downsmail.co.uk
Homeless fury LOCAL Green Party members are angry at news that Maidstone has the 19th highest rate of rough sleep- ers in England. They are calling on Maidstone Borough Council to take “immediate action” to provide shelter and make provision for affordable homes in the longer term. Green spokesman Stuart Jeffrey
said: “The council should be ashamed of itself.We are calling on it to take immediate action to reduce rough sleeping in Maidstone. “The lack of funding for short
term shelters in the town has to be reversed immediately.”
Stand update
WORK on Maidstone United's new stand at the Gallagher Stadium is progressingwell, with the roof being put in place. The structure, which will be a standing area, is part of the requirements for the Stones to par- ticipate in the Vanarama National League. Capacity increrases to 4,200.
Crash appeal
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to an accident which shut Hermitage Lane, Barming, for several hours. It happened at 1.30pm on Febru-
ary 4, when a driver allegedly lost control of his car and turned it over. Call police on 01622 798538.
News
Two-month delay for Lockmeadow facelift
FOUR months after work began to transform the Lockmeadow Enter- tainment Centre, the front entrance remains boarded up. Kames Capital, which owns the building, said this week that the delay was down to “issues experi- enced by the contractors”. Roisin Hynes, the company’s communications manager, apolo- gised for the ongoing inconven- ience, saying the workwas expected to be finished by the end of March – two months behind schedule – meaning customers will have to continue using the rear access. She said: “We are sorry for the
delay, but it is down to issues out- side of our control.” The redesign, which will include
a glass entrance and canopy, with improvements to the steep steps to improve access for the disabled, will transform the outdated 1990s build- ing into a bright “focal point for the area, according to the owners. The work also includes the refur- bishment of the ground floor mall, glazing the first floor balcony to
make extra space for Gravity’s tram- poline centre and a new Lock- meadow sign on the front of the building with 150cm high illumi- nated white letters on a black back- ground, with room either side to advertise the centre’s anchor ten- ants. Planning permission for the site to
be used as a leisure complex was given in September 1996 and, since then, a number of tenants have used the building as a venue for night- clubs, restaurants and leisure activ- ities, alongside the town’s cinema.
Maidstone Borough Council granted planning permission for the work, which started last autumn, conceding the centre’s look had be- come outdated. Before work began, an appraisal document stated: “Its current ap- pearance is somewhat dated with a cluttered amount of advertising and large areas of bland brickwork. “It is considered, in principle, the re-fronting of the building is likely to have a positive impact on visual amenity and the design would cre- ate a clearer identity to it.”
Maidstone March 2017
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