Town gears up for gas works High Street


OWNERS of cars parked illegally during the gas main works inMaidstone town centre may return to find their vehicles gone. So much chaos is already anticipated by South-


ern Gas digging up Stone Street and Knightrider Street that the council will be taking no prisoners when it comes to irresponsible parking. Steve Goulette, assistant director for environ- mental and regulatory services, told the town’s business forum that the council would be using a mobile towaway truck to remove cars causing extra problems during the roadworks. He said: “This isn’t about parking tickets. It’s


about keeping the traffic moving. If we find a ve- hicle illegally parked, it will be towed. We can’t afford the time to do otherwise.” Knightrider Street is due to be closed for three


months starting in April, after which sections of Lower and Upper Stone Street will be closed as work progresses south out of town. Proposals to put warning signs about congestion


on the M20 were met with disapproval by Town Centre manager Bill Moss, however, who said: “We are talking about the livelihoods of our shop- keepers here.” Mr Moss said he would be urging Southern Gas


to increase the number of teams on the job and work through the night to reduce the contract from 50 weeks to nearer 30. He said: “The amount of disruption to the town


will be phenomenal - and at what cost to our traders?” Southern Gas has already said it needs a reduc-


Knight- rider Street will be closed for


through traffic for three


months


tion in traffic of between 10 and 15% if the town is not to become gridlocked, which it anticipates will happen as motorists choose alter- native routes in and out of town. One of the biggest problems will be


at the junction of Stone Street, Knightrider Street andWat TylerWay, where a tunnel under the road has to be hand-dug because of the prolifera- tion of service pipes and cables. Work here is due to take place pri- marily overnight, butMrMoss said he would be pressing for more night work and an increased labour force.


Plea to drive late night taxi marshalling forward


MORE funds are needed if Maidstone’s highly-successful taxi marshalling scheme is to stay on the road. The scheme, whereby two people monitor and control ac- tivity in the town’s main taxi ranks from 1-5am at weekends, has led to a reduction in crime and violence when the pubs and clubs turn out. It costs about £8,000 a year to


run the service, which taxi drivers say has been a huge help in reducing earlymorning incidents. Denis Conyon, chairman of


theMaidstone Taxi Proprietors Association, said: “The mar- shalling scheme makes life


MAIDSTONE has put the brakes on two private hire drivers after they were caught illegally plying for trade. The council is also keeping


a close eye on cabs from neighbouring boroughs who illegally pick up fares in Maidstone town centre. Two drivers who appeared


before the council’s licensing committee in January were reprimanded and given strong warnings about their future conduct after being caught out on “test purchases” in No- vember last year. Both were suspended from driving – one for four weeks and one for three weeks. Hackney carriages – black


cab taxis – can pick up off the street in the area for which they are licensed but private hire vehicles can only pick up passengers who have pre- booked their journey by phone or in person at an office. Similarly, hackney car-


much more comfortable for the drivers by nipping any poten- tial incidents in the bud. Peo- ple can get tetchy while waiting for a cab when they have had a lot to drink and it is very easy for incidents to flare up.”


The taxi association already contributes financially to the scheme but it has now been suggested that clubs and other licensed premises help fund it.


“Inmyview, thetownisa


much safer place to be now than it was a few years ago,” said Denis, who retired in 2011 after 50 years at the wheel. “There is a real team effort at


Taking a stand over fare trade


riages licensed by Maidstone are only allowed to pick up passengers within the borough – and cabs from neighbouring areas such as Medway or Ton- bridge and Malling can drop off, but are not licensed to then pick up ongoing fares. The council carries out regular checks to ensure the taxi trade, private hire and hackney car- riages, operate to the rules which protect thetradeandthesafety of thepassengers.


work in the town to make it an appealing place to visit.” The town’s Night Time Econ-


omy Forum chairman, Paul Al- cock,


suggested that


stakeholders contribute to- wards the cost of taxi mar- shalling – particularly the licensed premises and venues who served alcohol to the cus- tomerswho then went on to re- quire a cab. Violent crime in the borough


has fallen over the past five years, largely due to the efforts of the town centre community activity, effective and better- trained door staff and im- proved policing, the forum heard.


Cabinetmember for the envi- ronment, Cllr Marion Ring, said: “It is so important to keep track of what private hire cars and hackney taxis are doing.” Dennis Conyon from Maid-


stone Taxi Proprietors Associ- ation has already raised the issue with the town’s business forum and been assured that the council is making an in- creased effort to enforce the law, using covert operators. However, it is difficult to manage and enforce, as rival operators try to cash in on Maidstone’s busy night time economy.


Takeaway allowed extended opening hours


A PLANNED takeaway at 35 Sandling Road, Maidstone, has been given permission to extend its daily closing time to 11.30pm. In December last year, Golam Saroar was given permission to set


up the business on condition that trading takes place between 9am and 8pm. In a fresh application to extend the opening hours, he pin- pointed five other food businesses in Sandling Road that open until at least 10.30pm. Maidstone Council granted permission on condition that it is not open any later than 10pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.


Visit Downs Mail’s website — downsmail.co.uk


business boost SHOPS and restaurants are tak- ing advantage of prospective improvements to Maidstone High Street, with a number of new names opening. Cabinet member for eco- nomic development and trans- port, Cllr Malcolm Greer, visited several of the businesses to see the opportunities avail- able once the regeneration work is complete. With less than four months


left of the refurbishment proj- ect, it is on time and on budget. Cllr Greer said: “The work is


of a very high standard and now shops are seeing the re- sults they are beginning to move their business into the High Street. “This was my aim when I launched the scheme in 2009 and now we are on our way to creating more jobs, giving business more opportunity and really helping the eco- nomic development of the town.” On completion, a programme


of events is planned to encour- age more footfall to the High Street.


Cuts bite at KCC THE county council is pressing ahead with plans to lop £340m off its budget by 2015. Some 600 council jobs will be


shed this year and a further 400 next year as part of the cost-cut- ting bid. In the coming year, the coun-


cil plans to cut £815,000 off li- brary funding, £848,000 off community safety, £670,000 off road safety awareness schemes and £436,000 off sports devel- opment. However, domiciliary care for


the elderly stands to lose £4.8m while support for young people leaving care will lose £3.9m.


Pizza extension WAHIDULLA Masoudi has asked for longer opening hours at his pizza takeaway in 34 High Street, Maidstone. Last November, Maidstone Council granted permission to set up the enterprise on condi- tion that it closes at midnight on Mondays to Saturdays and 11.30pm on Sundays. He has now applied to stay


open until 1am Mondays to Thursdays and Sundays; and 3am on Fridays and Satur- days.


Second hand shop SECOND-HAND furniture, clothes and jewellery shop Trash or Treasure has opened at 112aWeek Street, Maidstone.


Cypress request SOUTH EastWater has applied to fell two protected cypress trees at Forstal Pumping Sta- tion, opposite 88 Forstal Road, Aylesford.


Malling 17


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