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But neither do I have any “other special interest” in the relevant item relating to the Ramblin’ Man concert and the chairman could not think of a single reason for me having to leave the meeting. He did relent and say that I could stay, but


could not speak. The chairman clearly did not comprehend that I had been elected by the residents of Bearsted to speak for them. I should not have been excluded on the


whim of officers. The reason I leftwas because siing in a commiee where I had been gaggedwas awaste of my time. But I did have good reasons forwanting to speak. I had five points to make:


The recommendations of the independent sound engineerwere not followed, in particularly in directing the loud speakers straight to the residents outside Mote Park and down into the arena directly towards the audience. The sound level limit of 65 decibels recommended by the Noise Council is for all music events, but particularly for events such as Glastonbury which is in a rural location. Maidstone is not a rural location. The previous meeting of this commiee had asked for an income account for the event – a profit and loss account in short. The contract gave Maidstone Council a share of the admiance money paid to Ramblin’ Man. What that came to has never been disclosed to the commiee or to the public, who underwrite this event with their taxes. The silence leads me to guess that this sum is negligible. Has a new contract been signed for 2017? Cllr Mike Revell, Maidstone Borough Council


Aplea for our town


IHAVE wrien the following leer to various authorities locally. It reads: “For a county town, it is a mess. The buses coming from the south have towait at the end of Mill Street to turn up the High Street. The ones coming down to turn into Pudding Lane have the same problem – and the pollution you can see without monitors. “Things can only get worse. Nowwe have


the chance to do something for Maidstone and all the people who live here. “The site of the Royal Mail sorting office


could be a fantastic site for a bus station. “This opportunity will never come again.


We have got a lot of empty office space in Maidstone andwe don’t need any more. “For the future, consideration could be


given to building offices away from the town centre and leave the town for shops.We have been advised after all towalk or catch the bus or get on a bike to go shopping. “I am 81 years old and I have done my


time – I should just ignore all this, but I cannot. Iwake up in the night worrying about what Maidstone might be like in times to come. I must have some peace of mind. “Please, this is a very important issue and


cannot be decided on a show of hands.” Carlo Aabuto, Maidstone


Worshippers arewelcome


I RECENTLY aended a Maidstone United football match with my nephew and enjoyed the experience, if not the result. Herewas a family occasion with teams fielding players from different faiths and ethnic groups. The same could have been said for the supporters, too. The other Saturday, Iwent by the Maidstone Mosque in Mote Road during a “demonstration” by the far right against the expansion of the mosque. I would hope that these peoplewere not


locals. Like many, I didn’t even know therewas a mosque in Maidstone until I read about the planning application. Evidently, they perform their religious worship and duties without disturbing anyone. Long may it continue. A Twigg, via email


NHSwaste scandal THE economies in the NHS are just more smoke and mirrors to cover up the appalling waste and mismanagement. Recent reports have shown £182m spent


on “birth tourism” alone, not counting other treatment meted out to other health tourists” – £300millionwasted on drugs and £700million on temporary staff for A&E. There’s £1bn on agency staff, equipment/supplies bought at top prices, unnecessary operations and managers on top salaries with golden hellos and goodbyes, payment for failure, fat pensions, bonuses, etc. We can't afford to be a world health service, orwaste money making up for incompetence, laziness and greed. Why aren't the highly-paid managers controlling thiswaste? Why the conspiracy of silence and the inaction? Sadly, there are none amongst the “great


pretenders” inWestminster with the guts, the wit, or the will to stop this criminal waste robbing patients of proper car. Phil Granger,West Malling


Town needs its hospital


MYWIFE has received a 2.30pm appointment for the supply of awalking stick at the TunbridgeWells Hospital. Aswe live in Coxheath, this would take a


day by public transport or half a day in our own vehicle. This is difficult for OAPs with walking difficulties or driving on narrow, congested roads and returning in the dark. We have cancelled the appointment. However, the number of similar situations


will increase greatly if rumours of the closure of Maidstone Hospital and transfer to Pembury come true, as seems likely with the suitability of the site for house building. Maidstone without a university is indeed regreable but for Maidstone to be without a hospital, the future would be appalling. Could this be an appropriate use for the Invicta Barracks site? ME Cook, Coxheath


Blame the bankers


I SYMPATHISE entirely with Dennis Fowle’s concerns that Maidstone Borough Council is being forced to make more savings as a result of government cutbacks. However, I ampuzzled as to why he


believes the economic problems are the fault of former prime minister Gordon Brown. The financial crashwas caused by rampant greed and incompetence of the banks and Gordon Brown played a major role in preventing a financial meltdown. Itwas bailing out the banks that depleted


our finances, not any mismanagement by Mr Brown. If there is criticism, it is that they followed Conservative Party policies by failing to regulate the financial institutions. Since then, the Conservatives – aided for a


while by the Liberal Democrats – have taken the view that our public services should be starved of funds in order to finance the road to recovery. Instead, perhaps they should stop


rewarding banks with big tax breaks and put an end to the huge levels of tax avoidance by multi-nationals and big businesses and those crooks who have not only avoided paying taxes but also steal the pensions and livelihoods of their employees. JackAtkins, Maidstone


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