Kent Music School
Kent Music School celebrated its 60th anniversary at Canterbury
Cathedral on Saturday.
I was fortunate enough to be in the audience. They were
stunning, if you closed your eyes you would think you were
listening to the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
If you get the chance to get along to one of their concerts, do,
you won't be disappointed.
Solution for Operation Stack - but will the government commit
to fund it?
In yesterday's Kent on Sunday the transport minister Tom Harris
was generous in his praise of Kent County Council's commitment to
finding a solution to Operation Stack - the method of "stacking"
lorries on the M20 when channel crossings are disrupted.
But the minister seemed uncertain about whether the government
will pay for it.
The traffic chaos, cost to our economy and disruption to
everyday life Operation Stack brings is fresh in all our minds.
Just a few weeks ago we suffered a fortnight of it, the long period
that Operation Stack has been continuously invoked.
KCC has produced a solution in the form of a lorry park, and a
preferred location but it is now down to the government to decide
how they are going to fund it. The sooner they do, the sooner we
can get on with solving this problem permanently.
We have even come up with a funding solution which we have put
to the minister - a Britdisc or vignette - which would charge
foreign lorries for using UK roads. At the moment they pay nothing
and benefit to the tune of about £300 per trip by filling up their
fuel tanks abroad, avoiding fuel tax duty.
The Britdisc would create a more level playing field between UK
and foreign hauliers, fund road improvements and pay for facilities
for the lorries so they don't use our laybys and villages to park
overnight.
We have provided the solution and the means to pay for it. Now
it's down to the government to make a real commitment to fund
it.
Surely no-one is not suggesting that Kent taxpayers should foot
the bill? |