Homeless people camping in woods


HOMELESS people have set up camp in woodland near Sandling. Two tents could be seen near a footpath from Sandling Lane, close to the junction with Cuckoo Woods Avenue, at the beginning of May, but residents said there were four tents there the previous week. It is believed there could be up to eight people camped in the woods – six Britons and two Bulgarians – and it is thought some of them are working. Residents of nearby Burleigh Drive, Boar-


ley Court and Sandbourne Drive live within metres of the tents and some phoned Maidstone Council and the police with concerns about the homeless people’s wellbeing in the cold weather, as well as their own health and safety. One woman, who did not wish to be named, said people had been sleeping rough there for more than amonth, includ- ing during the cold snap near Easter. She said: “This is a very quiet area and resi- dents are worried about more homeless people setting up camp in the woods if they think they can get away with it. We don’t want it to become Tent City.”


The woman said the campers had not caused any trouble as far as shewas aware, but added that residents had discussed the matter before approaching the council. A second woman confirmed the campers


were not making noise or leaving rubbish. She believed a second campsite had been set up further into the woods. The tents were covered in plastic sheet-


ing held down by logs, and a campfire had been built in a hole in the ground. There was no litter when the Downs Mail visited the site and bluebells had started to appear. Although residents told the Downs Mail they thought Maidstone Council was pow-


Council ‘failing the vulnerable’


HOMELESSNESS in Maidstone is now reaching such critical proportions that the council has been called upon to take emergency action. The latest “crop” of street-sleepers have popped up in a town centre cemetery, some in tents donated by members of the public, after others were found squatting in the former St Faith’s library and then the old Kentish Bank, in Bank Street. Maidstone had the second highest level


of homelessness in Kent at the end of 2012 – with almost seven in every 1,000 house- holds now homeless. Statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that only Ashford scores more highly in Kent, with 8.4 households per thousand homeless. Local Greens have written to the leader


of Maidstone Council, Cllr Chris Garland, as the problem of homelessness in the town continues to grow. They want to see the council providing places of safety and promoting “real” jobs in the town, as well as not evicting people who find themselves in hardship as a re- sult of the new “bedroom tax” – a tactic adopted in Brighton.


Bomb threat A MAN has pleaded guilty to trying to blackmail a super- market to the tune of £10,000 by planting a fake bomb in one of its aisles. David Williams (49), of Knaves Acre, Headcorn, ini- tially denied blackmail but later changed his plea. Bomb disposal experts discovered the package at the Morrison’s storeinSuttonRoadonDe- cember 10 and the building was evacuated while they car- ried out a controlled explo- sion. Williams was bailed and


will be sentenced from June onwards following psychi- atric assessment.


18 Town


Green spokesman Stuart Jeffery said: “Maidstone has a growing problem.Acur- sory glance at the town shows that the fig- ures from the DCLG are woefully understated. I am worried that the council is failing some very vulnerable people.” Maidstone Council leader Chris Gar-


land denied the council was failing and offering advice rather than action. He said: “We are being proactive on sev-


eral fronts. There are around 500 empty homes in Maidstone, and we are talking to landowners and landlords to get them back into use. “We have already put about 30 homes


back into use and are looking for more pri- vate landlords who are willing to assist. “Rather than putting people into short-


term bed and breakfast, we are buying a small number of properties to renovate and rent out, at the same time as being proactive in getting empty properties back into use.” Cllr Garland denied people would be


“put out on the streets” as a result of the new bedroom tax and said: “Our housing providers are working with tenants to en- sure they reach a satisfactory solution.”


The two remaining makeshift tents in Cuckoo Woods, just off Sandling Lane


erless to remove the campers from private land, a spokesman revealed therewas action the authority could take. She said: “We have contacted the landowner and given them ad- vice regarding people on their land. “As this is private land, the council can


take action where there is anti-social be- haviour or a risk to public health, and there is so far no evidence of either. If the landowner does not want to take action, the council will consider planning en- forcement action.” She confirmed the council was working


with the police and homelessness charity Porchlight to give the tents’ inhabitants housing advice. Councillor Wendy Hinder, who repre-


sents Boxley ward on Maidstone Council and North ward on Boxley Parish Council, said residents approached her about the homeless campers more than a month ago. She said: “Residents were concerned about their own health and safety issues as well as those of the homeless people. I believe someone from the council and the local PCSO visited the site and spoke to the peo- ple living in the tents. “From what I’m told they were very po-


lite and were keeping the site clean and tidy. I contacted Porchlight over Easter be- cause it was bitterly cold and I was con- cerned about them sleeping rough – I wouldn’t have wanted to be sleeping in a tent in that weather.” A police spokesman added: “We are


aware of areas where homelessness has been reported and we attend meetings to identify whether there are any opportuni- ties for police intervention. We are cur- rently working with Maidstone Council and other parties on this matter.” Since the campsite appeared near San-


dling, tents have been spotted in other areas, including the community garden in Camden Street, a cemetery near Union Street and even the High Street, all occu- pied by people saying they are homeless.


Appeal for cash to back river festival Continued from page one


“The fireworks alone cost £5,500 for 12 minutes. But if we cut them back to, say, three minutes, the public would be hugely dis- appointed. “The problem with events – particularly in the wake of some- thing like the Olympics – is that people have higher expectations all the time. And it all costs money to fulfil them. Each year, people are demanding more and more things.” The river festival is the town’s largest annual event and has taken place every year without fail – apart from last year when the Olympic Torch came to town – despite rising costs.


With traders in the town stand-


ing to reap up to four times their regular profit for the day,Mr Cox said it would not be unrealistic to expect a level of contribution. He said: “The council puts £10-18,000 into the festival, but we have to pay for the things we want – bands, fireworks and so forth. We cannot charge people an admission fee, so our only real option is to get businesses to sponsor it. “There are opportunities to


make money, with banners or programmes, but times are tight and nobody seems interested.” Mr Cox said he had changed


the event plan and the festival was now poised and ready to go


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


on July 27 – but only if he re- ceived some 11th hour support. He said: “We have turned the


event around and made it into a successful family day – with the younger people partying into the night, once the children have gone home. “All the companies and shops


in the town benefit from the fes- tival and we have a committed team of volunteers. It would be such a disappointment if we were not able to go ahead be- cause of lack of financial sup- port.”  If you would like to provide financial support for the event contact Martin Cox on 01622 202869.


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