News Voting age call


PETER Homewood, chairman of KCC, is to write to the Prime Minis- ter urging him to introduce legisla- tion to lower the voting age to 16. A motion was proposed by Lib


Dem member Cllr Brian Clark and seconded by Cllr Rob Bird. KCC has its own Kent youth county council (KYCC) wheremem- bers represent young people in their area and help to bring about change. Fifty-six councillors voted in


favour of writing to the PM, 17were against and four abstained.


BGT star sings BRITAIN’S Got Talent finalist James Smith will headline in Maidstone on December 12. His pre-Christmas performance


will be for 11- to 16-year-olds at- tending the anti-drugs disco at Maidstone Leisure Centre. Tickets for theSNAPDisco, which


runs from 7-10.30pm, are £5 and available by calling the leisure cen- tre on 0845 1552277.


Hair salon plan A NEW hair salon could replace a two-bedroom maisonette in Courte- nay Road, Tovil. The planning ap- plication forNo61b, next to Premier Stores, will be determined by Maid- stone Council.


downsmail.co.uk


Commuters hit hard on annual rail fares


LOCAL commuters are being charged higher rail fares than their counterparts elsewhere in the South East, according to figures. Jasper Gerard, Lib Dem prospec-


tive parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and The Weald, de- scribed the fares as a “rip off”, with an annual season ticket into central London for the 39-mile journey from Maidstone East costing £4,080 (£105 per mile) compared with £3,688 (£97 per mile) from Farnham, Surrey, 38 miles from the capital. It is even more expensive for commuters in Staplehurst – 40 miles from London Bridge – where the annual charge is £4,572 (£114 per mile) In Bearsted, 42 miles from Lon-


don Victoria, a season ticket costs £4,144 (£99 per mile), compared with £3,504 (£85 per mile) from Burgess Hill,West Sussex, 41 miles from the capital. In West Malling, 34 miles from London, the charge is £3,996 (£117 per mile), while a season ticket from


Camberley, Surrey, a 35-mile jour- ney, is £3,488 (£100 per mile). Mr Gerard said: “Fares fromwest


Kent in general are 20% more ex- pensive than from other Home Counties.” He has now written to the trans- port


minister Jasper Gerard


Patrick McLough- lin asking why Southeastern had its franchise re- newed when the rail company came close to bottom in a customer satis- faction survey. The


franchise was this year extended until 2018. Lib Dem councillors have asked Southeastern to provide details of how they intend to improve serv- ices, at a meeting of Maidstone Council’s scrutiny committee. Ton- bridge and Malling MP Sir John Stanley is also campaigning for lower fares.


Season tickets:


cost per mile Burgess Hill,West Sussex –£85 LENHAM – £88 HARRIETSHAM – £92 HOLLINGBOURNE – £95 Farnham, Surrey – £97


Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire – £98


BEARSTED – £99 Camberley, Surrey – £100 MAIDSTONE EAST – £105 BARMING – £108 HEADCORN – £108 EAST MALLING – £114 STAPLEHURST – £114 MARDEN– £115 WEST MALLING – £117


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