downsmail.co.uk Lier target


for volunteers LITTER pickers in Allington expect to clear their 1,000th bag of rubbish as part of a special drive ahead of the Queen’s birthday.


The Allington Alligators


have lined up Clean for the Queen litter picks on March 5 and 6, and it is hoped the com- munity will join in.


The litter-picking volunteers organised by April Lambourne meet monthly on a Sunday morning.


The group, which uses litter bags that are emptied by Maid- stone Council, also works in conjunction with the Medway Valley Partnership.


The Clean for the Queen lit- ter picks will last about 90 minutes. The March 5 picks will meet at Giddyhorn Lane Rec, off Poplar Grove, at 10am and the top of Castle Road, near the traffic-lights, at 2pm. On March 6 pickers will meet at the Topnotch Gym at the re- tail park, London Road, at 10am and Allington Commu- nity Centre in Castle Road at 2pm. Equipment and a safety talk will be provided. For details, email April or Mike Lambourne at mike.lam- bourne@btinternet.com and april.lambourne@btinternet.co m or call 01622 763553.


News


Firm tracks your phone to analyse how you shop


BUSINESSES in Maidstone town centre are being urged to embrace mobile phone tracking to keep pace with online shopping. Tracking software is now avail-


able which can monitor shoppers’ movements and habits. The data gathered can be used


by retailers to counter shoppers’ drift away from town centre stores to the comfort of their computer. The systemwas trialled in Maid-


stone on Black Friday in November – supposedly the busiest day for bargains prior to Christmas – on behalf of Maidstone Council and Maidstone Town Centre Manage- ment. By tracking shoppers’ mobile phones, Scout Solutions Ltd was able to discover that 3,135 people visited the area between McDon- alds in Week Street, the bottom of Gabriel’s Hill, the High Street and King Street between November 25 and December 8. The busiest days for unique visitorswere November 28, December 2, 6 and 8. The busiest times were at about


noon and between 4pm and 7pm. The highest footfallwas in the area around The Mall and Gabriels Hill. A series of six nodes positioned


in the town was able to capture mobile phone activity and also de-


A roaring trade in cakes


DARCY Armstrong (12), from Headcorn, has put her talent for baking to good use by raising more than £40 for the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. The Invicta Grammar School pupil developed her skills by pro- viding sweet treats for training sessions at her local judo club. Darcy’s brother Fraser works at the big cat conservation charity Wildlife Heritage Foundation in nearby Smarden, so she decided to raise funds for the charity at a Christmas craft fair. She said: “I have visited the big


cats at WHF and felt I should do what I can to support the work they do. They’re beautiful animals and I want to do my bit to help look after them.”


Youth club


CHILDREN in years seven to 11 are invited to a youth club at 74-80 Union Street, Maidstone. The club, run by the Salvation Army, from 7-9pm on Fridays costs £1. It offers a variety of games and a tuck shop. Call 01622 681808.


Castle boost


FRESH investment is being made at Leeds Castle. Improvements are being made to the kitchen that serves the visitor restaurant, and its education centre will be extended.


Theft charges DANIEL Nicholson (28), of Bluett


Street, Maidstone was sentenced to 28 days in prison, suspended for 12 months at Medway Magis- trates’ Court after he admitted two counts of shoplifting. Nicholson, who stole meat worth £31.20 and electrical items valued at £25.97 from shops in Week Street, Maidstone was or- dered to pay £31 compensation, £85 costs and an £80 victim sur- charge.


tect how many shoppers logged into Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter to potentially compare prices of goods for sale in shops. Town centre retailers could soon


take up the service to retain their market share.


Scout Solu-


tions director Pete Hotchkiss (pictured) said: “Increasing numbers of people are making their purchases on- line. If high street shops are


to retain their share of the market, we need to encourage people to buy in the high street.” The company can track shoppers


whose mobile phones are switched on. However, they cannot identify individuals nor any of the content on their phones – just their location and usage. Analysing the data en-


How do you feel about your mo- bile phone being tracked? Email stephen@downsmail.co.uk


ables the company to eliminate multiple signals – so the 3,135 shopperswere individuals and not the same people identified in dif- ferent locations. Mr Hotchkiss said: “Data scien-


tists understand in minute detail how people usewebsites.We need to obtain insights into how people behave if we are to remain com- petitive. Data such as this can be used to reveal what are the busiest times, how often shoppers return to a particular location and how long they spend in that environ- ment. “We can also find out how many people are simply browsing, then ordering online via their phones – or possibly shopping later at home.” November 2015 was the eighth month in a row that shopkeepers had noted a decline in footfall and Black Friday shoppers were 3.4% down on the previous month. Tracking services can be com-


bined with Google analytics and other software, such as weather forecasts, to more accurately pre- dict and monitor trends.


Kent faces police bill for Operation Stack


KENT taxpayers are likely to have to foot the bill for the polic- ing of Operation Stack. Home Secretary Theresa May


was asked to use her discre- tionary powers to reimburse Kent Police for the additional costs incurred in 2015 – more than £570,000 – but the answer was a definite no. The county’s independent Po-


lice and Crime Commissioner, Ann Barnes, has spoken of her surprise and dismay at the deci- sion. She said: “‘Operation Stack is acknowledged as a national problem, and yet policing serv- ices in Kent have been put under strain to deal with it. Local tax- payers should not have to pick up the bill for the inability of others to solve the problem.” The request for the “reason-


able, additional costs” of £576,925.59 was sent to Mike Penning MP, Minister for Polic-


ing, Fire, Criminal Justice and Victims, on November 17 last year, seeking funding under the Home Office Special Grant Process. Mrs Barnes said: “I need to discuss with theHomeOffice, as a matter of urgency, about how we can take things forward from here to make sure that Kent Po- lice is not left carrying the can in the future. “It would seem from the


Home Secretary’s decision that should Operation Stack be called again the taxpayers of Kent will be unfairly expected to pay for policing it. This misery has been going on for years and will continue until we get a long-term solution. “It is simply not acceptable to


have to routinely divert police resources to cover Stack and for those extra costs to be borne by the taxpayers in Kent.”


For more local news www.downsmail.co.uk Maidstone Town March 2016 23


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