downsmail.co.uk Yellow lines increase risk


WITH reference to your report in Downs Mail headed “Safety fears in Ware Street”. The report stated that Thurnham Parish


Council has agreed to apply to KCC to have double yellow lines from Sandy Mount to the railway bridge to stop car parking on Ware Street. This, they say, would improve safety for pedestrians. This would achieve only one thing –


allowing cars to go even faster, making this stretch of road even more dangerous. The complete opposite should be asked


for, more “protected” on-road parking, as this acts as a natural chicane to slow people down, and makes it less a�ractive as a cut-though. If money was going to be spent on


anything, surely pedestrian crossings along this stretch and by the railway station, speed cameras, and some sort of traffic calming would be a be�er idea. Russell Evans, Bearsted


Fees will fuel flytipping


MUCH good work is being done to tackle the scourge of flytipping, but introducing new charges for disposing of items such as rubble and plasterboard is unlikely to help. In many parts of Kent, fly-tipping is


rising, blighting the Garden of England, with 20,000 incidents recorded a year. It would be very disappointing if the numbers were to grow even bigger as a result of these fees. Kent County Council is to charge £6 per


plasterboard bag and £4 per bag of soil, rubble and hard core from June 3. While some other councils in England also charge, their fees are not as high. There were nearly one million cases of


flytipping recorded by local authorities in 2017/18, although the true figures are likely to be higher, as predominantly the statistics do not include incidents on private land, where the landowner has responsibility to oversee the clearance and cost for waste removal. The CLA estimates it costs a farmer or landowner an average of £844 to clear up each incident.


The message needs to be sent that


dumping waste will not be tolerated, and those who do it will be prosecuted. Imposingstiffer penalties, which reflect the seriousness of the crime, is crucial, along with seizing the vehicles used to flytip. The CLA represents landowners,


farmers and rural businesses across the region. For details of its work, visit www.cla.org.uk/your-area/south- east/regional-news. Robin Edwards, regional director, CLA South East


Other side of Brexit


I WOULD like to respond to the comments of David Hacke� in Downs Mail under the headline “More balance on Brexit”. He objects to the contention that 58% of


Maidstone voted to leave the EU on the grounds that some people did not vote, meaning only 45% actually voted leave. He fails to mention that the 42% who


voted remain would also actually drop to 31%, thus still maintaining a majority vote in favour of leaving the EU. He claims that if the referendum was to


be re-run the result nationally would be reversed, according to recent surveys. The true result would, in my opinion, be


that more of the country would vote leave now, backed by the realisation that the government has proved we do not live in a democracy but rather under the dictatorship of Theresa May and her spineless monkeys. There have been many stories stating


that youngsters who were not eligible to vote years years ago would vote remain, but there is no evidence to back this. Having spoken to local youngsters, every one has said they have no faith in the Government and no wish to be controlled by Brussels and given the opportunity would vote leave. Some say many leave voters have died,


so their votes should no longer count. What about the remain voters who have died too. Do their votes still count? There has been mass media blackout by


the Government with regards to leave protests, with BBC and Sky news both being biased in favour of remain. Who else has noticed that all news crews outside Parliament show EU flags in the background. As I write, in the last week alone, there has been over 30 hours of media coverage regarding remain and 18 minutes regarding leave. Mike Watson, via email


Infrastructure is vital


I READ the Mail Marks column recently with interest and Dennis Fowle’s concerns are justified. Maidstone Borough Council should be in no position to encourage new development without supporting infrastructure. There is no thought for the


environment, because they generate substantial revenue for council tax (this cost increases each year). I live in Grafty Green, an unspoilt area


for now, but the Headcorn Road which links Lenham and Headcorn has become much busier. The area of major concern for me is Harriestsham and Lenham. Development has moved at such a rapid


pace within the last five years the former villages as I now call them are merging into one suburb of Maidstone. The A20 can now be so busy leading onto the M20 junction, traffic can back up past Lenham, and will only become worse as more development is planned for the area. The other areas which have exploded


are between Headcorn and up the Su�on Road into Maidstone, with all side roads gridlocked as traffic tries to move around. It is unbelievable to see so much


development with no thought for infrastructure. The area between Downswood, Otham to Parkwood and Langley was, until six months ago, open woodland and fields. Now massive developments are emerging, with yet more traffic creating pollution and mayhem. I can’t see an end to this, and I have


raised concerns with the council as have others, but this is no concern to them. David Jenkins, Grafty Green


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