LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Thanks, Margaret Dear Sir – Visiting Headcorn village hall to see a film or meet friends and buy local pro- duce at the farmers’ market is always an en- joyable experience. I appreciate the well-designed building


and excellent facilities. I am also in awe of a wonderful lady who always seems to be on hand to answer questions or deal with difficulties. She seems to be a brilliant ex- ample of multi-tasking. Apparently her name isMargaret – I know


no more. What I do know is that, to use modern jargon, she is a valuable resource. Perhaps her name will appear in the hon- ours list one day? She certainly deserves a medal. Congratulations to the parish coun- cil on discovering such a treasure.


Joan Drury, Headcorn Road,GraftyGreen


MP wasting our money Dear Sir – I have followed with interest the recent (and I have to say on-going) story of Helen Grant’s expenses, accommodation and office arrangements as well as the ex- traordinary story of one of her aides (Tony Williams) being “short-changed” in his con- tract of employment as regards to leave and sick-pay entitlement. It has been widely reported in the media, including a short item as part of a Channel 4 investigative piece on MPs expenses and spending, that only after MrWilliams chal- lenged the restricted clauses in his contract that he was correctly paid the sick-pay that he wasentitledto–achallenge that was about the last thing he needed to deal with having just suffered hospitalisation with a heart-related problem. However, it is not Mr Williams’ employ-


ment contract that bothers me, it is the re- ported story (DownsMail/June, amongst others) that MrWilliams is now fit to return to work but Mrs Grant has decided to put him on paid “garden leave” instead of al- lowing him back to work. The IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) website clearly con- firms that non-London area MPs have a staffing budget of £137,200 pa to meet vari- ous staff overheads, but primarily “staff salaries, employers’ contributions to Na- tional Insurance and employers’ contribu- tions to pension schemes”. I’ve looked everywhere to find where IPSA confirms that MPs can pay their staff salaries for stay- ingathome, buttonoavail.SohowcanMrs Grant justify this situation? If this flagrant misuse of public funds is allowable, it should be stopped immedi- ately. If it is not, then surely Mrs Grantmust be asked why she is wasting tax payers’ money and be forced to pay it back imme- diately. I am pretty sure that if I helped my- self to public funds Iwould be arrested and charged.


Gerry Mansfield, by email Editor’s note: A garden leave provision


would be a clause in a contract of employ- ment where an employee is not required to attend work while they serve out a period of notice, but are still bound by all the terms of the contract. It would be normal practice for an employer to invoke this clause for an employee in a senior position or where they have access to sensitive or confidential ma- terial.


Traffic calming proposal Dear Sir –The article in the Downs Mail about the 30mph restriction on the A274 is more than welcome, despite the fact that it will rarely be enforced, but if Cllr Dan Daley is really serious about “slowing the traffic”


28 South


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


he should turn his attention to the Five Wents junction. While interactive signs have been put up at


the Rumwood bend and theWarmlake junc- tion, FiveWents has been ignored. This is a blind junction, with no warning signs of traf- fic. There are often HGVs waiting to turn right to Boughton Monchelsea or coming from this road to travel north toMaidstone. It is also blind to traffic turning right or


left from the B2163, the end and start of the “rat run” to the M20. As there is no chance of a bypass being


built in the next 30 years and with plans for increased building in the area with addi- tional traffic, it is the junction on the A274 which has up to now been ignored. One would hope that it does not take a


very serious accident at this point to get the powers to be, including Cllr Daley, to get something done urgently. M. Morecroft, Leeds Road, Langley


Leader ‘ignored concerns’ Dear Sir – Regarding your article “Tories bruised by UKIP surge” in this week’s Downs Mail, I suggest one of the reasons Cllr Chris Garland, the leader of Maidstone Council, failed to secure enough votes in the recent election was because he failed to do anything about the ludicrous amount of noise suffered by residents from a farmer’s gas gun/bird scarer earlier this year. The mechanism fired 12 times an hour for


most of the day, and was audible over a very wide area. This was despite the representations


made to Cllr Garland, the complaints sub- mitted to the council and the fact that the farmer isn’t even a resident of Maidstone. Why on earth should anyone vote for a can- didate who ignores the wishes of his con- stituents in such a manner? Dr D J Nicholls, by email


Bus lane would lead to jams Dear Sir – As regards the Loose bus lane plan, not all drivers going in to Maidstone are going on a little shopping jaunt or to work in the town centre or to school. Many are crossing town to go towork fur-


ther afield, so a single ordinary bus trip in and out is not an option, especially if their working hours are longer. Any bottleneck leads to long tailbacks, which can be seen anywhere you care to look, not only on motorways. Traffic lights have a similar effect. This idea is badly thought out, having


very little benefit, and will lead to severe congestion at the very time all these extra housing and business developments are being planned, which will increase the traf- fic burden on the roads inMaidstone. Sadly, it seems the town council is pursu-


ing as many housing and other develop- ment as possible, without regard to the problems for people negotiating Maid- stone’s inadequate transport infrastructure, especially when developers dangle finan- cially rewarding carrots in front of them. More high quality, reliable park-and-ride schemes strategically placed (eg south of Maidstone) with additional bus routes to cover more areas and times, not all just going to the town centre, would encourage people to use buses more. But with the costs, pigs might fly.


Mrs J Davies, by email


Part of me is gone Dear Sir – I would just like to thank Mr G Judge for his comments on Cobtree Park in last month’s Downs Mail. At last, someone who agrees with me.


I have been walking in the park since


1984. I used to enjoy the peace, and the wildlife was a treat to watch. A fox ate out of my hand and a robin metme every morn- ing for his food. Now the fox has gone and my seed feeders have been pulled to bits. It breaksmy heart to see such a lovely park ruined. All you see now is rubbish at every turn. The families turn up at weekends and are only interested in breaking the trees. Everyone moans about dog poo, which I


find hard to find, but on several occasions I have taken my dogs home covered in human waste. I am afraid I don’t go as often now, and it


feels like part of me is gone. Linda Rochester, by email


Park big enough for all Dear Sir – As an occasional user of Cobtree Manor Park, both before the recent changes and since, I was amazed at the letter from G. Judge in a recent edition of Downs Mail. Before, it was a rundown park with little


to commend it, and now it is becoming a placeworth visiting, both for those wanting peace and quiet and families wanting an imaginative play area. Statements made by Mr Judge are just patently untrue (“litter strewn throughout the park andwoods”, “horrendous amounts of dog mess”, “cafe prices are exorbitant”) or unproven (“the wildlife of the park has been depleted”). The park is very large, and we find there


is ample room to accommodate both those wanting a good play area and those wanting peace and quiet. Malcolm Luxton, Chestnut Street, Borden


More parking is vital Dear Sir – Ever sinceHeathsideHouse, Cox- heath, re-opened with inadequate on-site parking, drivers have been forced to park on Heath Road itself. Now I read that plans to enlarge their off-road parking have been dropped. It is bad enough thatwe still have to nav-


igate the many build-outs on Heath Road, with no indication when they are to be modified and part removed,whilst each car parked on the road becomes the equivalent of a build-out. Three or four cars parked to- gether outside Heathfield House causes havoc on this busy road, whilstwe also find cars parking just outside the double yellow- lined area west of the shops. Parking for the shops at busy times is also becoming impossible, particularly when commercial lorries are unloading, so Iwon- der what will happen when the new en- larged shop opens on the corner with Stockett Lane? Extra off-road parking is needed for Coxheath shoppers. In addition, the resurfacing ofHeath Road


is due, despite the modification to traffic control in the village. The thought process of the parish, plan-


ners and KCC roads people leaves me cold! Brian Richardson, Heath Road, East Farleigh


Side extension refused MARCUS Frater’s proposal to erect a side extension at 2 Jeffery Close, Staplehurst was turned down. Maidstone Council refused the applica-


tion, and stated in its decision notice: “The proposed two-storey extension, by virtue of its scale, location and design, would erode a visually important space between dwellings within Jeffery Close, significantly harming the character and appearance of the surrounding area.”


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


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56