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Mote Park well worth a quid MailMarks
RECENT Maidstone Council invest-
ments have improved Mote Park magnifi- cently to make it even more popular locally and see it rated second best in the nation. Purchased for £50,000 from the Lord Bearsted family almost 100 years ago, Mote Park has proved a wonderful council in- vestment and residents will want it pre- served and improved for years to come. I think few will complain about a pro-
posed new parking fee of £1 for six hours, especially as the income will be used to maintain and further improve the park. Government has imposed massive finan-
cial restrictions on local authorities in the troubled economic times and funding non- essential services is a great problem. I think most of us who pay to park will appreciate its great value.
Political football The political football of Maidstone’s
local plan is being booted in the direction of the right goal at long last. When the Tories were in control they commissioned an expert independent re- port on the evidence-based need for more than 19,000 new houses in the borough for the period 2011 to 2031. They knew this ev- idence would be tested by a Government inspector and if it failed the desperately- needed local plan would be rejected. This figure was strongly challenged as massively over the top by local political op- ponents in the build-up to May’s general and borough elections. I always felt they were playing to local voters worried about the level of development, especially in some rural areas, rather than working to meet Maidstone’s greatest need. And KCC Leader Cllr Paul Carter (Con)
was still more vociferous in damning the number – even after KCC commissioned its own independent report which, to his fury, largely mirrored the report commis-
Unwarranted aack
Dear Sir – I write to respond to the unwar- ranted, unsubstantiated and nakedly politi- cally-motivated attack by a defeated local election candidate upon the democratically- elected representatives of South ward in last month’s Downs Mail. The assertion that the local Liberal Democrat councillors show any favoritism to one particu- lar area of this large and diverse electoralward is wide of themark. Indeed, in recentweekswe have facilitated the installation of a second bus shelter in Tovil and, working with the parish council, we have achieved a major reinstate- ment of the popular path along the RiverMed- way next to Bridge Mill Way play area and beyond, and improvements to the footpath link- ing Dean Street and Stocketts Lane. We also gained agreement for the installation
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sioned by Maidstone Council. These long delays may well cost Maid-
stone dear – aswe currently have little pro- tection against developers with their own ideas for using greenfield land for housing. It is not a good scene – and sadly Maid- stone Council is now subject to ridicule.
Ramblin’ Man I welcome Maidstone Council’s policy
to increase attractions (and income) from Mote Park – but I expressed fears about noise from the big two-day Ramblin’ Man music festival. I was close to it for two days at The Mote
cricket ground and was impressed. The fes- tival was very professionally organised and the large audience was mostly mature, friendly and responsible. The nearby roads were busy at times but with visitors arriving over a long period, and leaving at non-peak times, I am not aware of serious problems. How about the noise? On the cricket
ground side it was no problem at all when I was there. The wind was blowing from the west and I am sure this helped. Friends liv- ing in Downswood, Vinters Park, Grove Green and Bearsted heard much more but I believe there were few complaints. Noise levels were monitored and limits were not breached. Perhaps limits could be reduced somewhat in future. The festival brought a lot of people and
money to Maidstone and I believe there were many happy visitors and businesses. I understand Ramblin’ Man could well
return.
of aCCTV safety camera at Tovil Bridge, which is now in place, and have worked with Maid- stone Council’s environmental enforcement team to ensure that Network Rail cleans up its land in the same vicinity. We could go on and on, but will conclude
with references to our central involvement in the refurbishment of the Bridge MillWay play area, close working relationship with local amenity group Valley Conservation and key role in delivery and subsequent management of the beautiful Hayle Place nature reserve. As regards our campaigning record on the recently-permitted residential development at Postley Road, I can confirm that all the South ward’s local elected representatives passion- ately opposed this application when it came be- fore the planning committee.We also raised a petition signed by some 1,500 residents oppos- ing further development close to the LooseVal-
Festival revellers at the Ramblin’ Man Fair
ley. Unfortunately,Government diktat requires that councils must have an up-to-date local plan and five-year housing land supply and this left the planning committee powerless to resist this and other speculative residential planning applications. It did not help that against the advice of the planning scrutiny committee, the Conservative cabinet had previously agreed to include the Postley Road site in the draft local plan, effec- tively sealing its fate. Finally, the local elected representatives in
Southward regularly distribute Focus newslet- ters and other correspondence carrying content specific to communities in Tovil. To this end, local people shouldn’t hesitate to contact their local councillors for help and advice on any matter, regardless of their political allegiance. Ian Chittenden, borough councillor for South ward
New Lib Dem leader of Maidstone Council Cllr Fran Wilson is working well to bring together all politicians, including KCC, to finally get the local plan on the road. Tough decisions must be taken in the face of continued local resident opposition. If not the borough’s housing target could well swell under government pressure to beyond the current evidence-based 18,560. She has accepted she has “failed” to reduce the target substantially. The Tories will have a wry smile – but hopefully they will continue to play a lead- ing role to see past wrongs righted.
Comment
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