confines of the meet- ing? I find it hard to believe that a woman with


such experience and standing in our com- munity can, after so many years’ experience, still be making fundamental errors. In the code of conduct hearing to which


your article alludes, the chairman of the in- vestigation does refer to the fact that two senior councillors, PatMarshall and Richard Ash, should be fully aware of procedure and guide the council if necessary.


John Hughes, ex-Bearsted parish councillor


More should attend meetings Dear Sir –With regard to Val Springett’s con- cern over code of conduct complaints cost- ing the taxpayermoney (Downs Mail, June), during my time on Bearsted Parish Council, from which I resigned in February 2011, the code of conduct was raised many times, but nothing was ever achieved. If more members of our community at- tended parish councilmeetings, they would be better informed and perhaps councillors would be better behaved.


Kevin Street, The Landway, Bearsted


Roadworks causing chaos Dear Sir – I read with some amusement the comments in your last issue (June) about the possibility of permanent closure of Knightrider Street. My son lives in Campbell Road and while


he has been away, I have been going twice a day, from my home in Bearsted, to feed his cat. The traffic has been horrendous, no mat- ter what time of day. Cars have been using Campbell Road as a short cut to try to avoid the build-up of traffic around Sheals Cres- cent. The funniest piece of the article was Cllr Malcolm Greer’s comment about the her- itage buildings in the area. Has he actually been there recently? Knightrider Street is mainly new flats, and the only old buildings are on the corners of other busier roads. Mrs R A Peall, Bearsted


New supermarket wanted Dear Sir – In respect of your front-page arti- cle about the town’s boundary expansion (May), it is all well and good building homes for thosewho need them, providing they are affordable. But when is one of the big supermarket millionaires going to build another super- market to take all the extra people moving in and around Sutton Road? We only have Morrisons, and since the creation of the new homes, which have al-


THE Mayor of Maidstone has opened Lenham Primary School’s nature garden. Featuring a meadow, pond, bug hotel


and hen house, the garden was created with support of local businesses, including Ambilly Trees, Bam Nuttal, PG Plant Hire and Red Beehive Company. The garden, designed by parent governor and ecologist Katia Bresso, and built by the


36 East


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


Centre helped me cope Dear Sir – My name is Andrea Fuller, I am 33 and I have two children, Harrison, aged four, and Eden, three. Before I had children I worked full-time and loved my life. I got married and we started a family. But having children was a shock to my system and I found it hard to adjust. I came to Greenfields Sure Start centre in Rutlands Way, Maidstone, back in 2010, when my children were two and one. I came to visit a health visitor as Iwas strug- gling to deal with them being so close in age. Iwas told about the different activities on


offer at the centre and found it so much easier coming to the stay-and-play activi- ties, as there was a crèche worker to help out too. All the other mums were friendly and it was a really nice experience for both me and the children. Before I came to the centre I was worried


that I was going to be judged for struggling to cope, but it was not that way at all, help and advice was offered by the crèche work- ers and the other mums. Just to talk to peo- ple and see that I was not the only one was very helpful. I am not sure how I would have coped without their support. I was able to see how other families


coped and dealt with different situations and to my surprise, I was able to offer my experiences and ways I dealt withmy own


ready been built on two plots off Sutton Road, it has become absolutely chaotic in and around Morrisons and surrounding roads. More houses means more people, at least


two per household, plus their cars (some have two), which will make it even worse trying to get into and out of Morrisons, as well as trying to drive past the supermarket to get to other destinations, and the petrol station. This causes tailbacks even now. I dread to think how bad it will become by Christmas. At present we have people com- ing from as far as Loose, Staplehurst, and Headcorn to use this one supermarket. There always seems to be land for houses


to be built; surely there is some land some- where that can be purchased and planning permission given for another supermarket. They wouldmake a very good living from it, and it would alleviate some of the pressure on the one in Sutton Road. Why hasn’t one of the big four thought of applying for planning permission? Come on Maidstone Council, help the residents in and around Sutton Road. Have talks with the big four and see what


can be done. You know itmakes sense, make the lives of the residents living near Mor- risons a little easier. When the supermarket car park is full, the overflow is outside our houses.


Name and address provided


Road closure not the answer Dear Sir –With regard to the suggested clo-


Mayor opens school’s nature garden


children, parents and staff, is now amosaic of habitats which creates an active learn- ing space. Pupils showed the mayor and guests around the garden, before releasing five painted lady butterflies. An old-fashioned country tea party was


then enjoyed by all with cakes kindly baked by the school’s PTA.


situations. I had begun to think that Iwas a rubbish mum, but coming to the groups and activities made me realise that actually I was quite a good mum. It was so nice to feel part of a group and


to be allowed to have an input into the cen- tre. It was very reassuring and I felt they were really interested in my family. As the children got older, starting school


and nursery, I found I had time on my hands and decided Iwould volunteer at the centre, helping out in the crèches and doing a little bit of admin. I amnow working towards anNVQfor the children’s and young persons workforce, I have also joined a temp agency and work at the centredoing admin twodays a week, Iam beginning to feel like me again as well as being proud to be a mum, and all this is thanks to Greenfields Children’s Centre. Andrea Fuller, Northumberland Road, Shepway


sure of Knightrider Street, what a marvel- lous suggestion! Perhaps the council would like to buy all the property in the road, then they could build an emergency lane. This would stop vehicles mounting the pave- ment, which is illegal, to allow emergency vehicles through. The traffic management system on the


bridge cannot cope with the flows now – we have to put up with lorries and buses pump- ing fumes, kids with bass speakers in their cars at full volume, and they tell us Maid- stone is a wonderful place to live. Not in Sheals Crescent. Cllr Malcolm Greer and the rest should be ashamed of making stupid statements. Mo- torists must ask, where is the bypass for the county town? It’s time for residents of Sheals Crescent to


get together and be militant and stop the flow of heavy traffic. James Burnham, Sheals Crescent, Maidstone


Are we all in this together? Dear Sir – I readwith astonishment your re- cent article concerning the Kent County Council leader, Cllr Paul Carter, and the mix-up over his allowances. My first thought was how Mr Carter could accrue the sum of over £21,000 in al- lowances over a period of seven months. How can this sum be justified, when the council is making frontline cuts to services and freezing the pay of employees “earning” less than half that amount? I then read that the error only came to light


when Mr Carter’s secretary informed him that he had reached his overdraft limit. If he needs his secretary to manage his own bank account, how can we have any faith in his management of KCC? Add to this the recent payment of over £400,000 in a severance package to a former employee, and the millions of pounds lost in Icelandic bank investments, and one is left asking are we really “all in this to- gether”? Steve Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


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