Maidstone should do more to emphasise its history.

That was the conclusion of the 50-strong audience at the annual meeting of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The meeting was held in the studios of artist Graham Clarke, who also gave his personal view on what was important about the County Town.

Mr Clarke said that a museum to record the town’s unique paper-making history was long overdue and that he would also like to see a floating museum on the Medway to pay tribute to Maidstone’s history as an important river port, from which the county’s goods had been exported to London and beyond.

Dr Felicity Simpson, chairman of CPRE Maidstone agreed. She said: “Maidstone has got so much history, the problem is that you can’t find it.”

There was approval expressed for the new Kent County Council archive centre proposed at Sandling, but strong criticism over plans to relocate the town’s museum to the same site.

Angela Davies, of Bearsted, said: “It’s quite wrong for the elderly, or indeed families, to move this away from the town centre. There has been no consultation on this.”