News
Traffic concerns as school grows
ANOTHER accident near aMaid- stone school has highlighted the traffic nightmare in Gatland Lane, say residents. They complained bitterly about
the risk of allowing Gatland House to be turned into a school in an area wheremany residents have to park inthe road.But inrecentweeks,Gat- land Lane has also become an unof- ficial route for traffic avoiding the sink-hole on Tonbridge Road. Ward councillor Matt Boughton
described the volume of traffic as a ‘nightmare’, adding: “WithKCCstill not able to say when Tonbridge Roadwill re-open, residents feel ex- tremely let down. “Not only did they oppose the
traffic and safety aspects of opening a school in a residential area, but nowthey have to put upwithmain road traffic on a lane never built to take this volume of vehicles.” He saidan accident involving two
cars inGatland Lane on July 10 had again highlighted the danger of on- street parking and congestion. Residents are alsowaiting to learn
whether The Education and Skills FundingAgency’s appeal to expand Jubilee Primary School to take 240 studentswill be allowed. Cllr Boughton said: “The site is
not capable of dealingwith a school of this size.Every September,we see things gettingworse asmore pupils enrol. “Maidstone Borough Council re-
jected the plan because of a sports field, but its parks department sug- gested the school could useGatland Park. I will be very disappointed if the appeal is nowsuccessful.” A borough council spokesman
said: “Weunderstandthe school has made a provisional booking with our events team to hire a sports pitch inGatland Lane fromSeptem- ber 2019 to July 2020. It in noway of- fers a solution to the expansion plan submitted by Jubilee School.” A spokesman for the school said:
“KentHighways has implementeda ‘soft’ road closure of Gatland Lane, but this has not deterred motorists. The accident at the end of Gatland Lane did not involve school traffic.”
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Ideal way to raise charity cash
AMAIDSTONE firmwill soon start getting in shape for fundraising effort to helpmental health charity,Mind. Employees at Ideal Response,which is a disaster recovery specialist,will
be take part in a sponsored 10k run atMote Park in October. The company has secured 10 places for its staff (pictured)with a range
of running abilities. If you would like to support Ideal Response contact
www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/idealresponse-mmkmind10k.
Navigating the right support
STAFF atGP surgeries inwest Kent have been trained to become “care navigators” so they can help pa- tients get the support they need. When a patient contacts their sur-
gery, the care navigator will ask if they are happy to be asked some simple questions tomake sure they see the right person for their needs. AnNHS statement claims: “If the patient wants to lose weight, stop
smoking, or start counselling, for in- stance, theywill be given contactde- tails for the service that can help them, freeing up aGP appointment. “Other options include pharma-
cists, support forpeoplewithmental healthproblems, or for olderpeople. “If people prefer not to give any
details aboutwhy theywant to see a GP, or prefer to speak to a GP, they will still be able to do so.”
downsmail.co.uk
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