downsmail.co.uk


and Leisure Commiee is on November 29. This meeting will be open to the public and questions can be submied in advance to any of the councillors involved and these can be found on the MBCwebsite. Moira Thompson, GardenWalk, Maidstone


Noisewas unbearable


I READ with uer amazement how Maidstone Borough Council, the director of Ramblin’ Man and all the others contend that the noise levelwas acceptable. I live on the top floor of Mote House,


overlooking the concert site. The noise started here on the Friday mid-afternoon, with the groups tuning their instruments. It was a continuous bang-bang of the drums and other instruments at full blast. Nobody monitored that day. The noisewas unbearable andwe had to go out to get away from it. The operator of the system that monitors


the recorded levelswas situated 200 yards away from Mote House on the grass, almost under the row of trees, which would have reduced the noise levels he picked up. If he had been on the top floor here the levels would have been considerately louder and unbearable. When Cllr Mike Revell, who aended the concert, said that the noise levelswere not too bad, he must have beenwearing ear pads. The noise levelwas too much for neighbours here whowent away because of the effect it had on them last year. Surely this is not an acceptable nuisance


thatwe are expected to bear year after year, without any help from the council, who are using the park as a cash cow to finance their spending levels. The parkwas left to the residents of Maidstone by Lord Bearsted for their enjoyment and not for thousands of people who do not contribute to the coffers of MBC.


Under the Freedom of Information Act, I


would like to know where it is wrien that MBC can use the park in this fashion to the annoyance of so many council tax-payers who are treated with contempt. I rang the co-ordinator at Ramblin’ Man


to ask them to turn down the volume and point the loudspeakers in a different direction to stop us here at Mote House geing the full blast of the terrible noise these so-called musicianswere making. They did try to do this, but without much success, so itwas awaste of time ringing and complaining. Perhaps, but don’t hold your breath,


MBC will either cancel this nuisance or have it monitored in a believable fashion. John Evenden, by email


Cautionary tale of flooding


ARE you flooding comfortably? Then I'll begin... Once upon a time Goldilocks the flood


victimwent to an EA poster exhibition. “My, what big budgets you have for


some areas,” she said. “Would it make a difference to the flooding in Yalding if the riverwas BIGGER?” she asked Dredging Bear. “Oh no, no difference at all,” said Dredging Bear.


“Does it make a difference that the river


is 20% SMALLER in places where it has silted up?” she asked Silty Bear. “Oh no, no difference at all,” said Silty Bear. “So it's exactly the right size then?” “Yes!” said Property Level Protection


(PLP) Bear, “Just right!” “That is lucky,” said Goldilocks. “That


means you have plenty of money to be able to spend millions more on parts of the catchment where only 10 houses flooded and still have £3m left over for a fish ladder at East Farleigh.” “Yes!” said the EA spokesperson. “But


PLP can be just as effective, even though the DEFRA evaluation says at best it works in one in five houses and in most of the rest it only reduces the amount ofwater coming into your house. But maybe Yalding, Laddingford and Collier St will be different? Can I get back to you on that whenwe’ve actually done a survey on the houses in a couple of years from now?” But Goldilockswas a bit of a nuisance


and she didn't give up: “But what if there were otherways of reducing the level of water in Yalding, even if by only 6-12 inches?” she asked. “Thenwe'll huff andwe'll puff.... But, er,


that's about it, we've not actually modelled it or anything like that,” said the engineer. “Shallwe do that now?” “OK,” said Goldilocks. And they all flooded happily ever after. Don’t let Goldilocks be flooded again.If


you don’t see the funny side, email mark.douch@environment-agency.gov.uk. MP helen.grant.mp@parliament.uk would also like to hear from you to help the campaign. Stephen Day, Medway, Beult & Teise Flood Group


Amarathon opportunity


MANYpeople across Kent will have found out that they have sadly missed out on the 2017 London Marathon ballot. Prospective runners who have been looking forward to taking part will be disappointed to find out they haven’t secured a place in this hugely iconic race. But don’t despair, The Children’s Society


can get you on that starting line. If you have your heart set on running the Virgin Money London Marathon in April 2017 you can apply for a charity place and run to help disadvantaged children. The Children’s Society supports children


and young people dealing with hardship, abuse and neglect and every penny raised by our runners will help to transform the lives of the UKs most vulnerable children. It’s easy to apply andwe provide a huge amount of support every step of theway, including a training day, help with fundraising, online forums, cheering you along on the day and a sports massage and celebration afterwards. For more information on being part of


our London Marathon 2017 team go to childrenssociety.org.uk/londonmarathon Mahew Reed, chief executive of The Children’s Society


Put safety of children first


EVERY time “the Jungle” refugee camp in Calais is cleared, children go missing. The French president Francois Hollande


is right to say there is no excuse for the UK to shirk its international duties, but for both the UK and French authorities, protecting young people must be of paramount importance. More than a year has passed since the


Government promised to rescue thousands of lone children from Calais and other camps, yet few have arrived. The processing of applications remains inexcusably slow. Many children have relatives in the UK


and, above all else, a legal right to be here. Two children are known to have been killed waiting for their cases to be dealt with by the British government. As President Hollande enacts plans to


close the camp, these children are in even greater danger. They must be brought to safety now. Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for the South East


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