00:00Planned Drainage Works Made Pretty
00:04This is Maidstone Borough Council's latest upgrade to the town.
00:08Around two months since works began, Maidstone's first new pocket park is now open.
00:15The feel of a place has a lot to do with whether people want to go there
00:19and if they go there, whether they buy anything or come back again.
00:23So it's all about improving the look and feel of the town.
00:26There's been a mixed reception to the new pocket parks here in Maidstone.
00:31Some people think they're a great addition to the town, others aren't so sure.
00:35I think it's a complete waste of money.
00:39We pay enough taxes as it is and we could do with more seats down the high street
00:43and places like that instead of just there.
00:45People do judge by the way things look, but I think it looks quite pleasant to be honest.
00:50I like it. I'd sit there and have a coffee.
00:52I would. Me too. I would.
00:54You're not shopping here. You're shopping in town where the shops are and the restaurants are.
00:58There's nothing here. This is a waste. Two was enough. Not ten each side.
01:03We need far more green spaces and green bus stops and to have them spotted round.
01:10I think there needs to be much more of this round Maidstone generally everywhere.
01:16I think the town is actually becoming more and more attractive.
01:19I've only lived here for two years and it is changing in a positive way.
01:23So I think anything that makes it nicer is a good thing really.
01:28But this project hasn't all been straightforward.
01:31There have been delays to construction and the complexity of the location made carrying out the work more difficult.
01:39The challenge we've probably had is probably the utilities.
01:42It's the actual civil engineering side of things.
01:44This is a high street and it's full of cables and electrics and what have you.
01:50So we've had to do a lot of work to get to this stage now.
01:53You're seeing the pretty things at the moment but the actual planning and the design and the actual digging up
01:59the road have been quite problematic.
02:01But as I said we're at the other end now.
02:03This is just the start of Maidstone's upgrades with a new regular sized park near Maidstone East Station being planned
02:11by the council.
02:13Justine Lata for KMTV in Maidstone.
