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Rebel against homes plans MailMarks


ALMOST 80 years ago, Hitler was blitzing houses and trying to destruct towns and villages. Now our Members of Parliament are destroying them in a reverse way by enforcing the build of so many houses and imposing massive unstructured totals seriously undermining quality of life for increasingly-rebellious residents. I am grateful to so many readers for their support of last edition’s Mail Marks when I encouraged the many Maidstone area rebellions against all the new building in our borough. That was even before I saw on November 4 more than 300 land offers in response to Maidstone Council’s appeal for sites for the next 10,000-plus houses. My sympathy was for residents and users of totally-overcrowded urban Maidstone and villages whose life and character are being completely changed as populations more than double in a two or three years. On November 4, this landed on my own doorstep, with so many major land offers in East Farleigh off Lower Road/Forge Lane/Vicarage Lane for around 900 houses, more than doubling the size of this lovely farming village which dates back to the Domesday Book. We will now be joining the rebellion. Maidstone Council needs comments on these land offers by February. It will approve a very small percentage of the 300 or so, many purely speculative by


No more carbuncles


I AM concerned and somewhat depressed by all the development proposals being bandied about, relating to Maidstone. Our planners continue to despoil the borough and this behaviour shows no sign of abatement.


Their atrocious disfigurements in the town since WWII are too numerous to list. The Travelodge in the prime position by the river, does not even deserve Prince Charles’ appellation of “carbuncle”—it is too outrageous for that.


A much earlier planning decision led to the period public house, the Blue Door, on the corner of Willington Street and the Sutton Road, being demolished and replaced by an ugly, modern building, complete with a felt roof.


Isn’t it time that Maidstone Borough Council told the Government that enough is enough with regard to the ridiculous housing target that it has been set? Perhaps, if Brexit ever happens, there might be an exodus of European citizens that will free up some homes. Ray Town, OAP


Leave memorial alone


I FEEL I had to write this message of total indignation, and disgust, and in the hope


46 Maidstone East December 2019


DENNIS FOWLE President dennisfowle28@gmail.com


hopeful, fortune-seeking land owners. But for worried residents, this is no time to relax. The objections, the cases against, need to be made by the February deadline.


The awful experiences of so many areas of Maidstone – indeed for much of the south-east of England – are a warning. The time to fight and rebel is NOW.


I sympathise with the national need to build many more houses. We in Maidstone must take a share. But I strongly oppose the way this is being done – and the despoiling of towns, villages and lifestyles which Hitler failed to achieve in my boyhood days.


r


Un-Smart motorways I could never live with the description


“Smart Motorways”. The danger of losing the hard shoulder inside lane for emergencies seemed very un-smart to me. Now coroners of fatal accidents seem to be forcing a change in this policy. I cannot drive on motorways undergoing this work – we have a very major example on the M20 – without feeling very ill at ease.


that your publication might set up a people protest against the suggestion that Maidstone Borough Council is even thinking of moving the War Memorial from its present position, to that of relocation to Brenchley Gardens. Who are these fat cat developers? They are obviously not from Maidstone, nor do they have any respect for those brave people of the town who gave their lives in both world wars. Please show some respect and leave the memorial where it is. If this council, and or developers, want to build more homes in this town there is plenty of room on the Tonbridge Road. Neville Butteriss, via email


The planning challenge


IT IS easy to be critical of local councils. By and large, they do their best to provide the services that we pay for. But sometimes we are left feeling it is not really our money and that the local authority can spend it on whatever it pleases, whenever it pleases and without consulting the very people who provide it in the first place.


It is in the nature of these organisations


to have a rather laissez-faire approach to how they conduct their financial dealings. After all, they don’t have to earn or make


felt we were in real danger of loss of life. Now such breakdowns are a much more frightening experience for drivers and passengers.


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Cards for charity IT is Christmas card buying time


again and I hope readers will support the seasonal charity shop held annually in the Methodist Church, Union Street, Maidstone.


They display cards supplied by many local and national charities and I always enjoy the wide choice, value for money and friendly volunteers who run this relaxed shop.


How’s that! a


As a life-long cricket buff I am delighted England’s successes are firing young people in Maidstone. The Mote Cricket Club had to work hard to field a couple of colts teams but the playing number has risen to 150 and there is no stopping the super-keen under-11s winning trophies.


Now it looks as though there will be a girls’ team playing at The Mote too next season. Who said cricket was dead!


the money; they are simply given it. For many, it seems strange that they can’t find money for this, but they can money for that.


But there are no pressures as such – apart from picking up the bins, overseeing a few car parks, running a mayor, holding a couple of elections and paying themselves.


And, of course, planning. This is where all councils can come unstuck. Poor policy-making, blinkered planning officers, a lack of strategy, panicked or rushed decision-making, prevarication, endless squabbles with other authorities, political point-scoring, hubris, arrogance, far-fetched ambitions, laziness, unworkable resolutions and, needless to say, pitiable incompetence, will soon be exposed.


Who said that a good local council is one that doesn’t draw attention to itself? QED. M Gibson, via email


Labour’s strong women


IN HIS attempt to take me to task Mike Wardle (“Labour not backing women”, October 2019), he overlooks the 1997 election which saw well over 100 women elected to Westminster, a real political breakthrough as well as a Blairite initiative.


I remember several occasions when I needed to pull on to the hard shoulder of a motorway. My new Vauxhall had a serious design fault in its early days which caused a complete loss of power and there was the day the front windscreen smashed on the M20. They were big problems – but I never


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