Maidstone’s Local Plan Update has been thrown into turmoil after the council attempted to submit volumes of previously unseen documentation mid way through the government inspector’s hearing at the town hall last week. The inspector was caught off guard commenting, "As I sit here now I’m slightly in the dark..”, and noting “..I’m starting to feel compromised”.
Leader of Maidstone Borough Liberal Democrat Councillors Clive English has paid tribute on behalf of the Group to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Clive said: "For 70 years the Queen has unstintingly and diligently served the public of this Country and the Commonwealth through decades of tremendous change and often great difficulty in the life of our Nation and the World. We thank her for that great record of devoted and selfless service and think at this time of her family and wish them strength and courage."
Last October Maidstone's hapless MPs Helen Grant and Helen Whately voted down an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have stopped the dumping of sewage into rivers and coastal waters. Many of the Parliamentary supporters of continued sewage dumping by the water companies cited cost as their justification for putting profit before the health of our environment.
It will not be news to anyone that Maidstone Borough is suffering major problems in many areas of the Borough with failing water supply infrastructure, inadequate sewage disposal, collapsing drains and sewers, and grossly polluted watercourses. Whilst the Liberal Democrats do not control Maidstone Council, we are using every lever we have at our disposal to address this issue, including supporting a water-cycle policy motion to the Full council meeting of 20th July and successfully proposing a more technical motion at Planning Committee on 21st July.
We are pleased to announce that Cllr Clive English has been elected to chair the Council's new Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
KCC is planning a temporary closure of Cranborne Avenue in March ahead of a proposal to demolish the Wheatsheaf pub, signalise Plains Avenue at Loose Road and reconfigure the Wheatsheaf junction. KCC’s original plan was to start work to deliver the junction changes this spring.
