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downsmail.co.uk Action to help rough sleepers BETWEEN 60 and 70 people are said to be sleeping rough on the streets of Maidstone.
The statistic was revealed to Maidstone’s night economy forum by officers from Maidstone Council who have been trying to get street sleepers and vagrants to “re-en- gage” with society. The council’s Sam Scales told the meeting: “There are a lot more peo- ple out there than we at first thought.” She said the council’s community
safety team now had a long list of people who were begging and sleeping rough. Although some of these might have housing, most were homeless and were involved in drinking, drugs or begging. The figure varied from week to
week, she said, with some move- ment in and out of the borough, but the figure of 60-70 men andwomen remained roughly constant. Ms Scales added: “Some of these people have mental health issues; they may indulge in substance abuse. The difficulty is getting them to visit a GP or re-engage with life. If they miss an appointment, we need to have a means of reining them in.” After months of complaints about
the escalating incidents of street begging, the council is now bidding
Orange mud
floods homes TORRENTIAL rains carried a flood of mud into seven homes and gar- dens offMaidstone’s Sutton Road. Thunder, lightning and monsoon-
style rains brought a river of clay from a building site into the homes, in Paygate, off Gore Court Road. The slimy orange mud from Bell-
way Homes’ Imperial Park was left behind afterwater up to a foot deep finally drained away. KCC instructed Bellway to install
better draining and erect bound- aries to prevent any repetition of events, following the disaster, which left residents in the seven nearby properties wading through a residue of sticky mud. Bellway sent its own team in to
assist with the clean-up operation and Maidstone Council sent out a street-cleaning team to hose down the road and pavements. However, residents now have to
claim on their own home insurance for any residual damage. Building began on Imperial Park
earlier this year and, when com- plete, will provide about 285 homes. Aspokesman for Bellway Homes
said consulting engineerswould be asked to carry out a site evaluation to provide a solution until the per- manent connections to the public drains had been made.
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for funds to provide basic tempo- rary accommodation for the street sleepers, although Ms Scales stressed it would not be a “wet house” – a place where homeless alcoholics are left to eat, sleep and drink as much as they wish. In some parts of America, wet
houses are seen as a preferable eco- nomic alternative to leaving va- grants on the streets where they can be a burden on social, legal and medical services. Ms Scales said the council was
very pleased with the success of its outreach project but the next step
was to find ways of resolving the problem. She said: “The next step is to look at accommodation, enforce- ment and injunctions.” The council has now issued a
plea for “basic premises” that can easily be washed down and cleaned to act as a halfway house.
More homeless, despite council action
THE increase in homelessness is despite the introduction of strate- gies to keep families off the streets. Maidstone Council’s homeless-
ness review made several key find- ings – including a “significant” rise in the number of decisions about classifying homelessness since April 2011. Landlord possession claims have steadily risen since 2006 and the number of cases ac- cepted as homeless, eligible for as- sistance and in priority need has also gone up since 2010. Parents unwilling to provide a
home for their grown-up children is the main reason for people pre- senting themselves to the council as homeless, followed by the ter- mination of tenancies. Although house repossessions
have decreased since 2010, they are still at a higher level than before the financial downturn. Since 2008, the council has housed 3,054 households from the housing register and enabled the delivery of 1,155 affordable new homes within the borough. But in 2013/14, the council had to investigate 395 cases of homeless- ness, compared with 71 in 2009/10. Those at highest risk are young people aged 16 to 44 (82% of appli- cants since April 2011) while 47% of applicants in the same period were single mothers. However, the number of single male households is also increasing. Homelessness among young people, particularly those aged 16- 17, remains a concern for the coun-
cil and it would like to see more mediation between young people and their families, while providing temporary respite accommodation, so they can consider their options. Sofa surfing, sleeping rough and
living in unsuitable or temporary accommodation all contribute to the homeless “mix” and can bring significant costs to local housing authorities. The council hopes a revision to
its allocation schemewill give pri- ority to local residents and those who contribute to the community –with paid or unpaid work or sub- scribing to education or training. From November 2008 to Novem-
ber 2013, there was a 24-25% in- crease in the people claiming housing benefit in the borough.
Two golds for transplantmum Caravan plea
A DOWNSWOOD mum has won two gold medals in the National Transplant Games, 20 years after having a kidney transplant. Nicky, of Firthwood Close, Downswood, won the table tennis and the 3km walk at the games in Bolton.
Winning a gold medal was just
one of the ways Nicky wanted to mark the 20th anniversary of her transplant. She also held an awareness event at The Lion in Bearsted, in a bid to sign up 20 people to the Organ Donor register in Nation TransplantWeek and raise money for Kent Kidney Patients. By the end of the week, 24 people had signed the register thanks to her efforts.
AGYPSY family has applied to site amobile home in Dunn Street Road in Bredhurst. Mr Hobbs also wants to put a touring caravan and erect a day room, replacement stables and barn ménage at Cherry Orchard Stables. A supporting statement said Mr
Hobbs would be living at the site with his wife Julie and their adult children Joe (20) and Demi (18). It added: “The site is owned by his fa- ther-in-law but its ownership will be transferred to him in the near future. “He keeps horses for breeding
and sale sites that have come up for purchase have been too small as he wants to be able to live at the same site as he keeps his horses.” Maidstone Council will deter- mine the planning application.
Day centre manager Sue ‘will be missed’
SUE Tallowin has stood down as manager of Maidstone Day Centre after 10 years. Her dedication
will be missed by the homeless who use the centre in Knightrider Street and the team that supported her, says the Homeless
Care charity,which runs the centre. Trustee Angela Clay said: “Sue
Maidstone East September 2014
made her mark and will be greatly missed.” Taking over from Sue as manager
is Polish-born Zofia Grzymala. An- gela said: “Zofia is experienced, en- thusiastic and excited about the challenges of this increasingly busy time for us.” Also leaving is Adam Dyer, who organised much of the charity’s Food for Thought operation, which distributes donated food from traders and supermarkets to those
in need. He has been replaced by Mike Philps. The day centre, which provides breakfast, a shower and fresh clothes for the town’s “rough sleep- ers”, says in future those using the service may be given particular times to call to cope with increased demand. The charity also runs a 10-bed
hostel at Godsell House in the cen- tre of town and Maidstone Chris- tian Care.
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