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Kent councils issue joint plea to clean up roadside litter


Joining forces to clear verges


BOSSES from Maidstone and Tonbridge and Malling have joined forces with the 11 other Kent councils in urging Highways England to clean up roadsides in the Garden of England. A joint letter on behalf of all 13 authorities has been sent to Simon Jones, director of Highways Eng- land, urging him to agree an action plan. The councils are demanding bet-


ter co-ordination so that councils can clean roadsides and lay-bys when roads are closed for mainte- nance and say that, otherwise, they are missing chances to save taxpay- ers’ money. The letter demands greater clar-


ity about whose responsibility it is to clean up which roads. It also says that Highways England should run a joint campaign with the councils to discourage motorists from throwing rubbish out of their vehi- cles as they drive through the coun- tryside or park in lay-bys. The move follows a summit meeting involving senior council- lors and officers from Kent Re- source Partnership and Kent County Council. The 13 council stressed their determination to pro- tect the county’s image as the Gar- den of England. Cllr David Lettington, Tonbridge


and Malling’s cabinet member for environment services, pictured, said: “We are determined to crack down on those who to litter the borough.


“Working reg-


ularly with com- munity groups and schools to educate local people on the importance of taking care of our environ- ment only gets


the message out so far and more needs to be done to reach a wider audience. “Taking a collaborative approach


will hopefully further spread the anti-littering message and improve our approach to tackling litter.” Maidstone Council said that, like


other Kent authorities, it works hard to keep its borough clean and tidy. “We work with other agen- cies, such as KCC Highways, to en- sure the faster roads are cleansed regularly and safely. “The first impression of someone arriving in Maidstone is often the amount of litter on the slip roads of the motorways. These roadside verges are maintained by High- ways England and....this work should be given a higher priority.”


Down to earth with lottery win


AN AYLESFORD man who scaled snowy Ben Nevis to celebrate his 50th birthday came back down to earth with a lottery win. James Godden (pictured left)


signed up to the Kent Air Ambulance weekly fundraising draw just nine months ago. The construction foremanthought nothing more of his £8-a-month stake until he received a call telling him he had landed the top prize of £1,000. He said: “I’d just climbed Ben


Nevis and got back at 3am and then found out I’d won, so it’s been quite a week.”


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