At a Kent County Council meeting this week councillors endorsed a KCC proposal to implement a trial lorry control area aimed to substantially reduce inappropriate HGV movements. The trial area is likely to be to the south of Maidstone.

County Councillors Rob Bird and Daley are asking for local residents’ views on a proposed 20mph speed limit in Buckland Hill, Buckland Road, St Peter's Street and the adjoining roads.

To allow water connection works to be carried out, Kent County Council has made
an Order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on part of Brunswick Street,
Maidstone.

It was a night of mixed fortunes, although we did not manage to win all of our target seats nationally, we increased our overall share of the vote by 4%, here in Maidstone we managed to maintain our 2018 position.

With the election just one week away we'd like to wish both of our candidates the best of luck!

At the recent meeting of the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee, Councillors discussed a number of development proposals in the Town Centre, including a controversial multi-story housing and retail plan at Broadway shopping Centre. The committee had agreed to defer the decision on the plan in September, to allow consideration of detailed points raised by the Lib Dem and Independent Councillors.

Maidstone Borough Councillors Brian Clark and Derek Mortimer have, as trustees of Hayle Park Nature Reserve, secured a 50 year lease on former landfill site in Dean Street, Tovil. The trust now plans to extend their work at Hayle Park Nature Reserve at the 28 acre site which will include wildflower meadows in areas where public access will be limited (a separate section which was not used as landfill will be left as publicly accessible open space). The field, which is positioned between the Loose Valley and Medway Valley "Landscapes of Local Value", includes naturally formed ponds and has been untouched for so long it has already become a haven for wildlife.

MBC’s Strategic Planning Committee has agreed to adopt the Loose Neighbourhood Plan following the successful referendum held in Loose in August 2019 where 93.95% of the votes cast were "Yes" to accept the plan. The vote followed the committee’s decision to take the plan to referendum agreed in June.

Fourteen of the highest quality office buildings in Maidstone are to be protected through an "Article 4" directive, preventing their conversion to residential use through "permitted development" following a successful proposal made by Cllr Brian Clark and seconded by Cllr Clive English at Maidstone’s Strategic Planning Committee. An Article 4 directive prevents a building being converted under permitted development and ensures developer contributions are collected for local services through the planning process.