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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, 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 Borough 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


Frequency is the issue


LOW frequency noise is much more penetrating –we easily hear this from passing cars, without the higher frequencies of the music. The basic physics of soundwaves means


that lower frequencies are longer and thus can easily pass through barriers which block the higher frequencies. So there is direct intrusion into our homes of this repetitive, monotonous noise. This goes against the Noise Council’s


code of practice. Elected councillors, who take the flack, are being ignored by un- elected officers. Edward Thompson, Bearsted


Crack down on drugs


UNDERSTANDING that police have a big problem with drug offenders is important, as most crime is in someway drug-related. Is it not time that the police got to the


boom of the problem? If illegal drugs are coming into the United Kingdom through the ports, ferries and airports why have the police not started to police them properly? Arewe blind? Has the MP Helen Whately not noticed what our government is doing? Or should I be anMP and sort it out? Shane Chaney, Tovil


History could inspire pride IT IS possible that the defacing of the memorial to Captain Louis Nolan – who died during the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade – in Maidstonewas perpetrated by feral youngsters ignorant of the life and times of this brave soldier or of the other Maidstone notables who influenced our country by their talents, intellect and character. William Hazli andWilliam Alexander


come to mind. If such local historywas taught in schools it would surely go a long way to providing that sense of pride which is the antidote to yobbery and social disaffection and would certainly be a contrast to the steady diet of football “celebrity” and sexual pap relentlessly fed to them by the media. Anne Clarke, Maidstone


NHSwaste scandal


THE economies in the NHS are just more smoke and mirrors to cover up the appallingwaste 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 care.


Phil Granger,West Malling


Town needs its hospital MY WIFE has received a 2.30pm appointment for the supply of a walking stick at the TunbridgeWells Hospital. As we 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 primeminister Gordon Brown. The financial crash was caused by rampant greed and incompetence of the banks and Gordon Brown played a major role in preventing a financial meltdown. It was bailing out the banks that depleted our finances, not any mismanagement byMr 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 bymulti-nationals and big businesses and those crooks who have not only avoided paying taxes but also steal the pensions and livelihoods of their employees.


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