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tend towards Remain, because they have more to gain. We are pensioners who have worked


hard and paid our dues. The money we paid in has gone to pay the previous generation's pensions. It's nice to think the free movement of labour is paying its share for our pensions. Now is the time for the younger generation's voice to be heard, so I hope they vote on June 23. Bill Banks, via email


The end for Cameron?


IAMa definite Leave voter, but a Tory supporter too. I can see trouble ahead for Prime Minister David Cameron. He took a gamble on the rise of UKIP by calling the referendum in the first place but must have felt sure he could win. He knows if he loses, he is out, no question. But if he wins, he is left with the party


split over the single most toxic issue possible: Europe. He’ll have to go. Maybe not immediately but sometime soon. And that leaves us with another scramble to find someone who can reunite the party after the divisions over Europe. Let’s hope they don’t choose someone like John Major for he was the kiss of death. The smart money seems to be on Boris Johnson, whose charisma and ambition are not in doubt. But I’m not sure. The lustre around the jovial fellow seems to be fading somewhat. Perhaps the party should been looking


to the backbenches for its next leader. Anyone got any suggestions? PWarren, via email


Let’s get it over with


PERHAPS I amin a minority, but I am totally fed up with listening to the EU debate and the sooner the blasted thing is out of the way the beer, in my view. The uncertainty of a possible Brexit is probably causing more damage than we realise as many businesses seem to have put everything on hold while the issue is still to be resolved. All my instincts are to say that we should leave, as the EU appears to be a massive club for people with their own vested interests but lile interest in the people to whom their rules will eventually affect.


Sadly, I can’t help thinking that, if the polling is broadly correct and 30 per cent or so remain to be convinced one way or another, the vote is more than likely to swing towards remain as undecided voters are inclined to stick with the status quo rather than take a leap into the unknown. And that will be a terrible shame and a golden opportunity gone to throw off the shackles of an organisation so vast and so enmeshed with its own self-interest. Another referendum is highly unlikely to come along again any time soon. So make your vote count. Phil Simms, via email


Why we’re stronger as one


I RESPECT the views of local residents and encourage them to exercise their decision at the ballot box on June 23, for what will be I'm sure a very personal choice. For me, personally, there is a positive, patriotic case to be made for why Britain is beer off in Europe. Together we


are stronger fighting cross-border global problems like climate change and terrorism. It is by no means perfect, but working together we have delivered decades of peace and prosperity and created the world's largest ever trading area, benefiting local businesses across Maidstone and our county. Cllr Emily Fermor Borough Councillor, Coxheath & Hunton


Another great season


ASA local councillor, I would just like to congratulate everyone connected to Maidstone United for yet another very successful season. The club has done so well since coming


back home to Maidstone and I feel the clubs success has put Maidstone itself back on the map. I amsure that I and the people of Maidstone will be wishing the club even more success next season now that Maidstone United have won deserved promotion to the National League. COYS. Cllr David Naghi, Maidstone


Link road poorly planned


REGARDING the “link road” article in the May edition of Downs Mail, I make some observations. The traffic problems within Maidstone


are now at the same level as Guildford 35 years ago. Remember leaving home at 3am then going to theWest Country to get through Guilford before it became blocked with traffic?Well, Maidstone is the new Guildford. The problem is due to poor planning


and under-investment in the county town. The town has A229, A249,A20,A26 and local


roads all needing to enter the town to access their desired destination. The gyratory system is based on a roundabout that works so poorly that traffic lights are needed. The southern approach roads from


Suon Road and Loose Road had a roundabout but this was replaced with traffic lights and nothing was done to remove the problem. What is the problem here? It seems simple to me. Two busyA roads joining together into Loose Road in two lanes. But then squeeze all the traffic into one lane at Armstrong Road – not a roundabout in site. Why are theA roads so busy? Because


all the through traffic with a destination other than Maidstone has no option but to use theA roads provided, that lead to the gyratory in the town centre. Creating local rat runs through housing estates is not going to make the problem go away. It will just increase risk and disturbance in housing areas that should be free of through traffic. This is where our kids play! The M20 acts as a bypass for half the


town, but traffic that need to cross the river and go south of Maidstone is bringing the county town to its knees. A Maidstone bypass would allow the


local traffic in the town to move more freely by keeping the through traffic out of the town. But only if it is planned and implemented with care and thought for the future. Rat runs are not the answer. A dual carriageway bypass from M20


Leeds via Langley, Loose, Barming and finishing at the M20 will alleviate the


problem within the town and villages like Leeds and Langley. There even seems to be enough farmland to do it without disrupting residential areas. It is up to the KCC to organise and fund


this and not put it off for another 44 years. The longer it takes the more difficult and disruptive it will be. The borough council has stopped granting planning permission south of Maidstone to avoid adding to the traffic congestion. Too lile too late. Let us see how the new gyratory system improves things. If not, would the money have been beer spent on a bypass? Christopher Smith, via email


Great care at hospital


DUE to all the bad press Maidstone Hospital gets, I would just like to tell you what fantastic care I received at Maidstone Hospital in the cardiac unit and Culpepper ward after I had a heart aack recently. The care I received whilst in hospital,


and at home, by the cardiac nurses could not have been beered anywhere else. JillWellbelove, via email


Liering a disgrace


REFERENCE Downs Mail May edition, regarding Terance Turner’s praise for the parish council and the state of the Madginford shop fronts. Either Mr Turner or the council cannot


have looked beyond the immediate shop fronts. If they had, they would have seen just how unswept are the guers thereabouts. The build-up of mess plus thousands of cigaree bus demonstrates how infrequently it is swept. It’s not the first time that I have wrien


to complain of this unsightly shortfall and it is no use complaining that cars are always parked thereabouts. If only the cleansing department could


get its finger out and learn when the area when the area is not so congested, because it is not always congested. Roy FWilsher, Blenheim Close, Bearsted


Dog owners a menace


IAMfully aware that the vast majority of dog owners love and care for their dogs, train them and keep them under control, clean up after them and dispose of their waste properly. However, there are irresponsible dog owners who – when the clocks go back – sneak out under the cover of darkness and allow their dogs to poop around the village and leave the mess where it lands. Often an unsuspected pedestrian will tread in it. Disgusting. Others allow their dogs to run free,


chase other dogs, jump up at people going for a quiet walk and sniff anybody who happens to be passing – usually in areas where they are not wanted – and they traumatise children and adults who are afraid of dogs. In Mote Park, where I often walk, dogs


are a menace, running all over the place and geing under my feet. I have also come close to tripping over those stupid extending leads. The law is, however, on our side and


everyone should make themselves aware of the rules. J Richards, The Landway, Bearsted


Malling June 2016 31


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