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the sometime ridiculous Kent County Council, its leader and all those in power propose to site another household recycling centre, where all the rubbish from neighbouring counties and SE London is incinerated. Just how ghastly is the huge chimney


already in situ? But just to make it even more ugly, KCC is intent on adding another plant (and I suspect another large chimney) in the same area. Then there is the traffic, with huge


lorries carrying waste thundering past. We still do not know what gases


escape from the large chimney, but we do know that the fly population has increased dramatically since it opened. Would it not be a bad idea for the new


planned recycling plant to be sited near to the KCC leader’s residence where he can enjoy fly-swa�ing? Why, oh, why must it be at Allington?


I await an explanation but I do not hold my breath! Anyone else agree? Robin J Brooks, Maidstone


Thoughts on pool plan


I WAS very interested to read about the proposal to overhaul the pools at the Larkfield Leisure Centre, as I was privileged to be part of the team which planned the construction of the Centre in the late 1970s. It was built under a negotiated


contract by a firm called Techno Leisure, and was one of the first leisure pools with a wave making machine to be provided in the south of England. The contract gave us many headaches,


but I feel the centre has been very good value for money – enjoyed by thousands of people. I wish the council every success with its upgrading scheme. John Sweetman, via email


Get tough on flytippers


OF ALL the things that bedevil life in the rural parts of this great county, it is not the seemingly endless concreting over of beautiful farmland with “executive” style


homes, but rather the desecration of what space is left with flytipping. Burned-out cars and caravans left for


months without disposal, huge piles of rubble and building spoil left in the middle of country lanes, dozens of tyres sca�ered in laybys and great mounds of vegetation dumped unceremoniously are just too commonplace. It is understandable that Maidstone


Borough Council, which is responsible for preventing this menace, would seek to talk up its very few and minor successes in its losing ba�le against this war, but the spin fools no one. It’s everywhere you look. One of the people constantly quoted by


your newspaper is Cllr Gill Fort, who wants more and tougher action against the rule-breakers. She is right and should be heeded. Enforcement is key, as is chasing the maximum penalties for the transgres- sors, with publicity for those guilty. Fixed or covert CCTV should be


widespread. One imagines that the vast majority of the dumping is carried out by a relatively small number of people. Root them out and you’ll deal with the problem. It seems that MBC seeks to pull the wool


over the eyes of its council taxpayers by pretending to be dealing with an issue when it is patently obvious that it is not. R McLoughlin, via email


Muntjac sightings please


THE fine le�er from, Sharon Hooper (‘Muntjac sighting a first’, August edition), was very timely indeed. Lately, a couple of nature enthusiasts


have been posting excellent pictures of muntjacs on the Kings Hill social media sites. They have been spo�ed in wilderness and semi-wilderness areas, near to where the developers are calling phase three. This in turn reminded me of my


personal sighting some 10 years ago; leaving home very early one morning, about 4.30am, I clearly saw a muntjac on Forest Way, Kingshill, approximately 100 metres before the silver ball.


Given that they have no real predators,


breed all year round, and live to over 15 years, it is fairly clear there are many in my locality. Knowing Detling as I do, I would conjecture that the extra wilderness should mean the numbers are even higher than my place of residence. It would be splendid to hear from other


readers of their experiences of these interesting and usually elusive creatures. Robert Boston, Kings Hill


Plea to protect ground


THE historical Mote Cricket Ground is widely regarded as the most beautiful in Kent and the cricket club works very hard to retain this proud reputation. The 24-acre site is a demanding and


expensive challenge, made increasingly difficult because of heavy maintenance and repair costs on a fading 110-years- old pavilion. We happily share the ground with the


rugby and squash clubs and this rental income is vital to financing the site and ensuring three important sports clubs thrive in the town centre and cater increasingly for young players. As our business plan becomes very


challenging we must find more sources of income and we agreed a parking arrangement with Thrifty car and van rental on a li�le-used part of the gróund. They are good and responsible tenants. We have now been asked to submit a


retrospective planning application and are disappointed some neighbours have objected about lights and noise. Thrifty’s business means they do not aim to operate outside our site’s normal busy day-time and evening parking movements. We cherish our good relations with our neighbours. It is in the best interests of all that The


Mote Cricket Club is able to protect the beauty of this cherished ground, gifted to us by the late Lord Bearsted more than 90 years ago. Our failure would be serious for Maidstone. Dennis Fowle, development chairman, The Mote Cricket Club


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