The Space Wagon Takes Off

Congratulations to The Space at the Riverside Club for a wonderful launch of its Community Transport service this morning. This comprises a growing network of volunteer drivers, using their own cars, but also a bookable wheelchair accessible vehicle: the Space Wagon, the inspired winner of a competition to name it.

This builds on the remarkable work of Adrian Elms, Steve Boddington and everyone at The Space in combating isolation. Access to transport plays a vital role in this, yet in Kent (and across the country, especially outside the big cities) the bus industry is under severe pressure. This is why at Kent County Council we have stepped up our support for Community Transport. Last year we allocated over £500,000 to a dozen such schemes across the County. The Space was one of these, being awarded £44,000 in capital and £3,000 in start up costs. I was delighted to be able to support the successful bid.

Steve and Adrian both spoke at this morning’s launch, along with Cllr Lawrence Ball (Chairman of Sevenoaks District Council), Sally Coston of Eynsford Village Society and me. And the ribbon was cut by Mrs Diana Grant.

I was struck this morning by Steve Boddington’s remark that the focus on transport came out of the work that The Space was already doing, picking up another important need. I was also reminded that, while public sector bodies (including KCC) are financially very constrained, grants that are quite small in relation to our total budgets can help community initiatives like The Space Wagon to thrive.

To begin with at least, The Space’s community transport initiative will focus on Eynsford, Farningham and Lullingstone but will hopefully be able to extend to a wider area, the more so given the importance of access to medical appointments and the coming together of the Farningham and South Darenth practices.

EES: a welcome delay

It has been the week of two delays. The first - that of a decision on Lower Thames Crossing until next May - which came on Monday, was deeply disappointing. The second - that of the introduction of the EU’s new external frontier checks, the Entry Exit System (EES) - is likely to be positive for Kent residents. 

EES was scheduled to be introduced - after many delays and falls starts - at 2 am on Sunday 10 November. However, late on Thursday afternoon, a month before the planned commencement of EES, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced a further delay, stating that 10 November would not go ahead and that there would be “a phased approach” to introduction. This reflected major Member States, including France, Germany and the Netherlands reporting that they were not ready to go ahead, citing technological problems and in particular the interface with EU-wide systems.

In Kent, we were not banking on this delay, even as it came to look more and more likely. We have been raising the issue for years, and in January I gave evidence to a parliamentary committee about the risks that EES introduction posed to Kent, in particular spillover of delays in the highly constrained Eastern Docks at the Port of Dover onto the county’s roads. In July, Leaders of councils in Kent came together to highlight the issue to the new government. Ministers have provided additional funding to the points of departure, works have begun to develop sites at the Western Docks and partners in the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum have developed extensive contingency plans. 

Nonetheless, the delay is helpful, giving more time for some of these projects to develop and for discussions with the French authorities over a pragmatic approach to the introduction of the new system. While the approach to introduction of EES is now unclear, it may give scope for a gradual approach (enabling, for example, first registrations to be undertaken at quieter times only, easing the whole process of introduction of the new system) or perhaps even a move to operate remote registration from the start (which neither systems nor regulations are currently set up for). 

The announcement generated a lot of media interest, and I gave interviews to BBC South East, ITV Meridian and Heart/ LBC (I had already spoken to BBC Radio Kent on Thursday morning before the Commission’s announcement). You can also find our media release about the delay here. We will now await more details but, for the present at least, this is good news. 

A new waste facility for Sevenoaks

Yesterday I was delighted to attend the formal opening of KCC’s new Waste Transfer Station (WTS) at Dunbrik in Sevenoaks. The KCC Chairman Bryan Sweetland declared it open.

Unlike a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC - ‘the tip’), a WTS is not open to the public. It is where a waste collection authority, such as Sevenoaks District Council, will take the rubbish collected from the kerbside.

Here different forms of waste can be allocated for disposal, chiefly recycling. There are both HWRC and WTS facilities at Dunbrik. 

The existing WTS is both too small and not suitable for the increasing need to segregate materials for recycling. Work began on the new facility in July 2023 and it has been completed ahead of schedule.

The very impressive new WTS can process up to 75,000 tons of waste per year, which is double the amount put through the existing Dunbrik facility. It is another addition to our waste network, coming two years after we opened a modern and environmentally advanced HWRC at Allington near Maidstone. Our waste disposal record remains strong, with less than 1% going to landfill.

You can find the KCC media release about this here.

Safety enhancements in Kemsing

Some minor works to enhance safety at the Dynes Road/ Childsbridge Lane crossing should be installed today. After a collision at the crossing late last year, I asked Kent Highways officers to investigate STOP signage at the junction. 

The junction does not meet the Department for Transport criteria for these signs, but officers are introducing additional Give Way signs (in the West End and Dynes Road approaches to the junction) and the junction markings are being refreshed to reinforce and clarify the need to give way at these points.

Pressure on the South East

 The government’s proposals on housing, announced last week, have major implications for the South East - reflected in a letter from five Home Counties Leaders, including me, in this morning’s Daily Telegraph. (The link is to the complete Telegraph letters page, but you can also find the text on my Facebook page).

Among our concerns is that, as in the case of ULEZ, London decisions (or non-decisions, in this case the failure to build anywhere near its housing needs) spill over into our counties and communities. The relationship with London needs to be one of mutual benefit, not of Kent (and other Home Counties) being on the receiving end of London overspill.

Focusing more locally, the requirement of Sevenoaks under the new plans is for a 58% uplift in housing numbers - and that is on the Local Plan currently being developed, which was itself a huge uplift on past plans and housing delivery. The implications, including in relation to Pedham Place, are clear and worrying.

Kent Leaders warn on EES

The European Entry Exit System (EES), the new external frontier of the European Union, comes into force in the autumn. The expected date of implementation had for some time been 6 October, although there are now widespread expectations that it will be delayed a little, until 10 November or another Sunday later in the month. 

The consequences of this for Kent are potentially significant, reflecting the pressures which these new checks will put on the points of exit, especially the Port of Dover, which could then spill over onto the road network, creating major disruption. At Kent County Council, we have been raising the issue for a number of years and earlier this year I gave evidence on the issue to a parliamentary committee. 

Last week, Leaders of all 14 councils in the historic county (KCC, Medway and the 12 Districts and Boroughs) signed a letter to government setting out our concerns and urging action to share information, coordinate communication both with Kent residents and nationally, accelerate measures that can ease pressure on the highly constrained Eastern Docks in particular and to work with France and the EU to manage the implementation in a flexible way. The letter also reminded ministers that this is an occasion not only to address the immediate issues of the EES but also the long-running pressures that the border issue puts on the county, reflected in the use of Operation Brock.

There are some encouraging signs. The previous week saw a visit from the new roads minister, Lilian Greenwood, and the last two weekends have proved relatively manageable if occasionally difficult, reflecting the start of the summer getaway and (for the first weekend) the impact of the worldwide IT outage. This positive performance reflected, among other things, the deployment of a permit system for freight vehicles and the active role played by the French border authorities, the PAF. 

Nonetheless, the risks remain severe and there is a lot to be done. The joint letter is part of that effort. 

Road improvements on the A20

There will be two closures on the A20 in the next couple of weeks to allow for highway improvements.

Next Tuesday (30 July) the road will be closed between 0430 and 0700 for surface dressing works. The closure will be between the junction with the A225 Dartford Road and the speed de-restriction signs outside Charton Manor Farm.

There will then be a 20mph speed limit in that part of the road until the concluding works (on Monday 5 August) to seal the surface dressing. This will use a technique called lockchip - which pretty much does what it says, with a bitumen coating binding in the chippings and reducing loose material on the road. 

The closure on the 5th will be for a relatively short period of time- approximately an hour - at some point between 0930 and 1530. It will, however, require a complete closure of that part of the road for that time. 

There will be similar works (surface dressing on the 30th, sealing on the 5th) elsewhere on the A20, at London Road Wrotham, but the timing will be different from those near Farningham. 

All these works are, of course, subject to weather but hopefully can be carried out in a way that minimises inconvenience to drivers and delivers road surface improvements.