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downsmail.co.uk Late dates for festive shoppers
CHRISTMAS is coming, and or- ganisations in Maidstone are working to ensure this year is big- ger and brighter than ever. The Town Team marketing
group has been working with re- tailers to draw up proposed open- ing hours which will streamline trading across the town. Late-night shopping is a critical
factor in making the town a shop- ping destination of choice in the run-up to Christmas and the Town Team, together with the Town Cen- tre Management, hopes that many
Charity cards MAIDSTONE’S Christmas Cards for Good Causes shop is to trade at the Methodist Church, Union Street, from Friday October 16 to Friday December 18. Opening hours will be 11am-4pm
weekdays and 10am-4pm on Satur- days. It is part of a national net- work of 300 shops staffed by volunteers supporting 275 charities which have received more than £20m in the last five years.
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independent traders will stay open later, along with the larger retail chains, to entice festive shoppers to splash their cash. Proposals would mean shops re- maining open until 8pm on Thurs- days from November 26 and on December 14, 15 and 16 until 7pm. In Christmas week itself, it has
been proposed that the shops might stay open each night until 8pm with the exception of Christ- mas Eve, when they would close at 5.30pm. Boxing Day – a Saturday – would
have Sunday opening hours from 10.30am to 4.30pm and normal trading hours would resume on December 28, with Sunday hours again on Friday, January 1. TCM change co-ordinator Ilsa
Butler said: “We appreciate it is sometimes difficult for the inde- pendent traders to mirror the large retailers, but at the same time we do not want to disappoint people and hope that as many shops as possible will open.” Fremlin Walk will once again be leading the switch-on event, sched-
uled for November 19, with a celebrity guest to perform the hon- ours.
However, local bands and choirs
have already expressed an interest in taking part and could perform in the High Street’s Jubilee and Re- membrance Squares. Maidstone Council has said it cannot support the “Free after Three” parking initiative, however, or any additional park and ride services, to encourage shoppers into Maidstone at Christmas, as they are not commercially viable.
Going loco with CoCo and the Butterfields
PASSENGERS enjoyed songs from CoCo and the Butterfields on a packed Music Train travelling through Maidstone. The event, organised by the Kent
Community Rail Partnership, drew a capacity crowd for the band, fronted by former Maidstone schoolboy Robbie Wicks. He said: “It was the first time we had been
asked to play on a train – and it wasn’t without its challenges!” The Mayor ofMaidstone Cllr Daniel Moriarty was among the guests as the train wound its way up and down the scenic Medway Valley line between Tonbridge and Strood.
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www.downsmail.co.uk 18 Maidstone South October 2015
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