downsmail.co.uk IT is nowalmost 18months sincewe


inMaidstone andMalling cast a very decisive vote in favour of Brexit. So did the rest of Kent. Howdo you viewthings now? It isworth reminding ourselves of the


How do you see Brexit now? MailMarks


DENNISFOWLE President dfowle2011@aol.com


voting figures. InMaidstone itwas 52,365 (58.8%) for Brexit and 36,762 to remain. In Tonbridge andMalling the votingwas 41,229 for leave and 32,792 to remain. Across the rest of Kent, every area bar TunbridgeWells voted to leave –Ashford, Shepway, Sevenoaks Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Swale, Gravesham, Thanet andMedway. The total Kent vote to leavewas 576,607, just about 60%. There can be no argumentwhat Kent demands. Recent surveys showthe national


majority for Brexit is hardening and, in addition,manywho voted remain now want to see the job done, sowemove on. Stated EU ambitions in the lastweeks for more federalismand greater controls over nationmembers are not going downwell on this side of the English Channel. I did not forecast a Brexit vote in


Maidstone until the last fewdays before the referendum. But as I took strawpolls among groups of friends and atmeetings I sawa powerful trend emerging. On a couple of occasions all 20 or so declared for Brexit.When I told some senior politicians they did not believeme! So howdo those same Brexiteers in


Kent feel now? I have spoken tomany – and they aremainly frustrated, becoming increasingly angry andwith rebellious thoughts. They are evenmore determined wemust quit an expensive and expansive European political clubwe did not vote to join and they see increasingly threatening ourway of life and future prosperity. The serious impacts of immigration and major overcrowding in our area,


Wemust back Local Plan YOUmay be aware that there has been


much debate in the local press recently about the Local Plan and the level of housing proposed. Unfortunately, a process imposed byWhitehall determines this level and, going forward, councilswithout an adopted Local Planwill likely see significantly increased housing numbers. In light of this,we did not agreewith the recent a�empt to “call-in” our Local Plan to the secretary of state for reconsideration, and are pleased that theHome Secretary has decided not to intervene. We chose to support the plan during


consultations even thoughwe knewwe had muchmorework to do tomake it acceptable for our area.While somewere critical, council approval gave us a five-year housing supply, a statutory requirement giving us amuch stronger position to fight for concessions. Workingwith theNLRA, Tovil and Loose


Parish Councils and local residentswe jointly reviewed areas of the plan that would bemost harmful locally, and considered opportunities for improvement. We have appeared as expertwitnesses at


46 Maidstone Weald November 2017


especially somuch extra housing, congested roads and on our hard-pressed and under-funded local services, aremore deeply ingrained than ever. The demand is for sovereignty – and nomore European Court of Justice. Most expected to be free of the EU after


two years of giving notice. The potential extra two-year transitional period does not go down at allwell – butmost appreciate this is a complex issue to help safeguard both the UK and our friends in other European countries and are listening to the case nowbeing projected by the British government. Butmost believe the EU is not really


negotiating – just trying to prevaricate to force us into submission to remain. They see a fearful EU set on a course of punishing, bullying and extorting as muchmoney as possible, noma�er the damage both to their own remaining national economies and ours. No one has forgo�en TheresaMay’s


statement – “No deal is be�er than a bad deal” – and is expecting her to change her approach and start soon playing this prolonged and unedifying game on our terms. It is our decision andwemust be the piper playing this tune. There is strong suspicion about the two-


year transitional period and the desire of some remainers in government to extend it. The PrimeMinister says it is set to a firmdeadline (2021).Many fear others will see it as a general election issue in 2022. If the Conservatives agree that route, it


the hearings, lobbied at countless commi�ees, raised petitions andworked hard to reflect the public view. This, along with a tremendous community effort has led to a considerably improved plan. The government inspector listened to our


evidence and agreed that twomajor South Ward sites should be removed fromthe plan, endorsing our concerns on local traffic and congestion in his report. Furthermore, we successfully campaigned for these sites to be included in the Landscape of Local Value register alongwith large tracts of previously unlisted green open space within the Loose Valley. In light of these and other safeguards


achieved,we are united in our decision to vote in support of the Local Plan at the TownHall on October 25. Should the Plan be rejected,wewould jeopardise our valid five-year housing supply, taking away our ability to keep at baywhatwill become a tidalwave of newspeculative development. We understand howcontroversial any large housing plan can be, and that choosing to oppose the planmay seeman easy choice, butwe feel that the riskwe face by not having a Local Planwould be unthinkable. Maidstone Borough Councillors (South


close to the democratic ground. They must be receiving the same strong messages increasingly coming tome.





Stage fright DOES anyone sharemy long-term


frustrations trying tomake online theatre bookingswith theAssembly Hall, TunbridgeWells? Imade a strong protestmore than a


year ago that the sitewas very user unfriendly. I have nowrun in to problems again andwhen I switched to the phone, the staff did admit to other complaints and a “clunky” site. By comparison, bookings at


Maidstone’sHazli� seemfast, friendly and efficient.





Garden of England ITmay not have been a hot, sunny


summer but I think in Kent themixture of warmth and rain hasmade our gardens and countryside about themost beautiful and productive I can remember. It started in early springwith a prolific


daffodil season andwent on fromthere. Our vegetables and soft fruits cropped


very heavily, followed bymassive plum and apple harvests. Shrubs and others plants took off and


the challengewas to cut themback to ensure all had their allo�ed space. Andwith no long hot and dry spells,


gardens retained their green freshness duringAugust and September. Therewas no rest for lawnmowers! I have always loved Kent. This year it


has really been amagnificent “Garden of England”.


Ward and Loose) DerekMortimer, PaulWilby, Brian Clark and Sue Grigg


Not the Brexit Iwanted


ASA Leave supporter, I amhaving some misgivings about theway things are going in relation to leaving the EU. It seems the reported extra £350million


pounds aweek for theNHS has turned out to be nonsense; David Davis says that immigrationmight have to actually go up; soonwewon’t be able to buy fruit and vegetables because there is no one to pick them;we shall be trying tomake trade dealswith USA,who, judging by the Bombardier case, are not going to be easy people to dealwith andwhowillwant us to buy chlorinated chickens, genetically modified crops andmeat full of antibiotics. Also, I understandwe shall be excluded


fromsome important science research projects andwon’t be able share important intelligence on terroristswith the rest of Europe. Some reassurance, please. Jeremy Staker, via email


could be a very long time before they see power again – andmanywillwelcome an energetic re-emergence of the eloquent Nigel Farage and Ukip. I trust politicians have their ears very


Comment


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