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serving county councillor Gary Cooke to fight the crucial seat while former Tory and Ukipper, PaulWooding,who campaigns for a ringroadfor the countytown,has endedmonths of speculationtode- clare himself an independent can- didate. They will take on fellow inde-


Roadswill be hot topic at polls Wooding: Ring


road campaign FORMER soldier Paul Wooding who has declared himself a candi- date inDownswoodandOthamwill puthiscall foraringroadat thecen- treofhis campaign. He told Facebook followers: “ (I


pendentCllrGordonNewton,who has a majority of just 33. Labour may play an important role in the outcome if the right-of-centre vote splits three ways. It is unknown if Ukipwill field a candidate. Cllr Cooke, a passionate cham-


pion of a by-pass to ease the grow- ing congestion on south Maidstone’s highways, said: “I believe that we need Maidstone Borough Council and Kent County Council to be working more closely together. I’d hope, if I am elected, with my experience Iwould be able to do amuch bet- ter job for the people of Downswood and Otham on a local andwider level. I’ll continue to challenge the causes of traffic congestion on the country roads,


KCC Cllr Gary Cooke andWendy Young will stand asMBC candidates


the need for a relief road for south Maidstone and to oppose the Lib- eral Democrats’ disastrous policy ofmodal shift.” Modal shift isMBC’s answer to


the expected 30,000 plus extra ve- hicles on the roads as a result of the Local Plan’s 17,600 new homes by encouraging people to walk, cycle or take the bus. Cllr Newton, who is repsected


and well-regarded in political cir- cles, said: “I shalldowhat Iusually do if I get in, and if I don’t, I get


Nowreds and blues agreedonlegal fight


WORRIED Labour and Conser- vative group leaders on Maid- stone Borough Council have joined forces to call on MBC management and political lead- ership to put a hold on High Court action against Kent County Council. Labour'sMalcolmMcKay and


Tory John Perry are concerned about Liberal Democrat-led MBC's decision to press on with proceedings to get a tax-payer funded judicial review. They want parties to get


around a table to resolve the dis- pute amicably and made their feelings plain at a meeting of council group leaders on January 3.


Cllr McKay told Downs Mail:


"It is fair to say that John and I wish to see this resolved outside the courts." Maidstone


Independents'


leader Eddie Powell agreed. Paperwork for the next round


of taxpayer-funded legal action by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) against KCC has been lodged with the High Court in London. MBC is seeking a judicial re-


viewto examine how(S106) cash released by house-builders for road improvements is spent by KCC. The borough council’s chief ex-


ecutive Alison Broom and the Liberal Democrat leader Martin Cox say the costly legal action is for “clarity”. At the heart of the case, is the


MBC house-building pro- gramme which will see 17,600 new homes and a massive in- crease in traffic. Another 8,000 units could be included in the Local Plan review. According to the court papers,


my life back!” Wendy Young, of the Leeds-


Langley Relief Road Action Group, will stand in Sutton Va- lence and Langley. Mrs Young, a former Langley parish councillor, said: “This is all new to me but I know how important the issue of trafficvolumes is topeoplewholive here. “As for the election, Iwill be tak-


ingabsolutely nothing for granted. If I get in, I will do my absolute best for everyone.”


in dispute is MBC’s demand to convert the A274 (Sutton Road) into a six-lane highway to ac- commodate bus routes. KCC has indicated it is unwill-


ing to do this because it would “disadvantage” other road users. But the county council wants


to use £200,000 of the £2.7m in S106monies fromthreeA274 de- velopments to carry out studies into a Leeds-Langley relief road. MBCis committed to its policy


of “modal shift”whichwill try to encourage residents to make journeys by bus, bicycle or on foot rather than use a car. Cllr Cox admitted last year


that he was “not 100% sure” modal shiftwillwork. A well-placed KCC source


said: “This has nothing to do with the £200,000 anymore.MBC is trying to supersede the au- thority of KCC as the statutory body responsible for building roads. “We have to go to court to fight


that and one would expect that MBCwill fail in that quest. “But it seems MBC will not back down until KCC delivers


six lanes on theA274 andwe are not going to do that. We never wanted this to go to the High Court.” We approached MBC for a


running total ofmoney spent on the High Court action but the council refused to confirm it. KCC has asked the judge to re- jectMBC’s claimwith costs.


Maidstone February 2019 23


am) a staunch campaigner for a complete southernMaidstone ring roadtohelpALLof thecountytown, and as all previous feasibility stud- ies includedatathat showsastand- aloneLeedsLangleyReliefRoadwill NOT help all communities like Downswood and Otham as claimed, Iwillcontinuetofight fora scheme that actuallywill. “I am hard working, straight


speaking and would relish the op- portunitytotakeresidents’concerns straight totheheartofMBC. “Iwouldbeapositive contributor


intheupcomingreviewof theLocal Plan and integrated transport strat- egy, (planswhich have been instru- mental in the lack of foresight to house buildingand adequate sup- porting infrastructure).”


ROADS and transportwill become the hot issues at nextMay’s borough council electionswith the keymarginal of Downswood and Othambeing theward towatch. The Conservatives have chosen


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