News | Relief road


downsmail.co.uk Maidstone eyes up £1bn pot


THE announcement by transport secretary Chris Grayling of £1bn a year to be spent on by-passes and relief roads from 2020 across Britain has received a mixed response from Maidstone campaigners.


Jenny Sutton of the Willington


Street action group WILLact wel- comed it as "good news" but fellow campaigner Gary Cooke, a Kent county councillor, warned there would be massive demands placed on the cash. MrGrayling would finance the six


year plan from ring-fenced cash raised through vehicle excise duty. Arelief road linking theA274 and


the A20 at the M20 junction 8 could cost at least £50m, but may end up costing far more. Cllr Cooke said it is now "impera-


tive" the borough council and county council work together to- wards building the best case possi- ble to access the funding. He added: "My understanding is


that this is not necessarily new money that has been announced by Chris Grayling but, either way, we need to build the case and gather the evidence to submit a bid for funding that would allow us to build a relief road." Kent County Council (KCC)


leader Paul Carter sounded a note of caution over Mr Grayling’s an- nouncement, but promised to study the offer in more detail. He said: “Let’s have a look.” The leader added that even a "modest relief road" carries the dan- ger of "urban sprawl" which might only exacerbate traffic volumes in other parts of the county town.


Kent County Council leader Paul Carter has promised to “have a look” at the detail of Chris Grayling’s by-pass fund offer


Protecting rural areas around Maidstone had also to be a priority, he said. Cllr Carter believes that new housing growth is better contained in "new" developments – such as Kings Hill – where towns have grown into their natural limits. Funding for a relief road could be


achieved by "maximum developer contributions" gleaned from Maid- stone Borough Council's massive house-building programme, he


EDITOR’S ANALYSIS


IT IS amazing how a demonstration of people power can have a unifying effect on our political masters. A simple black and white sign saying “Support The Relief Road” have been popping up like mushrooms all over the county town’s southern parishes. Hung on pickets, hammered onto fences and attached to wooden garden stakes, the boards have been appearing in their dozens each week. Step forward Jenny Sutton, a rather reluctant establishment irritant who orchestrated this campaign out of sheer frustration at being ignored. She was making noises when residents were fed up 20 years ago. Today, Mrs Sutton has galvanised a movement that says the people really have had enough. She is not being ignored any more. In fact, politicians are falling over themselves to be associated with WILLact, the pressure group she has long been fronting. With the threat of relief road candidates standing at the next tranche of


borough council elections, the disquiet among certain politicians has started to grow. Those shifting in their shoes will be easy enough to spot. In fairness, they are in an awkward place – damned for implementing gov- ernment housing policy foisted on them, yet ultimately responsible for the traffic volumes that have prompted this cunningly quiet revolt. Whether re- lief road candidates would win is of little consequence to Mrs Sutton and her supporters. Providing parties are ready, willing and able to work together – not just in word but deed – politicising the issue at election time may not be nec- essary.


In the longer term, providing the traffic modelling shows a favourable cost/benefit analysis and if a relief road can be included in a review of Maid- stone’s Local Plan, Mrs Sutton may well, one day, have something to cele- brate. In the meantime, one fancies she’ll have a beady eye on those political masters, should they demur. .


Simon Finlay 24 Maidstone East August 2017


said. MBCis committed to building more than 17,000 houses within the next 15 years. Critics have continu- ally pointed out that the extra homes will inevitably bring far greater traffic volumes onto all the roads in Maidstone. Asked if the relationship between


MBCandKCCis as good as it could be, Cllr Carter replied: "It has its mo- ments." OfMrGraylings’s announcement, Mrs Sutton – who is behind the


“support the Relief Road” signs popping up all over Maidstone – said: “It is good news for the relief road. It is vitalMBCandKCCwork together in the interests of the ma- jority. That’s democracy.” But Mrs Sutton claimed that Cllr


Carter has “little or no” enthusiasm for a relief road in Maidstone. She added: “I still believe that he


needs persuading and that he can be persuaded, although I take his point that he is worried that a relief road may cause more development and that could be bad for the rural areas. “But if Paul Carter came out and backed the relief road, as I believe that he should, it’s a decision Maid- stone residents would applaud him for.


“He would win a lot of respect for


doing the right thing.” Supporters have indicated they


may stand as candidates at the next tranche of local council elections in 2018 on a pro-relief road ticket. MBCcouncillor Clive English told Downs Mail: "The relief road could be built within two years ifKCCgot their finger out and if they came up with a route and funding mecha- nism. No political party at MBC is preventing it (the relief road) from happening."


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Jenny’s cautious welcome JENNY Sutton, of the pressure group WILLact, is pleased that Kent


County Council and Maidstone Borough Council have shown a desire to act as one.


But Mrs Sutton, pictured above, who lives in Willington Street and has been orchestrator of the many “Support the Relief Road” signs ap- pearing across the county town in recent weeks, is cautious about the joint transportation board’s (JTB) apparent unity. She also warned that if too many more homes are planned for Lang- ley as a result of a link road being built, its effectiveness may be re- duced. She said: “Both authorities have actually agreed to work together, which is a start. We've been here before and there's a long way to go, but hopefully it will move forward. With regard to the JTB meeting, it seems they've decided something we've all known for decades ... the re- lief road is needed as soon as possible.”


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