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downsmail.co.uk


Schools access ‘won’twork’


ACCESS into the proposed site of two new schools near junction seven of theM20 is proving to be amajor turn-off for local residents. Ascheme for a primary and spe-


cialneeds schoolwillhave the busy and often gridlocked Bearsted Road as its entrance and exit. Residents have expressed con-


cerns over plans made public by the group behind it, which com- prises the LeighAcademies’ Trust, Department for Education, plan- ning consultants andSurrey-based PR firm for the builders, Stony- rock. The delegation claimed the KMC site was the only viable op- tion identified from a list of 26, with all the others notmeeting cri- teria.A planning application was expected to have been lodged by DownsMail’s publication. The scheme’s backers staged a


consultation exercise in early De- cember to convince locals and take feedback. The public response was clear –


that local people, borough and parish councillors and even the clergy are far fromsoldontheplan. Most were concerned the access


isnot throughtheKMCsite but the busy Bearsted Road. The school delegation claimed it


had proved impossible to secure access throughKMCland, as it has different levels ofplanning consent. Residents are worried that a


massive building programme by Liberal Democrat-led Maidstone Borough Council, the latest of which is at theMaidstone Studios, is already putting too much pres- sure on roads. Now the science college at New


Cut Road is set to increase the number of cars even furtherwhen it opens. Speaking at a public exhibition, Mary Hannant, of Grove Green,


4 Maidstone East January 2019 FACTS AT A GLANCE


Fromleft, ResidentsMary Hannant, Stephen Hannant, Lawrence Page and Dorothy Page


said: “It’s a good school and great facilities, but it’s adangerous road. It is not the right location.” Her husband Stephen said: “In


my job, I drovewell over amillion miles, but never have I seen such a cock-up as the one inMaidstone.” Bearsted villager Madeleine


Schopman said: “I cannot believe they are going to put a school anywhere near Bearsted Road, the traffic is terrible at the best of


times. The access point just isn’t going to work. I didn’t think the school was even going to be built once they found out there was a mental hospital next door, and evenwith that they kept it all very secretive.Wedo neednewschools, but the location is just not right as there is no proper access. “It’s a struggle to even get out of


my road because of the traffic, I can’t imagine how it will be with


 The schools – Bearsted Pri- mary Academy and Snowfields Academy - will be run by the Leigh Academies’ Trust (LAT), based in Rochester, which will have a total of 23 other schools on its books by January; When both schools are up and running, there will be 120 SEN pupils and 420 primary students; The site is on the KentMedical Campus site at Pope’s Field im- mediately beside the low secu- rity, 65-bed private mental hospital, which houses some mentally ill criminals and people with borderline personality disor- ders.


two schools there, aswell.” Rev JohnCorbyn said: “No child


will be able to walk to that site, they’ll have to bedriven.By the na- ture of the special needs children, they’ll be coming in from further afield. I’ve never been convinced it was the right place for a school.” Stonyrock executive, Rebecca


Darling, said: “We are hearing what people are saying loud and clear.”


Barracks a beer site, says councillor


DENIS Spooner, borough coun- cillor for Bearsted, said: “It is called the Bearsted Primary Academy but it is not really a Bearstedschool, is it? It’s a school serving Grove Green, Vinters Park and northMaidstone. “I can understand why there


are concerns about the site’s con- nectivity and accessibility to its catchment area. I cannot seewhy any parent would let their kids walk to school along the Bearsted Road. It is far too dan- gerous. “A community school should


be surrounded by the housing estates whose children will use the school. “Perhaps a better place to look


for a site would be the Invicta Barracks site, for instance,which will better serve the peoplewho will be using it.”


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