Maidstone East Edition Maidstone Weald Edition
October 2017 April 2018
Maidstone & Malling’s No. 1 newspaper
FREE No. 246
Bid to take control of pothole disgrace
Panto ahoy!
MAIDSTONE Borough Council is to be asked to look at taking control of highway repairs from the county council, in an effort to improve the condition of roads across the borough. The radical call has been made
THE cast of Cinderella, which is to be staged at the Hazlitt Theatre in Maid- stone, took to the River Medway to launch this year's panto. On board The Kentish Lady were national treasure Rustie Lee (Fairy Godmother), former EastEnder Ste- fan Booth (Prince Charming), Eliza- beth Bright (Cinderella), Craig Anderson (Buttons) and, pictured, Stephen Richards and Adam Bor- zone (Ugly Sisters) . They were greeted by pupils from
CCTV call in a bid to stop fly-tipping
by Coxheath borough councillor Brian Mortimer, who is appealing toMaidstone’s full council tomake use of a clause in the 1980 High- waysAct that allows district coun- cils to co-ordinate road repairs and hand the bill back to the county council. Cllr Mortimer said: “I am ab-
CALLS for the installation of CCTV cameras to prevent fly-tipping on a country road have been made by the local borough councillor.
Burberry Lane, near Leeds and Broomfield, has been targeted by waste dumpers for years, but in re- cent months, the problem has be- come more acute. Constructionwaste, rubble, hard
solutely fed up with being put in the positionwhere all I can do is re- port constituents’ concerns about potholes and craters in the road to Kent County Council, when there appears to be an opportunity for us to do the repairs on urban routes and those not classified as trunk roads and hand KCC the bill.” He says the option – under Sec-
core, windows and household fur- niture is left illegally – often strewn in the middle of the road. Cllr Gill Fort said: “Every month
we are having toilets, sinks and construction waste dumped in the village, specifically in Burberry Lane, where we are now thinking of installing cameras on private land, to oversee the problem area.” A recent event in Burberry Lane
saw a caravan burned out while a torched car remains on a footpath
tion 42 of the act – has been taken by a parish council in Devon and a borough council in the North and wants a report carried out byMaid- stone Council to assess how this might work across Maidstone and theWeald. Cllr Mortimer said: “When KCC
says there is a £600m backlog of potholes inKent, itmakesme angry that they can draw a white line around them to lessen their liabil- ity for any damage caused but offer no indication of when they will be fixed.
nearby, more than a year after it was dumped and set on fire. The church car park has also seen
many instances of illegal dumping. But it is a problem in many rural
areas including Langley, Otham and Kingswood. Water Lane in Bearsted and Pilgrims Way have also been targeted recently. Last year, Maidstone Borough Council cleared 911 cases of fly-tip- ping and this year more than 163 have been recorded since April. The approaching darker evenings will prompt a rise in illegal tipping. Cllr Fort welcomed a joint initia-
Cllr Brian Mortimer in Westerhill Road, Coxheath. He is calling for the borough council to invoke a clause in the Highways Act allowing it take over pothole repairs and hand the bill back to KCC
tive by the Environment Agency and the Driver and Vehicle Stan- dards Agency to clamp down on
unlicensed waste carriers, but be- lieves the cost to small firms of dis- posing of construction waste at a transfer station is proving a deter- rent that is costing councils more. Cllr Fort made her remarks as
one of the borough’s closest trans- fer stations at North Farm, Tun- bridge Wells, announced it will be closed for 10weeks. She added: “If you go along the
“To hear Paul Carter say he has
‘found’ another £2m to carry out more repairswhen county council-
line of increasing fines, they have to be enforced. A reduction in the charge or offering it free may have the desired similar effect.” Athree-monthly litter pick on the mile-long stretch of road through Leeds village produces an average 32 black sacks of rubbish.
Cllr Fort, who also serves as a
lors have just given themselves a 15% pay rise, leaves me with very little sympathy or patience for on- going excuses.” CllrMortimerwants the borough
01622 690290 YOUR LOCAL PROPERTY EXPERT
maidstone@martinco.com 23 Pudding Lane • Maidstone • Kent
parish councillor, says teaching children about social responsibility and the issue of litter in schools will help take the issue off the streets. She believes with every household receiving a weekly refuse collection service, there is no excuse for litter being thrown from vehicles or dumped in the road.
South Borough Primary School and members of the media. The panto runs from December 1-31. For tick- ets go to
www.hazlitttheatre.co.uk.
News
FREE No. 252
Kate, 107, diesNews
KATE Hart, a resident at an old people’s home in Bearsted, has died aged 107, her son David has disclosed.
HELEN Whately asked the government to halt the borough’s housing scheme.
MP’s Local Plan bid 3 Parking compromise
Surgerymerger plans Two practices in Coxheath are ex- ploring the option of a new£5m state-of-the-art surgery for the village
3
Plans for Dr Nigel 6 Bollards offer a boost
Changes to parking at a station have been welcomed – but may not go far enough
4
THE widow of GP Dr Nigel Minnet will walk the Grand Canyon for charity. 12
THE former Neighbours star brings his show to the Hazlitt Theatre next May.
Jason Donovan date 8 County show awards
Safety is being improved in Loose with new bollards to tackle anti-social parking
18
Stalwarts of the Kent County Show have been honoured for their work
WI’s celebrations
WIs across the area are marking 100 years since their Federation formed
Obituaries Obituaries
18-19 32
Parish Councils 34-37 Parish Councils 34-35
32
ASH dieback has been discovered in Monks Meadow in Detling; Hollingbourne village fete stall- holder co-ordinator Jean Duffy has resigned; yellow lines are needed for Buffkyn Way, Otham, to allow buses through Imperial Park; rub- bish bins in the sports field in Kingswoodare to be moved over to the picnic area and rear exit.
A PLEA was to be made for more shop volunteers in Chart Sutton; There was mounting concern about car vandalism in Coxheath; Head- corn villagers were to consider join- ing a Country Eye scheme; A request for metal detecting o be carried out in Loosewas rejected; The litter pick in Marden was cancelled due to poor weather and West Farleigh’s lambing day was a big success.
Crime Reports 35
council to consider carrying out the road repairs on unclassified roads itself, as the lawallows.He said: “I think this isworth an investigation byMaidstoneCouncil.We have big enough shoulders and while we can’t promise we would be able to workmiracles, being in controlwill be a good start.”
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Home Alarms supplied and fitted visit
www.amiga.co.uk or call 08000 199622 Crime Reports 37
VEHICLES have been driven over farmland in Lenham, causing damge to crops; an attempted break-in was reported in Detling; a vehicle was vandalised in Bearsted Rd, Weavering; pumpkins were stolen from an allotment in Lenham.
Comment 46-47 Comment 46-47
A CAR was burnt out in Linton; A minibus was stolen from a car park in Headcorn, a window at a house in Marden was smashed when something was shot from a car; A council salt bin was stolen from Staplehurst and a vintage motor- cycle was stolen from a garage in Coxheath.
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