News


Sink hole leads to fears of disruption


A TWO-metre wide hole which openedupinMaidstone gave res- idents the sinking feeling they were in for months of inconven- ience and disruption. The void appeared in early July,


leading to fears it would end like themassive chasmwhich shut the A26 for fivemonths last year. In the end, theUpper Fant Road


was shut for just a few days after Kent County Council sent experts in to dealwith the potential crisis. Locals blame the increase in traf-


fic, likely to be made worse by MBC’splan for 25,000more homes in the borough, although some ge- ologists are not convincedof a link. The latest hole is the fifth in a


two-mile radius in 18months. InNovember 2014, Leeds village


was shut for six months after a huge sinkhole (pictured) appeared. Much of the soil and deep level


groundstructure acrossMaidstone is of a similar nature to Leeds,


leaving it susceptible to collapses. Three years ago, Dr Clive Ed-


monds, a geo-hazards expert spe- cialising in sinkholes


for


engineering giantPeterBrettAsso- ciates (PBA), said water leaks can increase the likelihoodof collapses. The Leeds voidwas blamed on a


water escape causing weaknesses in underground “voids”. DrEdmonds said: “The same ge-


ological circumstances are present in a wide area, not only in the vil- lage but the land around it. “You need something to trigger it. InUpper Street,Leeds, itwas be-


lieved to be a leakingwatermain. “The geological conditions are


similar in other areas, such as Maidstone andWestMalling.” Asked if high volumes of traffic


were a contributing factor, Dr Ed- monds added: “It’s difficult to gauge. The roads have been used for a long time until there was too muchwater in one location. “We don’t think traffic levels


were implicated, although one might argue that if you had a shal- lowvoidandyou put a heavy load onto it, itwouldn’t be helpful.” MBC hopes to reduce the traffic


explosion on the borough’s infra- structure by changes to roads and the concept of “modal shift”, which would encourage car-users towalk, cycle or take a bus. But Lib Demleader of the coun-


cil,CllrMartinCox, inaninterview withDownsMail, admittedhewas not “100% sure” that modal shift willwork.


downsmail.co.uk Fusion raided


A THIEF broke into the Fusion community hub, smashing a secu- rity shutter andwindow. The burglary in the early hours


of July 4was disturbed and police were called, but they were unable to catch the offender. Fusion, created in 2003 to help


the residents of ParkWood, lost a small sumofmoney inthe break-in butmanagersworry the crimemay push up insurance premiums.


Scheme saved


ASCHEMEto tackle lonelinesshas been saved by a housing business. TheWestKentBefriending Serv-


ice was threatened with closure after two employees faced the axe by Age UK, but a retirement vil- lage developer has agreed to fund the service for a year.


Rise in deaths


DEATHS from drink and drug abuse are on the rise in mid Kent and Medway since treatment re- sponsibility was handed over to local authorities. Ministry of Justice figures show


52 deaths were recorded by coro- ners in2018 comparedto28 in2014.


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