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downsmail.co.uk £50m bypass scheme agreed Continued from page one
North, has re-emphasised the finan- cial obstacles the project faces. The KCC leader says there would only be a total of £10m funding available for a scheme that would cost more than £50m. At the end of a two-hour debate in
which it was agreed to press ahead with the idea, Cllr Carter said: “We can't promise a transport plan that can't be delivered and gives devel- opers an opportunity to build more homes. “Don't make decisions based on
total uncertainty. We need to find out how much the true cost is.” However, chairman of the board Cllr David Burton said:“We make a
MOREthan 14,000 people in distress turned to the Samaritans in Maid- stone for help last year. The figures were reported at the
AGM of the local branch, which has been offering support for 40 years. The Maidstone centre’s 70 volun-
teers spent 224 hours a week listen- ing to people’s problems, with out-of-hours calls diverted to other branches, meaning a helping hand all day, every day.
list of desires and then find out how they might be achieved.” The board agreed to back an ITS
that includes the Leeds-Langley by- pass, increased bus frequencies of up to every 10 minutes and a 50% rise in long-stay town centre park- ing charges. The proposal for a park and ride service in Lintonwas removed. The chosen strategy (DS3) could see an increase of 7% in vehicle travel times from 2014 to 2031, which com- pared favourably to 30% in the DS1 option. The latter included a range of small-scale junction improve- ments and the development of the bypass. The sustainable package (DS2),
Helpers listen in – for 40 years Maidstone Samaritans also works
with a number of other groups and organisations, including Cruse, for breavement support; Maidstone Day Centre, to assist the homeless; and the Listeners’ service in local prisons. This year it also piloted a referral scheme with a GP practice. Founder members Laurel and Bill
Cooper, Mandy Perrin, from Samari- tans Central Charity, and the deputy mayor of Maidstone Cllr Derek But-
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Deputy mayor Derek Butler presents a long-service award to retired Samaritan Daphne Earnshaw
lerwere among the guests invited to celebrate the branch’s 40th anniver- sary at its AGM.
which included improved bus fre- quencies, Linton park and ride, en- hanced walking and cycling facilities and increased parking charges, would have seen a rise of just 3%, according to consultant Amey, who was commissioned by Maidstone Council and KCC to un- dertake the study. Cllr Annabelle Blackmore, leader
of the Conservative group on Maid- stone Council, said: “The assump- tion has been made that 8% of people will have a modal shift and not drive, which is a possibility in urban areas but not in rural areas. “People will not cycle from Head-
corn toMaidstone every single day; not from Staplehurst or Marden. It
is not practical or real. “We currently subsidise park and
ride by £500,000 a year. What sub- sidy would we have to provide to prop this one up? ” The other option, do minimum
(DM), included little more than the already-planned town centre bridge gyratory scheme and would have seen a rise of 38% in travel times. Cllr Gary Cooke, KCC member
forMaidstone South East, said: “All things have to be funded, but it is important there is provision for a re- lief road for the residents who live here and those thatmove here.” The board's recommendation will
go in the draft local plan document that will go out for consultation.
Plan for quarry
A DISUSED quarry and former re- cycling centre in Tovil could be- come a development of 108 homes. Maidstone Council has received
a proposal for the site, off Straw Mill Hill, from Skillcrown Homes. The developerwants to put up 33 houses and 58 flats to sell on the open market. Another 17 affordable flats and houses would complete the development. The development would generate about 456 traffic movements a day.
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