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downsmail.co.uk Two years of work at junction
MAJOR works to the M2 at junction five, which will have serious implications for Maidstone in the short and longer term, have been announced by Highways England.
The motorway is a key arterial
route through east Kent to the Port of Dover and the A249 interchange at Stockbury carries tens of thou- sands of vehicles each day, many of them heading to the county town. Regular users will have experi-
enced severe congestion at peak times and gridlock after incidents on the carriageways. Chairman of Maidstone’s Joint Transportation Board, Cllr David Burton, haswelcomed any news that will “improve connectivity” to and from Maidstone. Highways England claims the im-
provements would mean “crucial additional capacity for the junction and its approaches” to support de- velopments in Kent and the Thames Estuary corridor. Public consultation runs until Oc-
tober 17. The key changes will be:
the roundabout is to be made bigger with a new, dedicated road for A249 traffic; new, dedicated left turn filter lanes for traffic travelling between the M2 and the A249; a new, single lane slip road from the M2 eastbound to the A249 northbound to avoid the Stockbury roundabout altogether; measures for pedestrians. Cllr Burton said: “We’d welcome
any improvement to the major trans- port routes to and from Maidstone. “The Kent County Showgrounds
will obviously benefit from this im- proved connectivity, for instance. “I don’t doubt there might be
some disruption while they are tak- ing place, but you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.” Highways England senior project manager Neil Andrew said: “The Stockbury junction provides a vital interchange between the M2 and A249 and is heavily congested dur- ing peak periods each day. “This junction is currently one of
the top 50 national casualty locations on England’s strategic road network,
and we are consulting on the pro- posals to improve the junction, which will not only improve safety, but also help to boost the economy and support development of homes and jobs in the area.” Funding for the scheme comes
from the Department for Transport’s £15bn investment pot aimed at “bet- ter journeys, cutting congestion and improving the economy”. All responses to the consultation
will be considered before an an- nouncement is made on a preferred route this winter. Subject to a successful outcome, construction could start as early as 2020 and take about two years to complete. Details on the development pro-
posals and feedback forms will be available online until 11:45pm on October 17 at
www.roads.high-
ways.gov.uk/m2j5
Schools to get their own logos Begging order
THE Future Schools Trust (FST) in Maidstone has made three signifi- cant changes to its branding – a stag, a tree and a tiger’s paw print. The move is part of FST’s aim to emphasise the schools’ individual character and historical identity. Students at Cornwallis Academy
have welcomed back the stag – the crest of the Cornwallis family – which was shelved in 2007 when Cornwallis became part of FST. The trust’s other academy, New
Line Learning (NLL) in Loose, has adopted an image of a tree, which builds on the history of one of the schools that merged to create the current NLL and symbolises strong roots and growth. The familiar tiger paw print, used
by the adjacent Tiger Primary School, has now been stamped firmly on the newly-named Tiger Clubs Day Nursery. Cornwallis Academy headteacher
4 Maidstone October 2017
Isabelle Linney-Drouet said: “We are extremely proud of the academy’s place in local history and felt that reintroducing the stagwas an excel- lentway of honouring our heritage. “Our decision to revert back to the
stag was fuelled by the students, whowanted to see the iconic logo re- instated.” Joshua Coleman, chief executive
officer of FST, said: “We are ex- tremely excited about the future of
our schools.We believe these impor- tant changes to the brands are an embodiment of our modern ap- proach to education and represent our vision to enhance the education we provide for the community.” “These improvements are only the beginning of our vision for the fu- ture, setting the wheels in motion for something very special, that we hope everyone within the local com- munity willwant to be a part of.”
A NEW scheme is to target the growing problem of intimidating street drinkers and beggars in the county town. A public space protection order (PSPO) comes into force on Sep- tember 25. Ukip Cllr John Barned, the chair-
man of Maidstone Borough Coun- cil’s environment committee, said: “The council has three priorities for 2017 and one is to ensure that the borough remains a clean and safe place. We are confident that this will address the antisocial behav- iour that is emerging around street drinking and begging.” Ilsa Butler, of One Maidstone,
said: “Shoppers often feel intimi- dated if they see a large collection of people drinking and behaving badly. Shoppers either choose not to come in or just don’t come back.” Failure to comply with the order
could result in being served with a £100 fixed penalty or a court sum- mons.
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