downsmail.co.uk 


Borough Councilwarned traffic in the town would grind to gridlock in a very fewyears unless Kent County Council took very significant steps to improve our highways. It hasn’t – and I fear thatwarning rapidly


Opportunity knocking at door MailMarks


ABOUT 10 years ago,Maidstone


DENNISFOWLE President dfowle2011@aol.com


coming true. Until a couple of years ago, I tried to avoid urbanMaidstone at peak times. NowI try to avoid it altogether – and build upmy list of things to do in town be- fore I take the plunge. Still, I often hit huge delays andmassive frustration. Thismust nowbe seriously harming the


trade and business of the town aswell as causingwidespread anger and despair for so many. I double the time allowance to reach a Maidstone destination and still oftenmiss out.Whatmust this be doing for peoplewho work in the town, shoppers, health patients, parents trying to take children to and from school, social activities...? Pressure grows to build the Leeds/Langley


bypass. Had the late Sandy Bruce-Lockhart not stood down as KCC Leader in 2005 and moved upwards I feel sure hewould have been good to his commitment to finance it. But his successor, Paul Carter, sawother pri- orities and that problemstill liveswith us 12 years later. The bypasswould help ease traffic flows


in the east and south ofMaidstone but the huge costmay bemore acceptable politically than economically.WhatMaidstone needs is a ring road extending this bypass fromFive Wents, Langley, to Linton Crossroads area (recentlymooted by one pressure group) but then continued south ofMaidstone to link up againwith theM20west of the town. I re- call CllrAlan Chell, then a county and bor- ough councillor, researching and promoting a ring road about 12 years ago and the out- burst fromthis precious rural and village areawas extreme. So is there any significant solution to


Maidstone’s highways problems?My fear is traffic congestionwill just getworse and as I drive on poor, badly-marked road surfaces


Imagine ruled by Brussels


RECENT studies showthe EU costs £980m aweek,whilewe're cu�ing services and the national debt rises to £2 trillion.After all our contributuions to the EU - infrastructure, to its bank, to rescue the EU country's undermined by the one size doesn't fit all Euro and so on - they now have the damned cheek to demand billions more, or theywill trywreck our business! Some friends! They'remore like theMafia. The EU took 40%of our fishing rights


decimating ports like Grimsby, Lowestoft and Hull. You don't hear Remoaners worrying about them, just the EUworkers who have taken the jobs of the 1.6million we pay billions to, to sit doing nothing on the dole, addingmore to ourmassive debt. They'remore concerned about having to get visas to travel to Europe. Theremay be some drawbacks fromleaving the EU, but it depends howmuch of their greed, arrogance and corruption it really isworth pu�ing upwith, to getminimal returns. They have taken years to do trade deals around theworld, as it needs only one of the 27 states to have a self-interest against.


46 Malling January 2018


litteredwith speed humps and take on the challenge of night driving on largely un-lit roads (a dangerous economy) I ama very unhappymotorist. Perhapswe deserved EU support for


muchmore UK infrastructure. I recallmy amazement travelling around Europe of massive improvements in their infrastruc- ture and feeling Britainwas paying up and missing out. Perhaps thatwas another factor in the Brexit decision. The population ofMaidstone growsmas-


sively and the government demands yet more housing. But there are no signs of the infrastructure anywhere nearmatching these demands, and quality of our lives is nowse- verely harmed. Our localMPs aremaking the PrimeMin-


ister and cabinet fully aware of this ap- palling situation – butwill they listen as they try tomeet urgent national housing needs? A recent BBC national survey showed a


very small percentage of Britain is developed land (including our borough) and I accept this. The problemis that the government is wanting to prioritise newhousing in the south-east,where residents currently suffer so severely. Northern towns are losing pop- ulation andwouldwelcome growth – but it needs to be achieved as part of the proposed Northern Powerhouse, requiringmanymore jobs and the right infrastructure there, too. There are nowsigns that our Brexit deci-


sion is decreasing the level of immigration and aswe regain full control of our borders, hopefully,we shall be fully in charge,match- ing our population to our needs and infra- structure available to us all. I amnot surprised 60%of us in Kent voted for Brexitwhen I nowhear these stories:


People think London is remote, imagine us totally ruled fromBrussels! Phil Granger,WestMalling


Make roads systemwork


THE le�er published in the last edition of DownsMail addresses the serious issue that all of uswho live in and use the roads around NewCut Road and Bearsted Road have to dealwith and an issue that worsens asmore development takes place, not only on the TV Studios site but also on the nearbymedical campus. Thismust be dealtwith now, and it


seems tomewe shouldmake full use of the roadswe already have. The removal of the barrier fence,which


preventsAverenches Road frombeing used as itwas intended, is urgently required, The roadwas designed to provide access into Grove Green – and no doubt the developmentwas granted planning 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


A relative having great problemsmaking a GP appointment – andwatching non-British names dominating thewaiting roomscreen calling patients to the GPs.  Suggestions thatMaidstone area pupils could be allocated school places on the Isle of Sheppey. Vital surgery for hip and knee replace- ments and cataracts seriously delayed.  Hospitals too busy to cope properly yet thousands of days in hospital beds lost to bed blocking by patientswho cannot be found social care. I do not go into 2018 on an optimistic high.


My hope is that the governmentwill achieve a Brexit that gives Britain a real opportunity to overcome our difficulties andmatch the success stories I enjoy fromsomany coun- tries around theworld as our tieswith them strengthen.





Maternity road WHEN Maidstone lost itsmassive battle


to prevent transfer of itswomen’s and chil- dren’s services fromour hospital to Tun- bridgeWells the big fearwas that the narrow road between the two townswould become amaternityward. The latest story ofMike and Suki Stevens


of Tarragon Road, Barming,who live very close toMaidstone Hospital, iswhat that fightwas all about. When Sukiwent into labour they set out in


their carwith their six-year-old daughter for what they thoughtwould be a comfortable journey of about an hour. But little Tommiwas in a hurry andMike


was on the phone desperately seeking ad- vice. Hewas told to pull off the road – not possible in narrowcountry lanes. He finally found a house driveway and Tommiwas born on the car footwell. The drama ended happilywhen an ambulance arrived. There have been other similar dramas –


but probably not asmany as feared by MASH (MaidstoneAction for Services in Hospital) campaigners six years ago.


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,


Comment


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