Wested Lane closure in June

Wested Lane in Crockenhill will, once more, be closed - for some 8 days starting on 15 June - to accommodate Network Rail works to stabilise the cutting on either side of the railway bridge. The closure will be 24/7; our Streetworks team did raise questions over the need for this, but I understand that plant and materials are to be stored securely on the road overnight and that this is the basis for the closure.

The diversion route is to be along Eynsford Road, Main Road and into Swanley via Green Court Road/ Goldsel Road.

Lullingstone and the Ancient Canopy

Lullingstone Country Park has been chosen as one of the 70 ancient woodlands and 70 ancient trees that will make up the Ancient Canopy, part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, the network of tree planting to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee. 

Lullingstone’s veteran and ancient trees are well known locally, and the park itself is widely recognised as one of the jewels among Kent County Council’s country parks, but this is wonderful national recognition. You can find KCC’s media release here. We will be releasing more about our support for Kent’s celebration of the Platinum Jubilee in the coming days.

New Waste & Recycling Centre opens at Allington

KCC’s new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Allington near Maidstone opens to the public today. This is the nineteenth HWRC in KCC’s network and is highly energy efficient and environmentally advanced. It is next to our existing Energy from Waste plant, which along with high recycling rates, ensures that only an irreducibly tiny amount of Kent’s waste goes to landfill. 

Susan Carey, Cabinet Member for Environment and I, along with KCC Chairman Lesley Game, a number of councillors and council officers, joined representatives of FCC Environment, our partners in developing and operating the Centre (as well as the neighbouring Energy from Waste centre) to visit and formally open the Allington HWRC. 

Allington is a valuable addition to waste disposal and recycling in Kent. You can find details of the Centre, and how to book an appointment, here.

Plan Bee and No Mow May

KCC is promoting No Mow May, inviting residents to enter a pledge on our website to let flowers bloom and habitats that support pollinators develop. You can find our media release about No Mow May here.

We are applying this approach to parts of our own land, in particular to highway verges, where our programme of cuts (varied according to rural, urban and swathe cutting) is calibrated to assist biodiversity. All this is part of our pollinator action plan, also known as Plan Bee - and yes, that does mean that we have Bee Roads … 

You can find more about Plan Bee, and our approach to highway verges, here