Works in Romney Street

Residents in Romney Street, Knatts Valley (in Shoreham parish) have long been affected by the works being undertaken by Serenity Parks Ltd to create a new residential park (Kingsdown Meadow Residential Park) on the site of the former Romney Street Caravan Park. Most of the issues raised by this are not within the remit of Kent County Council; however, where there are concerns related to KCC (invariably highways matters) I have worked with officers to try to find the best solution.

This included kerbing works in February to reduce flooding risk to a number of properties, and most recently road resurfacing which Serenity carried out in Romney Street this week. Residents had raised concerns over how the works would be carried out and in particular the status of the verge opposite the entrance to Kingsdown Meadow, which has been worn down and become in effect a parking bay. Serenity were committed to reinstating the verge.

Kent Highways officers have kept in close touch and visited to confirm that the works have proceeded as planned; as the picture demonstrates, the outcome appears positive with a good road surface and the verge area marked out for reinstatement.

Policing in Eynsford and Lullingstone

Following the terrible news of the death of a man in his 60s after an incident by the lake at Lullingstone Castle, I have spoken with Chief Inspector Jon Kirby of Kent Police.

It is widely reported that this followed an altercation with two boys or teenagers, and that stones or rocks were thrown at the man who collapsed and died at the scene after police had arrived after 5PM yesterday evening. We know no other details, but this is a tragic outcome.

Chief Inspector Kirby is about to launch an appeal for witnesses at Lullingstone; the police are asking for information from anyone who saw anything untoward in the area between midday and 6PM yesterday. This would include motorists passing by who may have information on their dashcams. Any witnesses are to contact Kent Police on 01622 604100, using the reference 281127. Anyone seeking to report anonymously can do so through Kent Crimestoppers.

While speaking with the Chief Inspector, I raised the widespread local concerns over anti-social behaviour along with failure to observe social distancing in areas such as Riverside, all with significant effects on local residents' safe enjoyment of the area. The police position is that they have and do seek to provide a presence, in particular through PCSOs, but I was also told that there will be a visible police presence around the village to provide assurance in the coming days.    

Fire at Dunbrik

A fire broke out yesterday morning at the Dunbrik waste site in Sundridge. The site combines a Waste Transfer Station (WTS), which among other roles receives waste from kerbside collections, with a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) which will be used by many residents in the south of the Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley Division, along with many others.

Fortunately no one was injured in the fire, which I understand was identified at around 0415 yesterday morning. The WTS building has taken significant damage, the full scale of which is being assessed. The HWRC was not harmed, and will be reopened as soon as possible, though there will be some disruption as the rest of the site is cleared and investigated. The cause of the fire is not currently known.

The HWRC had just been reopened using the new booking system, along with all others across Kent. While it is closed those with bookings are being redirected to other local sites, such as Swanley and Pepperhill. This seems to have worked well yesterday. Similarly, the aim is to minimise the effect of the damage to the WTS on Sevenoaks District Council's kerbside collections.

Redevelopment of the site to make it a more efficient and sustainable facility was in any case under consideration, and this event may accelerate it.

Letter to the Home Secretary

"None of this can wait" I concluded Monday's post on the arrival in Kent of increasing numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). The rest of the week has seen further arrivals (some 16 since Monday) and continuing media interest, including this Daily Mail report.

The pressures have now reached a critical point. My previous post set out the impact of Covid-19 and its requirements for social distancing on our reception centres. We have now reached a point at which we are having to reverse our previous stance and put young people back into double rooms, contrary to public health best practice. Further arrivals will only compromise further and unacceptably our ability to provide the safe and effective service that we are required to.

I was able to talk about these issues on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning (about 53 minutes in on this playback, which is available for 29 days) and again in a more extended interview on Radio Kent (1 hour and 47 minutes in, available here also for 29 days).

At the same time, I wrote to the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, setting out Kent's situation and urging as the most immediate priority a reactivation of the National Transfer Scheme (NTS), created in the aftermath of the 2015 migration crisis to ensure a fair and workable distribution of young asylum seekers across local authorities. The scheme fell into desuetude from 2018 onwards, chiefly because of the negative cost implications to local authorities of taking UASC, and in particular Care Leavers from a UASC background. Prior to recent events, the Home Office had worked up both a revised NTS and proposals for funding reform for supporting Care Leavers. These must now be implemented as a matter of urgency.

You can find my letter to the Home Secretary in a KCC media release here.    

Asylum seeking children: Kent's challenges

Today has seen significant media interest in the issue of the arrival of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Kent and its implications for the County Council. I gave an interview to Radio Kent on the subject this morning (shortly after 0745 on catchup), and BBC South East is also following the story and has interviewed me (for later broadcast).

The arrival of UASC in Kent, often at the port of Dover, has long been a challenge for KCC. While adult asylum seekers go to other parts of the country under a long-standing dispersal scheme, UASC become children in the care of the County Council.

KCC has a long and proud record of support for these young people (chiefly boys aged between 15 and 17), and responded strongly and effectively to the large-scale arrivals in 2015. However, there has always been a concern that, if the number of arrivals grows too quickly, this will put pressure on the support systems (social work capacity, accommodation) in a county which also has some 1450 local children in care and a similar number of children in the care of other authorities placed in Kent. In addition, government financial support has seldom been adequate and KCC has faced an annual funding gap averaging around £2million but sometimes as high as £4.5m. The problem has continued, often in slightly varying form, despite huge efforts by  KCC Members (including me in my previous Cabinet role in Children's Services) and officers.

What has added urgency to the issue is a combination of increasing numbers and the effects of Covid-19. Arrivals have been increasing sharply since the middle of last year, and so far in 2020 160 young people have come into the care of KCC. That is not far short of the full year totals in 2017 (214) and 2018 (172) and is now running at a rate not seen since 2015-16.

Thes newly arriving young people are staying in Kent. The National Transfer Scheme (NTS), set up by government (but on a voluntary basis) in the wake of the 2015 crisis in an attempt to place UASC young people across a wider range of local authorities, had initial success but then dried up. Kent has not placed a child with another authority under NTS since the spring of 2018. At the turn of the year, along with counterparts in Portsmouth, Cabinet Member Sue Chandler and I wrote to other authorities urging them to take more UASC young people.

When the NTS was set up, government set a UASC level of 0.07% of the total young people's population before transfers to other authorities were required. For Kent, this amounted to 231 UASC. Two years ago our UASC population was almost exactly at that level, and even in the spring of 2019 only a little higher; now, however, it stands at 469. In addition, there are 932 care leavers (young people aged 18-25) with a UASC background for whom KCC has continuing responsibilities (as is the case for all care leavers of whatever background).  

All this has financial consequences. Last year, the Home Office raised the rates for support for under 18 UASC, and in that financial year our funding gap was a relatively small £600K. Now, however, the effects of Covid-19 and its social distancing requirements have meant that KCC has had to expand significantly its reception centre capacity (going from one centre to three, and facing pressures to increase capacity further) and to run it on a more expensive, less cost effective basis. There is a lack of availability of suitable properties to provide lower-cost options for housing the young people. This has meant around £200K in additional costs already incurred, and future commitments of almost £700K. In addition, the increase in the number of young people in care means growing pressure on the council's social work and support capacity.

Longer-term, care leavers present a greater financial challenge to the County Council; government funding to match the council's responsibilities is inadequate and care leavers accounted for more than the net overspend of £600K in 2019-20. A Care Leaver Review has been under way for several years but has still not reached a conclusion.  

KCC is now urging action in three areas: recognition of the increased costs associated with the combination of increased arrivals with the effects of Covid-19; resolution of the issues addressed by the Care Leaver Review; and ensuring that other authorities take more young people, whether under a revived NTS or a more directive approach. None of this can wait.  

Waste Centre booking system: better now?

As reported previously, the booking system for the reopening of Kent's Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) opened this morning in preparation for the managed reopening of the Centres themselves on Friday.

It proved a very difficult start. The booking system, which is hosted by Medway Council (with whom we have worked closely on the reopening plans) struggled to cope with demand in the hours after it opened at 11 am.  By 1.30 the web page had already had 99,178 views! Our Contact Point, which is able to make bookings had received 2,376 calls by the same time. Unacceptably, users experienced long waits and sometimes were moved back in the queue or even lost their slot after a long time on the system. 

It is not wholly clear what the underlying problem was; volumes were certainly high, but testing had been carried out under the assumption that they could or would be. Action was taken to stabilise and improve the system during the afternoon, and this appears to have improved matters. I have had feedback from others who, like myself, tried the system later in the day and were able to get into the booking form very quickly (in about three minutes in my case at around 7:30). Hopefully this improvement will be sustained tomorrow, when new slots will be released, and beyond, but we will of course be tracking this very carefully tomorrow morning and taking further action if needed.

Environment Cabinet Member Susan Carey will be visiting one of the sites tomorrow morning to see the preparations for Friday's opening, and will be talking about this on Radio Kent at around 11:30. 

The KCC website includes a reminder that trips should only be made if the waste cannot be stored safely at home, as well as the details of the rules and requirements for a visit to a Centre. 

Footway surface improvements in Sounds Lodge

Surface improvement works on the footways in Sounds Lodge, Crockenhill, will be carried out in the coming weeks. The surfaces, which have been showing signs of wear and deterioration, will be treated by 'slurry sealing'.

The works will be undertaken in two phases. The first stage, starting on 20 May and lasting for three days, will affect nearby grass verges and also power washing of the footway surface. In the second stage, lasting three days from 15 June, a new surface treatment will be applied. In both cases the works will take place between 8 am and 5 pm.  The paths should be able to be opened up within an hour or so of the new surface being applied.

Fixing the roads: working through the lockdown

On social media and elsewhere, some people have asked, "With the roads so quiet during the lockdown, why doesn't the council do more work on potholes, resurfacing and the like?" Well, we have.

In the period since the start of the lockdown, KCC highways teams have patched 89,212 m2 of road surface and filled in 5,669 potholes. This has sustained or increased the rate of work since before lockdown, while more extensive resurfacing work has got under way since the start of May.

There are challenges to delivering this. Staff availability during the crisis, both at KCC and at our contractors, was identified early as a potential problem, although it has proved possible to continue to deliver. There has also been the need to take careful account of government and industry advice and to ensure safe working during the crisis.

Early on in my leadership of the County Council, I was determined to ensure that we committed all our possible resources to highways maintenance and we have an ambitious programme for this year. While almost everything in the Council's plans is made less certain by the impact, financial and otherwise, of the Covid-19 crisis, it is good that we are able to make progress on our roads now.

You can read a detailed press release from KCC on this here.  

Managed reopening of Household Waste Recycling Centres on 15 May

Kent County Council has announced that Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will reopen on 15 May, with careful measures in place aimed at ensuring that the reopening is safe and orderly.

I indicated in my post last week that our overall direction was clear, and that we hoped to publish quickly both an opening date and details of how HWRCs will operate. That is what we have now done.

A new booking system for HWRCs has been developed by Medway Council, with whom KCC has worked closely on this plan. The system will be available to the public from next Wednesday, 13 May, and the sites themselves will be open from Friday 15 May. Residents will be able to book one of four daily slots, and numbers will be managed to ensure social distancing. Most of Kent's 18 HWRCs will be open seven days a week. Initially at least, residents will be able to book only one visit in a four-week period.

As councils had urged, there was a need for clarity in government guidance on HWRCs and on what constitutes a 'necessary journey'. In particular, DEFRA released its guidance yesterday, it's key provision being that:

"It would be reasonable for residents to undertake a journey to a HWRC if the waste or recycling could not be stored safely at home or disposed of through other legitimate routes such as a dedicated collection"

This guidance still therefore encourages a restrained approach to visiting HWRCs, although it does not require or expect either the police or HWRC staff to make a judgement as to whether or not waste being brought to a site meets these criteria. A measured approach by residents, along with the booking system, should help ensure that the reopening is orderly, does not cause traffic problems and protects the safety of both HWRC staff and residents using the service.

Further details will follow in the coming days before the reopening at the end of next week. 

Drainage works in Button Street tomorrow

Tomorrow (4 May) will see Kent Highways carry out drainage works in Button. Street, affecting both the Farningham and Swanley Village sections of the road. The road will be closed for up to two days.

There have been significant flooding problems at the junction with the A20, and CCTV and root cutting works will be carried out there. In addition, around 18 nearby gullies (in the area running from the junction with Farningham Hill Road to Wadard Terrace) will be cleansed and jetted.

There will also be extensive cleansing and jetting of around 10 gullies and 9 chambers in the area near Canada Heights and the M25 bridge, which has already seen significant attention, including examination of the Kent Highways network and work with Connect Plus to clear debris around the bridge to improve the operation of the Highways England ditches. Flooding problems in this part of the road have, however proved intractable.

A condition report will be provided to Kent Highways after the works.

Funding: the interest continues

Further to yesterday's post, the financial pressures on local government remain in the spotlight, with two councils (Liverpool and Windsor & Maidenhead) warning that they might have to issue Section 114 notices (a brake on all but essential spending, triggered when a council hits financial crisis).

This evening, I gave a live interview to BBC South East Today on the issue. You can find the report here - it is the top news item (but will only be available to view for the next 24 hours). I reiterated my argument that central government's commitment of £3.2bn in two tranches of support for local authorities is very welcome, but does not address the full scale of the problem. For the present, cash flow is not a pressing problem for Kent authorities, because of the two funding tranches, the acceleration of payment of government grants for social care and the deferral of payment of business rates to the centre. However, the problem for the full financial year remains; for the combined total of Kent and Medway authorities, pressures (including anticipated shortfalls in council tax) come to around £370 million, while the support from government comes to some £99 million.

Ministers have said repeatedly that local authorities must do what it takes to meet the crisis and "we will back you." £3.2bn is a significant down payment on that pledge, but it must be delivered in full.