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downsmail.co.uk Road inquiry ‘awaste of cash’


THE leader of Kent County Council has rubbished the borough council’s judicial reviewinto the allocation of road cash as a “totalwaste ofmoney”. Cllr PaulCarter claims the Liberal


Democrat-led Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) has taken umbrage over theuse of £200,000 ofdeveloper contributions (S106 cash) for KCC surveys into the possibility of a Leeds-Langley by-pass. Downs Mail understands MBC


wants a legal examination into the use of thatmoney. Conservative Cllr Carter com-


plained: “MBC has chosen to take umbrage that we are carrying out surveys and planning for a Leeds - Langley relief road and the valua- tion thereof, and they seem to be a bitmiffed about that. “I hope that they see sense and


withdraw this legal action. It is a totalwaste of tax-payers’money.” He said he hoped that after a pub-


licmeeting inNovember and a sub- sequent agreement by both authorities toworkmore closely on a relief road in a working group headed by MPs Helen Grant and Helen Whately, there would be a “fresh start”. Cllr Carter added: “I hoped that


with the agreement we’d come to and working with the two Helens thatwe hada fresh start. Sadly not.” Downs Mail understands that


MBC wants to tie the cash into buildingdevelopments on theA274, while KCC – the road-building au- thority – would use it to fund local transport projects, such as the relief road studies. MBC chief executive Alison


Broom claims the £200,000 was re- leased directly from three develop- ers behind housing projects on the


Fire destroys acres of corn


SIX fire engines and about 25 fire- fighterswere sent to tackle a blaze in standing corn near Maidstone on Sunday, July 15. Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s


emergency control centre received a number of 999 calls alerting them to the fire at just after 6.30pm. Ten acres of standing corn was


destroyed by the blaze in fields in Yelsted Lane, Stockbury. A farmer from nearby South


Green was among those who helped to stop the flames spread- ing. Firefighters had left the scene by 9pm. It is believed the fire was caused by a vehicle striking a flint in the dry conditions.


4 Maidstone August 2018 Leader: I can’t say


‘modal shift’works THE leader ofMaidstone Borough Council,Martin Cox (pictured), has admitted he cannot be “100% sure” that the controversial con- cept of “modal shift” will work. Modal shift


MBC chief exec Cllr Alison Broom


A274 Sutton Road to KCC, not via the borough. But paperwork seen by Downs


Mail and dated April 2018 strongly suggests a delay in the funds be- coming availablewas due to a legal challenge by MBC over this use of S106money.MrsBroomclaimedthe judicial review, which might be heardinthe autumn,wouldprovide “clarity”. County councillor Gary Cooke, a


campaigner for the relief road, said the KCC work will continue on the by-pass surveys, whether or not S106 money was provided. He added: “The sad thing is that I thoughtweweremeant to bework- ing on this together.” When asked if the £20,000 the


council had set aside for the judicial review would be enough, Mrs Broomrefused to be drawn.


KCC leader Cllr Paul Carter When pressed, she said: “We said


weweren’tpreparedtotalkabout the money because it is speculative.” AKCCinsiderhas toldDownsMail


that the county authority is worried thecostcouldrunintosixfigures.The insider said: “The true amount could spiralveryquickly.We’relookingat the thick end of £250,000, at worst. It is a colossalwasteof tax-payers’money.” Independent Maidstone borough


councillor Eddie Powell said the spat betweenMBC and KCC had become “blatantlypolitical”. Headded:“There shouldbenoplace


forpartypoliticsinthis,but itseemspol- itics is costing the tax-payer a lot of money.” Mrs Broom conceded relations with


KCCwere“challenging”,despiteapledge lastyear toworkwithMaidstone MPs HelenWhately and Helen Grant to improve them.


is MBC’s way to try to miti- gate against the increase in traffic by en- couraging tax- payers to ride bicycles, walk or catch a bus rather than drive a car. The borough council hopes the


explosion in traffic numbers as a result of the Local Plan, which will see at least 17,600 homes built in Maidstone, will be dealt with by the sustainable transportmodel. In an interviewwithDownsMail,


we asked Cllr Cox and MBC chief executive Alison Broom: “Are you 100%suremodal shift canwork?” At first, Mrs Broom evaded the


question by saying that modal shift “can occur”. Cllr Cox then said: “You are ask-


ing a person if they are 100%cer- tain something can work. How on earth can anybody be 100%sure something is going to work be- cause you are asking about some- thing that is going to happen in the future?”


Toddlers’ £300waddle for charity


YOUNGSTERS helped to raise an impressive amount for charity by taking part in a Toddle Waddle aroundMote Park on June 22. Ten children, aged from 10


months to four, and six parents and guardians took part in the 5km walk around the park. The team from Lou Lou’s Day


Care, a husband and wife child- minding business, raised more than £300 for Barnado’s,with spon- sorship coming from parents, grandparents and Facebook fol- lowers. Louise Hampton, of Lou Lou’s,


said: “Despite it being a verywarm day, all the children did a marvel- lous job ofwalking the route. There were only a fewexceptions – at the halfway point a couple of children


fell asleep, so they finished the route in the buggy. “The weather was fantastic, the


children loved being outdoors and a nice amount ofmoneywas raised for a very good cause. Thank you, Mote Park, andwe look forward to


all the changes that are being pro- posed or are currently being con- structed.” Louise and husband Ross were


supported on the walk by parents and grandparents, with the event finishingwith a picnic in the shade.


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