downsmail.co.uk
Castle chief backs call for relief road
THE chief executive of Leeds Cas- tle, Sir David Steel, has endorsed the need for a relief road to ease Maidstone's traffic problems. The news emerged after a meet-
ing with county councillor Gary Cooke, borough councillorGill Fort and parish councillor John Govett who represent the area around the castle. Cllr Cooke said Sir David was "incredibly helpful and supportive" of the community and took a "fo- cused and thoughtful" approach. He added that Sir David sees the "wisdom" of a relief road and "doesn't rule anything out". There are three options for relief
road routes in front of the Joint Transportation Board (JTB). One of those would go past the
castle grounds and along Burberry Lane, although this is considered the least likely to be adopted. The relief road would link the
A274 to the A20/M20, by-passing Leeds village, which is struggling to cope with the demands placed on it by a large volume of vehicles. A Leeds Castle spokesman said:
"Sir David met with councillors Cooke, Fort and Govett to discuss a
range of local matters, one being a relief road around Leeds village. "The meeting agreed that a relief
road needed to be considered in the context of a much broader enquiry into the congestion on the road net- work in thewider Maidstone area. "They also agreed that the impor-
tance of Leeds Castle as a heritage site and as an organisation that de- livers significant employment op- portunities and economic benefits to the region, meant that the con- tinued prosperity of the estate would be an essential factor in de- ciding the route chosen." The JTB has come under fire for dragging its feet in going public with the options. Ukip councillor Eddie Powell
said: "They know what the options are – the Downs Mail has pub- lished them – so they should get them into a public consultation as soon as possible." Cllr David Burton, the borough council's head of strategic plan- ning, said the authorities should pick an option "and get on with it". Local Plan special reports, pages 4&5 Leeds Castle cuts, page 18
Pupils clean up community
PUPILS from St John’s Primary School in Grove Green collected a “stag- gering” 8.5kg of litter in just half an hour. The school hopes to educate pupils about the “importance of caring for the environment” as well as working towards the Eco-School Award. A spokesman said: “At St John's CE Primary, we believe that protecting
the precious environment that we live in is very important. “In our quest to become a more sustainable school, we are working hard
towards the Eco-School Award. In addition, to educating our pupils about the importance of caring for the environment, we are also keen to make a real difference in our local community. “We have a dedicated eco-committee who have been litter-picking in
residential areas close to our school grounds. On our most recent patrol, we collected a staggering 8.5kg of litter in just 30 minutes. We hope that our efforts to clean up the community will prevent people from continuing to litter and ultimately discourage future generations entirely from dropping rubbish.”
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