LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Easier question for our MP Dear Sir – The last few weeks have clearly been difficult for Maidstone MP Helen Grant, as she has faced allegations on sev- eral fronts. In an effort to give her some relief from


the furore, I thought that I would ask her a more policy-related question affecting Maidstone citizens, always assuming that she can get hold of a copy of the Downs Mail in the Surrey orWestminster areas. She will no doubt be aware of the propos-


als to massively expand the current devel- opment at junction 7 of the M20. Roads around junction 7 are already gridlocked as regular commuters will testify, and I have yet to see any concrete proposals to improve the road network if this developmentwas to be given the go-ahead. Perhaps she feels these ordinary mortals should take a lead from her and find them- selves a second home in the capital? I would like to ask Ms Grant whether she


is in favour of this development and does she share my concern about the traffic chaos that would ensue? If she finds these questions too difficult, I


have an easier one for her. What is the max- imum amount that you,Ms Grant can claim from the hard-working taxpayer for a luxury apartment inWestminster? Stephen Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted


Site a poor use of space Dear Sir - I was particularly interested to read in the Downs Mail that the Govern- ment’s policy means another 5,000 homes may have to be built in Maidstone and Malling. It’s a shame this wasn’t taken into account


when Malling Council decided to build a travellers’ site (against the wishes of Maid- stone and Malling residents) by the 2020 roundabout, next to the police headquarters (Coldharbour); a sitewhere they could have built at least 100 multi-storey homes. Malling thought it a better use of taxpay-


ers’ money and critical space to provide fa- cilities for the permanent residence of 16 travelling families, at a cost of approxi- mately £1.5million. Now that's what I call a great example of long-term strategic think- ing.


Terry Carroll, by email


Editor's note: The 5,000 additional homes target is a speculated figure for Maidstone by the borough council. Tonbridge and Malling Council allocates the housing for its area separately.


Hospital hygiene slipping? Dear Sir – Our family is concerned about new problems with C-diff in the local hos- pital trust (Downs Mail, December). Our mother, Mary Hirst, died in Maid-


stone Hospital in May 2006 as a result of this infection and MRSA. After a two-year fight by us and families


of the other 90-plus victims, and a damning report by the Healthcare Commission, things were turned round by the new trust board and Maidstone Hospital improved greatly. But are they now taking their eye off the


ball? Whenmy husband and I visited Maid- stone A&E, several people walked through doors without using the hand gel. No one asked them to use the gel and the signs are now smaller. Doctors and nurses are having to be asked to wash their hands – not all do it automatically. Hand hygiene and cleanliness are very important. Please do not let things get out


22 East


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of control again.We must have no more un- acceptable tragedies. Jackie Stewart, Carol Higgins,Michael Hirst,Maidstone – the family of Mary Hirst.


Put dog mess in the bin Dear Sir – I wish to bring it to the notice of dog owners on Grove Green that the path from Clarence Court to Wingrove Drive is not the place to throw plastic bags contain- ing dog’s mess. Over the past 25 years, the rubbish thrown alongside this path has grown, and I have cleaned it up on numerous occasions. I amnot prepared to clean or live in an area that dog owners are abusing. Dorothy Butler, Clarence Court, Weavering


Thanks for a great party Dear Sir – I would like to thank everyone who was involved in organising the Christ- mas party for the elderly in Bearsted. The event at Madginford Hall involved a traditional Christmas dinner, all cooked from fresh produce donated by local busi- nesses. During the afternoon we were en- tertained by two local choirs and two tap dancers.We were invited to join inwith the carol singing and at the end of the afternoon were were each given a Christmas card made by children from Bearsted schools. This was a very nice gesture which summed up what had been a wonderful af- ternoon, which was enjoyed and appreci- ated by everyone. Pat Grimes, Tasker Close, Bearsted


Please park considerately Dear Sir–Iamwriting on behalf of my par- ents and the others residents of Ragstone Road, regarding your story about the roads around the primary schools in the Bearsted area. The problems extend to Ragstone Road


and Greensands Road, due to the alleyway that runs through to the Egremont Road shops. The corner where the two roadsmeet is a particular problem, as it is becomes a bit of a blind turn when there are cars parked right on it, which is often the case at these times, as all the Highway Code rules seem to completely go out of the window (not to mention common sense). We have long worried about whether a


fire engine or even an ambulance would be able to make it up the road at these busy times, as we ourselves find it difficult, es- pecially as the parents/carers of the Madg- inford pupils seem to be quite single-minded about their aim to drop their children or get the “best spot” towait, often with their engines running for the entire time they are waiting, which, due to the de- sirability of the location and the need to get in early, is 30 minutes or more. I regularly visitwithmy daughter, andmy parents also look after her when I am work- ing.We often find that ifwe are outwith her at about 3pm it can be almost impossible to push her pushchair on the pavement, due to cars parked on it by the garden of No 43. The lady that lives at that address has also had to put up a small fence, due to children running on to her property, so it is some- times completely impassable if people have been particularly bad with their parking. Mrs Nicky Januario, by email


Beating the train fare hikes Dear Sir – None of us need reminding how abysmal and expensive our train service is from the county town. But it’s worse than I thought! I’m fortunate that I work from home and


only occasionally need to visit my em- ployer’s office in Fenchurch Street for a 09:15 start. That’s when the problems begin. The only train to Blackfriars from Bearsted leaves at 06:48 and arrives at 08:03 - rather too early and rather expensive at £34.60 re- turn. All other trains go to Victoria, and in- volve the added journey time of taking the tube across to Tower Hill, plus the cost jumps to £40 return! The good news is I’ve found the answer. I


jump in my car at 7:35am and drive to Sid- cup station, park in the station car park, catch the 08:19 to Cannon Street, which ar- rives at 08:55. Then it’s a 10-minute walk to our office. The cost is about £6 for fuel, £5 for the car park, £10.40 British Rail return, making a total of £21:40 – almost half the price for a quicker, stress-free journey! Steve Salter, Camomile Drive, Weavering


Parish needs car park Dear Sir – I would like to thank the Downs Mail and Boxley Parish Mail for giving an account of the parish council meeting that considered the suggestion of a car park and two houses in Boxley old village centre. Sadly, in the past, no landowner ever gave


open space to the village as a playing field. In many villages, part of this field can now be used for parking. There has been a new build in the centre


of the village, but that was a house wedged into the garden of the then chairman of the parish council, no longer a resident. A hol- iday-let was also built in Styles Lane. It would be quite amazing if Boxley stayed a village preserved in aspic, as it looks today, until the end of time. Boxley is the largest parish in Maidstone,


with a population of about 7,000. It in- cludes the Grove Green Tesco, St John’s School, Notcutts, television studios, The Malta Inn, Museum of Kent Life, etc. Most people find all this quite surprising. The parish council has recently had to deal with planning for the new hospital, which is also in Boxley. So how did the parish council, with all


these responsibilities, approach the sugges- tion of two houses and a car park for the centre of the old village?Was there a survey of all the parishioners’ wishes? Who uses the pub? Who uses the church? It was reported that: “The chairman then suggested that members should balance whether if, as it appeared, the main users of the car park would be motorists travelling from far afield to the church and The Kings Arms, to what extent the proposal would positively benefit parishioners against any negative environmental impact. So, did the parish council really make this decision on appearances? The parish council recommended that the church and the pub negotiate with The Eu- ropean School of Osteopathy to make use of their drive for parking. The school is part of The University of Greenwich, which is based on an extensive site in Chatham. Supposing the school has to move? Sup- posing Michael Gove shuts down universi- ties! The ownership of the drive could change, the parking could easily be lost. Nothing is certain in present times. At Christmas, St John’s School held its


key stage two carol service in Boxley church – three coach loads, plus lots of parents. More than 90% of these live in the parish of Boxley. There is also a service for the over sixties, once again many from the Grove Green/Weavering Street area of the Civil Parish of Boxley village. In 2012, there were


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