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Kig victory is no guarantee MailMarks
CAMPAIGNERS against development
are wrong to consider Maidstone’s great victory against the Kent International Gate- way (Kig) proposal is now a defensive wig against new and very different planning proposals for parts of that land. Maidstone Council spent about £1.7m defending the borough from a proposal which included a strategic rail freight in- terchange (up to 13 freight trains a day) with massivewarehousing and other com- mercial development running for miles close to the M20 from Hollingbourne to Bearsted. Most of the money was spent fighting the long and vigorous appeal against its planning decision to reject the Axa application. Local parishes teamed up well and financed their own separate battle against Kig. Maidstone rejoiced five years ago when
the inspector threw out the massive and unsightly development for 290 acres, so damaging to this rural area and the bor- ough as a whole. Maidstone Council, whose vital work on evolving Maidstone’s local planwas seriously delayed, won scant praise for the way it fronted this success. And nowadays it receives brickbats when it handles new, unrelated planning appli- cations for parts of the land.
Sacrifice remembered
Dear Sir – In a world which once again is in turmoil and unrestwe should, at the 100th anniversary of her death, pause and reflect on the life and work of nurse Edith Cavell. We should remember the heroic sacrifice,
her heroism, her fortitude and her humanity in her work and life. She, with many others, fought the typhoid epidemic that came to Maidstone in the summer of 1897. In 1915 she again rose to the challenge
and worked tirelessly for the wounded from all sides, during what is now known as the GreatWar (WorldWar I) and paid for her duty with her life. At a memorial service in London itwas
said: ”The crowning horror of the treatment of womanhood is the atrocious murder of this woman, who lived to alleviate suffering and who only did what any one of us would have done in saving the lives of refugees who sought shelter of a home.” Aswe commemorate the anniversary of
her deathwe should remember her supreme sacrifice and how she has set the world an example of howwe should bear ourselves in a crisis. We should remember and reflect on her
words given in the few hours before her execution. “Patriotism is not enough – I must have
no hatred or bierness towards anyone.“ Cllr David Picke, Bower Street, Maidstone
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Stephen Eighteen Editor
stephen@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 231
32 Maidstone South November 2015 Diane Nicholls
Assistant editor
diane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 232
Jane Shotliff
Journalist
jane@downsmail.co.uk 01622 734735 ext 233
Dawn Kingsford
Journalist
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DENNISFOWLE President
dfowle2011@aol.com
Each new application must now be con- sidered on its individual merits and a sig- nificant factor will be the Len Valley Landscape of LocalValue which runs from Bearsted, south of the M20 to Lenham, as now included in the draft local plan. But this landscape area is not a total ban on de- velopments and cases can be made for it to be overridden. An often expressed fear is that development in this area will see Bearsted merge with Hollingbourne and then through to Harrietsham and Lenham. This is a nightmare scenario almost on a parallel with Kig. I believe this is scare- mongering and there are no intentions for this. The landscaping designation will play a major role in this. However, Maidstone Council faces mas-
sive challenges meeting Government de- mands for new housing, especially with our infrastructure difficulties, and it must look at the attractive transport advantages of this area – the M20, A20 and the main-
Support junior doctors
Dear Sir –As senior doctors who have worked in Kent for many years,we write to express our grave concern about the Government’s intention to impose a damaging and dangerous working contract on our junior colleagues. So-called “junior” doctors make up all doctors from every specialty in hospitals, except consultants, and are the backbone of medical care. Without them there would be no expert healthcare for
Dr Paul Hobday
patients and the service would be paralysed. Sadly, Government ministers do not
seem to recognise this. If they did, they would not be trying to force on these dedicated doctors “normal” working hours of 7am-10pm six days aweek with the added insult of a 30% pay cut. In the same shameful package, juniors entering general practice could earn up to 40% less. This is not only unjust, but idiotic in view of the lack of GPs. Safeguards against working dangerous hours are to be removed and maternity pay affected. Wewere told bankers needed their high
pay and bonuses to stop them leaving the country. Too many junior doctors are
line rail link with stations every few miles. I believe too that M20 Junction 8 is the
right place for significant business devel- opment to boost Maidstone’s economy. The attraction to businesses with such easy access to theM20 for the Channel ports and linked motorway infrastructure to the rest of Britain is undeniable. Workforces will value the M20 access. But I am not com- fortable that the Woodcut Farm site be- tween the M20 and A20 between Bearsted and Hollingbourne is preferable to the more hidden Waterside Park site south of the A20. That debate has not ended.
Caring for the aged I BECOME very concerned about care
for our aged sick. Increasingly they block vital beds in our hospitals because of prob- lems accommodating them. The hospital trust is highly critical of social services management and had threatened to in- voice the service and KCC for costs. Now we hear of KCC making further cutbacks and closing some of its homes. How many can afford to fund their own residential or nursing home care?A friend who moved in to a home is having to find the best part of £40,000 a year. As our pop- ulation ages this problem will grow.
already leaving the UK because of Government policies towards the NHS, and this contract will accelerate the exodus. Double standards indeed. We support junior doctors fully in their
fight to retain safe working conditions. Tired doctors make mistakes. Patients and the NHS will undoubtedly be put at risk by these cynical proposals. The great British public needs to lobby
MPs and show support for their doctors. Everyone will need their services one day. Dr Paul Hobday, Dr Karen Poerton, Dr Ali Abbas, Dr K Bala, Dr Jonathan Goodman, Dr Roger Hart, Dr David Tod, Dr Carol Jones, Dr Akbar Soorma, Dr Amit Saha, Dr S. Renkema, Dr R Blundell, DrM Lile, DrMIronmonger, Dr J Dennison, Dr P Hanrath, Dr G Singh, Dr S Jones, Dr P Gildeh, Dr P Jones, Dr T Cantor, DrM South, DrMHeber, Dr G Hagan, Dr H Terrell, DrA Jones, DrMMoss, Dr N Pile
Election correction
Dear Sir – May I please add a correction to your article “Lib Dems retain influence” in June’s edition of the Downs Mail. This suggests that Eddie Powellwas
prevented from defending his seat in Harrietsham and Lenham in view of his success last year. Eddie, however, advised us that he preferred to devote all of his energies to contesting the parliamentary seat in Maidstone, which would take all his time.
Comment
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