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News


downsmail.co.uk Plan to extend paving in town


THERE is still time to comment on a project that will draw on the town’s historic connections and see the investment on paving in Maidstone town centre rise to £8m. A six-week consultation is being


held to gauge the public’s opinion on a scheme first considered a year ago, to extend the granite blocks used in Jubilee Square. Phase three of the project in-


cludes the regeneration of Week Street and Maidstone East Station to Jubilee Square, including Gabriel’s Hill to Lower Stone Street at its junction with Palace Avenue, outside Gala Bingo. In spite of creating a more level surface for pedestrians, many re- ported the slabs actually created more of a trip hazard when the scheme was first introduced at Ju- bilee Square, an open space that still lacks regular use. This first phase was started in 2008 and was completed four years later, at a cost


Help plan for


armed forces COUNCIL staff in Maidstone will receive training to help soldiers in the barrack town access public services more easily. Armed Forces Champions will


be trained at Kent County Council, with the help of £321,000 from the Ministry of Defence. The scheme will initially be run


by six other councils across the country. The scheme, to be known as


Forces Connect South East, will in- volve training hundreds of front- line staff across the region to meet the needs of armed forces person- nel and veterans, under a new proj- ect manager. While it is not thought the scheme will create a huge number of new jobs, staff will be taken on to train “officer champions” at about 70 council offices across the region, so that military personnel and their families can call in and ask for advice and assistance. An app will also be developed


by an agency providing signpost- ing to support for the armed forces, including help for those making the transition to civilian life. The two-year project – the first of


its kind in the country – is expected to become a blueprint to help other councils improve support for the armed forces. The other organisations involved


in the scheme are councils in Sur- rey, Hampshire,Medway, East and West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove – together with clinical com- missioning groups in Kent, Sussex and Medway and the Royal British Legion and forces welfare charity SSAFA.


8 Maidstone July 2017 She added: “We hosted informa-


tion days in Jubilee Square on June 15 and 17, and further comments may be emailed to phase3@maid- stone.gov.uk up until June 30.” The design (pictured) endeav-


An artist’s impression of the planned new paving at Gabriel’s Hill


of just under £4m. This next phasewas approved at


a cost of £3.1m andwas due to start at the beginning of last year. How- ever, a spokesman for the borough


council said: “It was later decided that any works should include the whole of Week Street and the budget should be increased to £4m to accommodate the plans.”


ours to create a link with key sites in the town, drawing on Maid- stone’s history to incorporate squares at key junctions, including that with St Faith’s Street – or Iguanodon Square. This will link visitors to Maidstone Museum and serve as a reminder that an iguan- odon skeleton was found in the borough. Detailed designs will be pro-


duced in light of feedback, and the work will be put out to tender, with construction expected to start early in 2018.


Stone marks site of town’s bloody battle


A MEMORIAL stone which commemorates the Battle of Maidstone has been unveiled on the 369th anniversary of the bloody, hand-to-hand, battle fought on the streets of the county town. The Battle of Maidstone memorial marks the precise spot of the last, desperate stand of Maidstone’s Royalist defenders in 1648 (now part of Brenchley Gardens). The commemorative stone,


which was unveiled by Deputy Mayor Cllr David Naghi and fellow borough councillors (pictured centre) who have long campaigned for the historic event to be remembered, is hoped to be the first of many plaques, and statues taking residence in the town. Borough councillor Clive English


(pictured right at the ceremony) says he hopes moves by the council will put the county town firmly on the tourist map, challenging nearby Canterbury.


June 1 marked the anniversary of


the Battle of Maidstone–akey date in the Second English Civil War – which saw open skirmishes at East Farleigh Bridge, then Penenden Heath, and erupting into urban warfare in the town towards Gabriels Hill andWeek Street before a last stand and break-out


from St Faith’s churchyard. Lord-General Thomas Fairfax’s


4,000 Parliamentarian troopers, which included Colonel John Pickering’s Regiment of Foot, finally overcame the Royalist rebel resistance and took control of Maidstone just after midnight during a raging thunderstorm.


Residents show off cars over coffee


VINTERS Park Residents’ Association hosted an inaugural Cars and Coffee event at the community centre in Aldon Close. The vehicles on showwere all owned by residents


of Vinters Park and Woodlands and ranged from a Morris Eight Tourer from 1936, to a Shelby Mustang GT500 from 2010. Organiser Craig McAteer said residents enjoyed


the bank holiday event while the children had fun climbing on two Daimler Ferret Scout cars. He said: “After the show, and with the sun still shining, most of the vehicle owners took the oppor- tunity for a run in the country to the Woolpack Inn at Benover for a spot of lunch, creating a lovely little


convoy through the Kent countryside.” The group’s regular coffee mornings are held on the third Friday of every month, from 10am to noon.


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