Wednesday May 3 | 2017
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Battle lines drawn as KCC candidates have final word
Tonbridge trio raise thousands for local children
By Murray Jones TONBRIDGE heads to the polls tomorrow [Thursday, May 4], as ten candidates from across the political spectrum hope their weeks of canvassing will be rewarded with a seat on the Kent County Council [KCC]. Currently the town is represented by two Conservatives, who help make up the comfortable Tory majority within KCC [47 of 84 seats]. Ex-Mayor Christopher Smith, is not running again, while Richard Long seeks to secure another term. Mr Long promised to ‘tackle thorny issues’ if re-elected including the state of the library and traffic congestion. Labour’s Mary Arigho said she seeks to challenge ‘a complacent Conservative majority at KCC. Meanwhile David Allen of UKIP, has pledged ‘the extension of democracy’ by introducing more local referendums. Similarly, Liberal Democrat and former Borough Councillor Frani Hoskins wants to change the way councils work with local people. “It shouldn’t be about ‘we know what is best for you’ but ‘you know what is best, how can we help you to achieve it?’” she said. The ‘dangerous levels of air pollution’ around the town were highlighted by the Green Party’s April Clark who has called for the introduction of improved bus services and cycle routes. Polling stations are open from 7am-10pm on Thursday May 4.
For full statements from all ten candidates, see page 2
THIS is the moment three friends, all born and bred in Tonbridge, reached Base Camp on the world’s highest mountain. Holding their flag up high, John Jenner, Darren Apps, and Nick Massey saluted the cause behind their adventure – Taylor Made Dreams, a charity who provide once-in-a-lifetime trips for children with life-limiting illnesses. They managed to raise £12,000 for the cause with the help of more than 200 supporters after trekking along Everest for 12 days straight, returning home last month “We’d like to give a big thanks to the Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club and Tonbridge Angels Football club communities who have been really supportive,” said Mr Jenner.
ON TOP OF THE WORLD John Jenner, Nick Massey and Darren Apps at Everest Base Camp
Ban on operations has ‘limited impact’ despite hitting around 1,500 patients By Andrew Tong
newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk THE suspension of non-urgent operations at Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone hospitals resulted in some 1,500 people being forced to wait longer for treatment. However, the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), has said its 102-day suspension of procedures, between December 2016 and the end of April, ‘had limited impact on patients’. The move, which is thought to be unprecedented in the history of the health service, was taken in order to save the CCG £3.2million. The Royal College of Surgeons’ President,
Clair Marx, was highly critical of the move to ban operations, which it said is the longest such suspension on record. “Patients, some of whom may be in severe discomfort or pain, should not be made to wait longer for treatment because the CCG
‘Clinical decisions must not be made purely on a financial basis’ has run out of money and surgical patients are perceived as easily postponed.” “The CCG is trying to make short-term savings which may have major consequences for patients. While patients wait for
treatment, their conditions could deteriorate, sometimes making treatment more complex and costly in the long term,” she said, adding that making surgical teams stand down was ‘inefficient and a waste of a scarce resource… Clinical decisions must not be made purely on a financial basis’. The group found at the end of last year that it was experiencing a higher demand for ‘elective’ or planned care than it had accounted for in its annual budget of £616million, which they duly kept within. The treatments affected included operations to relieve pain, immobility and disability, such as hip and knee replacements. Bob Bowes, Chairman of West Kent CCG, told the Times: “We estimate that 1,500 people were affected by the decision.
INSIDE BEST IN COUNTRY
Juddians’ U17s win National Cup in Worcester Page 71
AESTHETIC AWARD
Town Lock stars in Civic Society Design Awards Page 3
NOTEWORTHY MUSIC The London Handel Players head for town Page 65
A ROSÉ PICTURE
Richard Balfour-Lynn discusses his Hush Heath estate Page 54