News


downsmail.co.uk Station parking charges fears


VILLAGERSare concernedthat the introduction of parking charges at their local stationwill lead to even more traffic issues. Southeastern began charging


users of East Farleigh station car park £4 a day to use the facility on January 2. It was one of five stations in the


county that had the charges intro- ducedat the start of the year, but the parish council had concerns about the impact on a village, which al- ready has its fair share of traffic is- sues.


“We aren’t happy about it but we


can’t stop them from doing it,” parish council chairman Glyn Charlton (pictured) said. “We have made repre-


sentations to county coun- cillor Paulina Stockell and Matthew Balfour,


the


KCC cabinet member for transport, to try and get it stopped. “We have a number of


concerns, includingwhere the park- ingmeter is going to be – is it going


to be on the platformwith the ticket machine,meaning that people have to keep going to and fro? “We have had a lot of dis-


cussion about the car park and trying to discourage it but I don’t think we’re going to succeed.” East Farleigh bridge,


which is next to the station and level crossing, is a no- torious bottleneck, often used by drivers looking to


avoidqueuing traffic on theA26 and other surrounding roads.


Kathy’s words of wisdomfor budding writers


YOUNGSTERS at Coxheath Primary School were treated to a lesson in creative writing fromMaidstone au- thor Kathy Elkins. The creator of The History Sphere


(pictured with her granddaughter Olivia) has been offering her tips on writing to students at workshops across the region, most recently at Coxheath library. She told youngsters about her ap-


proach to writing fact and fiction to offer an educational and entertain- ing insight to history. And her style earned many new


followers, who bought all but one of her books on the day. The formerMaidstone nurse, from


Chart Sutton, who writes under the pen name of Katy Chalk, told young- sters she is now working on her sec- ond book. It will include special mention of


Kevin Tillyard whowill feature in the book afterwinning a competition to guess the number of words in Kathy’s first tome at a signing at MaidstoneMuseum. For details of the book or Kathy’s workshops call 01622 843086.


Sunday 18 March 2018 Starting & finishing at Cornwallis Academy


HALF MARATHON, 10K AND 5K FUN RUN AndMrCharlton fears that things


could get worse as a result of the newcharges. “The biggest concern is that peo-


ple may start parking on Station Road instead,whichwill only cause more congestion in the village,” he added. “If that’s the case, then we may


have to look at parking restrictions on the road, but then we have resi- dentswho park outside their homes there. “The traffic situation in our village


is horrendous – and it’s getting worse.” A Southeastern spokesman said:


“We have introduced charging for some car parks from January 2018 after assessing the local demand for limited parking space, at the same time ensuring they are com- petitivewith other local parking fa- cilities. “Income from car parks is rein-


vested in improvements to facilities for passengers. “Passengers will be able to book


the car parking through the station ticket machine and the Park Indigo App.” Nearby Wateringbury station,


the next stop on theMedway Valley Line towards Tonbridge, has re- tained its free parking provision.


Join us for a beautiful run through the country roads around Linton, Boughton Monchelsea and the surrounding villages.


A PLACE WHERE WOMEN EMPOWER GIRLS AND GIRLS EMPOWER WOMEN


GgLP_BR_C Search Girlguiding. Volunteer with us today.  6 with a run for all abilities. All runners will receive a medal at the finish line.


Register now Visit: www.hokh.org/events Tel: 01622 790195 Email: fundraising@hokh.co.uk


Heart of Kent Hospice Maidstone Weald January 2018 @Heartofkenthosp


Boughton Vale Division


RCN No. 298164


MAIDSTONE ROAD RUN


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48