News


downsmail.co.uk Water main work starts in town


TRADERS and customers are facing four months of disruption while roads are dug up to lay a newwater main through the centre of Maidstone’s busy pedestrian area.


At a meeting called by Town Cen-


tre Management, South EastWater outlined to more than 60 traders its plan to lay 400m of pipe alongWeek Street and Earl Street. The meeting heard that the proj-


ect will run from January 5 to April 3,weather permitting. While it is not the largest, or the


most expensive of South East Water’s projects, the company ac- cepts the work – in the centre of town – will be high profile. A five- man panel told traders at the Town


Hall meetinghowthe company had been working for a year to keep dis- ruption to a minimum. Asked why the workwasn’t done


when the town centre was being dug up for new gas pipes, or the new paving in High Street, South EastWater’s project manager Steve McIntegart said that two years ago the project had not been on the com- pany’s radar. He added that 13 burst mains


pipes in the two roads since 2010 had caused considerable disruption


Traders voice concerns over loss of customers


JAMES Spearink, who has run the fruit and vegetable stall on the Earl Street junction with Week Street for 16 years, will be affected by the work twice. Hewill have tomove on separate occasions for a fortnight at a time and is concerned customers won’t find him. He also understands he will need to re- apply for planning permission and a traders’ licence.


James Spearink


“With a family to support and a mortgage to pay, four weeks is too long for me to be out of business,” he told the Downs Mail. A member of staff from Slinders


in Earl Street also raised concerns that the work would coincide with Mother’s Day – the florist’s busiest time of the year. She said: “We are a small busi-


Drink-drive case


AWOMAN from Chillington Street, Maidstone has pleaded guilty to drink-driving following an incident in Royal Engineers’ Way, Maidstone. Sophie Hand (30) was stopped


in a Ford Fiesta and gave a breath test of 60mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. At Mid KentMagistrates’ Court she was banned from driv- ing for 36months and fined £110. She must also pay a £20 victim surcharge.


For more local news, community events and information, go online www.downsmail.co.uk


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ness and this event keeps our busi- ness running through the rest of the year.We always have flowers and plants on show outside the shop at this time. “If this doesn’t happen, it could


be the difference between our busi- ness surviving or not.” There was also concern that the


taxi rank in High Street, near Gabriel’s Hill, will be reduced dur- ing the work to just one vehicle. TownCentre Management chair-


manPaulAlcock said: “Taxis play a vital role as part of the town’s night-time economy in getting peo- ple home and they need to be able to park somewhere.” South East Water has agreed to


hold talks with Town Centre Man- agement to resolve the particular problems raised. There is also a suggestion that


some parking spaces in Earl Street will be lost during the work, in- cluding those for the disabled.


and the work was now a priority. TheVictorian cast iron pipes would be replaced with polypropylene, at an expected cost of £155,000. An area of the new paving in the


High Street will now need to be re- laid outside the shop Peppermint, where the pipe crosses the road to Gabriel’s Hill. Temporary traffic lights will be in operation for two weeks while the water main is brought across the High Street. Traders also heard that delivery routes and pedestrian access would


be maintained at all times while a 0.5m wide trench is dug through the town centre and backfilled. South EastWater’s delivery man-


ager, Chris Love, said: “No one wants the road dug up outside their home or business, so we will carry- out the work in 50m sections, con- necting the supply and reinstating the roads and pavements aswe go. “By bringing the water with us


and reinstating fully behind us, we will give Maidstone its shopping centre back as soon aswe can.”


It’s business as usual


HUGE efforts are to be made to make sure shoppers know “Maid- stone is still open for business” . South EastWater’s head of com- munications Jo Shippey said let- ters would be sent to everyone affected. The public would be kept abreast of the work via the press and a website will be set up to serve the town and answer en-


Timing of work


January 5: Phase one (nine weeks),Week Street – fromthe junction of Union Street to Gabriel’s Hill (starting from the McDonalds end of town) in five 50m sections. March 9: Phase two (four weeks), Earl Street – fromWeek Street to The Hazlitt Theatre (starting at the Marks & Spencer end). April 3: Proposed project completion date.  Clancy Docwra contractors will work Monday to Saturday.


quiries. Its Update magazine will also carry an article on the work and Maidstone’s Borough Update – published quarterly in the Downs Mail – will carry the latest news.


South EastWater’s websites are www.southeastwater.co.uk/ maidstone and www.southeast water.co.uk/contact-us.


Disruptions


SOUTHEastWater anticipates cus- tomers will experience two disrup- tions to supply:  When the new pipe is connected to the old main at both ends.  When individual properties are transferred to the new main. This will be between 11pm and 5am, with 48 hours notice. Traders should contact thewater company or Town Centre Manage- ment on 01622 678777 if they have any specific concerns or require- ments to be accommodated.


Hospital denies puing life at risk


A ROBUST 82-year-old man told the annual meeting of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust he could have been dead had he allowed a junior hospital doctor to override his experienced GP. Bob Egerton of TunbridgeWells,


said his own doctor referred him to Pembury Hospital with a letter for an emergency MRI scan of his head. But the high-cost MRI sys- temwas closed at that time of day and the junior doctor questioned the necessity of the procedure. He called a more senior colleague who conducted a few simple movement tests on Mr Egerton be- fore advising him to return to his GP for treatment for a headache. Mr Egerton turned to his private


Maidstone Town November 2014


health insurance to ensure an ur- gent scan through the local Nuffield Hospital. This revealed a non-malignant brain tumour and within a few days he was in a London clinic for the opera- tion. He told the meeting: “What would have happened to other less fortu- nate patients?


Bob Egerton “Surely a junior doctor working


underA&Epressure should never be permitted to overrule a very knowledgeable GP, who based his decision on medical history, not a


quick visit.” He told the Downs Mail: “I re-


alise that NHS funds are precious and must be very carefully spent. But no one can see justification for not conducting this urgent scan.” A trust spokesman said that


based on symptoms at the time it was not deemed necessary to carry out a scan immediately but it would have been possible to carry out a CT scan urgently if re- quired. He added: “We are sorry Mr Egertonwas under the impression hewas referred back to his GP for treatment. This was not the case and theA&E doctor had a written plan for further investigations in- cluding a CT scan.”


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