Street lining in Swanley Village

One issue that Swanley Village Residents' Association have raised with me has been the condition of much of the lining and road markings in the village. The centre line in Highlands Hill has been a particular concern. 

I secured with a payment from my Combined Member Grant the services of a lining team for a morning in the village. The team arrived promptly at 9 one day a couple of weeks ago, met the Residents' Association chairman (who had volunteered to oversee the work) and worked through until around noon. All the junctions on Swanley Village Road done - School Lane, Beechenlea Lane, Button Street and Wood Street - were painted, plus the centre line at the bottom of Highlands Hill and the two SLOW signs near Elizabethan Cottage. It looks a big improvement.

Action on A225 flooding

As I reported in an earlier post, Kent Highways officers have been working for some time to resolve the severe flooding by the railway bridge on the A225 between Shoreham and Eynsford, close to Preston Hill. Following various surveys, in late January and early February a number of drainage systems near the road (gullies, a catch pit and a soakaway) were identified, dug out and cleansed.

Since these works were carried out, there has been only one significant flooding incident, suggesting that this had at least some effect. However, further improvements are now being undertaken (hence the traffic lights that you may have seen on the road in the last few days). A new soakaway is being installed and the ditch immediately behind it is being cleared of debris. Further works may be investigated in the longer term, but this should in any case deliver improvements and greater safety on the road.

More resurfacing in Eynsford

The A225 running through Eynsford has already seen two significant road resurfacings over the last eighteen months or so: the first (in September 2014) ran from the Baptist Church in the High Street northwards to the junction with Mill Lane; the second (in October 2015) from the end point of the first works up towards Farningham and the junction with Beesfield Lane.

Next week will see resurfacing further south on the A225: from the point at which Station Road becomes High Street to the junction with Bower Lane.  The works will be carried out overnight (between 10pm and 5am) on two consecutive nights, starting on 28 April.

Unlike last year's works, this project was not initiated by a bid from our local Highways team (though they are certainly supportive of it) but rather as a result of what is called the 'gateway survey'. KCC carries out regular inspections of the county's roads, and as part of this process all roads in the county are inspected annually to determine their condition and priority for resurfacing. This is undertaken through both mechanical and visual inspections. It was this survey that identified this section of the A225 as a resurfacing priority. We should therefore see a third enhancement to the main route through Eynsford.