Tories bruised by UKIP surge


VOTERS turned against the Conservatives – in particular the leader of Maidstone Council – when they took to the polls in Kent on May 2. With 28 seats lost across the county – 17


of them to UKIP – the ruling Conservative group just about managed to hang on to control of the county council, with 45 of the 84 council seats. But the leader of Maidstone Council


Chris Garland, hoping to hold on to the Maidstone South seat for the Conserva- tives, faced a humiliating defeat as the Lib- Dems snatched the seat from under him. Cllr Garland had hoped to retain the seat vacated by Alan Chell, only to find himself beaten soundly by Loose sub-postmaster Brian Clark, who took 47% of the vote, as opposed to Cllr Garland’s 29%. Such was the triumph for the opposition


group that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg put in a personal call to the success- ful Cllr Clark. LibDem spokesman Jasper Gerard said:


“You can imagine ourman’s surprise when the phone rang – especially as Brian was serving a customer at Loose Post Office!” One of the principal issues against the To-


ries in Maidstone South was undoubtedly the recent controversy over more new hous- ing – and the additional traffic whichwill be generated – to the south of Maidstone, along with the debacle over the proposed bus lanes in Sutton Road and Loose Road. But Cllr Garland said: “The LibDems fought the county council election on bor- ough council issues. They sent out the mes- sage that to vote Tory wouldmean gridlock, but to vote LibDem would bring Utopia. They put out a very good message which had resonance with the public. “What they failed to mention is that they


Cllrs Chris Garland and Brian Clark


have been involved in the decisionmaking on housing and transport from day one, and they know the process. The electorate that I spoke to understood our predicament as a council on both housing and transport, and were very supportive.” Shortly before the election, Cllr Garland


did an about-face on the Loose Road bus lane, claiming it would be impractical, but held on to the view that the Sutton Road section would still be workable. But local voter David Elphee, who lives


in Sutton Road, contacted the Downs Mail to say: “In answer to my concerns over the proposed bus lanes, Chris Garland assured me no less than three times in our short conversation, that the scheme had now been dropped. “I have since learned that the Wheatsheaf


to Armstrong Road section has been dropped, but the Sutton Road extension has not been signed off, therefore is still able to be implemented. “I broached the subject with him that to


widen Sutton Road to accommodate the ex- tended bus lane wouldmean the demolition of the line of trees on the East side of Sutton Road, extending to Northumberland Road. He assured me this wouldn’t happen.”


Inquest into body in lake


AN INQUEST is to be held into the death of a missing Maid- stone mum whose body was found in Mote Park lake. Susan Hampton (64) was re- ported missing from home by her daughter Lisa after she found her mum’s home, in Northumberland Avenue, empty and the dog home alone. Police immediately began a search of the area, which ended two days later when a member of the public reported the sight- ing of a body in Mote Park lake to police. An inquest, opened on Mon- day April 29, recorded the


THE Samaritans says it is al- ways available to help when people go through tough times. Following recent suicides in Maidstone, the local branch of the charity has appealed to those considering taking their own lives to get in touch. Bill Legg, from the charity,


said: “The Samaritans are avail- able at any time to talk to any- one in despair – they don’t judge, won’t try to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do and every contact is treated with the utmost confidentiality.


36 Town


cause of death as drowning. It will be resumed at a later date, following toxicology reports. Mrs Hampton spent much of


her life working as a carer, first at the Poplars in Tonbridge Road and then at the Dorothy Lucy centre in Northumberland Avenue. She had been suffering from depression following the death of her own mother in 2011 and had recently begun working as a volunteer at the Beacon Church charity shop. She leaves two daughters,


Lisa andHayley, and two grand- children Leah and Kyle.


Samaritans ‘always here to help’


Callers are in control of any dis- cussion. They are anonymous and calls can’t be traced.” The group is based at 48 Gre-


cian Street in Maidstone and there are about 80 local volun- teers, who give their time freely to help people in distress. The branch is open to callers


every day and can also be con- tacted on 01622 674444 or 08457 909090, 24 hours a day. Anemail to jo@samaritans.org


will be answered within 24 hours. The website is www. maidstonesamaritans.org.uk.


Cllr Garland said: “Neither scheme has


been ‘dropped’ nor are they likely to go ahead. KCC will make the decision and sign it off and, without the support of the Joint Transportation Board, it simply will not happen.” In the election in other parts of the town, LibDem Cllrs Dan Daley and Rob Bird held on to their two seats in Maidstone Central, with UKIP gaining 11% of the votes – the same as the Conservatives. They also retained MaidstoneNorth East,


with almost twice as many votes as the next nearest contender – again from UKIP. In Maidstone Rural East, Cllr Jenny Whit-


tle maintained a healthy clear majority for the Conservatives, winning 69% of the vote while KCC leader Paul Carter held on to his seat in Maidstone Rural North with a 600- vote majority, as did Tory veterans Cllr Eric Hotson, with a 1,000 majority in Maidstone Rural South and Cllr Paulina Stockell with 43% of the votes in Maidstone RuralWest. In Maidstone South East, Cllr Gary Cooke


was returned for the Conservatives with 44% of the vote – but just a 300 majority. Although UKIP is now the strongest op- position group in KCC, the LibDems still maintain they would take the parliamen- tary seat if voting patternswere repeated at the next general election. Jasper Gerard said: “A detailed analysis


of our performance by Lib Dem stat-man Geoffrey Samme has revealed that if these results were repeated across the con- stituency at the general election, the Lib Dems would be celebrating their first Ken- tish parliamentary gain in half a century.” Kent County Council is one of the largest councils in the country and provides more than 300 services for about 1.6 million res- idents.


Feelings run high over gyratory system plan


BARMING residents packed a public exhibition by house- builder Croudace to discuss plans for 600 homes on a site east of Hermitage Lane. Both county and borough councillors were there to dis- cuss residents’ concerns – not so much as to the housing de- velopment, but the increased traffic it could generate, and suggestions that St Andrew’s Road could become part of a one-way “gyratory” system tak- ing in Tonbridge Road and Fountain Lane. Despite mass opposition to


the route from locals and Maid- stone’s Joint Transportation Board, KCC has told Croudace that planning permission will not be granted for housing with- out a transport mitigation plan – and the gyratory system is still its preferred option. Allan Carey, MD of Croudace Strategic, said: “It is not our de- cision how to resolve the traffic issues. This has been done in consultation with the highways department.” The St Andrew’s Road Action Group is opposed to a gyratory system, which it says will affect


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Allen Carey, of Croudace, with Cllr Stephen Paine and Jan Prior, of the Blackthorn Trust


air quality and the quality of life of residents in the area. The Blackthorn Trust and medical centre also stand to be affected by traffic flows. Jan Prior, chief executive of


the Blackthorn Trust, denied that passing traffic would high- light the charity’s existence David Meinert, from SARAG,


who met with Croudace a week before the exhibition, said: “Their model works on the as- sumption that current traffic is free-flowing at 30mph – which it is not. It takes no account of bus stops, parked cars, children crossing the road.” Croudace plans to make a planning application in the sum- mer, in the hope of getting plan- ning consent by spring 2014.


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