A20 Button Street junction

The junction of Button Street with the A20 has been the scene of several serious accidents, one of them fatal, in the last few years. Many if not all of these accidents have involved vehicles making a right turn that takes them across the fast-moving traffic coming from the direction of the Swanley interchange.

Kent Highways are consequently installing (on a trial basis) a barrier to close off the central crossover and prevent right hand turns. This will be done under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order which will operate over a six month period. Installation will require a five day programme of road and lane closures, which will start this coming Monday.

Many residents of Farningham and of Swanley Village have major concerns about this initiative, and I share these worries. Under the new arrangements, vehicles coming out of Button Street (including lorries coming from Watts Farm) and wanting to get to the Swanley interchange will have to head down the hill to Kings roundabout and then come back up. Some may seek to avoid this by more dangerous manoeuvres, and there is also the prospect of vehicles choosing to go instead through Swanley Village, which has more than its share of HGV problems.

With an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order, consultation (over a six month period) starts when the Order comes into force, so this will provide the opportunity for residents to set out concerns and objections. I will monitor these closely in the coming weeks, and continue to express my own concerns.

Latest on the pothole blitz

As I have reported before, Kent County Council's Find and Fix programme (or 'pothole blitz') for tackling potholes across the County has been running since April. So far, KCC has spent £2.7 million, patching 66,800m2 and filling an equivalent of 133,600 individual potholes on a road network of over 5,000 miles.

However, the County Council is able to spend some £5.2 million in total and the programme is continuing - weather permitting - until Christmas. Much of the remaining work and expenditure is programmed in but it is still important if you are aware of a pothole to report it via the KCC website.

The Find and Fix programme is being delivered by six local firms, each covering two Districts (for Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, it is SCG Kent Ltd), who have so far delivered good quality work for the County.