More progress on Crockenhill water problems

There has been further progress in tackling the problems of water leaks and inundation of properties around Crockenhill Primary School.

The source of the water leak has now been traced, and a new water main has been supplied and connected to the existing service. In the process, a gas main was found which will need to be lowered when a new surface is laid.

These latter remedial works will be carried out in the New Year, when the contractors return to the site to commence the fencing works.

There are still a number of issues to be addressed, but it looks as though progress is now being made after a period of major disruption to both local residents and the school.

Responding to flooding

The heavy rainfall of the last couple of days, coming on top of a long period of wet weather, has triggered some 11 flood alerts across Kent. Kent County Council and its partners activated the County Emergency Centre (emergency planning is an area on which I was briefed extensively after becoming Leader of the Council) and has sought to respond to problems wherever they have arisen.

Some of the most severe pressures have been seen in and around Yalding, Culverstone, Boughton Monchelsea, the River Eden near Edenbridge, Marden and . In the Darent Valley, perhaps the most visible impact has been the overflowing of the Darent and the consequent closure of Riverside in Eynsford. That said, a number of rural roads have also been affected, as have long-standing problem areas such as the lowest-lying houses in Eynsford Road, Farningham, where work continues to find a solution.

For the present, the rainfall and consequent problems appear to be easing. However, with the prospect of wetter winters and a lot of this winter still to go, these issues are not going away. KCC and its partners have honed their responses since the severe impacts over the winter of 2013-14, and we are committing both funds and intense political attention to drainage and flood management, but there is a lot more to be done.

Well Hill broadband: progress at last

Well Hill's broadband (and telephone) problems have been continuing for a number of years, and I have written about them on this blog before.

On Tuesday evening, KCC officer George Chandler and I attended a meeting in Well Hill. We were able to present the good news that Well Hill is at the front of projects for spending gainshare (the funds released from BT following higher than expected take-up of superfast broadband, and ploughed back into the BT/BDUK/KCC broadband contract). Government policy is now to promote Fibre to the Premises broadband (as opposed to the previous focus on Fibre to the Cabinet) and the Well Hill project fits well with that.

 Progress should now be rapid over the coming weeks and months.

Crockenhill Primary School: fences and water

I have been working recently on a number of issues in and around Crockenhill Primary School which have been causing difficulty and distress both to the school and to nearby residents.

The first problem is the gradual collapse of a wall separating the school from a neighbouring property and the need to replace it in some way. The school first contacted me about this earlier in the year; I raised the issue with officers at KCC's property arm Gen2, and some progress appeared to be being made. However, this then stalled and the issue was raised with me again some weeks ago.

Meanwhile, a separate issue arose with leaks from the Thames Water system on the school site. KCC facilities management contractors tried to address the problem but had little success and left holes in the playground. More water ran off, affecting neighbouring gardens. I asked Gen2 to get involved, and KCC offered to fund the works, but at this point Thames Water themselves had sent staff to attempt to fix the problem. However, these efforts were also unsuccessful and by this stage I was being contacted by a number of neighbours whose gardens were being inundated.

I visited the school and neighbouring residents some weeks ago and have sought the involvement of senior staff from Gen2. There appears to be some progress, with works on a new fence (to replace the collapsing wall in its entirety) to start this coming Monday (18 November), to be completed by January. Gen2 have also been in contact with the school on the water issues, and I understand that a further Thames Water team will be in the school over this weekend.

Consultation on boys' grammar satellite in Sevenoaks

KCC is consulting on an expansion of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, to be achieved via  a satellite provision on the former Wildernesse School site in Sevenoaks. The new provision would join Trinity School and the Weald of Kent Sevenoaks satellite on that site.

The proposal is for Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys to expand its Published Admissions Number (PAN - the number of students it would expect to take each year) from the current 210 to 300, an expansion of 90 students or 3 Forms of Entry. The consultation is being brought forward by the County Council because the school is a maintained school; this is different from the satellite expansion by Weald of Kent, which is an academy (even though the establishment of the Weald satellite did require close and effective collaboration between the school and KCC).

As the consultation document makes clear, the demand for selective places in this area of West Kent has been growing. This draws on the evidence of the Kent Commissioning Plan for Education, last year's version of which highlighted that this need could and should be met through satellite provision in Sevenoaks. In my previous role as Cabinet Member for Education, I always argued that the satellite option enables us to resolve two problems in one initiative: meeting the need for places, and ending the anomaly of Sevenoaks being without grammar provision. The Weald of Kent satellite does this for girls in and around Sevenoaks, and the new proposal (also from a school that attracts many Sevenoaks pupils) aims to achieve the same outcome for boys. Many local parents will feel that this is long overdue.

The consultation runs until 6 December.

A new role

Last Thursday I took up post as the new Leader of Kent County Council. Paul Carter - who had led KCC for fourteen years, and in whose Cabinet I served for much of that time in various different roles - announced in early September that he was standing down.

On 4 October, KCC's Conservative Group elected me as Group Leader; the subsequent County Council meeting on the 17th received Paul Carter's resignation and then elected me as the new Leader of the Council.

County Councillors rightly paid tribute to Paul Carter's accomplishments: driving major projects such as Turner Contemporary; steering Kent through an era of austerity while protecting services more festively than in most local authorities; leading transformation of council services; successfully pressing Kent's concerns, and those of County Councils, with ministers of all parties, both as KCC Leader and as Chairman of the County Councils Network - and much more.

In my remarks after being elected Leader, I spoke about the County Council's need to be much more than simply a bundle of services, but to have a vision and give a voice to the County. My major priorities are: to ensure that, when housing growth takes place in the County, it is supported with adequate infrastructure; to give priority to the visible services that the County provides and which are seen in residents' day to day lives; to close gaps in skills, wages and opportunities across the County; and to take forward major initiatives in environmental issues (including those related to climate change) under a new, dedicated Cabinet portfolio holder.

You can find the webcast of the meeting at which Paul Carter resigned, and tributes were paid, here; and the subsequent meeting at which I was elected, including my remarks to the Council, here (agenda items 4 and 5).

Subsequent to the County Council meeting, I announced a new Cabinet team. In addition to my own role as Leader, and Peter Oakford as Deputy Leader (and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services), the Cabinet Members in alphabetical order are:

• Clair Bell – Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
• Susan Carey – Cabinet Member for Environment
• Sue Chandler – Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services
• Mike Hill – Cabinet Member for Community & Regulatory Services
• Richard Long – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
• Michael Payne – Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport
• Shellina Prendergast – Cabinet Member for Communications, Engagement and People
• Mike Whiting – Cabinet Member for Economic Development

The new Cabinet combines experience and new perspectives: three of the ten members are new, three were elected at the last County Council elections in 2017 and we are now close to gender parity with 40% of the Cabinet being women. It's vital that our Councillors and our leadership reflect the population whom we serve.

More appointments and announcements will follow soon.

SD341 resolution

This time I held off writing anything about the Network Rail works to replace the railway bridge near Crockenhill that has been closed, shutting off access to public footpath SD341, since October 2017. I had twice - in March and in June - eagerly anticipated weekend works that would replace the bridge, only for this to be confounded by bad weather.

So I didn't rush to the keyboard when I heard that the works were due to take place on Sunday 15 September, and for whatever reason this time the weather was benign and the works went ahead.  Once some brickwork is completed, the path should reopen around 7 October.

KCC's 20mph policy review

Last month, KCC's Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee considered a report on policy towards 20mph zones.

KCC has been quite open to 20mph zones; there are more than 1,000 roads with such zones across the County, and some 22 schemes covering 286 roads have been approved in the last two years. Nonetheless, the application of Department for Transport guidance, and the matching view of Kent Police regarding effective enforcement, runs counter to the strong commitment of some campaigners to a much wider application of the zones.

The KCC report follows the national study by Atkins, which gave some support to the benefits of 20 mph zones. It also sought to address the issue (reflected in current DfT guidance) of the need for traffic calming measures to reinforce signage only schemes when speeds exceed 24 mph, and proposed use of innovative and less intrusive traffic calming methods.

KCC officers therefore proposed, and the Committee agreed, a two-stage approach, under which schemes can demonstrate community support and gain sponsorship from a County Councillor, followed by the use of traffic calming measures (such as gateway features and centre line removals) where speeds are in the 24 to 28 mph range. A number of pilot projects will be brought forward in the coming year to test out the approach.

SD341: delayed again

Once again, my most recent post on the replacement of the railway bridge crossed by SD341, and the consequent reopening of SD341, proved premature.

This time we got as far as Network Rail and its contractors having the new bridge in place and the railway line closed with bus replacement services in operation. However, as in March, the winds were too high, installation did not proceed and on Monday the replacement bridge was driven away. I understand that the next attempt is likely to be in September, and will post again once I know more.

A dispiriting turn in this long-running saga.

SD341: bridge replacement works due to start

Network Rail's replacement of its bridge in Crockenhill, postponed from March, now looks set to get under way.

Network Rail have permits in place for today and tomorrow for vegetation clearance. Waiting restrictions will apply in Green Court Road and Stones Cross Road from 7am tomorrow (Friday 14 June) until 6am on Monday (17 June) to keep the roads clear.   This will allow heavy vehicles, lifting equipment and bridge sections to get to the site).  

The bridge should be replaced over the weekend. It, and with it public footpath SD341, should be open from 24 June.

Taxi bus service to start on Monday

Following KCC's Big Conversation on support for rural public transport, the first of the resulting pilot schemes to get under way starts running on Monday, and it's in part of the Darent Valley.

The Sevenoaks taxi bus will run from Fairseat and Stansted to West Kingsdown, then into East Hill, down into Otford (by the station) and finally to Sevenoaks (bus station). It will run off peak, Mondays to Fridays, with set stops but also a hail and ride facility in more rural areas such as East Hill.

The taxi bus model uses a smaller vehicle suitable to the patronage expected in this area. Concessionary Travel passes are accepted (though a voluntary contribution of £1 may be made); other fares will be £3 for a single journey, £5 for a return (and £1 for a child). The service is run by Express Cabs and Couriers, in partnership with Kent County Council.

Other pilot schemes in Tenterden and Sandwich will be getting under way in the next few weeks. The latest on the rural transport initiatives, including details and timetable for the Sevenoaks pilot, can be found on the Kent County Council website.

A new commitment on fly-tipping

KCC's new policy of introducing a modest charge on certain forms of 'non-household waste', such as rubble and hardcore, at its 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will come into effect on 3 June.

The policy is a controversial one, with many residents concerned that it will lead to an increase in fly-tipping, especially in rural areas (such as my own Division of Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley). The County Council argues that experience elsewhere - and many other authorities have introduced such a charge - does not indicate that fly-tipping will increase. There is evidence to support this claim, but it isn't widely accepted (as I know from my own experience of discussing the issue at parish and residents' association meetings).

At the County Council meeting last Thursday, KCC Leader Paul Carter, while confirming that the charges will go ahead, made three key announcements linked to its implementation:

• Despite earlier concerns, agreement has been reached with Medway Council that the reciprocal rights of each council's residents to use the other's recycling facilities (an important issue for Kent residents living near the Medway border) will continue unchanged
• A new KCC HWRC will be established at Allington in Tonbridge and Malling (and near Maidstone) to serve the local area and ease pressure on Medway's facility at Cuxton
• £250,000 will be invested in additional measures to work with District Councils to tackle fly tipping, including ultimately bringing prosecutions against offenders

All these announcements are very welcome, especially the last. I have always regretted that the County Council, as part of its heavy savings requirements in recent years, had to scale back the 'Clean Kent' initiatives by which it worked with the Districts to tackle fly tipping. This went beyond our statutory duties but was well worth it. We still provide some enforcement support and expertise, but hopefully this new commitment will get us back a little to the more extensive role taken by the County Council in tackling what remains one of resdients' most common concerns.

Bus service changes in Kemsing

Recently Arriva has announced that it is ceasing the Number 2 bus service from Kemsing to Sevenoaks (which includes a service to the Sevenoaks schools - Knole, Trinity and the Weald annex), with effect from this coming weekend. This is a commercial service, and the judgement about the viability of the route is the company's. KCC does not commission or subsidise such routes, but it will always examine the options (and in this case had good notification from Arriva) and work with the bus companies to try to find a solution, or at least a mitigation.

That is what KCC officers have done in this case, and Go Coach has stepped forward with its number six service to fill in many of the gaps. As is often the case, this does not substitute in full – for example there is a loss of services later in the day – but does nonetheless provide cover, including with respect to the school journeys albeit combined into one service (with a larger vehicle) from two. It is good that Go Coach have stepped forward in this way, and we will have to see how the new replacement service works out.

Riverside works

Following a visit to Eynsford some months ago with Kent Highways and the Parish Council, there was an investigation of measures to change priorities at Riverside. Highways officers concluded that a change of priorities had significant drawbacks, but that an alternative plan - to remove kerbing and replace it with reinstated yellow lines - could achieve many of the same aims.

Local residents were concerned I responded to residents’ concerns that this would result in a return to inconsiderate parking in the area by raising the matter with SDC’s parking enforcement officers and getting assurances that this would be enforced effectively. However, as of Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the works were suspended. The kerbing is set to be reinstated because of some BT Openreach fibre optic equipment which was previously shown as being under the road rather than the buildout (but which had been moved by BT Openreach, and against which the Council has no redress). Moving such equipment would be very expensive. Clearly all options will now need to be revisited, and I will be in contact with both Kent Highways and the Parish Council on this.

SD 341: delay at the last moment

As I reported in January, Network Rail had committed to installing a new railway bridge section to replace the unsafe bridge crossed by Right of Way SD341 in Crockenhill in March.

Preparations were advanced for this to take place early tomorrow (Sunday 17 March), with notices going out to residents in Green Court Road asking them to avoid parking that would block the very large lorry bringing the bridge section.

Yesterday, however, Network Rail's contractors had to take the decision to postpone the installation because of a forecast continuation of the high winds. This will result in a 13 week delay, from the anticipated Week 51 of the current financial year to Week 12 of the new financial year, which will take us to mid-June (around the time that the current closure of the path is due to end).

The delay is very disappointing, but hopefully the issue will be resolved in the summer; it has certainly been a problem, especially for walkers, for more than long enough.

Bus service feedback form launched

Linked to its Big Conversation on bus services, KCC committed to launch a service giving scope for feedback on bus services. The bus feedback form can now be accessed via the KCC website.

The form enables anyone to comment either on KCC's own bus-related services (such as the Young Person's Travel Pass, or subsisted bus services) or on specific commercial bus services (ie the overwhelming majority of bus services that are not subsisted by KCC).

Recording feedback on commercial services will not generate a reply; you will still have to go directly to the operator for that. However, it will provide information about issues to form the basis of KCC's regular conversations with the bus companies through Quality Bus Partnerships. This should be a valuable way to ensure that concerns (for example, over experiences of school buses) are heard and expressed.

SD341: hope for an end to the closure

Public footpath SD341, which runs north-west from Stones Cross Road in Crockenhill, has been closed at the railway bridge since October 2017, as a result of Network Rail concluding that the bridge was unsafe. This has been a cause of mounting concern to residents, not least when the closure has been extended twice, the second ending last week (11 January).

I have taken up these concerns, working with both KCC Rights of Way officers and with Sir Michael Fallon MP, who has raised questions in Parliament with the Transport Secretary.

Just before Christmas (23 December), the bridge itself was removed by Network Rail contractors. This added to the concerns, but on investigation it appears that replacement of the bridge is scheduled for week 51 of the financial year (17 March). Once the works have been completed, the footpath should be able to reopen, probably around the end of March. In that case, the full extent of the new closure (running from 11 January until 21 June) should not be needed.