Maidstone Borough Council 9
Traffic improvements
Maidstone has been awarded £16.4m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund to help ease traffic congestion. The grant was secured through the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, and includes:
z £4.56m to create two northbound lanes along the A229, enabling northbound traffic heading towards Chatham to bypass the existing gyratory system, reducing journey times and congestion.
z £2m to create cycle paths from residential development sites on the outskirts of Maidstone into the town. This dedicated cycle and pedestrian route will encourage a modal shift to
HAVE YOUR SAY
Every decision the council takes – on a new policy, spending or services – affects our residents, businesses and visitors. You can have your say on those decisions, or bring an issue to the council’s attention, in several ways:
z Take part in a consultation
z Ask the Leader or a Cabinet Member a question at Full Council
z Ask questions at Joint Transportation Board
z Speak to your ward councillor
z Ask Overview and Scrutiny to consider an issue
z Speak at Planning Committee about a planning application
z Submit a petition
To find out more visit
www.maidstone.gov.uk and click “Have Your Say”. Contact details for all councillors and information about council committees can be found on the ‘council’ pages of our website.
walking and cycling, reducing vehicle trips along the main access route into Maidstone. This will reduce congestion and improve journey time reliability.
z £1m towards improvements to Maidstone East Rail Station, as part of a larger regeneration scheme around the station.
z £8.9m for a series of junction, public transport and highways improvements across the town put forward in the Integrated Transport Strategy.
The projects could start as early as next year and be in place by 2017.
Cllr Annabelle Blackmore, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council, welcomed the news: “These schemes will provide
a much needed boost for our economy. The bridge gyratory system is a major source of irritation for many drivers on a daily basis. These improvements will bring significant reductions in travel times for our residents and businesses.”
Cllr David Burton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Transport, added: “We are working really closely with KCC to get an Integrated Transport Strategy ready to support our emerging Local Plan. It is a challenging task but with KCC support we are confident that we will be addressing many of the concerns that were expressed during the recent public consultation.”
Overview and Scrutiny The council has four overview and scrutiny committees which aim to improve the services that you use by monitoring the work of the council. The committees make recommendations on the way services are provided. They play a vital role in the decision-making and policy development processes at the council.
Every June, they consider issues that matter to residents and set their work programmes for the year. More than 80 topics were suggested this year by members of the public, community representatives, partners, staff and the local press. After a lot of discussion, the following topics have been agreed for review:
z Shared services z The council’s budget z Loneliness and Isolation
z The Twilight Economy z Alternatives to using the car
Agendas, minutes and webcasts for every meeting are online at
www.maidstone.gov.uk/council - click on “Meetings, Minutes and Agendas”.
If you’d like to find out more about Overview and Scrutiny, email
osc@maidstone.gov.uk
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