MIND THE GAP
Expectation vs reality as the new ‘gateway’ to County Town unveiled
A long-awaited regeneration project for Maidstone East railway station came one step closer to completion last week, after work finished on its new entrance - described as a gateway to the County Town.
The ticket hall off East Street is included in a £2.5m scheme to expand the station as part of a long-standing promise to bring it into the 21st century. It hopes to accommodate thousands more passengers, which it is hoped will be attracted as part of a town centre revamp being led by Kent County Council (KCC) and Maidstone Borough Council (MBC).
Due to be completed this spring, it will see a new roof and facilities for more than 1.4m annual passengers including a waiting room, café and ticket office. There will also be a staff room.
The new station entrance was initially designed to include a full height glass curtain wall but this was modified to include ragstone instead.
It was scheduled to be unveiled in 2018, however work was postponed until September 2019 due to difcaused ficulties by the complexities of the rail tunnels underneath. As part of the project, derelict Victorian pub, The Vic, in Week Street, was demolished, but to clear the way, workers had to dismantle the histavern toric brick by brick to avoid disturbing the historic underpass. Plans for the Maidstone East site itself date back to 2003 and over the years have included a Waitrose food and home store, an Asda supermarket and Tesco store. But all hit the buffers for commercial reasons.
These latest improvements are funded by the rail industry through the National Stations Improvement Programme and South East Local Enterprise PartnerGrowth ship’s Local Fund programme. Matthew Fraser, station manager at Southeastern, said: “We’re pleased with the progress on this project and are hopeful that, when passengers come back to us in large numbers, Maidstone East will be an even better gateway to Kent’s County Town.” Network Rail’s route director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, added: “This milestone is another step closer to the completion of our Maidstone East station transformation and is an excellent
example of the railway working in partnership with local authorities and third parties for the benefit of passengers, communities and businesses.” As well as a boost for passengers, the redevelopment is part of Kent County and Maidstone Borough Council’s plans to regenerate the area around the station and create a gateway to the town.
This includes the former Royal Mail sorting office site in Sandling Road currently being used as a car park – and various office buildings, which will form part of a strategic entrance to the town totalling about 10.5 acres.
The latest suggestion is for MBC and KCC to build their own four-storey civic centre there as part of a £50m scheme to relocate from premises in King Street and County Hall, respectively.
The new HQ could include a ‘public plaza’, gym, green roof and terrace. Southeastern manager for Maidstone East station, Caroline Wallis, said: “We’re really pleased with how the upgrade to our station is progressing. “It looks great and it’s a much more pleasant environment.
“As more passengers return over the coming months, I’m sure they will be impressed with how the gateway to their town is looking.”
A theatre which found itself facing fears of closure has bounced back, with confirmation of its 2021 pantomime.
There were fears for the Hazlitt in Maidstone when the council decided to end its contract with management team Parkwood Theatres and bring the theatre back under direct control. Thousands signed a petition calling for it to be saved and safeguarded for the future. It was feared the move was the first step to closing for good. In January, Maidstone council confirmed it would continue with Parkwood running the
Hazlitt Arts Centre on its behalf. Martin Cleverley, general manager, said the Prime Minister’s ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown had now provided some certainty. The 2021 panto is confirmed as Jack and the Beanstalk, with some of the cast from last year still in place.
“We still have a lead name celebrity to cast, but we have started this process,” Mr Cleverley said.
There will also be the chance for children to audition for roles, but Mr Cleverley cautioned the days of hundreds of performers together would be on hold. Mr Cleverley added: “We are looking towards a May 17 re-opening, with a bit more normality returning by June 21.”
MPs have blasted huge developments proposed in Maidstone Borough Council’s (MBC) draft plan guiding future house-building.
In her submission, Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, described a scheme for 2,000 homes in the parish of Boxley and Bredhurst, known as Lidsing, as “environmentally damaging”, “ill conceived” and “completely unsuitable”. Meanwhile, Helen Whateley, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, said she had grave concerns about the 5,000 home community near Lenham Heath, known as Heathlands. She spoke about a lack of transport infrastructure and the rural character of the area being “utterly destroyed”.
The garden communities are part of MBC’s draft Local Plan review, which sets out the council’s proposals for shaping the growth of the borough until 2037, in order to meet government set housing numbers.
Of the 7,000 combined homes proposed at Lidsing and Heathlands, it is the ambition to deliver 2,700 by 2037.
The blueprint went out for public consultation between December and January and the council received 3,281 responses. Some 3,001 were from residents. The others came from councillors,
pressure groups and others. Ms Crouch said the Lidsing homes would be built on the authority’s boundary with Medway Council and, although the site fell outside of her constituency, it would have an “unacceptable” impact on Walderslade and Lordswood, areas she does represent.
The responses were presented in summary form at MBC’s strategic planning and infrastructure committee on Tuesday. They will inform the future stages of the review. A stage three masterplan will be published in April and a final consultation is expected in June before going to an inspector.