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.

Hannah Perkin, a long standing community campaigner and leading Swale Borough Councillor has been elected by the Swale and Maidstone Liberal Democrats as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency at a packed meeting of local Liberal Democrats this weekend.

We are pleased to announce that James Willis has been selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Maidstone and The Weald constituency at the Liberal Democrats members meeting on Friday, 6th September.

Today the KM published an abridged version of Rob Bird's letter regarding the refusal of Conservative Ministers and MPs to come clean about the future of Maidstone's Thameslink Service. Here is the letter in full.

This summer the Maidstone Mela, a community gathering with music, food and art from around the world celebrating the diversity of cultures that make up Maidstone’s population, was held in Whatman Park, attracting 3000 visitors. At the event, Cllr Derek Mortimer took to the stage to highlight the importance of one of the South East’s largest summer events, and the clear need to re-instate Mote Park as the annual location.