News


downsmail.co.uk ‘Town grinding to a halt’


IF YOUwant an honest, gritty viewof the traffic inMaidstone, just ask a taxi driver. Mark Jones moved to the town


15 years ago to set up Sapphire Cars. Back then, he lovedMaidstone.


But now he says political apathy, short-sightedness and an obses- sionwith building homeswithout the necessary investment in infra- structure is bringing the county town to its knees. Sapphire’s 39 drivers used to


average four journeys an hour, ac- cording toMr Jones, but nowthey struggle tomake two, and are re- porting late arrivals for the first time in the firm’s history. He said: “We have drivers tak-


ing an hour and a half to travel a mile, not just at rush-hour, but at all times of the day.” Mr Jones has become so frus-


trated, he has now invited traffic officers from both the borough and county councils to spend a day in his cab to find out, first- hand, the traffic nightmare being created. Mr Jones said: “For the first


time,we have a driver shortage in Maidstone because of the lack of earning potential and the stress of driving in these conditions, and I amturning awaymorework than I’mtaking on becausemy cars are stuck in traffic.” He says the increase in houses


and traffic across the region – as well as major work on the M20 – is having a catastrophic effect on both the town’s economy and en- vironment. “Pollution from standing traffic is killing our clean air. The Wheatsheaf junction is choking with fumes that exceed the EU limit, and yet even more houses are planned for Park


Mark Jones with staff at Sapphire Cars inMaidstone


Wood.” Mr Jones blames a lack of


joined-up thinking and house building – especially on traffic sen- sitivesites likeRockyHillandLower StoneStreet–anddescribesthecoun- cil’s hopes formodal shift as a “pipe dream”. “Ican’t tellyouofanewroadthat’s


been built in recent years; but build- ing apartmentswith no parking like those for Ringlestone, and adding roundabouts to feed more vehicles onto the same stretch of road will neverwork.We need investment in ringroads, another crossingover the river, and flyovers, or the borough will grindto ahalt.” Mr Jones (58), fromBarming, be-


lievesnewroads andmore, cheaper, parking are a priority, not £3.1m schemes to“prettyup”GabrielsHill


and Week Street and a “failed at- tempt” toimprove traffic flowsover the river. He said apathy and arguments


between the borough and county councilmust be put aside, adding: “I understand the need for new homes, butwehave built only 5,000 of the17,600homesapprovedinour Local Plan. “There is no point blaming each


other – serious joined-upthinkingis needed.More homes shouldmean more business, but people are sim- ply being driven away by the con- gestion, leaving us to pick up the pain.” Downs Mail passed Mr Jones’


offer to shadow him for a day to borough and county traffic plan- ners. Therewas no response at the time of going to press.


No roomto invest MARK Jones says that, fromJan- uary, his Pudding Lane business is directed to replace taxis with hybrid vehicles. He said: “It all seems about the


money, without the support. I have to stick to laws regarding minimum wage, workers’ pen- sions, and now I’m being asked to invest in hybrid vehicles. “What the authorities don’t


seemto realise is that, as a busi- ness, we cannot keep being squeezed and still invest when we are not being given the infra- structure in which to function. Equally, if vehicles were able to move, rather than endlessly idling in queues, the pollution problemwould be lessened.”


‘I’d love tomove’


HEATHER Kirkpatrick (pictured) has worked for Sapphire Cars for 15 years. She lives at Boughton Monchelsea and says her four- mile journey into town now takes nearly 90 min- utes. She said: “We


have 200 houses being built in Boughton, with only one shop.


Ten of my neighbours have sold up and moved in the last six months, and I now dream of moving. “I rarely go out, and certainly


don’t come intoMaidstone any- more because of the roads and the lack of and cost of parking.”


Channel swimeffort TheKey to rail travel


TONY Saunders has swumthe width of theChannel –without leaving Larkfield. Along with pal Graeme


Kelly, he set out to cover the distance between Dover and Calais – 21 miles – by plough- ing through lengths of Lark- field Leisure Centre’s fitness pool. The men, who had swum


more than 80miles in prepara- tion, took on the challenge as part of the Aspire Channel Swim. The national charity event


16 Malling January 2019


encourages participants to cover thewidth of the Channel over a 12-week period. But Tony andGraeme set out to do it in one go…in the space of a day. Tony completed the swimin


about 15 hours while Graeme had to bow out at the 12-hour mark due to a shoulder injury, having completed 18 and a half miles. The two men raised more


than £640 between them,which will go towards supporting thosewith spinal cord injuries.


RAIL operator Southeastern is ditching paper tickets for a con- tactless card known as The Key. The upgraded system is now


available for season tickets aswell as single and return fares. The Key is available from


Southeastern ticket offices and online. Unlike paper tickets which wear out easily, fares on The Key can be redeemed by tap- ping in and out of ticket gates. Launching the new-look ticket


in Kent, Southeastern’s head of retail John Backway said:“It’s the swansong for old-style paper tick- ets that have been around since


the 1980s, which use out-dated technology and can wear out quickly, especially season tickets that are used frequently. “TheKey has a huge advantage


in that more than one ticket can be stored on it, and for the first timewe’re introducing the option of being able to buy single and re- turn fares, with all of the usual Railcard discounts.” Smarter ticketing on National


Rail, including The Key, and bar- code ticketing elsewhere will be- come available for use on trains not just throughout the south east but across England during 2019.


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