News
downsmail.co.uk Budget set to push up tax
COUNCILtax could be rising by up to 36p a month as Maidstone Council juggles to balance its budget.
The council has to raise additional income and
reduce its spending, in order to achieve savings of £5.5m in the next five years. The council has plans to save £1.163m in 2014-15
and £600,000 in later years, but it still has to find an extra £3.762m by March 2019, as a result of Gov- ernment grant reductions. Residents are being asked to comment on the council’s ideas – which include raising the council tax and putting up commercial rents – and make suggestions of their own. The council has a budget of £33.9m and, so far, officers think they can raise £104,000 from new in- come sources such as planning application fees, sales of green garden refuse bins and commercial rents.
They also hope to save £800,000 on the cost of contracts for services and £259,000 in reduced staffing costs.
Trust wants Friends shop
to carry on MAIDSTONE Hospital has denied that redevelopment plans will push out its leading charity. Maidstone and TunbridgeWells
NHS Trust wants to improve retail facilities at the hospital’s main en- trance, which may mean moving the Maidstone Hospital League of Friends’ shop and coffee shop else- where.
Jeanette Rooke, a director at the
trust, said: “The League of Friends provides a valuable service and support to the trust and is not being asked to leave Maidstone Hospital, quite the contrary.” The league’s volunteers gave
more than 900 hours of service to the trust in the last financial year, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for hospital equipment. It is feared that an outside retailer would help swell the hospital’s bank balance, but moneywould no longer go towards buying this vital equipment. Acommercial retailerwould also
be unlikely towant to run the pop- ular trolley service. The trust spokesman said talks
were in the very early stages and the prospect of WH Smith and Costa Coffee, which has a presence at the entrance to the Tunbridge WellsHospital in Pembury,moving inwas pure speculation. The spokesman said: “The trust
has met with the League of Friends to look at ways in which they can continue to provide services at Maidstone Hospital, should the main entrance to the hospital be re- developed, and this includes con- tinuing to provide a trolley service.”
30 Out-of-town store limits
NEW planning policy guidance has been approved to limit the size and impact a new-look Newnham Court Village could have on town centre trade in Maidstone. Land Securities has submitted a planning application for a £100m re- tail development in Newnham Court that includes new Debenhams and Waitrose stores. While the policy – which courts a smaller-scale development at theM20 Junction 7, with a more selective ap- proach to the choice of retailing ten- ants –won’t be approved for months, it will give the applicant greater clar- ity over what would be acceptable, says council leader Chris Garland. “The application as it currently
stands is about 45,000sqm, which is huge. We do have a problem with it on this scale if it is not controlled de-
velopment and this new policy guid- ance sets out the council’s feelings. “We are concerned to ensure that
any new retailing space will be lim- ited to a maximum of 700sqm and will not pull traditional high street operators out of town or create un- necessary conflict or competition. Cllr Tony Harwood, deputy leader
of the Lib Dems, believes the council will be unable to dictate the scheme as the policy will only hold any weight once it has been integrated into the local plan, which will not be completed until themiddle of 2015, at the earliest. He said: “We’ve already permitted
Next, and a massive housing devel- opment on Newnham Court Farm to the east, setting precedents outside the local plan process, which has put MBC on very shaky ground.”
To balance its budget next year, the council is also considering an average 36p per month increase in council tax and increases in charges for services where there is a direct charge to users. Council leader Chris Garland said: “The council
has to find these savings because the Government has reduced public sector spending to reduce the country’s level of debt, keep interest rates low and bring about economic recovery. “As a result, Government funding to the council
will reduce by at least 11.5% or £910,000 next year. At the same time we will be spending £806,000 to support economic and housing growth. Added to this, some services are costing more because de- mand is outstripping the savings that can be made from making them more efficient.” Residents can comment on the council’s plans by visiting
www.maidstone.gov.uk/council/have- your-say. They can also take part in the consulta-
tion by calling 01622 602758 and asking for the council’s freepost budget consultation leaflet or by completing the leaflet at the council’s reception at The Gateway, King Street, Maidstone. The consultation ends on January 24.
Green users
may be billed BEARSTED Parish Council may start charging for the commercial use of Bearsted Green. Increasing numbers of applica-
tions are coming forward from in- dividuals or groups who want to use the Green and, while the council is happy to see the open space put to good community use, some members are concerned that it is being seen as a cheap alterna- tive to paying for a hall. Cllr Richard Ash, chairman of the parish council, pointed out that Maidstone Council charged for the use of its parks for events and he saw no reason why Bearsted could not operate a similar policy. He said: “There is undoubtedly
a need for a policy whereby com- mercial organisations pay but local organisations do not.” Members agreed to allow the organiser of a fitness group, who lives in Barming, to use the Green free for a six-month period, as it currently has no charging policy. However, the finance committee is to discuss the matter when it next meets.
KIMS faces delay over junction plans
Continued from page one The statement added: “Consider-
able highway assessment work … demonstrated that the schemewould result in considerable delay and con- gestion to the local road network and lead to a worsening of local highway conditions. “After discussion with the High-
ways Agency it has emerged that a new pinch point scheme for improve- mentworks at Junction 7 of theM20 is in the process of being implemented.
Maidstone East Edition January 2014 “The new scheme now agreed
would not give rise to such detrimen- tal effects and is thus a far more ap- propriate option for Junction 7 and will better satisfy the reasons for im- posing the condition.” Similar conditions were imposed
on past planning permissions for a hotel and office building on Eclipse Park, south-west of M20 Junction 7. Applications to remove the condi- tions on these permissions were granted in September last
year.Maid-
stone Council will determine the lat- est application. The £80m KIMS development aims
to be a centre of excellence for medi- cine in the UK and will also offer on- cology and diagnostics, gynaecology, orthopaedics, angiography, advanced MRI and nuclear medicine. It has been privately funded and
will treat private patients, but a plan- ning condition forces the company to make up to 25% of its procedural ca- pacity available for NHS patients.
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