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Control the Mote Park music MailMarks


MOTE Park’s popularity has increased


since Maidstone Council completed its big improvements and I ampleased that more social events have been agreed with an organising operator for future years. I have no doubt the council has imposed many strict conditions – and the most important must be noise controls. The park is big enough to happily host crowds of 10,000 and more without impacting too severely on its general users and neighbours. But there have been bad noise experiences in recent years, with very loud music blaring out from the park. The big BBC Radio One festivalwas not without its serious noise problems and late last summer neighbourswere horrified by a day of music, leading to many complaints. Live and recorded music will be permied and I have no problem with that provided it does not become a nuisance to neighbours. It’s all down to volume levels – and these controls have to be very strict.


Give more to fewer MPs


Dear Sir – There is a growing crack in British politics that has been wholly caused by the British public. We are not prepared to pay a decent salary


for decent politicians becausewe are squeezing our own people with low wage/low skill jobs that means any potential pay increase in the public sector is being “downsized” to meet a public expectation that if I'm suffering you must suffer too. Hugh Robertson is not the only casualty in


thiswar to achieve a balance betweenwork and family life. There is constant talk of the growing gap between the haves and have- nots andwe also have millions of British people struggling just to survive as ifwe were living in the 19th century with Charles Dickens releasing his monthly chapters once again.


Dennis Fowle, you rightly support our


MPs but perhaps the existing cake could be redistributed if you compare our system with that of USA. The House of Representatives has just 435 members representing some 300 million people across most of a continent – not just a very small island. We keep "geing it" wrong because those


that control this country don't have the management skills to get it right. Even on this small island and even smaller countywe don't have enough skilled people to make the right decisions at the right time across many, many professions, which is why the people of Barming, Bearsted, Boughton Moncheslea, Coxheath, Marden and beyond


Contact our team ...


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


40 Maidstone Town October 2014 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


DENNISFOWLE President dfowle2011@aol.com


 Hospital care


AFTER years campaigning from the outside as chairman of MASH (Maidstone Action for Services in Hospital) for quality services in our local hospitals, I have now had an opportunity to judge the TunbridgeWell Hospital, in Pembury, from the inside aer my wife’s serious fall saw her admied for twoweeks and an operation. I ampleased to report on the highest quality clinical and nursing care from a friendly, aentive team nowworking in a magnificent building and environment. Our concerned family saw the NHS at


its very best – when the chips are really down it so oen comes up trumps. And before shewas discharged to our care the hospital also carried out a series of important (and reassuring) health checks.


are all moaning bierly about planned sites for additional housing because the public doesn't like change. The British Government has set new national building targets to cope with a huge and on-going demand and yet nobody wants new homes on their doorstep. The existing thinking needs rethinking but who is going to do it? Ifwewant to retain the Mr Robertson's


and Mrs Grant's of thisworld then a management solutionwould be to halve the number of MPs and pay them more. Richard Maryan, by email


I wholeheartedly agree with your idea to reduce the number of MPs. In Kent’s case, our borough and county councillors work hard to ensure the area is covered perfectly well. When they are not being whipped by their


party to vote on a particular issue that might have lile to do with their constituents, MPs tend to cherry-pick the topics they pursue and don’t have as much accountability to voters – no annual meetings, no annual reports etc – compared to local councils, whose decisions usually affect local people more anyway. MPs could still maintain coverage of their


patches perfectly well if they were significantly culled, though this will not happen for the obvious reason of self-interest. Response by Stephen


Impact of immigration


Dear Sir – Dennis Fowle is, of course, entitled to his opinion ("Immigration





True to my role, I will record areas for improvement:  Directions to help visitors move round the hospital need investigating, especially at lis. Many visitorswere baffled when they ended up in maternity corridors. Wifi needs to be available – patients can feel isolated in the excellent single rooms.  Food at local hospitals is now just about boom of national league tables.


Market movers THE recent fierce competition between


local supermarkets and changes in customer loyalty are fascinating. I like to keep an eye on all, but I give priority to my locals – Tesco and Lidl in Tovil. Generally I have followed the crowd to


Tesco – but admired the improvements made by discounters Lidl, even if business there was still slow. But how the tide has changed. On a September shop the Lidl car parkwas full, the storewas crowded and four checkouts had queues instead of the one I expected. Tesco, by comparison,was quiet. It is an amazing revolution.


Impact" issue 208 August 2014). However, it is not supported by the facts. 1. Mr Fowle claims “Immigration and free movement dictated by the EU” has created much of the need for more housing in Maidstone. Not true. Four fihs of people moving into the borough come from within the UK, many now priced out of London. People are also living longer, there are more living alone and more small households. (KCC Report) 2. For example, in 2011/12 the borough's population grew by 900 to about 155,000. Within these figures, the net increase in the number of people born abroadwas only 200. (Office for National Statistics). 3. Nine out of 10 people living in Maidstone were born in theUKand English is the first language in 97% of homes; 45% of non-UK residents have been here for at least 10 years (Maidstone Council); 80% of nonUK nationals who registered towork in Maidstone last yearwere under 34 (ONS). They have come here towork hard and


create a beer future for themselves and their families. They payUKtax and National Insurance and are net contributors to the local andUKeconomy. Our hospitals, nursing homes, care services and building industrieswould struggle without them. They are no different to the 320,000 people


who emigrated from theUKlast year to start a new life abroad. Why arewe seemingly so scared of them? Regreably, saying I do not consider


myself racist does not make it true and Mr Fowle’s aempt to draw a parallel with Maidstone's decisive role in the outcome of


Comment


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