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I live on Maidstone bypass MailMarks


I KNOW many living in Maidstone area


now have a tale of woe about increasing local traffic problems, but please bear with me for a couple of minutes to learn of mine shared with the good folk of Farleigh. I accepted more than 30 years ago that


Lower Road, East Farleigh, was a Maidstone bypass for many living in the south of our borough, but now the consequences are ap- palling. As the centre of Maidstone becomes more


congested, so more drivers seek a bypass at a time when this route is beset with new and se- rious problems. The slowest part of our journey is now


usually from the M20 via Hermitage Lane, the Tonbridge Road traffic lights, Farleigh Lane, Farleigh railway crossing, Farleigh Bridge, Station Hill and Lower Road. It can easily take 30 minutes, at worst an


hour. So we have had to give up on Papa's lovely takeaway fish and chips at Ditton! The new traffic lights close to theA20 junc- tion in Hermitage Lane are the final straw.


Make the bridge oneway


Dear Sir – How about closing East Farleigh bridge to southbound traffic? Cost: a couple of no entry signs. This would instantly halve the traffic


flow, improving life for the villagers and village itself and stop lorries aempting the shortcut via South Street. The closure would upset a few but create a gyratory system with one-way Teston bridge that would massively improve traffic flows. Richard Maryan, Maidstone


Thanks for your donations


MAIDSTONE SalvationArmy Corps would like to thank people for their very generous support of the annual door to door collection and collections at public venues. This appeal raises vital funds for our


diverse programme of life-changing social and community services, including:  supporting men, women and families who are experiencing homelessness;  providing a place of safety for adult victims of modern slavery;  running care homes and day centres for older people;  reuniting families through our family tracing service. All the money raised is used to care for people who are vulnerable or in need in the United Kingdom. Thank you. Salvation Army Corps, Maidstone


DENNISFOWLE President dfowle2011@aol.com


What thought went in to these? They cause major problems and serious delays in all di- rections. I believe they are also dangerous for A20 users. Something has got to be done –we have been very badly let down. In East Farleigh,we are always being told


after investigations that nothing can be done about the busy railway crossing and our very historical single-lane bridge. It is a traffic nightmare and big lorries, which use it ille- gally, are causing serious damage. It is a horse-and-cart route expected to cope with the ever-increasing weight of modern traffic. It suits Kent County Council to turn a blind eye, but this just cannot go on. With all the development scheduled in the


next few years, this horror story will get worse. Talking has got to turn to action. There


Castle should contribute


IWOULDlike to ask whether you think the “Garden of England” description is appropriate when you see the scruffy and neglected verges and roundabouts from J8 to the Park Gate Inn pub on the A20. Local residents see these sad green spaces


and I wonder what Leeds Castle and local hotel management think of these sights. Thousands of visitors come to this part of Kent each year with hotels and the castle benefiing. During castle events people who use the


A20 have to put up with serious congestion. As tax-payerswe are unable to put any pressure on the borough and county councils or indeed the highways authorities, whereas Leeds Castle and local hotels do have influence to improve maers. GMCollins, Hollingbourne


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. Nobody monitored that day. The noisewas unbearable andwe had to go out. The operator of the system that monitors





has been plenty of pressure and I ampleased to see it is building once again.


TheGreatWar exhibition atMaidstone Mu-


seum fascinated me for an hour – and I chal- lenge anyone not to be moved by events which touched our town so strongly 100 years ago.


The centre pieces are two magnificent 1916


paintings by local artist Frank Hyde – one showing a convoy of wounded soldiers re- turning to Maidstone East Station and the other a battle scene from Trone’s Wood, on the Somme. There are many telling exhibits which set


the scene for the sadness and horrors felt by Maidstone residents at the time. Do not miss the postcards written recently


by Maidstone children with messages they think they would have written from the front to loved ones at home. May their time never come. It is the season of Remembrance Day – an appropriate time to take in this exhibition.


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. 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. 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. I would like to know where it is wrien


thatMBCcan 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. 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


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