LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Give youths a chance Dear Sir –I was slightly offended by some- thing I read on the Letters to the Editor page in the Downs Mail lastweek under “Groups of youths”. I was shocked to see that someone found


a group of teenagers at a photo booth in the shopping mall to be “intimidating”. I would like to make readers aware that


just because you find youths intimidating, it does not mean they mean to be. Society today makes youths appear rough and reck- less, but this is not what most young people are like. Being only 15 years old myself, I am one


of these youths that people have a problem with. I do not understand this at all. I give up


my seat on buses for elderly people, I smile and chat to my elders and I try to be as po- lite as I possibly can to everyone I meet in town. Yet many of my elders stick their noses up at us, like we are at the bottom of the heap. I see some adults swear and throw litter


on the floor – you aren’t entirely innocent! Youths should not be a problem on the streets. Does this mean we are not allowed outside, to have social lives, and to shop? Those youths around one of the photo boothsmay have been using it, or they may just have been using it as a place to sit and rest instead of in the middle of the walking space. The security guard didn’t move them on because he didn’t see them as a problem;


You can write to us at: Downs Mail, Forge House, Bearsted Green Business Park, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME14 4DT or e-mail: stephen@downsmail.co.uk


they weren’t breaking it or being public menaces. Youths may at first appear intimidating,


but if you walk over to them, and ask to use the facilities then they surely would move, and do so politely. Please don’t judge people just because of their age. Thank you.


Naomi Fenton, by email


Tovil needs place to meet Dear Sir – Once again, Tovil loses out on fa- cilities. When the school closed, we all had great hopes for a community centre and a lot of interest was shown, with several classes arranged. When I moved to Maidstone in 1995,


there was talk of some sort of centre, and when a portable building was put where the church had been, it was rumoured that maybe it could be used, but no. Also, it was said that Croudace, who built


the homes where the old paper mill was, had put by a bit of money for community use.


Every time we get our hopes up, it all falls through. When the new school was built, itwas ru- moured, once again, that maybe a clinic or dental centre would be available. Now the school has been sold, we no longer have a church service, among other things. Other villages seem to manage to get cen-


tres. Now we see in the Downs Mail that exer-


cise to keep fit is to be introduced by our doctors. I know our surgery isn’t far away,


but the older one gets, the further away it seems, and as we don’t have a bus that re- turns to Tovil past our surgery, you either have to go into town or walk home. Maybe we are being punished for letting


the church be demolished. No one seemed to know why, and now several small churches in the area are being used as meet- ing centres and other things. Tovil church could have been used, as it


did not have fixed pews. P Durant, Flood Hatch, Tovil


‘Garden’ county needs trees Dear Sir – I was shocked when looking through the most recent issue of the Downs Mail to see the number of articles dis- cussing the felling of trees in the area. A grand total of five of your articles were discussing this issue, and I am appalled. Kent is supposed to be the “Garden of England”. How can this be true if we sim- ply rid our county of its trees? I think the Kentish countryside is a very important part of our culture and there is no need to be re- moving the county’s beloved trees. Furthermore, in a time when we are sup-


posed to be becoming greener and being more conscious of our environment, who thought that it would be a good idea to cut down more trees when in Britain we are al- ready having a crisis about the depletion of our countryside? I think this is a travesty and should be


being looked into with seriousness by the council, not simply ignored and allowed. Kyle Davies, Bearsted


DownsMail In touch with your parish


Barming Council PCSO report


PCSO FrankWoollett said there had been no crimes since the last meeting. Cllr Fay Gooch said Medway


Valley Rail Partnership had asked whether the council would be prepared to complete litter picking in the car park at East Farleigh station. Cllr Gooch said East Farleigh Parish Coun- cilhad offeredtohelpinthis task on a quarterly basis, so Barmingwould only need to lit- ter pick the area twice a year. Councillors did not feel they should be asked to litter pick on private land. After voting, Cllrs Gooch and Vivienne Hyndman offered to complete this work voluntarily, in partnership with East Farleigh Parish Council. It was agreed that the deposit money from regular hall hirers should be paid directly into the bank, with Cllr Sandra Manser keeping a record of which hirers had made the payment. These will then be shown as a separate entry on the accounts so that the money is not included in the in- come for the parish council. Cllr Gooch said the law re- quired an intrusive asbestos sur- vey before any work on the pavilion refurbishment,ata cost of £448. Councillors agreed that the survey should be com- pleted as soon as possible. County Cllr Paulina Stockell


46 Town


circulated copies of her annual report and the clerk said this hadalsobeenplacedinthe booklet to be handed out at the annual parish meeting. Cllr Whear said the bin at the bottom of South Street had fi- nally been emptied. It was also reported that a yew tree on South Street, opposite Church Lane, was overhanging the foot- path and highway. The clerk was to report thematter to Kent Highway Services. Cllr Manser asked that a new


litter picking rota be circulated, and asked if councillors would be litter picking the road that they live in. At the annual meeting Cllr Goochwelcomed Derek Nichol- son, from Prime Building Con- sultants, who spoke on the pavilion refurbishment project. He said the building was struc- turally sound, so the refurbish- ment could go ahead. Cllr Gooch said the parish council was still short of the funds needed to complete the external work and further fund- ing would be required. Cllr Manser suggested that people could sponsor an item, such as a door or window.


Dog fouling issue Loose Council


COMMUNITY warden Liz Lo- vatt spoke about the problems with dog fouling at Campfield Cottages. Maidstone Council


was in the process of changing bylaws, and was re-launching dog-fouling campaigns.Warden Lovatt said she was happy to as- sist with this, and had asked for the council dog warden to at- tend the site. Unfortunately most of the land in this areawas said to be private. Ward councillor Susan Grigg


said Loose Amenities Associa- tion was working to encourage dog owners to pick up after their pets. The clerk showed the new Smart Water signage that had been delivered. It was suggested that these go on the perimeters of the parish. This issue would be decided by the environment committee. A small sign had been provided for the cemetery. Ms Lovatt showed members


an example of a new applica- tion she was working on that would help people to find in- formation in a crisis. It was felt this would also help GPs’ work- load. An email had been received


from a resident in Old Loose Hill, about a vehicle driving on to the allotment site. The clerk agreed to reply. Cllr Grigg spoke about the strategic housing and economic development land availability assessment. Maidstone Council had proposed to build 14,800 homes in the borough by 2026, and had called for potential sites to be suggested. Three sites


had been suggested in Loose: Herts Farm; Well Street old quarry and Haste Hill Road/Hubbards Lane. Regarding the proposed junc-


tion layout and crash remedial scheme at Linton crossroads,it wasmentioned that the new de- sign should take into account the ultimate volume of traffic in the future. A member of public had said the lights at Cripple Street should be left as they are to aid traffic flow. It was sug- gested that this should also apply to the Linton crossroads junction. Cllr Jim Andrew said safety was the most important issue.


Tovil Council Sewage smell


A SEWAGE smell and flooding in the Beaconsfield Road area were caused by two failed pumps, CllrMike Hogg said. He said Town and Country Hous- ing, which has built homes in the area, had ordered new pumps and in the meantime a lorry was manually removing sewage from outside the proper- ties and emptying it into the main sewer in Beaconsfield Road.


Councillors recalled the same


thing had happened about 12 months ago. Cllr Derek Mor- timer said the whole car park was flooded with sewage a few weeks ago. He described the sit- uation as “terrible”.


You can e-mail the Downs Mail — info@downsmail.co.uk


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