News


downsmail.co.uk Tuning in to musical opportunity


MAIDSTONE Council could become the music capital of Kent – if only it had the money! The town already has a thriving


music scene and is home to Kent Music, one ofEurope’s largestmusic schools. Each year, crowds flock to Proms


in the Park, the Maidstone Mela, the Maidstone Fringe Festival, The So- cial Festival and a host of other events inclubs and pubs in the town. According to anewreport, all that


is missing is an auditorium with ex- cellent acoustics to complement the town’s outstanding and diverse range of musical events. Maidstone Council’s leisure and culture committee heard that Maid- stone has six choral societies and at least seven community choirs, a strong folk and rock scene, out- standing jazz at Pizza Express and clubs which employ DJs of interna-


tional standing. Forging links with the BBC –


which records “Jool’s Holland’s Later” at the Maidstone Studios – could help push the county town forward as the music capital of Kent. Nick Ewbank, one of the UK’s leading authorities on creative urban regeneration,was commissioned by the council to study the culture and heritage potential of the town. He said: “Maidstone’s main pub-


lic music venues are notwell-suited to meet the needs of audiences. “All Saints’ Church has good acoustics for unamplified orchestral and choral music but has uncom- fortable pews, poor sight lines and a lack of toilets. Mote Hall at Maid- stone Leisure Centre has the wrong ambience to become a successful


Transport at the heart of town’s heritage zone


NICKEwbankwas the founding di- rector of The Creative Foundation which, together with the philanthro- pist Roger De Haan , steered a nine- year project to revitalise Folkestone and develop its “creative quarter”. His suggestions for Maidstone in-


clude the creation of a “square mile” heritage zone, taking in the heritage buildings in Gabriels Hill, Bank Street,Week Street and Earl Street, as well as the grade I-listed All Saints’ Church and Archbishop’s Palace. Nick (pictured) would like to see


the Carriage Museum relocated – something the council has been con- sidering for many years – but to a building such as thePowerHub in St Peter Street or the old Rootes garage, at the bottom ofMill Street, both of which connect with the town’s transportation past. This would allow for the expan-


sion of the museum into a full- blown museum of transport, taking in all forms of transport that have played a role inMaidstone over the centuries. He said: “Maidstone grew up as a transport hub and, throughout his- tory, the town’s fortunes rose and fell in line with innovations in trans- port.”


Rootes, which built the 1930s art


deco style listed building in Mill Street, became the largest car and


amplified music venue. “Uniquely, though, Maidstone is


also host to Jools Holland’s Later – the flagshipBBC2music programme broadcast from Maidstone Studios since 1992, which brings some of the world’s top musical talents and ris- ing stars to Maidstone to play short live sets.” Mr Ewbank would like to see the council form a partnership with Maidstone Studios and the BBC, Arts Council England, KCC, music organisations, universities and oth- ers to develop one or more dedi- cated venues for live music. He also wants the council to offer affordable workspace and shared space for creative businesses and “messy space” for artists and mak- ers.


All Saints’ Church, Maidstone Making more of link to arts


THE Royal Society of Arts (RSA) was founded in 1754 byWilliam Shipley, a Maidstone-born artist and social reformer. Shipley lived in Knightrider Street and is buried in the grounds of All Saints’ Church. Talks have already taken place with the RSA about developing


the town’s link with Shipley, as part of the society’s Heritage, Iden- tity and Place project, being run in conjunction with the Heritage Lottery Fund. Mr Ewbank would like to see the council work with the RSA and


the HLF to develop a local Heritage, Identity and Place project for Maidstone and building on the legacy ofWilliam Shipley, to foster stronger links between Maidstone and the RSA. He told the leisure and culture committee: “There is a growing recognition within the RSA that this link with Maidstone could be strengthened and made something of, over time.”


Culture ‘won’t come cheap’


truck distributor in the UK in the 1920s, while the Tilling-Stevens fac- tory, now the PowerHub building, designed in the style of Henry Ford’s daylight factory, manufac- tured engines for buses. Twelve-times mayor of Maid-


stone, Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake established the carriage museum in the historic tithe barn in 1946, per- suading theVictoria andAlbertMu- seum and the Royal Collection to lend important carriages which are still on display today. The council has long accepted that


the tithe barn is not an ideal location and the collection is cramped and difficult to access.


Empty shops are ‘unleable’ MAIDSTONEtown centre has slightly fewer empty shop units than it had six months ago. There are 646 ground floor units in the town centre, of which 18 are


new businesses.However, 66 of the units are empty – making 10.2% of the total. In May, the figurewas 10.7%. Maidstone Town Centre Management’s LarryWilliamson said that 49 of the unitswere virtually unlettable.


32 Malling December 2015


LACK of funds and ambition were the two key components in Maidstone standing still, the town’s heritage, culture and leisure committee heard. Cllr Dan Daley said: “There are many things we would like to change –


but we need to have the finances to do it.” He feared Maidstone did not have sufficient drive and ambition to push


for a decent conference centre and concert hall, reminding members how the popular jazz weekends had folded due to lack of funding. He said: “All of this is a question of money. Art has to be supported and subsidised – even things like the Proms and the English National Opera. We do not get culture on the cheap. “Unless we have the ambition to earn the money, we will never succeed


in the way this report would wish us to. Even Crawley has the Hawth! The tourist economy is the key and ifwe never think of promoting our heritage and culture we will end up with the cultural desert we deserve.” Cllr Richard Ash referred back to a recent poll of residents about their pri-


orities for council spending and said: “They were more concerned with cleanliness and their bins being emptied than culture and leisure, which scored very low.We have to change the mindset of people and realise our culture is a great asset.”


Festive purse chains available


SHOPPERS in Maidstone can avail themselves of a free purse chain as the Christmas shopping season gets underway. MaidSafe, the town’s crime re- duction partnership, is handing out the purse chains eachWednes-


day in The Mall. The purse chains, designed to at-


tach purses to handbags deter pickpocketers, shopping bags or their owner will be available from 10am to noon on the first floor of the centre, near BHS and Boots.


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