Bingo hall ‘is letting town down’


OWNERS of a prime site in Maidstone town centre have been told to clean up their act. The Gala Coral Group Ltd, which owns Gala Bingo, housed in the old 1930s cinema on Lower Stone Street, have been accused of letting the building fall into disrepair by the Town Centre manager Bill Moss. With plans afoot to rejuvenate


the rest of Maidstone High Street and to re-pave Gabriel’s Hill, Mr Moss feels the time is ripe for Gala to do something about the state of the former cin- ema, which he desribed as an eyesore. He said: “We are talking about


amulti-million pound company here who appear to have ab- solved themselves from all re-


Takeaway can


stay open later Continued from page one PC Barnes’ comments fol- lowed an application by Mi- lano’s Pizza to extend its opening hours from 11pm to 5am seven nights of the week. Applicant Wahidulla Ma-


soudi said the application was to serve the night time econ- omy, but PC Barnes warned: “Although this is a prime loca- tion for the intended trade, it is also a prime location for calls to the police. “Any premises must take sig- nificant steps to control these issues or it will find itself un- dermining the licensing objec- tives very quickly”. Mr Masoudi agreed to a series


of conditions being added to the licence, including that the premises become a member of the Nite Net Radio system, which monitors activity in the town centre and that rubbish would be cleared from the front of the shop each night. The extension to his opening


hours was approved by the council, on condition there were CCTV cameras inside and outside the premises to monitor any unruly behaviour. The takeaway’s longer hours


were also approved by the planning committee. In March 2012, Mr Masoudi


was given permission to trade until 3am, but a speaker on be- half of the applicant told the planning committee the extra hours were important for the business to remain viable. She said: “People can’t afford


to come in during the day, which is why we want to stay open later so they can come at night. Otherwise we will have to close down the shop.” Cllr Clive English said: “There are a large number of similar uses staying open until similar hours so it will be diffi- cult to resist an extension.” Eleven members voted in favour of the extension, with Cllr Daniel Moriarty abstaining.


8 Town “This is premier site in the


town centre, on a busy corner of an important route through the town. It lets us down badly.” Mr Moss said the building


was in such a state that many people thought it was empty and disused. He said: “We tried to brighten


sponsibility for the state of the building and even refused our offers of help. “To tidy the place up and give


it a lick of paint would cost a few thousand – a drop in the ocean to a company of that size.


it up with murals, but even they have been left untouched for several years. It’s just an eyesore now.” Mr Moss said he thought the owners had a responsibility to keep the building clean and smart in the short term. However, in the longer term,


he hoped a company could in- vest in the former Somerfield site on King Street and the ad- joining King Street car park to


create a leisure complex for bingo and bowls, with a multi- storey car park above. He said: “This would free up


what could be a magnificent building, on a prime site, for re- tail use, with easy access from theMall shopping centre.” Gala Coral Group Ltd is owned by private equity houses Candover Investments, Cinven and Permira. It is the UK's third largest bookmaker and largest bingo operator and owns more than 30 casinos. The group headquarters are in Nottingham. A spokesman for Gala Bingo


said they were unaware of any plans to refurbish the building, but would investigate the com- pany’s long-term plans.


Tributes to popular councillor


Continued from page one “His passing leaves a gap in


local representation which will be difficult to fill. Nobody inpublic life could ever have cared more for those he represented and the is- sues that affect their daily life.” Fran Wilson, leader of the Lib-


eral Democrat group, said: “Mal- colm has beenone themost active and hard-working councillors for this borough. He will be a difficult acttofollowand on apersonal level Iwillmisshim as afriend and colleague.” Conservativemembers also paid tribute. CllrStephenPaine,cabinet member for planning, transport anddevelopment, said: “Oneof the first times I heard Malcolm speak waswhen he called the Conserva- tive administration to task on the branding of Maidstone’s Park and Ride buses. “We had proposed to lose the


brandatoff-peakhours,andhedid not let us have any of it! He per- suaded an overview and scrutiny


committee to overturn the deci- sion and reinstate yellow buses. He has been instrumental in se- curing a London Cannon Street train service for 2019, as well as M20 junction improvements. “In recentmonths, Malcolmwas


my de facto opposition spokesper- son for all matters around trans- port. His knowledge of trains and highways was unrivalled in the chamber.” President ofDownsMail,Dennis


Fowle, said: “Maidstone will miss a respected political giant andwe owe much to his enlightened en- thusiasm and tireless dedication. He achieved much, mostly with a light touch which disguised a fer- vent determination towin somany battles.” Prior to local government, Mal-


colm had forged a career in the technicalareaoftelevisionand radio, working for the BBC and lo- cally for TVS. Malcolm leaves his wife Cynthia, who represents Allington on the borough council.


Cllr Malcolm Robertson’s knowledge of trains and highways was ‘unrivalled’


Selfless advisor sought no credit COMMENT


By Stephen Eighteen


IT is not surprising that Maid- stone Borough Council de- cided to fly its Town Hall flags at half-mast following the death of Malcolm Robertson. While politics is often por- trayed in the media as a dirty business, people like Malcolm have helped make it a much more savoury affair in Maid- stone. The abiding memory most


will have of Malcolm is of a character who sought no recog- nition for his selfless work in improving the lives of those living in the county town. Members of our editorial


team would often seek Mal- colm’s expert input on compli-


cated issues such as transport and recycling. As a member of MBC, KCC and the borough’s designated transport “cham- pion”, Malcolm was unique in being able to cross over into many different realms all at the same time. He would leave no stone un- turned as he explained, in depth, the various policies, de- cisions and processes that we were struggling to get to grips with. The conversation always ended with the feeling that Malcolm had miraculously simplified the most compli- cated of issues. Never, at any point, did he de-


mand to be quoted, or even hint that he should take the credit for any of the projects he was as- sociated with. He never sought to be the face, nor voice, of any


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


of his many campaigns. He rather took the view that the public deserved to be informed on things that affected them, and itwould have been crass to score points in doing so. Malcolm was unassuming, friendly and kind; he had time for everyone. He worked right up until the end, withdrawing from a borough council plan- ning committee meeting, which was attended by his wife Cynthia, the night before he died because he felt unwell. The loss of his reservoir of knowledge will be felt hugely throughout local politics. But most of all, his loss will be felt by his family and friends, both personal and work-related, as well as by those of us who aim to inform the public in a way only Malcolm could.


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