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Hitting the litter louts hard MailMarks
MY comments about the litter disgrace
along the A249 Maidstone to Sittingbourne road produced a lot of reader support – and I expect most will back new moves announced by Environment Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom. She told me on her recent visit to Maidstone
that she would really like litter louts put on display locked in stocks! She agreed thiswas not one to put before Parliament – but these changes probably will: Fines doubled to £150. Drivers responsible for litter thrown from vehicles unless a passenger admits the offence. More bins in litter hot spots. Scrap tip charges to encourage people to dispose of litter responsibly. Convicted fly-tippers to pick upwaste they dump. Anti-litter campaign, including schools, “to lead the fight against relentless rubbish droppers”. Littering is a social taboo in so many coun- tries. We must catch up if we really have a
Lorry ban won’t be upheld
IWAS delighted to read your article in Downs Mail regarding a lorry being pulled up for breaking the B2163weight restriction. I use the road regularly and it is rare that I
do not see an HGV which shouldn’t be there. So, obviously, Kent Police are not enforcing the ban, possibly because of a squeeze on their budgets but also because the only place to pull the lorries in is at the entrance of Leeds Castle. The castle authorities are hardly going to
put up with that. P Shor, via email
Beating roadside car sales
YOUR readers will know that I have been pressing Maidstone Borough Council on the blight of used cars for sale on the highways in this area. I amdelighted now to saywell done to
two councillors who took up the cudgels against the traders, and have returned the area to its old self. Gary Cooke (Kent County Council) and
Ma Burton (Maidstone Borough Council) are the pair who have managed to overcome the reluctance of others and to give back to their constituents their laybys, grass verges and roads. Thank you andwell done!
DENNISFOWLE President
dfowle2011@aol.com
pride in our country and want to avoid the immense costs to us as taxpayers of cleaning up.
Beautiful spring I WORRY about climate change – but
enjoy some of the benefits. The last two spring seasons have been memorable – last year for its length from De- cember to May and this year for a magnificent display of flowers and blossom. It has been such a pleasure enjoying the best display of daffodils I can remember, and blos- soms have been strong and beautiful. And now I hear of Kent wines reaching
very high quality and winning awards among the world’s best.
deal with. Don Wright,Willington Street, Maidstone
Traffic beyond a joke
WHENare the authorities finally going to do anything about Hermitage Lane? It took me over 20 minutes to get to Barming station this morning, which should take less than five minutes. My wife joked that Iwas being over keen leaving so early – and only just made the train 28 minutes after I left home. Thiswas only because therewas a gap in the traffic coming up from the A20 and Iwas able to go down the outside to get to the turning. The trafficwas jammed from the hospital as far as I could see heading towards the A20. So itwas nothing to do with the traffic lights for the new development there. Coming home, the traffic towards
Aylesfordwas even worse. Itwas almost at a standstill, taking 10 minutes just to get out of the station – no one could turn right as the trafficwas like this right back to Heath Road. With North Street being closed forweeks
now at the other end of Heath Road,we will soon not be able to get out at all. Why dowe bother employing planners and voting for councillors? Kevin Reed, via email
£9.50 parking bill BEWARE of evening parking charges at
Fremlin’s if you are taking in ameal and aHa- zlitt show. I joined a Rotary club group for a 6pm pre-
theatre meal at Frederic’s followed by Maid- stone Amateur Operatics’ Sweet Charity. I parked at 5.45pm and, due to a long, slow
queue at machines, could not pay until 10.50pm. The five-hour chargewas a hefty £5 but as I missed this by five minutes my bill was £9.50. Had I used aMaidstone council car park the bill would have been £3. Lesson learned!
Simon: cancer advice GOOD news forMPHelen Grant and hus-
band Simon after his full recovery from prostate cancer surgery. His problem was revealed in the autumn
from periodical blood tests. His advice: “Act early.” Many friends echo that.
Nowwe only have the volume of traffic to No solution to budget cuts
I READ Dennis Fowle’s comment piece and he correctly laments government cuts, but without suggesting any cause or solution. He then concludes with the hope that
Brexit will fix all. The issue this country has is that it has
never supported so many retired people in its entire history. Those who are retired are quite correctly beer cared-for than any previous generation. This causes strain elsewhere – such as roads. The solutionwas thatwewere correcting
the population dynamics problem with a steady influx of young educated EU citizens who helped us grow the economy. Sadly, Brexit has stopped this in its tracks. I patiently await the current government’s suggested solution. Paul Fitch, via email
20 years of great reading
IHAVE been living in Coxheath for five years and always look forward to reading the interesting articles that appear in the Downs Mail.
Congratulations to you and all your staff
on your considerable achievements over the first 20
years.and wishing you even more success in the future. Michael Dillon, ParkWay, Coxheath
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Maidstone Weald May 2017 33
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