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downsmail.co.uk Rowdy nightlife ‘harming town’
QUESTIONS have been asked about the effect rowdy scenes in Maidstone at night are having on the county town’s reputation. Cllr Bryan Vizzard asked the full council to review the process of re- voking the licences of venues un- able to control their clientele after a number of incidents in the town. As a volunteer on the Urban Blue
Bus, CllrVizzard gave an account of three incidents involving clubs in the town, two street brawls and 10 arrests. He told councillors: “I was ad-
vised that one of the clubs had over- sold a ‘ticket only’event by 600. This resulted in the footpath in the High Street being barricaded to manage
the crowd waiting to get in. This was done without any authority. Po- licewanted to close the club but felt it more prudent to manage the situ- ation so that a riotwas avoided. “On December 14, another club
had a situation where a fight broke out and spilled into Bank Street. Ten arrestswere made.” He said New Year celebrations at another club were halted after a fight broke out and on January 11 a similar incident occurred. Vice chairman of Maidstone’s li- censing committee Daphne Parvin said the council took its lead from the Home Office, which sets out a formal process for any licence re- view.
Tee-off for children’s hospital
THE fourth fund-raising Matteo Golf day for Great Ormond Street will tee off at Headcorn onMay 22. This year’s event at The Weald
of Kent course – organised by Maidstone printer Mark Stokes – has attracted 136 players. The event, which has raised £24,000 for the children’s hospital in the past three years, is a thank you from Mark and his wife Mon- ica for the treatment their son
Matteo (4) received there. He was born with a cataract on one eye and was given little hope of sight in it, but for the intervention of Great Ormond Street. Places are still available at the
presentation dinner that includes an auction of items donated by celebrities including golfer Justin Rose, rider Frankie Dettori and chef Marco de Campo. For tickets email
mark@blacklionpress.co.uk.
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“The council will decide whether
to review a licence in response to any application supported by ro- bust evidence,” she added. However, Cllr BryanVizzard then turned his attention to Cllr John Wilson, cabinet member for com- munity and leisure services, asking: “Perhaps the whole question of the night-time economy should be re- viewed?” He added: “Having regard to the
issues I have raised, does the cabi- net member agree this is not the image we wish to promote of the county town?” CllrWilson said he wasn’t aware
of any particular problems associ- ated with Maidstone’s night-time
economy, which was important to the town, bringing in £75m a year and creatingwork for 1,500 people. He added: “We have a close rela- tionship with the police and serious crime is, in fact, low.We also enjoy good co-operation with those run- ning businesses in the town. “If CllrVizzard has specific issues
hewould like us to look at then I’m certainly glad to do so.” In a recent incident, police were called to The Source Bar, in Rose Yard, where a man had reportedly dropped his trousers and defecated on the dance floor. He was cleaned up by volunteers at the Urban Blue Bus, who also arranged for him to be collected.
Youth commissioner Kerry starts work
NEW youth commissioner Kerry Boyd (19) has unveiled her plans to bridge the gap between the po- lice and young people. Kerry’s programme will include
a bi-weekly bus tour visiting youth clubs, events and charities, and driving a primary school edu- cational programme with PCSOs, dealing with keeping safe online, drugs, knife crime and other is- sues.
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