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downsmail.co.uk Council’s £500k M20 fund bid


MAIDSTONE Council has pledged £500,000 “up front”, in an effort to fast track improvements to ease road congestion at junction 7, off the M20.


Officers and the leader of the bor-


ough council that pressure on both roundabouts at Bearsted Road and New Cut Lane was well known, particularly at peak times, and would worsen. Maidstone Council, the county council, MPs, Highways England and the owner of the Kent Medical Campus now hope to win £4m from the government to get the £6m road improvement project started next year. They say that while the devel-


oper will improve the capacity of the two roundabouts as part of its consent to develop the 30-acre site, that work would be six to seven years off, after the new mental health hospital and convalescence home open and even more of the site has been developed. John Foster, Maidstone council’s regeneration and economic devel- opment manager, says the joint funding bid will be determined this autumn. He said: “The two round- abouts are particular congestion pinch points if you travel them


THREE parks in the area have picked up Green FlagAwards. The 450-acre Mote Park in Maid-


stone; Manor Park inWest Malling and that at Teston Bridge have all been recognised by the Keep Britain Tidy organisation for their high environmental standards, maintenance and visitor attrac- tions. The award comes ahead of a fur-


ther £4.3m investment at Mote Park, expected to start in October and be complete by March. The park is owned and managed


by Maidstone council and is main- tained with assistance from the Mote Park Fellowship volunteer group.


daily as I do for work. While devel- opment of the site needs to hit cer- tain trigger points before the developers are compelled to im- prove the roads, we see this fund- ing opportunity as away to get the necessary road improvements ahead or in tandem with the devel- opment of the site, which is some- thing we allwant.” If successful, the money would


come from the government’s Na- tional Productivity Investment Fund.


Maidstone’s council leader Fran


Wilson said “with talk of two schools in the area now on the radar” to get the necessary road im- provements sooner rather than later was becoming increasingly important. She said: “The economic case for improving the road network is a compelling one. We hope that this joint bid will be well received by the Department for Transport.” If successful, the council would


be reimbursed the £500,000 “pump priming” it has pledged for the


project from the owner of the Kent Medical Campus in the fullness of time. Mr Foster added: “An earlier bid


for funding from the government’s Local Growth Fund for Junction 7


failed, but this latest bid will be one of only two being submitted by KCC. The medical campus has En- terprise Zone status and we have a lot of support for this scheme and are hopeful it will be successful.”


Parks awards Bus firms’ interest in P&R


THREE bus companies have shown interest in running Maidstone’sPark and Ride scheme. Borough councillor Nick deWig- gondene said a range of options, in- cluding new buses and possible changes to the payment system are being considered as part of the ten- dering process for the service, which lost nearly £250,000 last year. Cllr deWiggondene said that he is “constantly arguing” the council must provide more of its own park- ing because the private companies, driven by business needs, will charge what they “can get away with”.


Walkway ‘turned into blot’


AWALKWAY has become a blot on the landscape after not being cleared for years, according to a Maidstone councillor. Cllr Eddie Powell said that


residents had raised concerns that large patches of ReculverWalk have become overgrown with weeds, wild roses and self-sown sycamores. He said; “Maidstone Borough


Council has sprayed the vegetation, but it has not been cleared and maintained. “Residents say that it has not


18 Maidstone East August 2017


been done for a couple of years. “It’s a blot on the landscape. I


will push with the council for clearing and maintenance. “A number of the residents cut


back the grass and pick up the rubbish, but cannot clear the vegetation. “We have to spend more on looking after our neighbourhoods.” Cllr Powell, pictured right, is the


Ukip member who represents Shepway at the borough council. He recently fought unsuccessfully to become anMP locally.


Hesaid: “Officers are interested to


see how operators could improve the performance of the scheme, with new buses and parking fees among the options being considered. “One company suggests it could


be run on a commercial basis, but this has yet to be seen.” The Strategic Planning Commit-


tee is due to look at the options in October, with the successful com- pany notified in November for the next financial year. Cllr Ted Denham, Thurnham


parish councillor, says the Park and Ride scheme is important for getting shoppers into Maidstone, particu-


larly in light of rising parking charges in the town centre. Hesaid:“Wewant people to come


into Maidstone. If people can’t af- ford to come in, it will become pro- hibitive and the High Street will die.” Cllr De Wiggondene said: “I am constantly arguing that Maidstone council needs to provide more park- ing in the town because commercial companies will charge what they can getaway with.As far as thePark and Ride scheme,we are asking po- tential service providers what they can offer not just for five years, but over the next seven to 10.”


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