Steve Armstrong, community warden

Steve Armstrong, KCC's Community Warden for Eynsford, Farningham and Crockenhill, retires this week.

I have worked a lot with Steve over a number of years and he has been a huge asset to both the County Council and to the communities that he has served and where he is a well-known figure. A lot of the very strong reaction from Darent Valley Parish Councils to the Community Warden consultation in 2014 reflects the value put on Steve's work.

There has also been a lot of concern as to when and how a successor will be appointed. Having discussed the issue with Parish Councils, I took it up with both my Cabinet colleague, Mike Hill, and with the officers at KCC responsible for the warden service.

The difficulty is that recruitment and training of Community Wardens takes place in cohorts rather than on an individual basis, in part because of cost and in part to fit in with the schedules of partners in community safety such as Kent Police. However, officers have undertaken to give a clear timeline for the next round of recruitment as soon as possible. In the meantime, support for the communities that Steve has served will be provided (on, I understand, a proactive rather than a merely reactive basis) from wardens serving in Sevenoaks District and working with the local Community Safety Unit.

I will continue to monitor this with the aim of ensuring that a replacement is found as soon as possible, and that good cover is provided until then. In the meantime, I'm due for a coffee with Steve to thank him and wish him a happy retirement.