LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Often they actually help empty your car


and take the waste to the appropriate sec- tion themselves. It's just so heartening these days to receive such good service. Amanda Howard, Old School Hall, East Farleigh


Mental health care excellent Dear Sir – At the end of November last year, my son, aged 39, was admitted to the men- tal health care unit at Priority House, based at Maidstone Hospital. During the seven weeks he was an in-pa-


tient there, he waswell cared for by the psy- chiatric nursing team. His own room was clean, warm and comfortable and he men- tioned that the hospital food was good. He spent the Christmas period there and


the staff worked hard to ensure that Christ- mas for all the patients and staff was enjoy- able. The staff at Brockenhurst ward were very professional, cheerful, supportive, friendly and caring. So much criticism is made of the NHS,


but there is a department here at Maidstone Hospital which deserves much praise and recognition. They are all doing a wonderful job looking after people who are less fortu- nate than others.


Name and address supplied Beating the train fare hikes


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


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


Reducing speed limits Dear Sir – In your latest issue concerning crashes in theMaidstone area and featuring proposed 20 mph limits, the Green Party spokesman said: “There is no reason not to back them.” There are plenty.


Maidstone is already a bottleneck through


poor roads, traffic volume, unnecessary traf- fic lights, build-outs and artificially low speed limits on crucial routes around the town. It needs a lower limit like a hole in the head. I doubt such a limit will “reduce acci-


dents, pollution and congestion” either. Ve- hicles travelling at 20mph and less will bring traffic to a low gear crawl, thereby in- creasing pollution and congestion. Crashes are unlikely to be reduced with drivers checking speedometers constantly, rather than looking at the road. A 20mph limit will be unenforceable, as


most drivers will not comply, which is, I suspect, why KCC and the police are op- posed to them. Speed limit criteria that have stood us in


good stead for decades have been ridden over roughshod at a number of sites in the area. As a result, advisory signs illuminated when speeds are exceeded seem permanently lit. It seems that whilst vehicle technology improves, speed limits come down and the motorist has become a persecuted cash cow. Pressure groups like the Greens would take our cars away if they could. Meanwhile they continue their crusade towards the reintroduction of men carrying red flags.


Malcolm Brockman, Carman’s Close, Loose


DownsMail In touch with your parish


Barming Council Meet the police


A POLICE surgery will be held on April 13, also combining the parish council, Neighbourhood Watch and borough and county councillors. A meeting had been arranged


with Derek Nicholson to dis- cuss the pavilion refurbish- ment. It was noted that the original cost was £76,000, but Derek was trying to reduce this to about £30,000. Chairman Cllr Fay Gooch said the parish coun- cil was not eligible for funding because no registered charity was in place for the pavilion, which did not receive the requi- site income of £5,000 per annum. Cllr Gooch had approached


the Gallagher Group to con- sider assisting with funding. The chief executive had said he would discuss it further with Pat Gallagher. The council had been offered £3,000 funding towards the parish field path, but it was only valid until February 10. Cllr Gooch had spoken to stonemason Gordon Newton from the Stone Shop, East Far- leigh, who felt that the war me- morial would not need any refurbishment within the next 10 years. It was agreed that the reserves


set aside for the war memorial and the village sign refurbish- ment be transferred into general funds to pay for the balance of the path, a total of £5,111. The budget for 2013/14 was


agreed and the precept for the forthcoming year was set at £20,000, an increase of £6.14 per household per year. Cllr Gooch reminded all present of the action the parish council had taken to reduce costs and find sources of extra income. The clerk explained the im-


pact on Barming of the tax base being lowered, and the reduc- tion in funding of £4,184 from Maidstone Council with the in- troduction of the parish service scheme and the withdrawal of concurrent functions finance. County Cllr Paulina Stockell reported that the river path was being extended from Barming and Teston toWateringbury. Peter Gooch would start dec- orating the parish hall on Janu- ary 26, working at weekends only to cause minimum disrup- tion for hirers. He had done an excellent job of redecorating the village hall. The signal box at East Far-


leigh station is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2015, with automatic barriers being fitted. English Heritage was looking into obtaining listed status for the building. The village gateway signs had


been installed towards East Far- leigh.


There are four new hirers for


the village hall. Cllr Manser was thanked for her work let- ting the parish hall and pavilion as booking clerk. The annual parish meeting


will be onWednesday, April 10. It was agreed the Medway Val- ley Rail Partnership school


safety officer be invited to speak about her role.


Loose Council Crime query


A MEMBER of the public, who was an ex-police officer, asked whether the figures the council received from the police also in- cluded intelligence reports,orif they were just crime reports. He said receiving intelligence report figures would help to build up a more accurate picture of crimes in the area. The clerk would check with the PCSO. A map of the proposed area would be submitted to Maid- stone Council as a first step to- wards the preparation of a neighbourhood plan. The clerk had researched the possibility of passing the cost of maintenance of the closed cemetery to Maidstone Council and had established that noth- ing could be done. Terms of reference and mem- bership were discussed of the parish council’s new events committee, which was to meet on January 14. The clerk said that money from the fete bank account would need to be dis- cussed at the first meeting and a strategy formulated, with mem- bers identifying exactly what they wanted to do. Current hits on the parish website stood at 40,240, averag- ing 173 a week. Malcolm Bulpitt was now the secretary of Loose Gardeners’ Society, after Janet Harris had stepped down. The clerk had


written to her to thank her for all her hard work. The clerk had spoken to Kent Association of Local Councils about other parishes using so- cial media, but it did not have that information. Following an informal inter-


view, James Etheridge was co- opted on to the council.


Footpath agreed Tovil Council


THE footpath from Burial Ground Lane to Tesco had been included in the planning permis- sion for the 27 houses recently granted.Ward councillors would continue to talk to KCC to see if there was any chance of opening up the layby on Farleigh Hill to allow parking by local residents. Two lights on Tovil footbridge


were working. Two others on the footpath in Fant ward re- quired the cable to be rerun. Regarding the right turn from Farleigh Hill into Burial Ground Lane, consultations with statu- tory services were now complete and it was hoped the work could start in March. It had been sug- gested that yellow hatch mark- ings at the entrance to the waste and recycling site in Burial Ground Lane could be done at the same time. Concerning the zebra crossing


in Armstrong Road, the extent of the improvements had been agreed by the safety audit. The design for parking restric-


tions in Eccleston Road waswith Jacobs and ward councillors would be asked to comment.


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