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downsmail.co.uk ‘Iwant to see town go for growth’


A TOWN centre troubleshooter brought in to change the face of Maidstone believes the county town is full of “untapped potential”.


Paul Spooner (pictured), who has worked on regeneration projects in Manchester, Birmingham and Portsmouth, has been appointed in- terim director of planning and de- velopment at Maidstone Council, following the de- parture of Zena Cooke inAugust. Mr Spooner has pledged to use his skills and contacts to create a “square mile” in Maid- stone, much the


same as that in the City of London. It would include the redevelopment of land at Maidstone East station. He also hopes to influence man- agement of The Mall to bring for- ward their long-term improvement plans for the shopping centre – and get rid of some of the town’s most prominent “eyesore” sites. Born in Folkestone and a former director of economic development at Birmingham City Council, responsi- ble for city centre regeneration and major economic development proj- ects,Mr Spooner later served as Eng- lish Partnerships’ regional director for NorthWest andWest Midlands and director of theWest Midlands at Homes and Communities Agency. Before this, he spent seven years


with Portsmouth City Council as di- rector of development and led the public/private sector partnership for the regeneration of Portsmouth Har- bour.


A BLUEPRINT has been drawn up for the management of Maidstone. As of April 2016, the plan is for the


Town Centre Management and Town Team to join forces as a com- munity interest company, designed to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. A strategic board will join forces


with members of Maidstone council and senior officers, plus representa- tives from Kent County Council, the business and voluntary sectors, to oversee the work of MaidSafe (the crime reduction partnership) and


He told the Town Centre Man- agement and Town Team: “I am confident we can see significant growth in Maidstone in the next 10 years.” Aqualified town planner with an


MBA,MrSpooner says Maidstone is brimming with untapped potential. He said: “We havemany fantastic


assets and many development op- portunities. It is time we started to punch above ourweight and recog- nise the importance of Maidstone to the county of Kent.” The town centre management has already looked at the possibility of creating a Bid – a business improve- ment district – in the town centre,


which opens up direct channels to government funds to promote growth. Mr Spooner was part of the team


which worked on the Birmingham Broad Street Bid – the first of its kind in the country. He said: “I want to see a county


town that is really going for growth – not a town looking 20 years ahead. The success of the town centre man- agement adds value to the overall process and gives us a head start over our competitors. He said he would also be devel-


oping a relationship with Kent County Council with a view to es- tablishing a joint approach to town


centre development. “This is absolutely critical, as not


only are they the highways author- ity, but this town is their home. The future of Maidstone is important to them as a business and their long- term asset values.” A council spokesman said: “We appointed Paul Spooner to ensure that important work continues to improve Maidstone as a place while we look at the future shape of the of- ficer structure. Mr Spooner brings a wealth of experience of regeneration projects and will carry forward our ambitions especially for the town centre, commercial projects and the local plan.”


Investment plan to boost The Mall


PAUL Spooner hopes he can work with Capital & Regional, the owner of The Mall, to find a way to attract new retail and leisure investment which will allow the re-vamp of The Mall to proceed sooner rather than later. This would also include a major


overhaul of the bus station, which the interim director of planning and development saidwas “a priority for everyone”. He said: “We need to have a bus


station that is fit for purpose for the 21st century. I am determined to find a way forward to lift this end of


The blueprint for success


the town centre co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will continue to organise business briefings and su- pervise working groups covering regeneration, events and marketing, while MaidSafe will work closely with the nighttime and daytime economy forums. Ian Tucker, who chairs the TCM


and TT marketing group, said: “It is good to see we are on the road to achieving one organisation that brings together the best of the TCM, the Town Team and Maidstone Council.”


the town.” Mr Spooner said he was commit-


ted to bring about the redevelop- ment of land at Maidstone East railway station, in conjunction with KCC and Network Rail. He also plans to put a pro-


gramme in place to get rid of eye- sores, such as Wren’s Cross on Upper Stone Street, while making more of the town’s heritage assets. “I intend to do everything I can to


make sure the planners are behind us so we can get high quality devel- opment which fits your aspirations for the town centre.”


Pedestrians at heart of vision


PLANS for the future of Maidstone will make pedestrians a prior- ity. Paul Spooner said the most successful towns were those which provided a good “walking experience”. The new gyratory works, due to commence in May, will place a


strong emphasis on providing a good quantity and quality of pedestrian space, he assured. He said he hoped to improve the relationship between businesses


on both sides of the river, which would include tidying up the shrubbery around the Millennium Bridge and Archbishop’s Palace. He said: “It’s all about improving the environment and putting pedestrians first. “The river is an asset, so let’s use it. We want to create a town which is a relaxing place to spend money and time.”


Plenty of interest in growing group for retired


MORE than 200 men and women have now joined the Maidstone U3A.


Since moving to its new meeting


centre in the Salvation Army hall, Union Street, the group has grown rapidly, but there is still room for more people. U3A caters for the retired or semi-retired who have lively


30 Malling November 2015


minds and would like to take part in outings and activities with like- minded people. The club has more than 40 inter-


est groups, including short and long walks groups, bird watching, butterflies and geology. One group arranges trips to


places of interest across the county, making good use of the senior citi-


zens’ bus pass, and several times a year there are outings to places of interest further afield. This year, the group had aweek-


end trip to Portsmouth Dockyard and the Isle ofWight and more re- cently a visit to the war graves in France and Belgium. A monthly film evening is very popular, as is the screening of


opera and ballet. The whole group gets together


once a month at the Union Street centre, where a guest speaker is in- vited to give a talk to members. For details about Maidstone U3A


and its activities, find out more at the website www.u3asites/maid- stone.org.uk or call them on 01622 734298.


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