downsmail.co.uk


built to accommodatemodern levels of traffic, I could agreewithMaidstone Green Party that no parking should be allowed on any public pedestrian pavements. But in desperately overcrowded


IN AN idealworld,with all roads


We have to park on pavements MailMarks 


Kent blowing raspberries I HAVE lived in Kent allmy life and


DENNISFOWLE President dennisfowle28@gmail.com


Maidstone,with serious traffic hold-ups blighting our lives daily, considerate drivers look forways to ease thismodern pain. If they can avoid parking partly on


pavements and still leave the road open for other vehicles theywill do so. But too often the only intelligent option


is to park partly on a pavement,while leaving asmuch roomas possible available for pedestrians. So often I findmyself in sympathywith


Green objectives, but somany do not stand up tomore important needs. That is a reason they sufferwith lack of votes at election times.





Hospital parking WHILE on parking, several readers


queriedmy piece lastmonthwhen I said Iwillingly paid for hospital parking as my small added contribution to help fund our hospital. Theywere under the impression thismoneywent to the business operating the car park.


Stop the Brexit blaming


I READ with interest Dennis Fowle’s comments on Brexit in the DownsMail November edition. Brexit is ama�er of opinion, and I don’t


know if we are taking the right path, no one does – we need to bemuch further down the line tomake that judgement. Much of the argument has brought out


the worst in our society, with finger- pointing, threats, abusive language and so on. The paranoia expressed bymany


Brexiteers really does troubleme. Dennis says “there is a wide belief that Remain Civil Servants/MPs” are effectively working against Brexit and slowing the process down. It is extremely difficult inmy experience


to get Brexiteers to answer honestly why TheresaMay is in post. She was left unopposed in 2016 when the Brexiteer MPs plo�ed against each other and then ultimately bo�led it. I had hoped that a Brexiteer would take


over fromDavid Cameron to put into place all the promisesmade before the referendum. I was looking forward to all thatmoney going into the NHS and havingmy cake and eating it – achieving free trade with no freedomofmovement. What happened, only Johnson, Gove


and Leadsomwill know, but we ended up withMrsMay, and Chequers saysmuch about her approach. It’s a fudge. That said, she does not deserve the vile and


46 Maidstone December 2018 So I checked andwas told themoney


goes to the hospital trust.Among the trust’s responsibilities ismeeting parking costs, including extending parking as appropriate, butmost of themoney improves other hospital services.





The secret Brexit AreMaidstone andMalling Brexiteers


worried aboutwhat our negotiators are up to? Responses to lastmonth’sMail Mark leave no doubt. The budget did nothing to reassure


them. Did the Chancellor’s oft-repeated praise for “all hard-working people” include a financial sop andwarnings to Brexiteers – andmaybe even a prelude to a possible general election? Is the PrimeMinisterworking secretly


towards the Brexit 58%ofMaidstone and Malling voted for? Somany complain of being left in the dark and fear an a�empt to impose a soft Brexit (in name only), with the EU still largely in costly control. I amgrateful for your comments.


insulting language that has been evident within her party. Everyone is entitled to their view, but


don’t hide away fromthe truth that, to a large degree, we are in a place that the Brexiteers have put us by not taking control after the referendum. Acknowledge this point and respect the huge task in negotiating a deal, rather than blaming someone else, which is all too easy. David Hall, Fremlins Road, Bearsted


Sovereignty dreamunlikely


AS BRITAIN edges ever closer to qui�ing the EU, a decision Sir JohnMajor recently described as “a colossalmisjudgement”, I fear that the “true sovereignty” your columnist Dennis Fowle wishes to see restored here will not in fact produce the “unfe�ered worldwide trade” he wants and expects to see. Good trade deals with the rest of the


world are surelymore likely to be achieved by being part of a large and powerful bloc of 28 countries with real clout at the negotiating table than by going it alone and trusting in the dubious skills of Dr LiamFox. Those ofMr Fowle’s persuasion seem


never to have acknowledged that well before 2016, the UK already enjoyed a fair measure of freedomfromthe EU while still being a fullmember – amini Brexit youmight almost call it – through having


amproud itwas known as The Garden of England, especially famous for hops and cherries.As a teenager I enjoyed picking both, and earning pocketmoney. Howtimes have changed. I doubt


many still see Kent as The Garden of England andwe knowhops and cherries have largely disappeared. Kent in themain is still is a beautiful


county, despitewidespread development imposed on us, and I ampleased the farming community has adapted to the loss of our famous crops. Soft fruit is nowgrownmorewidely,


especially raspberries and strawberries in plastic tunnels. This has revolutionised many fading farming businesses. The farming, picking and packing


processes employ somany people, mostly fromoverseas, and thesemust not be lost as Brexit unwinds. The bigger growers pack directly for


supermarket chains,who count these products among their best sellers. When you buy soft fruit it isworth


reading the packaging. Thiswill give you a feel for howbig this business has become – and theMaidstone areawill be featured.


opted out of both the Euro zone, to keep our own currency, and the Schengen Agreement, with its aimof borderless free movement across Europe. Whatever deal is done or not done with


the EU at themidnight hour, it seems more than likely that whoever is then in power will have their work cut out just to keep the show on the road in a deeply divided country, thanks to Cameron’s misguided a�empt to resolve long- standing Tory divisions. K.G. Banks, Bearsted


A thought-provoking read


WITH reference to a number of items in your last excellent edition.  The clear-up (after the traveller incursion) atMote Park was effected, in part, by the Volunteers ofMote Park Fellowship.We would suggest to the travellers’ rep, who spring to the defence of travellers on every incursion, that theymeet the cost of every clear-up.Maidstone Borough Council should seek a blanket exclusion on all public areas and full retrospective recovery of all legal costs. With regard to the Park and Ride car park, it needs to continue for allmembers of our community. The new systemis ageist and anti-disability.We as volunteers working in the park are not allowed to use our park permits in the Park and Ride car park.  The wrangles over the Su�on Road


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