News Operea for


all to enjoy GILBERT and Sullivan fans can flex their voices at a fund-raising performance of Iolanthe on stage inMaidstone’sMoteHall. The event, part of the national


Voices for Hospices in 2019, was conceived as a ‘Come and Sing’ concert in 1989, which has now gone global. Itwill bring together singers, or-


chestralperformers andsupporters from in and around Maidstone in an evening of community spirit andto raisemoney for theHeart of Kent Hospice in Aylesford. This year, theMaidstone Choral Union is leading theHospice chorus. Thosewanting to join inmust at-


tend at least two rehearsals aswell as the final run-through at Mote Hall. Rehearsals are at 3.30pm on October 12 and 26, at Maidstone Grammar School forGirls inBuck- land Road and on October 15 and 29 at 9.30pmat the Baptist Church in Knightrider Street. The grand performance will be


at 7.30pmon Saturday,November 2, atMoteHall. To register, email Andrew


Williamson at choirmaster.all- saintsmaidstone@gmail.com.


Filmnight


STAND By Me is this month’s of- fering fromLenhamFilmClub. Based on a Stephen King short


story, the filmwas releasedin 1987, and is the first to be chosen by club members. Kicking theirheels for something


to do, four boys hear about a dead body in the woods and go to in- vestigate. It proves to be a journey into adulthood and a story of com- radeship. Doors open at LenhamCommu-


nityCentre inGroomWay, at 7pm, with tickets £5, on the door (non- members) and £4 formembers. Rocketman will be showing on


November 8. To join themailing list or for de-


tails email lenhamfilmclub@gmail. com. Refreshmentswill be available.


Ticket rise


THE cost of season tickets from Hollingbourne to Londonwill rise by £132 fromJanuary 2020. The 2.8% rise,will take the tick


price from£4,700 to £4,832. The station is used by nearly


50,000passengers a year.The serv- ice is operated by South Eastern Railways, which has had its fran- chise extended from November 2019 untilApril next year.


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downsmail.co.uk


Housing is ‘bringing chaos’ to town’s roads


CALLS are growing for a halt toMaidstone BoroughCouncil’s house- building programme and a re-think aboutwhether roads can cope. Concerns are being voiced that


the Liberal Democrat-led admin- istration does not have a sufficient grasp of the sheer scale of capac- ity required to accommodate vast increases in traffic with the pro- posed 25,000 plus new homes in the borough. Plans have just been unveiled


by MBC for 1,000 new homes in the centre of the county town. Just under 300 homes are pro-


posed on the Broadway shopping centre site, 650 flats planned in St Peter Street, and redevelopment of the Peugeot dealership by the River Len and theGala Bingo hall are among those cited byMBC. Aseparate regeneration scheme


at Maidstone East rail station could see a 400 further homes. But there are growing calls for


a moratorium on any further de- velopments while Maidstone’s roads descend into “chaos” under theweight of extra traffic. Green Party spokesman Stuart


Jeffery (pictured) said: “There is a real case for an urgent review of the principles that are being set now, and if that’s a moratorium, so be it.” Mr Jeffery has “no issue” with


building on the Broadway site as long as it is set aside for “much- needed” social and affordable housing. Leeds borough councillor Gill Fort said: “The roads are de-


scending into chaos. We need to stop, pause and re-think.” Bearsted parish councillor


Denis Spooner said: “A morato- rium would be great but would probably be open to legal chal- lenge.OurMPs...need to go to the Government to make the case for more money for roads to deliver the houses itwants.” In a comprehensive 22-page re-


port, the Joint ParishesGroup, ac- cuses MBC’s development strategy of destroying the social and economic fabric of the area; urban sprawl and the demise of the town centre, alongwith a fail- ure to accommodate the effect of climate change. Report author and Thurnham


parish councillor John Horne said: “In summary, there should be a pause, for fully reasoned and


Rail service still delayed


THE Government’s continued silence over the stalled introduction of fast rail services toMaid- stone has been described as an insult by senior politicians at county hall. In spite of requests for confirmation fromthe


Department for Transport as to whether Thameslink trains will be running fromDecem- ber,ministers have refused to comment. The latest update has been in the form of a


statement from West Malling’s Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat who said it now appeared “highly unlikely the service will be delivered as planned” and that it had become clear that: “Thameslink cannot deliver the rail service they promised.” Rob Bird, leader of the Liberal Democrat


group at County Hall, said: “Further delays to the introduction of this long-overdue service would be totally unacceptable.”


Maidstone East October 2019


considered answers...new houses are needed, but the key feature has to be the quality of develop- ment. “This should not be a numbers


game, it has to be sustainable, oth- erwise existing communities will move out of the area.” A joint traffic study by Boxley


and Bearsted parish councils calls for a “moratorium on further de- velopments in the area until a comprehensive


infrastructure


plan is completed and imple- mented”. It also calls for a Leeds-Langley


relief road. MBC said: “We have no plans for a moratorium on house building. The Maidstone Local Plan was adopted in 2017 and the council is fully committed to delivering it.” Town centre plans, page 32


Threat after taxi ‘joke’


ATAXI passengerwas “threatened and held against hiswill” aftermaking a joke to aMaidstone driver. The victimand two friends caught a taxi in King


Street, at around 12.30amon Saturday,August 24. It is reported they made a’joke’ to the driver, fol- lowingwhich he reacted by driving erratically and going through a red light. The car, described as a large black Ford with a


sliding door, later stopped on theA20 at its junction withHermitage Lane inAylesford.After two of the passengers exited, the vehicle is said to have been driven away at speedwith the victimstill inside. It is alleged the driver then made threats to the


man, who went on to jump out of the vehicle as it wasmoving and sustained a number of injuries. Anyone with information should call 01622


604100, quoting reference 46/163015/19. Alterna- tively, contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or visit Crimestoppers-uk.org.


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