News
Reconsider speed limit protocols, KCC urged
KENT County Council has been told it should change its criteria for assessing speed limits on its roads. Using personal injury crash records as a yardstick for imposing speed reductions was like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted, Maidstone’s Joint Trans- portation Board heard. Without a history of accidents in- volving injury,KCCis not prepared to fund road improvements or sig- nage – a system described as ludi- crous by Coxheath and Hunton Cllr Brian Mortimer. KCC’s Michael Heath said: “Our objectives remain the reduction of personal injury crashes.” More than 1,000 people signed two petitions
Warning to councillors
A FORMER chairman of Bearsted Parish Council and ex-chair and vice president of KALC has issued a stark warning to the new members of Bearsted Parish Council that they need to operate within the confines of the council’s standing orders. Tony Extance, who chaired the council from 1990-1994 and was a member of KALC, served parish councils for more than 30 years. He came out of retirement to warn the new incumbents their role was constrained by the laws of local gov- ernment. He said it was imperative that they undertook training. He said: “This is not an optional extra – it is essential to your role.” He said members had to recognise the council must operate within its standing orders.
He said: “Before your June meet- ing, you need to have a training ses- sion at which your clerk can take you through them so you under- stand them – this will save you a great deal of pain and trouble.” He concluded: “Organisations can benefit from the influx of new blood but whether new blood works when there is wholesale amputation re- mains to be seen.” Several new members are already booked on training courses and all have copies of the standing orders and a financial guidance pack. Cllr Fiona Redman said: “We are
all aware that there’s a lot to learn. As a number of us haven’t been councillors before, we’re booking training to get up to speed.” The council is already working on updating the parish website and will be asking residents to register their interest in due course, so they can re- ceive information directly.
40 Maidstone East June 2015
chaos while trying to get toMrCad- dell and residentswant to see traffic controls at the bridge following in- cidents of road rage. Network Rail has said it intends
Traffic queues at East Farleigh bridge
seeking a reduction in the speed limit along Lower Road through East and West Farleigh. Residents are also calling for action on East Farleigh bridge, after an accident in which signalman Doug Caddell was hit by a car while trying to close the railway crossing gates. Emergency services encountered
to install automated gates at East Farleigh as part of the re-signalling of the Medway Valley Line, but no date has yet been set. Station Road – the subject of the Farleighs’ campaign “Rage on Far- leigh Bridge” – was closed for sev- eral hours, causing traffic backlogs after Mr Caddell’s accident. Mr Caddell was taken to Pem- bury Hospital and transferred to King’s College Hospital, London, where his condition was described as stable.
Call for lorry restriction
RESIDENTS from four rural parishes are urging KCC to impose a 7.5tonne weight limit on roads from the A20 through to Headcorn. Residents in Headcorn Road, Grafty Green, and road users from Harrietsham, Boughton Malherbe, Headcorn and Ulcombe, have peti- tioned the Maidstone Joint Trans- portation Board for the restriction. Lorries frequently get stuck at pinch points such as Liverton Hill, Sandway and near Platts Heath School, where the road narrows to single track. A KCC survey in January last
year found 8,021 light vehicles and 375 HGVs used Headcorn Road in the space of a week. Campaigners for the weight re- striction say this is “unacceptable on a narrow road with two schools and single track width sections, used by the largest articulated lorries.”
Presenting the petition, Cllr Mar- tin Round said: “Roads get blocked by oncoming lorries which cause wear and tear to the road surfaces, especially when fuelled by springs in the area and when it rains.” Cllr Round (below) called for im-
proved signage as an absolute min- imum, arguing that: “Most responsible drivers will con- form.”
He said residents and regular users respected the na- ture of the road and
said: “It is time we gave the resi- dents of Headcorn and Lenham se- rious respect.”
The four parish councils are con- cerned that traffic will increase dra- matically if housing developments proceed in Harrietsham, Headcorn, Lenham and around J8 of the M20.
Pupils’ hard work rewarded
SWADELANDS School held its annual awards evening for more than 450 students, parents, governors and staff at the Mercure Great Danes Hotel in Maidstone. This event celebrated the achievements of more than 100 students in terms of academic success and personal achieve- ments.
The guest speaker was
adventurer, explorer and author Alastair Humphreys, who spoke of his good and bad experi- ences of his around-the- world adventures. He is pictured with some of the award winners. The headteacher’s trophy was awarded to Caitlin Spiers for her all- round academic achievement and attainment.
downsmail.co.uk Town shelters
more homeless A TOTAL of 77 homeless people were supported by Maidstone Churches Winter Shelter, 25 more than in the previous year when the project was launched. This included 55 overnight guests compared with 32 in 2013/14. The annual report shows the seven churches in the scheme shared the responsibility of provid- ing beds, sleeping bags, food, hos- pitality and comfort. The churches were: Salvation Army, United Reformed, Baptist, St Michael and All Angels, Methodist, Quaker and St Luke’s. This year the shelter offered 15 beds for a 12-week period (includ- ing Christmas) compared with 10 beds for eight weeks when the scheme was piloted. Twenty of the shelter guests were aged from 25 to 34, 12 were from 35 to 44, 12 were aged from 45 to 54, seven were 18 to 24 and two were 55 to 64.
Mental health problems were a key cause of homelessness, with al- cohol, drugs, physical health prob- lems and relationship breakdown also figuring strongly.
Tree felling
plan revived THE proposed felling of a silver birch tree at 15 Brownelow Copse, Walderslade remains an aspiration. A planning consent permitting the loss of the tree dates back to 2011 but has now lapsed, so a new applica- tion, which includes planting an- other tree, has been submitted. “It is leaning towards the prop- erty. Complaints regarding blocking of light to neighbouring gardens have been received,” a supporting statement said.
A neighbour said: “The silver birch is less than 7m from our house and was a sapling when we moved in but is now some 20m tall. It is leaning towards our property, which causes my wife great distress. “We are both keen gardeners and
have suffered the effects of a huge shadow over our garden. Maidstone Council will decide.
Rugby call
WEAVERING Warriors rugby club are recruiting new players aged from 18 to 80.
Training starts on July 2, and takes place at Park Wood Recreation Ground at 7pm on Thursdays. Email rugby@weaveringwar-
riors.co.uk, go to www.weavering-
warriors.co.uk or call 07523 821333.
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