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wagging the dog, and we continue to suffer intransigence from both sides, despite the fact that they purport to be listening. Undoubtedly, the present dominance of


two political parties, neither of which represents a majority of the electorate, has served and continues to serve this country very badly and I am, therefore, heartened to see the beginnings of what I hope is a new, middle ground movement which may be free of influence from extreme right, or left wing ideology. Please, therefore, less propaganda for


the ERG and more balanced discussion. David Hacke, Maidstone


No wonder shops struggle


I CAN understand why Maidstone shops are closing for lack of sales. I went and parked in Fremlins Walk and was horrified to find that one hour of parking costs £2.10. How on earth can you have a day


shopping when car parks are charging these exorbitant prices? I know now where I will be shopping in future and it most definitely will not be in Maidstone, our county town. R Bourne, via email


Roads grinding to a halt


THE other day I was dropping the kids off at school and faced what seems to be happening every day in our clogged-up villages across the borough. A three-mile journey at rush hour took


45 minutes. That’s 4mph. Only a fraction of the 25,000 houses coming down the track in Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan have been built. We are already seeing the consequences


on the roads. Imagine when the other twenty-odd thousand are up. When the Liberal Democrats were


forcing the Local Plan through, they saw no reason to press for a relief road or make any reasonable provision to deal with the massive increase in traffic other than “modal shift”. The roads are jammed


every day, made worse by Brexit preparations on the motorway, pothole fixing, gas works, sink holes, water pipe repairs and so on. In a couple of years’ time, 45 minutes for


a three-mile journey will seem quite quick. This is the future, get used to it. S Lynch, via email


Ruling on biodiversity


THE CLA (Country Land and Business Association) has submi�ed its response to proposals within a Government consultation to make biodiversity net gain mandatory within the planning system. This would mean that developments


would be required to produce a net increase in biodiversity, either by mitigating any harm caused, or compensating for it by creating additional wildlife habitats either on or off the development site. Biodiversity off-se�ing encourages new


markets for the delivery of net environmental gains, which landowners are often best placed to deliver. If the Government’s net gain policy is


well-designed and implemented through the planning system, it could provide many benefits by contributing to its ambitions to reverse the loss of biodiversity. It could also help to stimulate public support for environmentally- friendly development of housing. However, there is still a lot of detail and


complexity to work out to ensure the policy delivers for all involved. It will be important for local authorities to have the capacity to cope with the process. Our response to the consultation makes


it clear there should be an exemption for small development sites of 20 houses or fewer, especially in rural areas, to avoid suppressing much-needed rural housing. For more information about the CLA


and its work, visit www.cla.org.uk/your- area/south-east/regional-news and follow @CLASouthEast on Twi�er. Tim Bamford, Regional surveyor, CLA South East,


Thanks to Snow Angels


RECENTLY, Blue Bell Hill was gridlocked, then shut as a result of heavy snow that fell during the Friday evening rush hour. In this gridlock, was a G4S patient


transfer ambulance, that had left Maidstone Hospital, with a patient on board, for the supposed routine journey to Walderslade Village. The ambulance was crewed by Emily Richards and Amy Lapsley, who had been working since 8am and were due to finish after this journey. Their ambulance was stationary on Blue


Bell Hill for some hours – so long that the patient needed to eat because of a medical condition. One of the girls had to walk to the petrol station to buy food. At the top of Blue Bell Hill,


“Snowmageddon” had struck the Walderslade Woods road, with vehicles abandoned, trees down and challenging driving conditions. This was where Emily and Amy had to take their patient. The girls got their patient safely home


not far short of midnight, navigating the steep decline of Robin Hood Lane. Their return journey was equally as


eventful. Their exit from Walderslade village saw them following in the tyre tracks of a Kent Police dog handler, being pushed up the hill by customers of The Sherwood Oak Public House,then being escorted by members of the 4x4 Emergency Response and lead by a man chainsawing a path through the fallen trees. All in the middle of the night. The girls could not get back to their own cars to go home, so were allowed to use the ambulance. They worked for nearly 24 hours. I would like to thank all those people


who helped Emily and Amy. But I would particularly like to commend Emily and Amy to your readers. They showed great courage, resilience and dedication to their job. They are the real face of G4S Patient Transfer, and were brave Snow Angels. Who am I? I am Emily’s proud father


who blundered into the same Snowmageddon, but was stuck in my car, unable to offer any help to Emily and Amy. Peter Richards, Bearsted


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