Derek Eagle

I am 51 years old, live in North Ward and I have lived in Kent all my life. I have 3 children and am married to Wendy. I am currently working with the council and a number of local people to start a farmer's market outside of County Hall which will be of benefit to us all.

I am committed to championing green issues and want to see the County Town of Kent become a centre of culture and sustainability, yet I fear that it is being taken in a very different direction. It seems that our communities are suffering and our neighbourhoods feel less safe - this needs to be reversed.

House building is rampant in Maidstone and while we need some new houses for first time buyers, we do not need the vast numbers that are currently being built, a large proportion of which are destined for greenfield sites.

We suffer badly with road congestion in North Ward. We cannot continue to build more roads and asside from minor tweaks to the flows of traffic, the only real way of reducing congestion is to provide good alternatives to car use. Public transport must be made reliable, cheap, clean and friendly; we need investment in cycle lanes and improvements to pavements. Only then will we start to see congestion ease.

Derek Eagle