downsmail.co.uk


of empty homes across the county brought back into residential use, the need to decimate huge areas of greenfield land for new homes would, in conjunction with brave political decisions to limit the regional population, be virtually removed. An achievement such as this would metaphorically move many more mountains than by digging up precious agricultural land that is valued greatly by local people, who complain because they care about where they live.


Response by Stephen


Staggered times safer Dear Sir – I have been a bus driver for 12 years, also part of a union within the industry. Schools have always finished at different times for the health and safety of the employee and passengers. If all schools finished at the same time, the buses would become overloaded which would mean that passengers would be standing on the platform (front of the bus) which blocks the driver’s vision, making it unsafe to drive. If the schools all finished at the same


time you would find children blocking overcrowded bus stops and standing in the road, which would put them at risk of getting run down. I have written to Arriva, Maidstone Council, Tonbridge and Malling Council and MP Tracey Crouch in the past to ask if more buses could be provided to help children get home instead of them having to hang around the town centre. I live in Snodland and the bus service is


very poor for the number of people who live here. My daughter has only one bus to get her to school on time and if something goes wrong with that she is then late. She has to wait more than half an hour in town to get the bus home, which makes her day longer than most office workers. SimonWickwar, by email


Homesscheme


A PLANNING application has been submitted to build 48 homes on greenfield land north of Lenham Road, Headcorn. Countryside, the applicant, re-


duced the total number of units from 53 after a public consultation event in August 2014. The site, north east of Oak Farm Gardens, is not earmarked for homes in either the adopted or emerging local plans. The developer has promised to provide 40% afford- able housing. A supporting statement said: “The proposal would be within an area of land that would be relatively con- strained, with limited medium and long distance views of the develop- ment from the north and east of the site by virtue of the existing levels of vegetation. “The proposed access and parking provision would not result in an un- neighbourly development, or high- way safety concerns.” Maidstone Council will decide the planning application.


More space such a help


Dear Sir – I have just read the story about MP Helen Grant’s campaign to give pensioners more space to park. What a wonderful idea. I’d like to thank her for taking up the


plight of older folk who have problems with limited car parking spaces. I too need to be able to open the car door


fully to be able to get in and out of our car, and my husband needs to be able to open our car boot to get my walker out without being mown down by other drivers impatient to find a parking space. We are the wrong side of 65 and would


not dream of using a disabled space because we appreciate that those who need to use a wheelchair or who have limited mobility need these alloed spaces, or parent and child spaces for those with children and their buggies. However this now means we are restricted on where we can visit due to our parking problems. The idea of dedicated wide parking


spaces offered by large retailers, supermarkets and local authority car parks would be wonderful and would make life much easier for more mature folk. Trisha Garrard, by email


Age no excuse when parking


Dear Sir – I am heartily fed up with the abuse and withering looks I have suffered from pensioners as a disabled person of under 65 when I make use of my blue badge and park in a space they think is just for them. If they truly have a disability, they can apply for a blue badge. Wherever they live in the country, the


rules are the same and can easily be found on the KCC website for those living in Kent. As pensioners, they also have the luxury


of being able to shop at less busy times, and could park well away from other vehicles, if they need to have help getting in and out of their cars. Although this would mean they would have to walk just


a little further, if they do not qualify for a blue badge, it would mean they are physically able to do this. Those who have given me the looks for parking legally and rightfully, have then often tottered off on high heels, jogged into the nearest pub or gone into dance classes at nearby community centres, all of which have never been a possibility for me and others like me who have been disabled since birth or childhood. Jeanne Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted


More room for frail


Dear Sir – After the recent article in the Downs Mail I would support the need for pensioner parking. My parents, who live in Maidstone and


do not drive, are aged 83 and 86. Both have limited mobility but are not entitled to a blue badge just because they are pensioners. I take them out shopping and to garden centres and I amin support of extra space-allocated parking. I also work for the Alzheimer's Society


and take my clients out in the car for social support, shopping, lunch etc, so the same applies and there is a need for allocated parking.


Alzheimer's is not a reason for a blue


badge, but the need to support sufferers safely in and out of the car would be so much easier with extra space Name and address supplied


J8 link road needed


Dear Sir – I and many others believe something will get built at M20 Junction 8 eventually. It is better to discuss and benefit from it


than to lose out totally if an appeal is granted in the future. A link road for the area, unfortunately not supported, would be positioned far enough away from villages and the argument for "putting off visitors to Leeds Castle" is utter nonsense. We need this road. Jenny Sutton,Willington Street


Support for footpath to help pupils catch train


A BOROUGH councillor has been ploughing through fields of paper- work in a bid to help families fight- ing for a footpath. As reported in DownsMail, parents


with children in Laddingfordwho use Beltring station to get to and from school are campaigning for a safe ac- cess to the station on GravellyWays. The road has no footpath and the teenagers face awalk of almost a mile, most of it on an unpaved, unlit road. KCC says it cannot pay for a foot-


path along the road, although MP Helen Grant is continuing to press the highways authority for a solution. In themeantime, Marden and Yald-


ing Cllr Steve McLoughlin is hoping landowners will allow the youngsters to cut across their fields, creating not only a shortcut, but a safe one.


Caroline Miller and Mikala Love-


grove-Mallett take it in turns to drive their sons Ned Miller and Matthew Lovegrove (pictured) to the station in themorning and topick themupagain in the evening. But even that is fraught with danger, as bollards at the station entrance make it difficultto park. However, Cllr McLoughlin has as- certained the land belongs toNetwork Rail and the bollards have been erected without permission. He is hoping the rail company will have them removed.


Mrs Miller said: “There must be a cost-effectiveway of creating access to the station from Laddingford. There is a footpath to the left of The Chequers pubwhich had a footbridge across the river. After the footbridge, if you bear left there is farmland. “A consideration could be to find


out who owns the land and make ac- cess via a public path creation agree- ment or a public path creation order under s26 of theHighwaysAct 1980.” In her latest letter to Mrs Miller,


Helen Grant wrote: “The Department of Transport is giving a significant amount of money to local authorities, enabling them to design solutions ap- propriate to their local transport chal- lenges, including improving their road infrastructure to encourage and sup- port cycling.”


Maidstone South January 2015 23


Comment


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40