News


downsmail.co.uk Cash to help town’s traffic flow


GOVERNMENT money could be used as a priority to ease traffic congestion in the south east of Maidstone.


And councillors hope more money will come Maidstone’s way before next year’s general election. Unveiling a list of proposed road improvement schemes to the town’s joint transportation board, KCC leader Paul Carter said: “I think we have a do-able operation ifwework together and are pragmatic.We do not want to fritter away capital re- sources which could be used on other schemes.” Upgrading the B2163 through


Leeds – or building an alternative road nearby – will be looked at as a priority among measures to ease the gridlock in Maidstone. Cllr Carter said: “It doesn’t have to


be over-grandiose. It has to be mod- est and affordable.” KCC has received £12.5m for Maidstone rom the Government’s local growth fund, but £4.56m of this has already been earmarked for im- provements to the bridge gyratory system.


Schemes competing for the re- maining £8.9m total more than £57m, with more likely to come on board as members put forward their ideas. But Cllr Carter told the JTB: “I


have been assured there will be more money this side of the general election.” The JTBwillnowexamine the pro-


posals while KCC continues to bid for more money, but KCC head of transportation Tim Read said mem- bers should decide as quickly as pos- sible which schemes offered the best value and greatest benefits. Upgrading the B2163 could cost as


much as £25m, but itwould remove much of the traffic from the narrow road through Leeds village – critical ifnewhousing is given the go-ahead nearby. It would also benefit resi- dents in Kingswood and Broom- field.


MOREthan 1,300 residents inWill- ington Street have signed a petition opposing a 7.5 tonne weight limit through Leeds village, claiming it will add to traffic misery in their neighbourhood. Presenting the petition to the


JTB, Jenny Sutton fromWillington Place said: “I have lived here for 30 years and the traffic is now intoler- able. Willington Street is being


Other schemes to be examined in greater detail include improving the A229/A274 Wheatsheaf junction at an estimated cost of £5m together with a road-widening scheme, im- proving the junctions between the A274 Sutton Road and Willington Street and Wallis Avenue and up- grading the junction of theA20Ash- ford Road andWillington Street. North of the town centre, where


1,000 homes are earmarked for land near Hermitage Lane, improve- ments would be needed to M20 Junction 5 (costing £700,000), the junction of the A20 and Hermitage Lane (£800,000), the junction of the A20 and Coldharbour Lane (£2.6m)


used as a Maidstone bypass.Traffic is either speeding or gridlocked.” Mrs Sutton said the prospect of upgrading the B2163 had been “dangled like a carrot” for more than 30 years and said this year Willington Street was “busier, nois- ier and dirtier than ever”. She added: “We have been mis- treated, cheated and misled. Until something is done, we must fight


Fury over trailers causing an obstruction


MAIDSTONECouncil has admit- ted it is powerless to act over trail- ers parked on a road in Tovil. We received this picture and a complaint from a caller about a resident who parks his trailers in Muir Road where others have to buy a parking permit. The caller said: “The issue also affects people negotiating the junction with Old Tovil Road. “Recently residents had to push


the trailer up the road to allow a vehicle to get round, but now the


owner has padlocked it to a man- hole.” He said calls to the police and


the council had failed to get any- thing done. A council spokesman said:


“Parking enforcement powers only apply to vehicles. Unfortu- nately, the law only considers a trailer to be a vehiclewhenit is at- tached to a motor vehicle, so we can’t take action when a trailer is parked on its own. If a trailer is causing an obstruction and is a hazard to road safety, Kent Police has powers to deal with this.” Our caller said: “What stops


every householder buying a cara- van and parking it without a per- mit? It’s a nonsense.”


Football company defends price rise


A FOOTBALL coaching company has defended a decision to increase the cost of training youngsters at Maidstone’s Gallagher Stadium by 100%.


Soccer Elite runs classes through-


out Kent and has taken over the coaching at Pebbles, the junior sec- tion of Maidstone United FC. TheDownsMail reported that last season’s £4 per session pay-as-you- play system for four to six-year-olds had been replaced by a monthly di- rect debit scheme of £24.20, which equals £8 a session. Soccer Elite says in the new scheme players will get 36 training sessions and have the opportunity to participate in summer camps and


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mini-games festivals throughout the year. A spokesman said: “Pebbles was proving unsustainable, being overly reliant on the goodwill of vol- unteers. “Without professional support it


was unlikely to be able to continue to deliver the quality of football coaching that young players de- serve. This was a key consideration in the decision to change the existing provision.” Steve Bunn, who continues in his


voluntary role as head of mini soc- cer for Maidstone United, said he was “relieved that young players will receive professional coaching from Soccer Elite. Itwas proving im- possible to attract the calibre of vol-


Maidstone Town October 2014


unteers required to maintainPebbles as itwas.” Soccer Elite’s founder, ex-profes-


sional footballer Lee Spiller, took on the voluntary role of technical ad- viser to Maidstone United’s youth section last year.He and co-director Tony Browne say the price rise is necessary to cover venue hire, coach- ing, equipment and overheads. They added:“Wework in partner-


ship with a number of schools, grass roots clubs and community organi- sations. Over the summer we have given free access to our football coaching events to more than 200 young players.” About 100 children have regis- tered for this season.


and the Fountain Lane junction of the A26 (£400,000). Mr Read told the board: “Maid-


stone town centre has a long history of severe peak hour congestion re- sulting from uncontrolled dispro- portionate growth and KCC, as the highways authority, will not accept this being simply compounded by excessive further development.” Maidstone’s chief planner Rob Jar-


man expressed concern that the list of proposals had no mention of pedestrian routes, cycle paths or park-and-ride schemes, to whichMr Read replied: “This is not an exclu- sive list – it is just a foundation to get the ball rolling.”


Petition opposes weight limit through village


together for the removal of traffic and HGVs from residential areas.” Cllr Gary Cooke, who represents


both Willington Street and the Leeds /Otham area on KCC, called for a link road between the A20 and Sutton Road, adding: “Leeds sim- ply cannot cope. HGVs are knock- ing the houses to pieces and it is unfair to send them downWilling- ton Street.


Drug debts thief jailed


AMAIDSTONEman who robbed and stole fromshops to repay drug debts has been jailed for almost two years. Rodney


Grannum (48) of Hayle Road, snatched cash fromthe tills of a petrol station and a Co-op store in April this year. Driving a hire car, Grannum first


targeted the Shell petrol station on the A229 in Blue Bell Hill, where he grabbed a handful of notes fromthe till, injuring the employee in the process. Grannum thenwent to the Co-


op store inWatling Street, Strood where he did something similar. Hewas identified on CCTV


footage and arrested at his home within hours of the offences. He admitted the robberies, saying he had to pay drug debts. Grannumwas sentenced to 21 months in prison by Maidstone Crown Court. He had admitted one count of robbery, two counts of theft and assault.


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