Crockenhill junction latest

Following on from my most recent post on the Main Rosd/ Cray Road/ Broadway junction project, there have been some further developments - albeit two steps forward and one back.

At a recent meeting of the Parish Council, we agreed the full scope of the 20 mph zone. This now allows for a traffic regulation order to be issued, which starts a three month process (hopefully slightly less) to get the zone established. Yellow lines have now been painted in the area around the entry to Broadway. I have committed to putting in gateway signs in the village, and have got this process underway through my Combined Member Fund.

However, the installation of granite sets is proving more problematic because of the need to work around various forms of utilities equipment in the area. I had hoped that these works could be carried out during this half term week, but this is now subject to significant delays. I will post again when the timing of this is clearer.

Nicky Morgan approves the Sevenoaks grammar annex

With KCC Leader Paul Carter at this morning's press conference

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan issued a Written Statement in Parliament this morning approving Weald of Kent's proposals for expansion through an annex on the former Wildernesse School site in Sevenoaks.

In her statement, the Secretary of State made clear that this is "a genuine expansion of the existing school", with full integration in terms of "leadership, management, governance, admissions and and curriculum?" The 3 Forms of Entry girls annex is proposed to open in September 2017.

The County Council has worked closely with Weald of Kent on this project, and has been committed to the concept of grammar provision in Sevenoaks since early 2012. KCC's role has included leading the call for partners schools to take forward the proposal for an annex, following the original County Council debate in March 2012; developing the evidence base of the need for new grammar provision in the area; funding the project; securing the site and reaching agreement with the government for it to be shared with Trinity Free School; and leading the building projects for both Trinity and the annex. We have also worked closely with Weald of Kent in setting out the case for the Sevenoaks annex to government. It has been important project for me, as both Education Cabinet Member and a Sevenoaks County Councillor.

For me, much of today has passed in media interviews; the interest, both locally and nationally has been intense. Throughout I have sought to convey a number of arguments:

• The Secretary of State has, quite rightly - even if this has sometimes been trying for local opinion, including ours - insisted that the most important thing was to get this decision right, and has been painstaking in determining that the proposal was for an annex, not a new school, and so was compliant with the law. We at KCC always believed this; it is good to see it confirmed
• This is the expansion of an Outstanding school, and one that has made great efforts to ensure that its proposal was robust. Weald of Kent already educates many girls from Sevenoaks and will add a lot to the education offer of the area
• As far as the County Council is concerned, the annex is a pragmatic response to a genuine issue. There is a Sevenoaks problem - it is an anomaly that an area that has so many children taking and passing the Kent Test has no grammar provision; there is also a West Kent problem, of growing pressure on secondary places (including grammar places). It is logical to seek to tackle both problems together

You can find KCC's response, including an interview clip from me, here.

Budget consultation: choices for tough tines

KCC has launched a six week consultation on its 2016-17 budget. The consultation will close on 24 November, one day before the government's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).

The County Council has delivered huge savings - £433 million over the last five years. However, further savings of some £80 million will be needed this year, and after delivering such large-scale economies in recent years, we now face difficult choices. The precise amount of savings needed cannot be determined in advance of the CSR and the subsequent local government financial settlement, but the general scale of the challenge facing us is clear. At the same time the County Council is proposing a moderate council tax increase of 1.99%.

Rising pressures on the budget, such as the need for social care services driven by demographic change, are the biggest factor driving the need for savings. This effect is exacerbated by anticipated further reductions in government grant.

You can find the consultation, which covers the proposed council tax increase and the value that residents put on different services, here.

KCC will publish its post-consultation budget proposals on 11 January and the budget will be out to County Council on 11 February.