LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


Admin hampers hospitals Dear Sir – There were two items of interest in the AugustMaidstone East edition about which I would like to comment. Mail Marks – Dennis Fowle speaks a lot


of sense. I think one of the main problems with the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells Trust is down to administration. In January I unfortunately slipped on ice and broke my right hip. I cannot fault the excellent service I had at Pembury. A week after the operation I was moved


to Maidstone for rehabilitation. The staff were cheerful and very helpful. Some of them even went in their break to buy me a newspaper when Smiths and visitors were not permitted due to a virus in three other wards.


However after a couple of days I was


bored and felt frustrated and I considered I could improve quicker at home. This was agreed and on theWednesday afternoon the occupational therapist visited me to check my home requirements, although all the de- tails had been agreed at Pembury. But she did nothing about the order for equipment until after 9am on the Thursday, only to find that equipment delivery to the Grove Green Bearsted area takes place on a Thursday and the van leaves at 8.30am. In other words I would have to stay blocking a bed for another week. So we arranged for my wife to collect the items that afternoon and I went home on the Friday. Why didn’t the occupational therapist


know the timings? What would be even bet- ter is more flexibility in the deliveries. Roundabout a big help – I agree entirely


with David Berry’s letter. However there is one problem that still needs to be resolved. Approaching the roundabout from New Cut Road passing Vinters Crematorium on the left, the road ismarkedwith three lanes, the right two being for the M20 and A249 North. But on the roundabout as you enter it there is just a single line, making two lanes. There is an accident waiting to hap- pen for vehicles using that middle lane. The car going right is to the right; the car going straight on towards the Chiltern Hun- dreds does not keep fully to the left but nearer the single line and the poor old driver in the middle is squashed out. The single line needs to be removed and


two lines placed. Also, the approach sig- nage needs to be changed showing left lane for straight ahead Maidstone; middle lane for M20W (London) and A249N (Sitting- bourne) and the right lane for M20E (Dover) and possibly A249N. Monty Knight Olds, Grove Green


Give town some direction Dear Sir – I permitted myself a wry smile when reading in the Downs Mail of Cllr Malcolm Greer’s grandiose plans for at- tracting visitors to spend money in Maid- stone, including “signs around the town to help visitors find attractions”. First, they have to find the town if com-


ing from the west along the A228 and A26. Maidstone doesn’t appear on the major route direction sign at the A26 Mereworth roundabout. Despite spending nearly £4m of local tax- payers money on the much-needed upgrade to the town centre, councillors Chris Gar- land, Eric Hotson andMikeHogg have been aware of this KCC highways error for some considerable time but have chosen not to fight for the town. In fact, Cllr Hotson gave an incredibly pa- thetic reason for sitting on his hands and


28 Town


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doing nothing, despite professing to love the town. He said that there was not a prob- lem as nobody had asked his friends who live in the area for directions! A comment more suitable on Monty Python than from a long-standing KCC andMaidstone Borough councillor. Incidentally, on another item in the Downs Mail, I believe Maidstone Council received a £1m lump sum on completion of the Lockmeadow development, in addition to the new agricultural hall, car park and leisure attraction in the centre of town. How come only £140k is to come from the Next development, which goes against the Local Plan? Are our councillors just incompetent or is there another agenda? Steve Russell, Matfield Crescent, Vinters Park


Quarry against wildlife law Dear Sir – When elected, David Cameron promised his Government would be the greenest ever. Once elected, he rapidly re- vealed his total ignorance of the natural world and how essential it is to the contin- ued existence of Man himself. Inevitably, therefore, he has gathered around him MPs of similar ilk, like Eric Pickles, the communities secretary,who has granted permission for the extension of Her- mitage Quarry into 32 hectares of environ- mentally-significant ancient woodland at OakenWood, Hermitage Lane. The fact that Mr Pickles has done this is possibly a violation of wildlife law, which is currently being reviewed for its adequacy, bearing in mind the scale of wildlife de- struction over the past 50 years. Our bird population, for example, has


been reduced by about 45million! In Maid- stone alone, we now rarely see swifts shrilling over the town, as in the 1960s, or housemartins nesting. Swallows used to skim over Mote Park – a beautiful sight and sound. What makes the Government’s action par- ticularly suspicious is that the report on the adequacy of ourwildlife law is near to pub- lication. Why could they not wait? In any case, under the present wildlife


law, it was intended that development per- mission should only be granted on an area such as this with the support of an environ- mental impact assessment of the extent of current wildlife occupation and usage etc To be valid and useful for purpose, such a


report would, if necessary, have to take at least a year in preparation in order to record species which do not stay on the site all year round. For this purpose it must be pre- pared by appropriate, fully-qualified and experienced assessors. Derek Gould,Woodcut, Maidstone


No housing in Mote Park Dear Sir – I am writing about the proposed housing development in Mote Park to fund modernisation of the rugby and cricket fa- cilities there. There is no way my neighbours and I would support yet more building in the park. The development in the Willington Street corner is too much in my opinion. Mote Park is the jewel in the crown ofMaid- stone’s amenities. Once these green spaces are gone, they are


gone for ever! Although many people enjoy sport, there


are far more people like families with chil- dren, who visit the park. The property built on the park will in-


crease traffic congestion and putmore strain on the infrastructure.


I suspect members of Maidstone Council


are rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of more revenue, but this is one place they should leave alone permanently. Andy Holbrook, Birch TreeWay, Maidstone


Ofsted priorities wrong Dear Sir – Why do we have schools? To teach children? Not according to Ofsted’s inspectors. According to your report (September) of


the inspectors’ first monitoring visit at St Francis Catholic Primary School, they crit- icised the school because their first reaction to being put into special measures was to concentrate on improving their teaching first “rather than the immediate and crucial priority of leadership and management”. How dare the school think it is there to


teach children properly. No, they must get the adults educated first. Whatever next? Why not do away with


the children altogether and just have les- sons for the management staff, then Ofsted will be happy.


Ken Nicholls, by email


Help save children’s centres Dear Sir – Kent County Council has 97 chil- dren’s centres across the county, and as part of its cost-cutting, it is now consulting on its plans to shut 23 children’s centres and to reduce the hours at a further 13,which is the equivalent of closing down another six centres. This is bad news for children and families in Kent. KCC is planning to close two children’s centres in Maidstone, Loose and Marden and continue with three centres open on a part-time basis. Children’s centres provide valuable, prac-


tical support for families, particularly those under pressure. Evaluation reports show parents like the approach in chil- dren’s centres, they like being able to access all the services they need in one setting, and they like meeting other parents and having an opportunity for their children to so- cialise with other children. The centres are often at the heart of the community. They bring people together and help establish community where there was none before. Published statistics show that the centres generally have a high rate of attendance and usage. Should the planned closures go ahead, a unique neighbourhood service would be lost. Many local families will not have the resources to meet the added ex- pense of travelling to other children’s cen- tres. There is a strong argument to keep all the children’s centres in Kent open. To sign a petition to save our children’s centres, go to: https://www.change.org/en- GB/petitions/dear-kent-county-council- save-our-sure-starts.


Frances Rehal, by email


Use Next cash for roads Dear Sir – On June 6, the Conservatives on Maidstone Council’s planning committee passed the application by Next for a store on Eclipse Park, against officers’ advice They also refused to listen to legal advice


on the night to defer a decision to allow negotiations of conditions and S106 money, which could be used locally to lessen the impact of the store on the local environment and local roads. The failure to listen has resulted in Next dictatingwhat planning conditions it would accept, and only offering £140,000 to allevi- ate local problems, compared with the S106


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