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permission taking that access into account. If traffic could access the area aswas


intended in the design then therewould be a reduction in traffic using the section of Bearsted Road through the narrowsection past Gidds Pond co�ages, aswell as a reduction in traffic using the northern section of NewCut Road. Roger Hurst,Maidstone


Rail delay unacceptable


THEmanyMaidstone commuterswho travel to London are incensed that the new Thameslink service has again been delayed – for a further year until December 2019. While other counties continue to benefit


fromnewrailways investment and are given priority,West Kent has been shunted into a siding. Itwasmore than eight years ago that


Maidstone lost its fast, rush-hour service to Cannon Street.After five years of discussionwith governmentministers and the regulatory authorities, itwas agreed our county townwould benefit fromthe £7.5bn Thameslink project.Maidstone would again have a fast link to the capital. The original start date ofMay 2018


projected three years agowas delayed to December 2018. Nowwe are told that, despite eight years of planning andmajor engineeringworks, the experts are unsure whether the newsystemwill be capable of handling the increase in traffic by December 2019. The report fromthe NationalAudit


Office and the spin put out by the Department for Transport do not explain why local bodieswere being advised that theworkwas on target, even up to the last fewweeks. Nor do they explainwhy the experts have been sowrong. What guarantee do the people of


Maidstone have that the fast Thameslink servicewill be in operation in December 2019? It is time for thewaiting to stop. Rob Bird, Ian Chienden and Dan Daley, Liberal Democrat County Councillors for Maidstone


Help ease refugee plight


RIGHT now, in the Home Office rules, the government doesn’t recognise the close family of refugee children beyond their parents. Thismeans thatmany children escapingwar and violence can’t be safely


reunitedwith their family in the UK without firstmaking a deadly journey to Europe. As the UK governmentworks on


updating its rules as a result of leaving the EU, an amendment to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill NewClause 53would make sure the UK’s rules are fixed to stop this needless risk to children’s safety.As this comes forward in Parliamentwe hope thatMPswillwork together to fix this problem. Lily Caprani, deputy executive director, Unicef UK at NAHT


Riverwalk notwhat itwas


IWAS astounded to read in the December issue of DownsMail thatMr Fowle, in his paragraph dealingwith his riverwalk, found his experience a delight. Some 50 years ago, at least part of this


stretch of theMedwaywas a delight to traverse. The riverbank of the river (Maidstone LockMeadowto Teston), where I spent somany childhood hours, was, indeed, a tranquil and delightful location.Alas, in recent years, it has been desecrated;water voles and kingfishers have long since gone andwildlife generally, is diminished. The old towpath (established, I think, by


theMedway Navigation Company in the late 18th century)was still in place inmy youth and hugged the river's edge and the bankswere free of trees overhanging the river on the towpath side. The newpath has diverged fromthe


bank and, in places, has become disassociated fromthe river. This has been further exacerbated by barge dwellers,who have not only occupied several stretches of the bank fromTovil to Farleigh, but have also appropriated (perhaps a be�erword would bemisappropriated – probably with the connivance ofMaidstone Borough Council) land between the path and the river,which is nowfenced of. They have also turned thewatermeadows, that once lay between the river and the railway line, into vegetable gardens and recreational areas. . Just onemonth ago, Iwalked fromTovil


to East Farleigh andwas so struckwith the despoilment of the area, that I have vowed never to go there again. In places, the footpath has beenwidened and covered with tarmac,which nowallows vehicular access to the bargesmoored on this stretch


of river. Unicumbes Lane, that once provided access for quarrymen delivering ragstone fromFant to barges on the river, is already becoming awell-used motorway. The remnants of the small wharf that existed at the bo�omof the lane, is derelict and obscured to view, to the extent that even localswould not nowbe aware of its existence or former utility. Forme, the changes are too sad to


contemplate and,with the continued population growth in Kent, I suspect that further degradation is inevitable. Ray Town, via email


Entry fee objection


IAMwriting to say I strongly object to having had to pay £1 to go on The Green in Bearsted for the Christmas Fair on November 25.As someonewhowas born in Bearsted, 65 years ago, and lived here all my life, The Green should be kept as a public place for the use of local people. The reason Bearsted Parish Council gavewas that the stallholderswould have had to pay £30 per stall toMaidstone Borough Council for a street trading licence. But as the stallholders are running businesses and makingmoney, surely they could pay this themselves but if Bearsted Parish Council wanted to help them, I don’t think anyone would haveminded if 50%went to them and 50%to a local charity.About £3,500 was probably taken sowhere has the money gone?What next? Charging to to on The Green for the summer fair and carnival? Iwould also like to saymy Dad (Bernie Hirst)will be turning in his grave in Bearsted churchyard at the thought of people having to pay to go there. Hewas born in Tower Lane, in 1917, and lived in the village all his life until his death in 2000. So, I considermyself very local. I knowitwas only £1 but itwas the princple - not themoney. Mrs J Stewart, Bearsted


Editor’s note: Bearsted Parish Council points out that it felt the street trading licence was an “inapporopriate fee” and members agreed by democratic vote to make the charge. This was publicised well in advance and entrance feemoney has gone towards the cost of the event. The Bearsted Fair is not hosted by the parish council.


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