‘Neglected’ part of town cleaned up by councillors
Sometimes when all else fails, you just have to do the job yourself.
Four Lib Dem councillors three from Maidstone council
101 Heath Road, and one from Kent County
Council - have rolled up their
Coxheath, sleeves and set to work to clear up a prominent former millpond
Maidstone, ME17 4EH in the centre of Maidstone.
The pond alongside Palace
Avenue and adjacent to the old
Rootes building, which is currently being redeveloped, was
01622 801548 littered with discarded fishing team. As individuals, we all got to change and both enforcement tackle, syringes, sharps boxes need to take more pride in our and education need to be for discarded needles, traffic area and each do what we can to stepped up.” cones, fast food waste, soiled keep the County Town clean.” Cllr Harwood added: “It is not underwear and hundreds of Councillors Harwood and the natural state of things to drink bottles and cans. Khadka were joined by fellow live in a rubbish tip. If people The councillors collected 15 borough councillor Clive English just stopped dropping litter refuse sacks full of litter on Sat- and county councillor and dumping waste we'd all be urday. Chris Passmore. a lot happier, healthier and Cllr Tony *T&Cs Harwood Apply said: Cllr English expressed a concern richer.”
“This millpond should be a that cleanliness across the Cllr Harwood wants to see the focal point for the town - a beautiful, borough has declined He said: millpond incorporated into the cooling, urban oasis and “Maidstone is drowning under River Len Local Nature wildlife haven, rather than a tidal wave of litter and compares Reserve, which he believes will what it too often is - a polluted very badly with other ensure the site is managed and litter-strewn eyesore. parts of the UK.” appropriately for wildlife and “The redevelopment of Len He added: “Behaviours have kept clean in the future. He is House (Rootes) and the chairman of the management planned ‘daylighting’ of the committee of the reserve. adjacent stretch of the River He added: “A past attempt to Len provides a once-in-a-lifetime assimilate the millpond into opportunity for the rehabilitation the River Len Local Nature of this too-long-neglected Reserve was not supported by part of the town.” Maidstone council.
Cllr Dinesh Khadka, who “A higher profile for the millpond, organised the clean-up, said: associated with the “We cannot leave all the redevelopment of Len House, responsibility of clearing litter provides an opportunity to reenergize and fly-tipping to our overstretched the nature reserve council environment designation debate.”
‘If people just stopped dropping litter and dumping waste we'd all be a lot happier, healthier and richer’