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News Calls for footpath to rail station TWO mums are mounting a campaign to get safe access to Beltring railway station.
Living in Laddingford and with sons at secondary school in Ton- bridge, they say Beltring station is the obvious choice to let the train take the strain.
But with no footpath along Grav-
elly Ways – and a walk of almost a mile – they say the station is inac- cessible.
Caroline Miller has written to the chairman of Yalding Parish Coun- cil; borough and KCC Cllr Paulina Stockell and MP Helen Grant to re- quest the construction of a proper footpath, but without success. A mother of three, including 11-
year-old Ned, Mrs Miller said: “There is a footpath from the vil- lage centre, by the Chequers Inn, which leads to Gravelly Ways. To access the station from there, you have to walk on the road or the grass verge.”
Ned started at Judd School in September and catches the 7.57am train from Beltring station, chang- ing at Paddock Wood. He started walking with his 13-year-old near neighbour Matthew Lovegrove, who goes to Hayesbrook School, but after only a few days, their par- ents decided the route was just too dangerous. “Gravelly Ways is narrow and
Ned Miller and Matthew Lovegrove would like to be able to walk safely from their homes in Laddingford to Beltring station
winding, which makes visibility for both drivers and pedestrians difficult,” said Matthew’s mum Mikala Lovegrove-Mallett. “It is a very busy road and it is unlit so it’s even worse in winter. “With no footpath access, Bel- tring station is inaccessible on foot without significant risk of an acci- dent, resulting in serious injury or death,” said Mrs Miller. Taking the boys by car to Bel- tring is no mean feat either, as there is no parking at the station and the mums have to negotiate
Residents’ concern at plan to reduce wardens
Continued from page one patrol given areas, know their com- munities and have the trust of resi- dents. They provide a visible, uniformed presence in the commu- nity and a valuable link with PCSOs, who we already see less of.” Community wardens were intro- duced by KCC 12 years ago and usu- ally operate in specific parish districts. Described by the county council as “the eyes and ears” of local residents, they tackle issues in- cluding fly-tipping, graffiti, vandal- ism, domestic and neighbour disputes and traffic management in the community.
They cannot make arrests but are accredited by Kent Police and deal with low-level anti-social behaviour and pass on intelligence to police and the emergency services. Ms Jennings added: “If our com- munity wardens are to be ever- changing, people simply won’t know or trust them and will simply not bother reporting issues to them. “This will be a retrograde step for communities and the county coun- cil. They should not even be think- ing about doing this.” The county council’s proposal comes after it agreed in February to
cut £330m from its overall budget during the next three years. Mike Hill, KCC’s cabinet member for community services, has pointed out that the authority is not obliged in statute to provide the service. He said KCC’s financial situation meant all services had to be examined. He said that with less focus on ge- ographic boundaries, wardens could be deployed to where they were most needed and the reduction in administration would make team leaders and area managers more hands-on. More people would have access to the wardens, who would spend more time with the commu- nities who need their help most. Mr Hill said parishes and commu- nities were being consulted on new volunteer wardens, which could possibly bolster the service. He added: “This is an option that has been floated a number of times and was tried by police with regard to PCSOs some years back.”
Comments should be made by
November 9 at
www.kent.gov.uk/ communitywardenconsultation, by completing the questionnaire avail- able from community wardens, or by calling KCC on 03000 414141 and asking for one to be sent by post.
heavy traffic to make a U-turn. And with younger children to or- ganise at the same time, what should be a simple trip becomes difficult.
Mrs Miller has two other chil- dren – Theo (9) and Kitty (5) – while Mrs Lovegrove-Mallett has two-year old Aimee, as well as two older boys, Tom (18) and Sam (15). Mrs Miller said: “Once you get in the car, you might as well drive to Paddock Wood, but that’s a 20- minute round trip, even longer if you get stuck behind a tractor and,
at that time in the morning, every minute is precious. “When everyone is talking about saving the planet and we have a station down the road, we should not have to use our cars. “I want my children to be inde- pendent and self-sufficient. A mile is not too far to walk or cycle, but this road is just too dangerous.” Mrs Grant contacted KCC, which is responsible for highways, and received a response from David Brazier, cabinet member for trans- port, who said officers had looked into the matter and decided it would be too expensive.
He wrote: “The length of foot-
way required would be in the order of 750m long. There is in places insufficient land in public ownership. Additionally, the pres- ence of ditches and watercourses in the verges would make this re- quest technically difficult and pro- hibitively expensive, given the likely low usage.” The two families are now going to investigate the possibility of having a new public right of way created across the local farmland. Mrs Miller said: “What’s the point having a local railway sta- tion if you can’t walk to it?”
Sunshine boosts fete takings
THE fete for Otham and Langley church made £3,300, thanks to the best weather for five years. Among winners at the event, at Otham Green, were Charlie, a three-year-old English springer owned by Jim and Claire Maxwell, from Heath Road, Langley. Charlie was declared to have the waggiest tail. Other notable pets included Tuppenny, owned by Elizabeth Vickers, from the church, who was judged most like her owner be- cause she wore a dog collar, and
Finch, the most obedient two-year- old working cocker, owned by Ken Brinsley, from Otham. Thanks were paid to fete com-
mittee members Dot Hooker, Steve Hughes, Anthea Gwinnett, David Nuttall, Keith Rendell, Sean Gentle and Scott Raffle and their helpers and for a donation from the con- gregation, which funded gazebos. Anyone interested in offering
their help next year should contact Dot Hooker on 746571 or Scott Raffle on 863089.
Vandals aack mayoral car
THE windscreen of the Mayor of Maidstone’s civic car has been smashed in an act of vandalism involving several other vehicles. Bricks are reported to have
been thrown at several cars and property during the attack in the early hours of Sunday, September 6, inWouldham. It is understood the mayor’s car
– a Lexus – which was out of ac- tion for several days, was parked
FREE
outside his chaffeur’s home. A spokesman for the borough council said: “The front wind- screen of the car was damaged and has been repaired by our in- surers.” Police said a 29-year-old man
has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage. He was released on bail until December, pending further in- quiries.
Read all the latest editions of the Downs Mail at
www.downsmail.co.uk Maidstone South October 2014 23
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