Shock survey to show level of alcohol abuse


WORRYING levels of alcohol abuse by young people out on the town in Maid- stone will be revealed in a survey being carried out on the streets. The town’s street pastors, who work in conjunction with the Urban Blue bus to safeguard the town’s night time economy, have been asking pubbers and clubbers to voluntarily participate in breath tests. These will reveal just how much “pre- loading” – alcohol drunk at home – has taken place before party-goers hit town. The results of the survey, which is being carried out as part of Baroness Newlove’s


Clampdown on


commuters COUNCILLORS have voted to put down yellow lines to stop commuters parking in a quiet Vinters Park cul-de-sac. The Joint Transportation


Board voted against putting double yellow lines along Emsworth Grove, but to put a single yellow line restriction instead, prohibiting parking from 10-11am and 3-4pm Mon- days to Saturdays. The board has also responded


to a plea from the Rushmead Drive residents’ association to put yellow lines at the junction of Rushmead Drive and the A229 Loose Road, to improve junction visibility and better access.


Action on speed INTERACTIVE signs are to be installed in Maidstone’s Postley Road in a bid to reduce traffic speeds along the road. The road has been included


in the Speed Reduction pilot project, following a petition from residents who are con- cerned about speeding and by buses in particular. Cllr Malcolm Robertson agreed to fund the signs from his member highway fund. Boxley Parish Council is to


pay for a speed limit reduction along Boxley Road, following a petition from residents con- cerned for both Boxley Road and Beechen Bank Road.


Licence lost A MAIDSTONE man has ad- mitted drink-driving following an incident in Gabriel’s Hill, Maidstone, on May 27. Leslie Black, 55, ofWoodside


Road, Mangravet, was stopped while driving a Nissan X-Trail and gave a breath test of 97 mi- crogrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. Magistrates at Mid KentMag- istrates’ Court disqualified Black from driving for 22 months, fined him £280 and or- dered him to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Disqualification can be re-


duced by 167 days if he com- pletes a course approved by the Secretary of State.


14 Town


clampdown on “boozy Britain” are ex- pected to be alarming, according to Paul Alcock, chairman of the Night Economy Business Forum. He told members: “We already know that people drink a lot, but we are one of the only towns taking measures to actually prove it. It is quite horrifying to see the amount of alcohol some people have drunk by pre-loading.” Mr Alcock said he was equally con- cerned at the number of young women who were abandoned by their friends in a state of serious inebriation.


The Switch Youth Café project has received a £2,500 boost from its first corporate sponsor, Maidstone-based Civil Service Insurance Society (CSIS). The Switch Youth Café project is designed to make


Maidstoneabetterplace for youngpeopleandhelp them leadmorepositive andhealthy lives.Someof the money will go towards a new IT system, and the rest will go to “Switch on the Music”, a youth-oriented festival promot- ing music and the arts in September. Kevin Holliday, chief executive of CSIS, presented the


cheque to theSwitchteamandsaid: “Weareproud to be able to support such an important community project in the heart of Maidstone.” Project managerRoy Laming, said: “Our young people


and project team are very grateful for the support from CSIS.”


Kevin Holliday, Switch staff members Harriet Coomber and Hannah Patton, and Switch management team representative Kyle Davies.


Yellow lines finally agreed


RESIDENTS in Tudor Avenue who have been campaigning for parking restrictions are finally to get their wish. Although some residents be-


lieve the restrictions will lead to increased traffic speeds, as driv- ers use the road as a “rat run” to and from the town centre, the majority want to see parking pro- hibited on the dangerous bends. Resident John Critchell told


theMaidstone Joint Transporta- tion Board that a residents’ sur- vey revealed more than a thousand vehicles used the road each day – “far too many for such an avenue”. He said there had been nu- merous incidents, but as the parking had increased, crashes had ceased. “The imposition of yellow lines will increase the speed


FAMILIES in Maidstone who may have been wrongly charged forcarehomefeesare being urged to act quickly to recover their cash. Elderly people who go into


care because of amedical condi- tion, rather than for social rea- sons, are entitled to have their care paid for by the NHS – irre- spective of their private means. Currently, the cost of care home fees is reimbursed formany fam- ilies after amedical assessment Anomalies in the method of assessment mean some people have been wrongly charged and can face a battle to recover fees. However, from September 30,


cars parked on dangerous bends. She said there were sev- eral “near misses” each day, with vehicles mounting the pavement to avoid a collision. Ben Hilden, from Kent High-


and traffic density and lead to more crashes,” he argued. He suggested closing one end


of the road or making it a one- way street and said: “Yellow lines in isolation will increase both speed and usage.” But another resident, Mrs


Wakelin, who said she repre- sented themajority of residents, said the street had been “blighted by commuters” and through traffic driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid


Get care home claims in quickly


the Government is changing the rules on when and how fees are recovered and any claimsmade after the deadline will be re- fused. Anne Webster, from Head-


corn, who works as an assessor for Iniquitas Care, said: “Many people are unaware of the dead- line and some of them have been paying out for years for care that should have been funded by the NHS. “Thosepeopleneedtoact


now,” she said. Claimantsmust have their ini-


tial assessment as soon as pos- sible to stand a chance of being able to claim their cash back.


way Services said making a road one-way only was not a so- lution to speeding, and the im- plications arising from the closure of one end would need to be examined. Cllr Clive English said: “The consultation has been epic.” The board voted unanimously


to implement proposals to put double yellow lines on Tudor Avenue close to the junctions with Park Avenue, Norman Close and Sittingbourne Road and to put a single yellow line along the rest of the road, re- stricting parking between 11am and 1pm Monday to Saturday.


Drink-drive ban A MAIDSTONE man has ap- peared before Mid Kent Magis- trates’ Court, where he admitted drink driving. Christopher Tredget, 24, of


Loose Road, Maidstone, pleaded guilty to drink driving, following an incident in Palace Avenue,Maidstone, on June 30. He was stopped while driving a Honda Civic and gave a breath test of 104mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs. Magistrates disqualified Tred-


get from driving for two years, fined him £380 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.


You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk He said: “People don’t seem to care about


what happens to their friends when they have had a lot to drink. In the space of half an hour, I saw three young ladies who were left, standing on their own, almost uncon- scious, which is a very worrying trend.” The services of Maidstone’s Urban Blue


Bus, which parks in the town centre each Saturday night to offer assistance to people who are drunk, injured or in distress, has now been extended to Friday nights, as part of the same Baroness Newlove initia- tive. A £90,000 grant from her charitable fund has helped extend the service.


Cash helps youngsters to ‘Switch on the Music’


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