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by Co-op would likely be more than this use. It would be a bold move by Maidstone Council to turn the proposal down due to a loss of office space, despite the fact Lenham does not have a significant surplus in this department. Response by Stephen


Stay away – I’m a NIMBY!


Dear Sir –I am a NIMBY! I admit it. When I moved into sheltered housing


some years ago all Iwantedwas a quiet life. Never did I imagine that a supermarketwould have lorries unloading supplies at 6am 10 yards from my bedroom window, or cars driving in and out of a car park from 8am until 10pm just yards from my back door. If someone from Maidstone Council


would like to take a look out of my bedroom window they would see how inappropriate it is to cram a supermarket plus car park in such a small area, surrounded as it is on three sides by houses of long standing. All right, so Lenham Ironmongerswas


also a development for retail use and there will be no change of use. But there is a world of difference between a shop that aracts a few dozen people a day and one that hopes to serve hundreds and is open for such long hours. As has been said before, why doesn’t the


Co-op open its store in a village that has lost its only shop? I amsure residents there would be more appreciative than they are here in Lenham. Especially if it replaces like for like. Let’s have our ironmongers back – with


flats on top if that is what will tip the balance. Houses and jobs are the “be all and end all” in the view of councils these days – never mind people’s quality of life. Doris Frost, Atwater Court, Lenham


Lack of fresh evidence


Dear Sir – I tried to buy a “green” sprout from all the main sources in Lenham. Only the jaundiced version of green


vegetables was available, all of which would appear as old as I amand could possibly qualify for a bus pass. I rest my case. Sylvia Miles, by email


Parking will get worse


Dear Sir – In the January edition there is a story about the parking problems in Grove Green/Weavering caused by audiences at Maidstone Studios and that the studios need to resolve the maer. Asuggestion has been made that the studios’own land be used for car parking, but the studios will have less available land because of the planning permission that is already on that site for over 140 dwellings. The article mentions the problems such


as access for emergency vehicles on narrow roads, parking on so verges etc, but the actions to resolve the problems need to go much further.At the moment mention is made of ProvenderWay and Shepherds


Contact our team ...


Stephen Eighteen Editor stephen@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 231


Diane Nicholls


Assistant editor diane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 232


Jane Shotliff Journalist


jane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 233


Dawn Kingsford


Journalist dawn@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 233


Maidstone East March 2014 43


Gate Drive as being the problem areas. The problem areas will, within the near future, become more widespread due to the KMS, Maidstone Medical Centre and Newnham Court developments, if all are allowed to proceed. In the case of the laer, the proposed application to Maidstone Council mentions that because car parking charges will be levied on all shoppers (unless they spend at least £10 and stay for less than 2 hours) and staff it is expected that staff will leave their cars on adjoining roads such as Henley Fields, Coppice View etc andwalk overWeavering Heath to their place of work, rather than have to pay parking fees on a daily basis. It is therefore fully expected that such dangers as mentioned above will become a daily occurrence and indeed will probably lead to car parking wars, not only between residents and commuters but between commuters themselves due to the sheer number (over 1,000) of employees that the developers have envisaged. The onlyway to overcome this is to ensure that all car parking is free. There will no doubt be those who object due to the loss of income for the owners (or whoever) of the site and the green lobby trying to force everyone onto public transport. Whowants to spend an hour geing to


work by bus when such a journey can be achieved by car in 10 minutes?Will Maidstone Council say all car parking must be free? I’mnot holding my breath. Ian Stuart, Coppice View,Weavering


Ian, Maidstone Council, as the planning authority, cannot force anybody to provide free parking on private land. Parking charges are at the discretion of the landowner. It can turn down an application if Kent Highway Services says the number of parking spaces is too few and would present a road safety hazard. Should the Newnham Court retail scheme get


the go-ahead, some members of staff will opt for local roads if they have to pay to park outside their place of work, so one would hope that there would be a rethink and a permit scheme could be introduced. As well as reducing the strain on the local community, this would help employers aract staff and keep them happy. Response by Stephen


Results not whole story


Dear Sir – I write out of concern over the way you have reported Oakwood Park Grammar School’s performance at key stage 5 in the February Downs Mail. You are correct in stating that 68% of our students passed at least 3ALevels at grades A*-E. However, this does not reflect the true picture. At key stage 5 a number of our students


take the Pre-U qualification in English literature, history or philosophy and theology. The Pre-U is run by the Cambridge University Examination Board and is fully recognised as a Level 3


qualification (A Level equivalent) by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and has a UCAS tariff aached. In 2013 our Pre-U resultswere outstanding, being 100% A*-E in all three subjects. Therefore, when viewing the league tables you should be guided to the “ALevel and Other Academic Qualifications” entry, which for Oakwood Park Grammar School is 96%. Many of our students who took Pre-Us


have now embarked on degree courses at Oxbridge and Russell Group universities. Iwould be grateful if you could publish


details of our Pre-U results so that our “outstanding” school (Ofsted, December 2011) is shown in its true light. Mark Housden, deputy head, Oakwood Park Grammar School


Thanks for balance


Dear Sir – Like Martin James (Comment, January) I appreciate the local political balance of the Downs Mail. I too have given up on local and national newspapers I have come to distrust. Many major and difficult decisions are


now before Maidstone Council and I believe most Conservative and Lib Dem councillors face them intelligently. Madeleine Moore, Maidstone, by email


Caring white van man


Dear Sir –Afew days ago, on myway to post a leer in Merton Road, Bearsted, I saw a young guy stop his van and hurry towards the post box. It quickly became apparent that he had actually stopped to help an elderly man whowas lying in the mud next to the post box. The elderly manwas prey shaken, but the young guy was brilliant, reassuring him as he helped him up. He posted the now muddy leer,walked the gentleman to his car, reassured his wife (who had apparently been locked in!) and offered to put their shopping in the car. What a great guy! Ladies, if you fall in


the mud, make sure this gorgeous young man is passing in his van! Helen Spooner, Egremont Road, Bearsted


Habitats, not homes


Dear Sir – Last month’s Downs Mail seems to have been saturated with discussions about our current housing needs. Apparently Maidstone Council has been calculating a figure of about 14,080 new houses, whilst independent consultants say the need is for 19,600 dwellings up to 2031. What is ridiculous about this, if one stops


to think, is that one day, all of this “discussion” will have been awaste of time! Human life generally will not be able to continue when all wild resources – animals, plants, insects, flowers etc have been lost due to destruction of habitats for human purposes. Derek Gould,Woodcut, Maidstone


Comment


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