Parking limits at Bypass call after road collapse
leisure centre PARKING controls are to be es- tablished at Maidstone Leisure Centre in the New Year. Maidstone Leisure Trust is in- troducing an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) sys- tem to prevent commuters parking all day, free of charge. Jon Hymus, partnership man-
ager for the trust, said the meas- ure would mean more parking for leisure centre users. He added it would control potential “vehicular anti-social behaviour”, improve car park security with the ANPR system monitoring and introduce con- trols to deal with abuses of dis- abled parking and school bus bays. He refused to comment on speculation that the system would involve three hours’ free parking followed by a £75 fine. Such amove would affect sixth formers at Maidstone Grammar School, who leave their cars at the centre all day, and nearby Mote Park Indoors Bowls Club, whose 20-space car park is un- able to cope on match days. Mr Hymus said: “We have
met with the bowls club, and believe we have addressed all concerns they may have had over the scheme and are now trying to meet grammar school representatives to consult with them over the scheme.”
MAJORdisruption caused by the ongoing closure of the main road through Leeds has re-ignited the call for a bypass in the south-east part of Maidstone. Leeds Parish Council is taking
steps to appoint a private roads consultant to investigatewhether EU money might be found for a bypass or, failing that, to lead a charge to get the road declassified – effectively banning lorries from the village. It follows weeks of disruption
and diversions for villagers and the 5,700 vehicles that every day use the popular cut-through, which has a 17 tonne weight re- striction.Talk of a newsouth-east link road – between the A274 near Langley andM20 Junction 8 near Hollingbourne – has been put on hold in recent years over a lack of funding. Parish council chairman Gill
Fort, who has lived on the busy B2163 for 12 years, said: “The traffic issue continues to worsen and the recent road collapse has brought the overweight lorry issue to a head. “KCC has told us budget cuts
mean a bypass is now a distant hope, but if EU funding is avail- able, in spite of KCC’s reluctance to even try to access it, we need to look into it. “The police don’t turn up to
our meetings and take no action against hauliers breaking the law
HELEN GRANT MP SURGERY
Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone & the Weald, will be holding a surgery at Link House, Knightrider Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6LY on Friday 10th January between 2pm and 3:30pm.
If you would like to arrange an appointment to discuss any issues of concern to you please e-mail Helen at
helen.grant.
mp@parliament.uk or telephone 020 7219 7107.
Produced by Helen Grant MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
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10th January Link House, Maidstone
when provided with evidence by us. So the weight restriction has, in effect, become unenforceable.” Cllr Fort said quotes were now
being invited to see how much the campaignmight cost. She said: “If it proves to be a massive undertaking then a refer- endum might be necessary, as this wouldmean putting the pre- cept up. But at this stage there is some contingencymoney. “Most residents living in Leeds
reflect the view that the traffic is still the biggest issue in the vil- lage and as long as the B2163 re- mains a B road, there is little more we can do to stop the over- weight lorries and speeding cars.” Downgrading the road to a C, or getting it declassified, would allow traffic-calming measures to be introduced, pre-
Trevor Williams, who lives at The Milners has not been able to get to his home by car since the saga began
venting the heavy lorries that the parish council blames for de- stroying the road and the lives of villagers. KCC, which has stabilised the
road, has been told structural work will need to be carried out to two roadside properties near the Ten Bells pub before the under-road utilities network can be permanently repaired and the road resurfaced. It anticipates the road will not re-open before the middle of January. The problem started after re- pairs to a water leak uncovered huge “wash-out” holes under the road – one large enough to swal- low a car and a second that took 12 cubic metres of concrete “without touching the sides” – caused by leaky utility
pipes.The road was closed on November 9.
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