News


downsmail.co.uk Charges ‘willincrease fly-tipping’


A PLAN to charge homeowners to use their local tip will cause more illegal fly-tipping and pe- nalise the law-abiding, it has beenwarned. The charges of £4 and£6 per black


sack for certain items isproposedby the county council as amoney-sav- ing exercise and tomeet an increase in demand. While borough councillors agree


that KCC has to meet its increasing disposal challenges,Maidstone Bor- ough Council (MBC) will be left to dealwith fly-tipping. Tovil tip is the only one serving


the residents ofMaidstone borough. The charges for domestic users


would relate to soil, rubble, hard core, plasterboard and various DIY products, including ceramic baths, breeze blocks, bricks, concrete and flagstones,withalimit of five bagsa day. Alternatively, homeowners could hire skips or contractors li- censed to legally dispose ofwaste. Borough councillor Martin


Round,whoseward is inHeadcorn, says fly-tipping in the village and Ulcombe isaweekly occurrence.He cited a recent incident that closed


Burglary case


TWO men have been charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into atattoo parlour inMaidstone. Peter Griffiths (5 1 ), of London


Road, Maidstone and Matthew Stannard (4 6 ), of no fixed address, were arrested on September 1 9 and 2 0 respectively. Both men were charged in con-


nection to a burglary at Studio Twenty-six in Union Street, Maid- stone, on September 1 5 . Mr Griffiths was also charged


with two thefts fromshops inMaid- stone, a public order offence, at- tempted criminal damage and assaulting an officer. Both appeared by video link be-


fore Medway Magistrates’ Court and were remanded to Maidstone Crown Court onOctober 1 9 .


Harvestgifts


LOOSE Primary School has col- lected and donated food to Maid- stoneDayCentre and the homeless. The childrencelebratedHarvestat


All Saints’ Church in Loose Village where the donations were collected andtaken toMaidstoneDayCentre. School spokesmanMorag Thom-


son said: “The school council de- cided to support Maidstone Day Centre,whichprovides comfortand support for the homeless. “The children really came to-


gether for this event. A very well done to everybody involved.”


22 Maidstone November 2018


Baker Road for two days after a driver emptied the contents of a lorry in the street and drove off. Cllr Round said: “As always, 9 0%


of the community are law-abiding and would accept the charge. It is theminority, who are unconcerned about disposing of rubbish illegally, whowill ignore it.” He believes larger fines,more en-


forcement staff and educational ini- tiativeswouldbemore helpful.Each


year, Maidstone Council spends £1 .6mon street cleaning. He saysamuch betterworking re-


lationshipbetween the boroughand county council’s cleansing depart- ments couldmake this easier. Leeds boroughcouncillorGill Fort


has been campaigning for years to stop illegal fly-tipping in her ward, not least in Burberry Lane. MBCwaspart ofawider initiative to crack down on illegal dumpers


but local residents say the problem has gotworse, not better. Cllr Fort,whohas calledforCCTV


to be installed in hotspots, added: “The issue is simply not enforced.” CllrDerekMortimer, chairman of


MBC’s community, housinganden- vironment committee, said: “Weun- derstandthatwithreducing budgets and escalating costs, KCC needs to reviewtheways it supplies services. “However,we are concerned that


this decision couldmeanmore peo- ple choosing to dispose of their waste irresponsibly, rather than pay the fees proposed. We’re already working closelywithmultipleagen- cies to crackdown onfly-tippingand will continue to do so.” He believes making it easier for


homeowners is the way forward, adding: “Tovil is the only tip in Maidstone.We need another tip the other side of town. We should be making it easier for people to dis- pose of their rubbish, not harder.”


£355k thank you to cancer centre


A MAIDSTONE family has donated £ 3 5 5 ,0 0 0 to the Maidstone and TunbridgeWellsNHS Trust (MTW) to say thanks for “fantastic” treatment. Roy and Margaret Sutcliffe, pic-


tured with staff, gave the cash to the Kent Oncology Centre, in Maidstone Hospital, for equipment for diagnos- ing and treating urological cancers. Mr Sutcliffe, who is in his 8 0 s, was


recently treated for bladder cancer at the centre. He said: “My treat- ment was fantastic and themedical staff were brilliant. “As a result ofmy experience and


the care I received, I wanted to help the cancer teamin delivering an ef- ficient and effective service, as well as benefit the patients they treat.” The donation will be used to buy


medical items, including two ultra- soundmachines, a bladder scanner, cystoscopy scopes and to renewsur- gical instruments. David Fitzgerald, associate direc-


tor cancer and clinical support cer- vices, added: “Thanks toMr andMrs Sutcliffe we will be able to progress


with our pioneering work in cancer treatment and continue to provide our patients with first class, high quality care.” MTW’s KentOncology Centre pro-


vides cancer services to about 1 .8 million people across Kent,Medway and East Sussex.


River patrols aimto preventdeaths


TRAININGhas begun for the return of night river patrols on the Med- way acampaign to prevent deaths thiswinter. Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR)


launched the scheme last year after severalpeopledrownedafter falling into the river during nights out. With more people traditionally


out over the festive period, KSAR is keen to raise awareness of the dan- gers drinking and walking near open bodies ofwater can pose.


Over 4 0 volunteers have now


beguntraining inpreparationfor the return of the Christmas campaign, whichwill see two rescue boats pa- trolling theMedway on Friday and Saturday nights inDecember. A bike unit will ride along the


river with medical supplies, watch- ing for anyonewho has fallen in. Stewart Baird, operations director


forKSAR, said: “We ran the scheme last year, fromthe second weekend ofDecember up to theNewYear.


“We did have to respond to a


woman who had drank alittle too much and fell into the river at about 3 am.Wemanagedto get her outand she survived. “We also stopped two suicide at-


tempts during those nine days.” In 2 0 1 4 , 2 8 -year-old Patrick Lamb


had been enjoying a night out in Maidstone before Christmas when he became separated from his friends. His body was found in the river fourweeks later.


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