Station to get bike hire dock
KENT commuter culture is catching up with the Capital. Abevyoffoldablebikes, which are proving popular for getting around London, are to be introduced to Maid- stone East railway station, al- lowing commuters to get to and from the trains without using cars. They will also be able to
take them on the train to complete their journey at the other end. Ruth Hardy, from Bromp-
ton Bikes, said: “We are in- stalling a 20-bay Brompton dock at Maidstone East in partnership with Southeast- ern and KCC.” London’s “Boris Bikes” en-
able commuters to register online for a code which al- lows them to unlock a bike from the docking station and use it for as long as they wish. Membership costs £45 for the year with a daily hire charge of £2.50. The Maidstone system will operate on similar lines and allow people to leave their cars at home and let the train – and the bike – take the strain. There are plans to put cycle
docks in other parts of Kent, including Tonbridge, Ash- ford and Canterbury.
Journalist to fight Weald seat
AUTHOR and journalist Jasper Gerard has won a hotly-con- tested selection battle to be- come the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary can- didate for the marginal seat of Maidstone and theWeald. Mr Gerard (45), former chief interviewer for The Sunday Times and Times leader writer, will go into battle against Helen GrantMP at the next election. At a meeting in Coxheath Vil-
lage Hall, Mr Gerard (pictured) saw off competition from seven rivals for the Lib Dem nomina- tion. Born and bred in theWeald, he says he will campaign full time in the constituency leading up to the 2015 election. He succeeds Peter Carroll,
who at the last election turned the once rock-solid Conserva- tive seat of Ann Widdecombe into a two-way marginal, with the Lib Dems coming within 6,000 votes of the Tories and
Labour a dis- tant third. Mr Gerard in-
tends to spend thenexttwo years cam- paigning on the meaty issues facing the area. “I will also focus on how we can improve local schools and oppose the
MAIDSTONE and Weald Con- servative Association is getting behind its MP Helen Grant – and counters attacks on her par- liamentary expenses claims re- garding her London apartment. In his report to the annual meeting, deputy chairman (po- litical) Stephen Paine said there had been “some unfortunate news coverage of our MP’s le- gitimate expense claims”. He added: “Those negative sto-
Barber’s shop metal sign stolen A METAL sign advertising a barber’s in Lenham was stolen from the side of the A20. The 4ft by 3ft sign promoting Sweeney Todd’s in The Square was
stolen from a farmer’s field, next to the A20, near the Greenway Court Road junction, between Hollingbourne and Harrietsham, in the early hours of Thursday,March 14. Operation Stack had been implemented for eastbound traffic so
there were more vehicles than usual passing through the area. Tracey Smith, who opened the shop last June, said: “A lot of peo- ple who drive past may think we have closed.”
decision of the council to axe parish funding without consul- tation.” Mr Gerard is married with
two children who both attend school in Kent. He is a former speech writer
to successive Liberal Democrat party leaders and wrote a biog- raphy of the deputy PrimeMin- ister Nick Clegg.
Tories get behind Helen’s message
ries have been kept alive by the grumblings of political oppo- nents, as well as vindictive ele- ments of the local press. “We need to quash these grumblings when we hear them and remind the public just how hard Helen is working for us. I am sure the matter will be raised at the next election so it is our duty to campaign harder than ever to get the Helen we know, and her message, across.”
Palace gates plan PLANNING permission has been granted for the erection of iron gates to the central tower of Archbishop’s Palace.
Birch tree work PHILIP Wallis has been given permission to fell a silver birch and undertake work on two hornbeams and an oak tree at 53 Olivine Close,Walderslade.
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