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Mote Park – best in Britain? MailMarks


 WE should be very proud Mote Park is


now regularly voted among the best three parks in the country – and it could rise to the top.


Improvements to pathways, parking and


views over the last two years have seen visi- tors numbers swell. Now Maidstone Council has announced plans for the next big steps – a major, larger, re-built restaurant with mag- nificent vistas down to the scenic lake, up- graded toilets and a charged adventure and activity feature next to the free children’s play area towards the leisure centre. We often take our grandchildren for an


hour or so. These new attractions will make most stays a lot longer – perhaps for three hours if the restaurant and eating experiences hit the right buttons. I would like to see the magnificent scenery and fascinating history of the park imaginatively displayed around the restaurant to excite visitors and encourage wider exploration of the 440-acre park. How many know the enthralling story of


former park owner Lord Bearsted, founder of Shell oil company? He named it after his fam- ily business which traded worldwide in orna- mental sea shells. He was an amazing man who died in 1927. His heirs sold Mote Park to Maidstone Corporation for £50,000 in 1929 and The MoteCricket Groundwas left in trust


Quashing NHS myths


Dear Sir – In a recent Mail Marks Dennis Fowle repeats some old myths about the NHS that need squashing. Recycled regularly, especially by those


whowant to convince us that we can no longer afford an NHS andwe should be thinking of charges, an insurance system or privatisation, they include:  Charging


Dr Paul Hobday


would help:Noit wouldn’t. It just shifts the costs to the poor and the elderly who are less


healthy than other groups. The Germans gave this up after the failure of a six-year experiment. The evidence is that it encourages the “worriedwell” but deters the poor sick, which costs more in the long run. The US Commonwealth Fund rates the UK NHS as the most cost-effective healthcare system in the world.  Ageing population: Exaggerated.


Most money is spent in the last six months of life, irrespective of how old you are.  Costs too much: Wrong.We spend less


on health than the other G7 nations and in the last few years, the percentage of GDP spent has fallen from 11% to a lile over 7%. This is a political choice, not


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Malling February 2016 23


DENNISFOWLE President dfowle2011@aol.com


to the cricket club. With the park attracting a million visitors a


year – and this will grow – parking problems will increase, despite the new £1-a-day charge. I believe one of the next areas for council consideration should be the large grassed area lined with lovely trees between the entrance and exit roads. In winter it is often a quagmire. I think its main value will be as a surfaced


car park – but recommend greater ambition. I think the end closest to the park entrance would be a very popular location for two or three quality restaurants. I think dining in the park would be a very exciting addition. This area could be a good earner, too, for our cash- strapped council. I would also like the council to upgrade the


sports take in the park. There is a little-used area close to the leisure centre and bowls club large enough for high-quality football, rugby etc pitches. At the moment, much of this land undulates all over the place but an investment


economics. We are 27th out of 29 EU countries in the number of doctors per head of population. The NHS is not unaffordable or unsustainable but underfunded. The cost of your GP per year per head is £74 inWest Kent. Try insuring you cat or car for that.  It’s abused: Greatly exaggerated, according to the evidence. This is not the cause of the NHS’s problems. Contrast that with the private US system that the Government is so keen on:waste $690 billion , overcharging $750bn , fraud $98bn. The USA spends three times as much per head with worse results. It’s time the subtle but relentless campaign by the media and politicians to undermine our health service stopped. Correcting some of the anti-NHS propaganda is a start. Dr Paul J Hobday, Churn Lane, Horsmonden


Leave our park alone


Dear Sir – I feel I must write to defend Mote Park against ideas put forward by Mr Fowle in his musings in Mail Marks in this edition of the Downs Mail. He thinks that the next area for the council to consider is the “large grassed area lined with lovely trees” between the MoteAvenue entrance and exit roads, which he thinks should make a lovely surfaced car park. To make maers worse he suggests two


in levelling andwell-planned layout would be very welcome by our sporting community. There is a strong demand from various sports – and the council knows it under-provides for sport in the borough. It should be protected for quality sport use


– but routes left for walkers and dogs to ac- cess other more popular areas of the park. Those I questioned have little appetite for walking over the current sports pitches. Changing rooms and showers are available


in the leisure centre – but sports clubs would like to see these upgraded. I know some will see my thoughts as harmful to their image of parts of the park. But no one should now doubt the popularity of recent changes – it has become aparkofevengreater beauty andfun. Let’s keep that ball rolling. What do you think? The Downs Mailwel- comes reader letters on Mote Park.





Fax frustrations Some 20 years ago a business abused my


fax machine by sending unsolicited adverts. Ten years ago I removed the machine – but still these unwanted nuisance phone calls ar- rive almost daily, causing great inconven- ience. Any advice please?


or three “quality” restaurants in the same area.We have more than enough concrete and Tarmac in the park already. Starting with the leisure centre and Maidstone Bowls Club premises all built on part of the park, not to mention the retirement village and the park and ride, Maidstone has more than enough restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. Every time you go into town there’s a new one opened. We need the park, a green open space. I


think certain things are good ideas such as the adventure playground and a new café, which could be built near where the old one is by razing all the buildings in that area.


However, the park can be enjoyed by simplywalking round it. Why is it people seem to need things to occupy themselves with? There is nothing as pleasant and refreshing as awalk in a green open space. S Johnson,West Park Road, Maidstone


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