News
£2.5mwork on station ‘boost to county town’
A £2.5mschemewill begin soon to renovateMaidstoneEast rail station, writes Jade Schopman. The redevelopment will include
thedemolition of theVictoriapub to make way for a new glass front, waiting area, café, ticket office and staff room. MaidstoneEast is the town’smain
station and has regular services to London. Additional direct services to London will start running from December 2019, when trains will run from Maidstone East to Cam- bridge. Local
andinvestors that thereisaconfidence and commitment about the future of MaidstoneanditsconnectivitytoLon- don. “Both the perception of our town
anda reliable transport service are im- portant. The area needs better railway services.” TheVic, formerlytheVictoriaHotel,
closed in 2011 and has since stood abandoned. Work is scheduled to beginonSeptember17toremoveit for thenewconstruction. MatthewFraser, stationmanager at
transport campaigner,
JamesWillis said: “Since 2010,Maid- stone has lost its services to London and Maidstone East services have been substandard. Something needs to happen as soon as possible.” Mr Willis, who uses the South
Eastern service daily, added: “Asta- tion needs to be functional and smart. The county townwill benefit from much-needed regeneration, and itwill help traders in that area.” “The bottomline is that the county
town needs much better railway services. Itneedsdevelopments, sothe newservices are soessential.” Christian Brodie, chairman of the
South East Local Enterprise Partner- ship(pictured) said: “Our railway sta- tions play an important role in the perception of our towns, as they are oftenthefirstandlastplacespeopleex- periencewhenvisiting. “Upgrading the station sends out a strongmessagetoresidents,businesses
Southeastern, said: “We’re always try- ingtoprovidebetterjourneysforourpas- sengers and improve the experience of usingour trains.Whenit’s complete, this newentrancetoMaidstoneEastwillbean excellent gateway to Kent’s county town.” Work on the station building is ex-
pected to start this year, partly funded by theNational Stations Improvement Programme and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, subject to the approval of final detailed designs by the local borough council.
downsmail.co.uk Digger barrier
A QUICK-thinking security officer used a digger to foil a potential traveller incursion in the centre of Maidstone. Four people tried to gain access
toKentHouse, in Romney Place, at about 4.30pmon September 2. Theywere asked to leave the site
and did so without argument when they realised a massive dig- gerwas blocking theway.
Cart racing
ABOUT two dozen horses and carts raced through the centre of Maidstone on September 1. The race, which featured mem-
bers of the travelling community, happened at about 3.15pm, with some narrowly missing buses. Theywere later seen inMote Park. Police went to the scene but said no offences had been disclosed.
Dutch choir
THE Travellers’ Choir, from the Netherlands, performs at All Saints’ Church, Maidstone, at 7.30pmon September 26. The evening collection of psalms
and hymns is directed by Peter Burger and the organist is Hugo van
deMeij.Admission is free.
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www.allloads.co.uk aggregates@allloads.co.uk 14 Maidstone October 2018
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