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News Cash boost for regeneration MONEYto help ease congestion in Maidstone town centre could be a shot in the arm for Maidstone


Council’s regeneration plans. Maidstone is one of the beneficiar-


ies of £104m being given to Kent to boost jobs and transport schemes, under the Government’s “growth deal”.


Included in the grant is £8.9m for


the Maidstone integrated transport strategy, plus a further £4.56m to- wards a Maidstone gyratory bypass, to help overcome congestion and de- lays in the town centre. Afurther £2.19m will go towards widening the bridge over theM20at Larkfield, to ease traffic flows at J4, and £2m to providing sustainable access to Maidstone employment areas, including a cycle path along the River Medway from East Far- leigh toAylesford. Countywide, £4.8m has been given to the Kent strategic conges-


Suspicious biker TOVIL’S community police officer is appealing for the registration number of a black motorbike seen in the Church Road area. PCSO MattWilliams, who has been gathering details of suspicious vehi- cles in the area, says the identity of the bike’s owner is a key piece of his in- vestigations. On another subject, a request from


a resident to find out if a mobile CCTV camera can be fitted to a lamp post at the junction of Church Road and Tovil Road was taken up by po- lice, parish and borough councillors.


tion management programme and £900,000 towards sustainable access to education and employment. The money was won by the Kent


& Medway Economic Partnership – the local arm of the South East Local EnterprisePartnership, which brings together leaders from business, local government and education to boost economic growth. Paul Carter, leader of KCC and


board member of SELEP and the Kent & Medway Economic Partner- ship, said: “This is good news that the Government has announced transport schemes in Kent which will help support transport infra- structure across the county. “As we come out of recession, housing growth will accelerate and commerce will increase.”


Work on the Maidstone gyratory bypass and the M20 overbridge is scheduled to start in 2015/6, while the Maidstone integrated transport spendwould come a year later. The town centre bypass scheme


would see the construction of two northbound lanes, enabling north- bound traffic on the A229 to bypass the existing gyratory system over the Medway to reduce journey dis- tances, travel time and congestion. However, some members already


fear for Maidstone’s “green” future. Cllr Tony Harwood said: “We all


know from repeated bitter experi- ence that highways officers have lit- tle interest in pedestrians, air quality or the local landscape (street trees/river side for example), with the spine road being a particularly


brutal example which severed the town and destroyed an attractive river frontage.” He is urging fellow borough Cllr


Ian Chittenden, who is also a mem- ber of KCC, to set up a cross-council meeting between Kent Highway Services and the affectedward coun- cillors covering High Street and Northwards to ensure that any final scheme addresses pedestrian and cyclist safety and protects trees and verges, as well as more greenery to soften the “rather grim riverside”. Cllr Harwood added: “I fear ifwe


do not have a meaningful input we will end up with a brutal multi-lane highway destroying what's left of our riverside and creating a physical and psychological barrier for pedes- trian movement.”


Police showhow theywork at open day


THOUSANDS of people flocked to the Kent Police open day at the Kent Police Training School in Maidstone. About 8,000 visitors got an insight into the workings


of the force and its partner agencies. There were police dog displays, a showcase of the public order unit (right) and police driver training demonstrations. Visitors were also able to get in the police helicopter and take a closer look at the controls, and police vehicles old and new were on display. The open day gave Kent Police the opportunity to


show off new developments, such as body-worn video cameras. Therewas also a re-enactment of a sentencing in a criminal case, showing how victims are now able to give evidence fromthe protection of a police station via Kent Police's live link video service. Visitors saw how emergency and non-emergency calls


are taken, took a look around an incident command ve- hicle, got crime prevention advice and chatted to offi- cers and staff.


Appeal for witnesses to off-licence raid


POLICE have appealed for witnesses after a robbery at Plonkers wine mer- chants in Loose Road, Maidstone. The raid happened at about noon


on July 20, when twomen entered the shop. One approached the till to pay for a


New president THE new president of the Inner Wheel, Maidstone, is Sue Kinsman of Bearsted.


drink while the other then went be- hind the till and pushed the cashier, before stealing a small amount of money. Both suspects are described as white and in their 20s. One was slim,


bridges back and carrying out repairs. I hope the necessary repairs to the footpath bridges will be carried out in the near future so we can all once again enjoy using this footpath, which goes through the heart of the Kent countryside and provides amazing views of the river Medway. Elliot Dean, Abbots Field, Maidstone


The Environment Agency has been completing some footpath resurfacing works near Teston


5ft 7in tall, with a ginger wispy beard, a black baseball cap and a mauve lightweight jacket. The other was about 5ft 10in tall


and heavily built, with short black hair. He was wearing a black light- weight zip-up jacket. Detective Constable Jonathan


Pearce said: “The victimwas not seri- ously injured but hewas understand- ably very shaken up. “This incident happened in the middle of the day and I’m hopeful


Bridge due to a short footpath diversion, hence the possible confusion that the EA is responsible for the whole path. The footpath was under water during the


winter floods and the surface and structures have been damaged. In particular two six- metre bridges were washed away and deposited on the banks further downstream.We did not close the path as most walkers are still able to use the path without difficulty and the streams are only shallow at this time of year. No member of the public or parish council


that members of the public may have been passing and seen two men act- ing suspiciously, or running from the store, and could assist with our en- quiries.” Anyone with information should contact Det Con Pearce on 01622 604270 or Det Sgt Andrew Felton on 01622 604289, quoting crime reference YY/14433/14. Alternatively, contact Kent Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.


has reported access issues here so far. There have been two complaints about surface vegetation causing an issue for some walkers and vegetation clearance work on the worst parts of this stretch of path will be completed shortly. The route and damage have been surveyed,


and the contracts are about to go out to tender. The technical natures of these repairs make them unsuitable for volunteer projects. Response by spokesman for public rights of way service at KCC


Maidstone Town August 2014 27


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