From 2022 to 2023

I am conscious that, for a time in October-November, I posted relatively little. This was not because there was little going on, but that there was so much happening that I fell behind on posting.

2022 has been a turbulent year for us in Kent, as it has nationally and worldwide - and the effects of many of those global factors, ranging from weather extremes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have been felt in the county. I have sought to reflect this, and to look forward, in a New Year message published today. 

Looking back twelve months, it is striking how much my (and many others’) hopes that we could move towards recovery and long-term planning in 2022 were confounded. The economic overhang of pandemic and lockdown, followed by the price shocks resulting from the Ukraine war, have seen to that. This has been felt in many ways; to take an example, the intense pressures on the bus network, which dominated the summer and caused so much anxiety to families across the county, reflected a combination of fuel (and other) price increases, driver shortages and a fall in usage that took place in the pandemic and has not been reversed. 

One result is that our budget pressures this year have been far more intense than in the past, and even with a big effort in the closing months of the financial year, we are likely to see a substantial overspend for 2022-23. That adds to our challenges in setting the budget for 2023-24 (which we will bring forward at the start of January). In the joint letter that the Leader of Hampshire County Council and I sent to ministers in October, we highlighted the long-term structural problems of local government finance, above all in relation to social care and children’s services; it is the combination of that with the year’s economic upheavals that made 2022 so difficult.

At KCC, we saw significant setbacks and shortfalls during the year, notably the failings in SEND transport in February and - also in the SEND area - a highly critical Ofsted/ CQC revisit in the autumn. Addressing these shortcomings remains a major focus for us. Yet there were also very positive developments. Ofsted rated our children’s services Outstanding; the innovative Reconnect programme, focused on opportunities for children and young people in the aftermath of the pandemic, came to a successful conclusion; people across the county responded magnificently to the plight of Ukrainian refugees, and KCC and its partners played a strong part in that; and we saw the beginnings of a positive partnership in health and care as the Integrated Care System for Kent and Medway got under way.

As we go into 2023, it will be through boldness and in breaking new ground, as through our joint work with the NHS and the opportunities of the government’s devolution programme, that we can seek solutions to the challenges we confront. 

With good wishes to everyone in Kent for 2023 as a year of recovery and renewal.

Footway works in Tudor Drive

Footways in Tudor Drive in Otford will be resurfaced with works starting next Tuesday, 3 January. The works are expected to last for around ten weeks and will be undertaken in daytime hours (between 7 am and 5 pm). 

Some concerns have been raised with me as to whether this would make the footway more slippery in winter conditions, and also whether these works should be a high priority at a time when money for highways works (and much else) is tight. 

On the first point, Kent Highways officers are categorical that the surface will not be more slippery than the current concrete slabs (if anything, the aggregate in the asphalt should give a better grip). 

Regarding the second concern, the works are linked to the Highways Asset Management Programme, which is a comprehensive assessment of the condition of highways assets (not just roads but bridges, structures, drainage etc.) across the county. Kent Highways is now spending a great deal more on asset (and in particular footway) preservation as opposed to the more expensive renewal; if works to preserve footways are undertaken at quite an early stage then the life of the asset can be extended, perhaps by decades, avoiding future deterioration and the need for it to be renewed at greater cost. It was with this in mind that Tudor Drive was put forward by the local highways team and validated by our pavement engineers. 

Hopefully disruption can be minimised in the course of these works (there should always be accessible footway on the other side of the road when a section is being worked on) and they will deliver a lasting benefit.

Wested Lane closure delayed again

The closure of Wested Lane for Network Rail works (already postponed once in the days leading up to the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral), due to start this morning (14 December) has been postponed once more. This reflected the current rail strikes and the runup to the Christmas period (though presumably the former was the key factor). So far no new date has been given.

JTB approves Shoreham and Seal schemes

Tonight's Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board (JTB), which brings together County and District Councillors, considered the proposal to reduce the speed limit on the A225 between Eynsford and Otford to 50mph in its more northerly section and to 40mph from just north of the junction with Station Road Shoreham.

The proposal, which has long been championed by Shoreham Parish Council and which I have supported, was consulted on between 16 September and 10 October. Of 113 responses, 82 were in favour of the proposal, 31 were objections (of which 6 were held to be valid objections on traffic management grounds). The issue was therefore considered at the JTB and the Board supported it. Both Brian Jeffery from Shoreham Parish Council and I spoke in favour.

The JTB also considered the proposed reduction in the speed limit on the A25 Seal Road entering Seal from the west. This was incorporated in a Traffic Regulation Order which related largely to 20mph proposals in Sevenoaks Town, but the JTB agreed to consider the A25 issue separately from a much longer debate on the Sevenoaks Town item. The Seal Road speed limit reduction was quickly approved, recognising the anomalous nature of the stretch of 40mph road between two 30mph zones.

Building the budget: after the Autumn Statement

The joint letter from the Leaders of Kent and Hampshire came a few days before the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement (17 November).

The Statement was in many ways better than expected for local authorities, at least upper tier councils with social care responsibilities. There was £1bn extra for social care in 2022-23, rising to £1.7bn in 2023-24 (60% via the NHS, the remainder through the local government settlement); the social care charging reforms were delayed, but councils are able to keep the funding associated with them; and councils have the ambiguous opportunity to raise more council tax, with the referendum limit (for social care authorities) rising from 3% to 5%.

All this has made a big difference to KCC (and other authorities) in setting their budgets. But it does not stop the requirement to make very difficult and painful savings decisions - it simply reduces somewhat the mountain to be climbed. Nor does it resolve the longer-term issues central to the Kent/ Hampshire letter. As I wrote in an article for the New Statesman, “the wolf is still at the door, even if he is no longer in the kitchen”. I have written in similar terms in the Municipal Journal.

At tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting, we will consider the latest financial monitoring report, which shows a projected overspend of £60 million for this financial year. The process of building next year’s budget, now in its later stages, has been helped by the Autumn Statement but is still exceptionally challenging. 

The Kent-Hampshire letter: we cannot go on like this

Yesterday the Leader of Hampshire, Rob Humby and I published a joint letter which we had written to the Prime Minister, Chancellor and the Levelling Up Secretary. In this we set out our concern that both councils face unsustainable financial pressures. 

The reasons for this are quite clear. Councils across the country have had to deliver huge savings (over £800 million in the case of Kent County Council) over the last decade or so. The pressures of core services to vulnerable people, notably adult social care and children’s services have continued to grow ahead of the resources available to councils. This year’s surge in inflation has added to our costs (some £45 million in the case of KCC) without having a matching effect on revenues. 

As a result, KCC is currently (after the first six months of the financial year) projecting an overspend of £60 million in 2022-23, and over £100 million for 2023-24. Perhaps most seriously, there is no prospect of achieving a sustainable financial position, and even the severe cuts in services which we are now considering may well not be enough to avoid a financial crunch and, over time, the need to issue a Section 114 notice that freezes all non-essential council spending.

Hampshire and Kent are similarly large and historically strong county councils. We recognised that we face similar problems, as does much of the local government sector; our voices add to the strong case being made by organisations such as the County Councils Network and the Local Government Association. 

Coming ahead of the Chancellor’s statement on Thursday, the letter has generated a lot of media interest. Above all, we are arguing that, while any solution can embrace a combination of funding support (in particular, in relation to adult social care), decisions about council tax and changes to legislative requirements on councils, there is one option that we cannot pursue: that is to continue as we are.

New date for Wested Lane works

Many will have seen this, but for anyone who has not, the postponed closure of Wested Lane for Network Rail works has now been rescheduled. The works were planned for September but then delayed because they coincided with extensive use of the trains by people travelling up to London to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

The new closure dates will be from 0600 on 14 December to 1800 on 21 December, with full closure throughout that period. This is of course unwelcome and disruptive very close to Christmas, but looks set to go ahead.

New Southeastern timetable - and good news for Otford

The new Southeastern timetable, published today, includes the excellent news of an hourly service (twice hourly in rush hour) from Maidstone East to London Bridge and Charing Cross, stopping at Otford and Swanley. From Otford (I declare an interest in this as my local station) the journey to London Bridge will be just under 30:minutes, and 40 minutes to Charing Cross.

Along with many others, KCC has (in particular through our Rail Strategy) urged these changes over a long period. We are currently reviewing all the details of the timetable, which will come into force on 11 December. There are some changes elsewhere in the system that can be viewed less favourably, such as those on the Medway Valley line, which will cease (off peak) at Paddock Wood rather than Tonbridge (though even here there will be positive features, with the restoration of a half hourly weekday service throughout the day. And there may yet be other detailed features that are less positive. Yet overall this appears a very good outcome for a network that is being recast for a post-Covid world of reduced passenger numbers (especially at peak hours) and large-scale dependence on government subsidy.

Childsbridge Lane speed limit reduction approved

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board (JTB), the Board reviewed the proposed reduction in the speed limit on Childsbridge Lane between Kemsing and Seal from National Speed Limit (60 mph) to 40 mph. This proposal had been at the head of Seal Parish Council’s Highways Improvement Plan (HIP). Its aim is to reduce speeds near the entry points to the villages, and especially the approach to the railway bridge near Seal.

Since there were a number of objections to the proposal, the JTB had to consider it and decide whether to proceed. Both the chairman of Seal Parish Council and I spoke in favour of the speed limit reduction. I sought to address the concern, which was expressed by a number of the objectors, that this would be a substitute or diversion from the need to create a secure path for pedestrians on the bridge.

This has been a significant concern for residents and one that I support. However, neither the parish council nor I see the proposed speed limit reduction as a diversion from addressing the issue. The biggest problem so far has been one of visibility on the approaches to the bridge, which has vitiated efforts to create a priority system needed to narrow the road and give the space necessary for a secure pedestrian path. This is a difficult issue, and one that we continue to work to address, but quite separate from that of the speed limit. The intention of the reduction is to improve safety but this does not preclude other actions on the bridge when they can be delivered.

The JTB approved the proposed speed limit reduction and it can now be implemented.

A225: Draft Order for speed limit reduction

Kent County Council has placed a proposed Speed Limit Order for the A225 Shoreham Road on public deposit, starting today (16 September). This will continue until 10 October.

The Order proposes reducing the speed limit from the current National Speed Limit:

-  To 50 mph from a point 83 metres southwest of the junction with Station Road Eynsford (in other words, on the edges of Eynsford village) to a point 476 metres north of the junction with Station Road Shoreham; and

- To 40 mph from this point to one 95 metres south of the junction with Fackenden Lane (the start of the approach to Otford)

This is a proposal on which I have worked with Shoreham Parish Council and Kent Highways officers over several years. There have been detailed discussions and debates over where exactly the limits should be placed, and a lot of work has gone into harmonising community wishes with the judgements of Kent Highways and the role of Kent Police as the enforcement authority.

Shoreham PC has long argued for this change, and, if enacted, it should enhance safety at the junction with Station Road in particular. It should also, by reducing speeds near and south of Shoreham, reinforce the 30mph on Shoreham Road Otford. Eynsford Parish Council has also been engaged and supportive though there is much less direct effect on Eynsford than on Shoreham.

The details of the proposals can be found on KCC’s highways consultations page, and you can make representations supporting or objecting to the proposals via the page, or by writing to KCC: The Senior Parking & Traffic Regulation Officer, Traffic Management Team, Highways & Transportation, Kent County Council, Ashford Highway Depot, Henwood Industrial Estate, Javelin Way, Ashford TN24 8AD.

Wested Lane closure delayed

Residents of Crockenhill and neighbouring areas have experienced severe disruption on a number of occasions reflecting ongoing Network Rail works, which in particular have closed Wested Lane.

A further, quite lengthy closure was due to start this morning (running for eight days, 14-21 September). KCC Streetworks raised challenges over the length and impact of the closure, but Network Rail and their contractors were clear that the complexity of the works, and the inability to store equipment on site overnight, meant that the length of the closure could not be reduced. 

However, the closure has now been delayed because Network Rail wanted to prevent disruption to train services to London in the days leading up to and including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. At present we do not have a new date for the closure.

New bollards (and replacements) for Lombard Street

Ten days ago, Kent County Council installed twenty nine new wooden bollards in Lombard Street, running up the hill from the end of the existing black and white bollards. The verge, which had been damaged by vehicles, has also been made safe. 

These works fill in a significant gap which was resulting in damage to the verge. Residents’ other concern has been the bad effect on local amenity of the black and white posts that had already been installed. The local Kent Highways team has succeeded in finding scope within its very limited budgets to first install the black and white bollards, and now to replace them with wooden bollards. An order has been placed and the replacement by the new bollards should take place before the end of the year.

KCC has limited direct involvement in the issues on and around the Oakview Stud Farm, though we work with other key partners such as the District and Parish Councils to help address them. The highway consequences of activity in the area are, however, our direct responsibility and we continue to address those.

Her Majesty the Queen: Book of Condolences and Proclamation of King Charles III

It is hard to find the right words to respond to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - especially when so much has been said so well, whether by our national leaders, ordinary people across the country or world leaders such as (to pick out two particularly eloquent examples) Canada’s Justin Trudeau and President Macron of France. 

Political leaders in Kent County Council sought to make our contribution in this statement, and I also had the opportunity to speak about The Queen and her connection to the county on Radio Kent yesterday. For me, the two thoughts that stay with me most strongly are the way in which The Queen’s self -effacing ethos of service (in sharp contrast to a general tendency in much contemporary culture towards celebrity and self-absorption) nonetheless led so many people to feel a personal bond with her; and how her strict adherence to being a politically neutral constitutional monarch did not prevent her from making history (as in her extraordinary visit to Ireland in 2011) or from speaking for all of us, as in her broadcast early in the pandemic.

A Book of Condolence is open at Sessions House in County Hall between 9am and 5pm every day; I had the opportunity to sign it yesterday. 

Tomorrow King Charles III will be proclaimed in the County Town of Maidstone, in Jubilee Square at 12:57pm. I will attend along with the Chair, Members and Officers of the Council and all are welcome to join this event.

School buses latest

 The TW1 service from Kemsing and Seal to Tunbridge Wells has been secured as part of wider route replacements.

Since the announcement of major commercial bus service withdrawals in early July, Kent County Council’s officers have been working with operators to secure, wherever possible, replacement routes and other mitigations to ensure that children are able to get to school. 

Now with the return to school imminent, the later stages of this work have been coming to a conclusion, and across the county, and in West Kent in particular there is much more comprehensive coverage than seemed likely until recently.

The biggest impact on residents and families in Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley (and in neighbouring areas) has been in the Sevenoaks/ Tonbridge/ Tunbridge Wells travel corridor. The initial solution to this, developed with operators in mid- July, was for many students to change at Sevenoaks bus station. This was the best, perhaps only solution available at the time but gave rise to a lot of concerns: safety of the transfer, longer travel times,  the possibility of missed connections and (perhaps most importantly) the question of whether there would be adequate capacity on the routes going south from Sevenoaks. 

KCC officers were in any case carrying out capacity assessments as the next stage of the work to develop services for September. This was, for a time, trying to hit a moving target as applications for the Kent Travel Saver continue to come in over the summer. The end result, however, was to identify (working with the operators) extra capacity needed for those routes, and ultimately to agree that these buses would run from further back on the route, from the villages outside Sevenoaks. 

The TW3 and TW6 (starting from Shoreham and Badgers Mount respectively) are going direct to Tunbridge Wells, as is the TW4 starting in Westerham. Critically for residents of Kemsing and Seal, the TW1 direct route has now also been secured and will operate on the same route and timetable.

This final and very welcome outcome has come towards the end of the summer holidays, and for many families the wait has been very stressful. This has been a complex and demanding programme of work, done on the basis of collaboration with operators who are themselves under pressure and embracing much of the county’s network.

It is important to say that we are, in many respects, far from being out of the wood. Not all routes are covered in every aspect of what was available previously. Driver shortages and the extra capacity brought into use mean that there is little or no slack in the West Kent network. In East Kent, further service withdrawals have been set out but not yet confirmed by Stagecoach, to which our officers will have to respond. At the end of last week, national government (with whom we have, like many other local authorities, been in discussion about support for the industry) announced £130 million additional funding through the Bus Recovery Grant - but the exact form this will take, and its implications for Kent, remain unclear. Nonetheless, the position locally is much improved on what seemed likely some weeks ago.

You can find KCC’s media release on this here.

School Lane works delayed again (again)

I posted recently that the Thames Water works planned for School Lane Seal for 5 August had been delayed by a fortnight. That would have been today (19 August); however, the works have been delayed once more. I understand that this is because of sink holes and other emergency works which have had to be addressed elsewhere and so the works have been rather suddenly postponed. It is likely that, since a ten day closure is required for these works, the delay will be a long one, until at least next year's Easter holidays.

Swanley Village works: four way lights due in Highlands Hill

Thames Water recently distributed letters to Swanley Village residents concerning the works currently taking place in Highlands Hill. These set out the expectation that, because of the depth of works required in their programme of installation of new equipment on their water pipes, the full closure on Highlands Hill was set to continue until 31 August - with a big impact on the village, its residents and businesses.

There are in fact two sets of works which Thames Water are carrying out. The first was due to be completed on 31 August, and KCC Streetworks encouraged Thames Water to undertake the second set of works at the same time; the alternative would have been for Thames Water to return during the October half term. Given the wish to avoid yet further disruption to the village, KCC Streetworks proposed, and Thames Water agreed that this second set of works be carried out concurrently with the first.

KCC’s Streetworks Team visited the site late last week, and I understand that the first set of works are now ahead of schedule and should be completed within the next week (precise date to be confirmed). At this point it will be possible to carry out the second set of works by closing just one lane and use of four way traffic lights. The lights will be manually controlled from 0730 – 0930 & 1530 – 1900hrs to ease congestion.

Four way lights do, of course, involve longer waiting times but there will at least be access, easing to some degree the disruption to the village in the latter part of this month.

School Lane closure delayed

The road closure in School Lane in Seal planned to start tomorrow (5 August) has been delayed for a fortnight. The ten day road closure will now start on 19 August. 

The closure (outside 1-3 The Green) is for Thames Water to deal with a collapsed sewer some three and a half metres under the road surface and to install an inspection cover in the road.  Given the lengthy detour required by the alternative route (A25/ A225/ Pilgrims Way East/ Childsbridge Lane) KCC Streetworks requested extended working hours and weekends to complete the works as quickly as possible. I understand that the delay to the works is because resources were not available to deliver on these extended hours at this time.

KCC budget consultation until 5 September

A little over a week ago - so with apologies for the lateness in posting this - Kent County Council launched its budget consultation. You can find the media release about the consultation here.

As in previous years, the 2023-24 budget will be a story of hard choices. KCC has delivered over £800:million in savings (equivalent to two-thirds of our annual budget) over little more than a decade. The years to come will present continuing challenges, with needs in areas such as adult social care and children’s social services outstripping the growth in our resources (council tax and government grant). To this must be added the pressures of inflation, to which much of our expenditures are highly sensitive.

The consultation offers an opportunity to help shape KCC’s budget choices in these challenging circumstances. You can take part via this link, and the consultation runs until 5 September.

Childsbridge Lane closure

Residents will have seen that there was a brief closure of Childsbridge Lane late last week to address a sink hole under the tarmac close to a drain cover near the junction with Church Street. That closure was abandoned to enable traffic to flow on the Friday morning, but the works still need to take place. Given the narrowness of the road, and the need for the team to work safely, closure is unfortunately needed.

Childsbridge Lane will therefore be closed between School Lane and Church Street for up to two days starting this Thursday (21 July) from 9am to 3pm each day. The recommended diversion route is via High Street, Seal Road, the A225, Pilgrims Way East/ Pilgrims Way and vice versa. Go Coach and Seal Primary School have already been made aware of this.

Buses: Go Coach-KCC agreement on Sevenoaks routes

As I mentioned in my previous post, Kent County Council officers are working with bus operators to find replacements wherever possible for routes that are under threat for September. Following discussions with our officers, Go Coach have brought forward proposals for Sevenoaks and the surrounding area that should make a real difference, especially to many school journeys.

We have set up a page on our website to keep residents up to date on developments and announcements about routes. You can find the link to the Go Coach route plan here. We’ll issue a more detailed account of it in the coming days.

Commercial bus service reductions

Many residents have written to me over the weekend about the withdrawal of a number of bus services which serve children traveling to school. Understandably, many families are shocked and dismayed. 

I am reproducing here - with some slight amendments - the information that I have sent to many residents who have written to me.

 The decisions taken reflect the pressures experienced by the commercial bus industry. Contrary to what has sometimes been said, they are not a result of any decision or funding reduction by Kent County Council. We are seeking to respond to this and I will set this out below.

 Some 97% of bus routes in Kent, including these that are being withdrawn, are commercial routes, neither subsidised nor commissioned by KCC. Across the country bus operators are under pressure, chiefly because of reductions in usage (still down at least 20% on pre-pandemic levels), along with fuel cost increases and severe labour shortages.

 Government did make available a Local Transport Fund (LTF) to help sustain services; some of it went via KCC, some of it direct to operators. But in any case it was central government, not KCC funding and government has been very clear that this funding ceases at the end of September. So the reductions are essentially commercial decisions to set what is intended to be a network that can keep running after the central government support ends. KCC officers have been required by government to work with and survey operators concerning their plans, but we are not the decision maker for them.

 It is confusing that, at around the same time, KCC did consult and decide on reductions in our subsidies for certain bus routes (this went through a KCC Committee in the course of last week). This was not a decision that we wanted to take, but it was part of the budget that we approved in February, and reflected the massive pressures on the council’s finances, which with rising inflation have only become more severe since the budget was set. Most importantly, those subsidy reductions are unrelated to, and have no effect on the school routes and other reductions that are listed in the document below. 

 We recognise and fully understand the great difficulties that these commercial route reductions mean for many families. The next stage for our officers is to work with operators to see if others can provide alterative services, doubtless configured differently from the existing pattern, that nonetheless address at least some of the gaps in service that have arisen. In a number of cases in the recent past, we have been able to do this to address threats to specific routes, and will do our utmost in this case. But it is important to be clear that there is no guarantee that this can be delivered.

A further element in this is that Kent (unlike many other parts of the country) was recently successful in securing £35 million from government over three years for delivery of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) starting in October. There are significant constraints on how this money can be spent. Two thirds of it is required to go on capital, not revenue spending, and within the revenue spending government has been very clear that this is not to be used to prop up existing service patterns. However, there may be some scope to use BSIP funding to pump prime new services that could help address some of the routes that have been lost. We are currently negotiating the details of our BSIP with the Department for Transport.

 My colleague David Brazier (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport) and I will seek to keep residents updated on any developments.

Details of the service reductions are in this link, in particular in the table starting on the third page.

A fourth funding round for Crowdfund Kent

A fourth round of bidding for community projects to Crowdfund Kent is under way. Under the scheme, which was launched in March last year, Kent County Council contributes to crowdfunded projects that will have a significant impact on local communities. Crowdfund Kent, which aims to build on the remarkable community spirit demonstrated in the pandemic, is run in collaboration with the leading crowdfunding platform Spacehive.

From the three funding rounds so far the council has contributed £300,000 (out of £500,000 pledged) to schemes which have raised some £875,000. 

Anyone with an idea or project that could benefit from Crowdfund Kent is welcome to join a workshop this coming Tuesday (12 July) at 1700. You can register via a link in this KCC media release, which also includes a video about Crowdfund Kent and examples of projects which it has already supported.

Outstanding: Ofsted’s verdict on Kent’s Children’s Services

In a report issued this morning, Ofsted has rated Kent County Council’s children’s services as Outstanding - the highest ranking and one held by few councils across the country. This follows an inspection in May under the Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) framework.

It has been a long journey of improvement. A little over a decade ago, KCC’s children’s services were found to be Inadequate. The hard work of improvement has taken place during an era of funding constraints, rising demand pressures on children’s services across the country, the pandemic and, for Kent, the arrival, especially in 2015-16 and 2020-22, of large numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. 

Ofsted rated Kent’s children’s services against four criteria:

- The impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families - Outstanding 

-  The experiences and progress of children who need help and protection - Good

- The experiences and progress of children in care and care leavers - Outstanding

- Overall effectiveness - Outstanding

Ofsted found that children are at the centre of KCC’s practice; that social work and early help teams work effectively and understand well the children and families they support and engage with; that there is ‘outstanding practice’ in support of children in care and care leavers; and that the political and senior officer leadership is committed, well-informed and prepared to invest in the service. One of the most heartening findings was that staff are ‘rightly proud of the work they do’ and ‘love working for Kent’. 

There are a,ways challenges, and always areas in which we can improve further, and the report sets these out. But this is, taken in the round, a fantastic tribute to the staff who, day in and day out, dedicate themselves to the children and young people of the county.

You can find our media release, with a link to the Ofsted report, here

Forthcoming road closures in Kemsing, Otford and Seal

Notice of some road closures coming up in the school holidays.

Pilgrims Way Kemsing will be closed starting on 25 July. This is for South East Water to replace a defective fire hydrant. The closure has been planned for five days but hopefully will be less; if it is a simple fix, it should take only two or three days. The proposed alternative route is via Pilgrims Way East, A225, A25, Childsbridge Lane and vice versa.

 Station Road Otford is set to be closed for three days starting 30 July. This is for UK Power Networks to establish connections to a new house, coordinating both gas and electricity. A road closure is required as the electrical connection is on the opposite side of the road and the road width is too narrow to complete this safely under two way lights. SGN’s connection is on the same side as the house but in the footpath and carriageway.  

This is of course quite a disruptive closure, and so the aim is to carry out most of the works over the weekend; the road will be closed early on Saturday morning and will remain shut until late Sunday evening. If the works are not completed by that stage, then two way lights will be set up and the work completed on the Monday.  The original application was for this to be a five day closure, but KCC Streetworks have negotiated this quicker approach. 

 Finally, School Lane in Seal will be closed (outside 1-3 The Green) for ten days starting 5 August. Access will be maintained for the library only. The suggested diversion route is quite similar to that for Pilgrims Way. This is for Thames Water to deal a collapsed sewer some three and a half metres under the road surface and to install an inspection cover in the road.  KCC Streetworks have requested extended working hours and weekends to complete the works as quickly as possible.

Have your say: TfL consulting on ULEZ coming to the Kent border

Transport for London (TfL) is consulting on extending its Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to the London boundary. The consultation runs until near the end of this month (29 July). TfL’s proposal is to establish the new Zone from 29 August 2023. 

Non-compliant vehicles will be charged £12.50 per day to enter the Zone. This could clearly have a very significant impact on residents and businesses in Kent, and in particular in the areas bordering London such as Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley.

We at Kent County Council are taking our draft response to the consultation to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee this coming Wednesday (6 July). You can find it in the papers for the meeting. KCC has no veto over what the London Mayor and TfL will decide, but we have made it clear that the proposal is only acceptable if accompanied by an extension of the scrappage scheme previously applied to an earlier version of ULEZ to residents outside London, including in Kent. 

KCC is seeking to raise awareness of the UKEZ proposal through our social media channels and the consultations page on our website. You can find the TfL consultation, and how you can submit comments, through this link.

Reconnect bus pass for a second summer

Children and young people across Kent, along with their families, will have access to free bus travel across the county this summer - thanks to the county’s bus companies as part of the Reconnect programme developed by Kent County Council.

The passes will be available - for most students, via their school or college - to all students in Years 6 to 13. Family passes, for up to four family members, will be available for at least one child and one adult travelling together. For both, the period of free travel will be from 23 July to 31 August, and will cover Arriva and Stagecoach services, along with other services that KCC subsidises.

The Reconnect programme, launched last year and continuing through the 2022 summer holidays, was developed by KCC, guided by the ideas and views of the county’s young people, to enable them to take up social and educational opportunities after the disruptions of the pandemic.

You can find more details of the scheme in this KCC media release.

Asylum seeking children: a better situation

In May, Kent County Council took 158 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) into our care, the highest monthly figure since 2015. Since last autumn, monthly figures have been regularly high - little surprise given the overall high levels of asylum arrivals via small boats across the Channel. Yet this does not represent the crisis that it did in previous years.

As I was able to explain in interviews on both Radio Kent and BBC South East News today, the position has been transformed by the effective operation of the National Transfer System (NTS) for unaccompanied young asylum seekers. Last September, Kent County Council agreed a protocol with government for us to operate a Safe Care and Reception Service, providing initial support and care for some 120 UASC before their transfer to other local authorities, on top of our having 242 UASC (the 0.07% of our young people population that represents the recommended cap set out in the provisions of the 2016 Immigration Act). Beyond this limit, any young people are transferred to other local authorities under the NTS. And late last year, government agreed to our long-urged argument that the operation of the NTS should be made mandatory. 

Since September 2021, some 679 UASC have been transferred to other local authorities. The result is that, unlike the circumstances of 2020 and 2021, Kent’s services are not being overwhelmed. This represents real progress, and reflects our effective work with government and the willingness of many of our local government colleagues to step up to the plate and address what is a national hand international) issue.

We will be bringing a paper to our public Cabinet meeting on Thursday which makes clear that there are many serious challenges concerning migration and asylum, including the operation of the Afghan schemes and the government’s proposals for adult asylum dispersal. But in the area of UASC at least, some genuine progress has been made, to the benefit of Kent’s residents and services, as well as the young people claiming asylum.

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 

Shoreham: fixing the leak and the pothole

Residents of Shoreham will be aware of the closure in High Street that started today. The closure, which is at number 74, is to enable Thames Water to carry out water pipe repairs. The closure is scheduled for up to seven days, but it is to be hoped that the work will be completed much more quickly than that and the resulting water leak stopped. 

Residents have raised the issue of the nearby pothole with me. Kent Highways carried out a short-term repair on 28 March but this did not last because of the water leak. Highways officers plan to go back in and carry out a lasting fix to the pothole once the Thames Water works are completed. 

Bus changes and consultation

Commercial bus operators - in Kent, as across the country - are carrying out reductions in services, reflecting the severe pressures faced by the sector: higher costs (notably fuel prices), labour shortages and a decline in use since the pandemic (customer journeys are still running at only about 70% of pre-pandemic levels). Many of these changes are taking place this month, others taking effect in June.

These are entirely separate from Kent County Council’s consultation on reducing support for subsidised bus routes by £2m this year (though understandably the two developments are sometimes confused). This was a proposal that we came to exceptionally reluctantly as part of a very difficult budget agreed by County Council in February. 

These are currently very much proposals, on which a full consultation has been undertaken pending any decision. There are a couple of days left in the consultation; you can find the consultation here

The main impacts of these changes in Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley are to the Arriva 477 Orpington to Bluewater service (commercial change): the service will terminate in Dartford, no longer serving Bluewater or Darent Valley hospital, while the Sunday service between Swanley and Bluewater will be withdrawn. In the case of the KCC proposals regarding subsidised bus routes, the main effect will relate to the Kent Karrier services across Sevenoaks (as elsewhere in Kent), while the S11 Wilmington to Sevenoaks Go Coach service will be withdrawn, though much of this school focused service will be taken up by related routes such as the S10, S12 and S13.

It is confusing to hear that, at the same time, Kent County Council has been awarded £35 million (over the theee years 2022-23 to 2024-25) in support of our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), drawn up as required in response to the government’s National Bus Strategy. We submitted our BSIP on time in October, and have only just had the response from the Department for Transport; we had to make other decisions in the absence of this information.

The good news is that - unlike many authorities across the country - we did receive funding. The more complicated news is that about two-thirds of the funding - £24 million - has to be committed to capital schemes, such as bus priority schemes and, in more forward-looking fashion, support for the development of initiatives such as transport integration through Mobility as a Service (MaaS). The revenue element cannot be used to sustain existing services, though it may support development of additional services after October. So, while the BSIP funding is undoubtedly good news, it does not resolve the more immediate dilemmas. We are on a tight deadline to respond to the BSIP funding package, and will announce the outcome of this as soon as possible.

Seal speed limit reductions: consultation begins

Consultation begins today on speed limit changes in Seal. Both address long-running issues on which I have worked with the Parish Council and Kent Highways over several years.

The first proposes to reduce the anomalous 40mph on the A25 Seal Road to 30mph in accordance with the rest of that section of the A25 (this also affects Ash Platt Road and Highlands Park). Secondly, it is proposed to reduce the speed limit on the area of Childsbridge Lane between Seal and Kemsing from National Speed Limit (60 mph) to 40 mph. 

The consultation on this Traffic Regulation Order (with documents on public deposit) starts today and will conclude on Monday 2 May at 12 noon. Representations can be made via the website or by writing to The TRO Co-ordinator, Schemes Planning & Delivery Team, Highways, Transportation & Waste, Kent County Council, Ashford Highway Depot, Henwood Industrial Estate, Javelin Way, Ashford, TN24 8AD.

Hosting Lord Deben: Kent and Climate Change

Earlier in the week - and it has been a long and busy one - we at KCC hosted Lord Deben (formerly the Cabinet Minister John Gummer), chairman of the government’s Climate Change Committee, on a visit to Kent. 

The Climate Change Committee performs an advisory and monitoring role in relation to the government’s environmental mitigation and adaptation policies. Lord Deben, members of the Committee and their advisers wanted to see how different parts of the country are developing climate change policies (both to achieve net zero and to mitigate the effects of climate change) and Kent was high on their list. 

Lord Deben and his team spent a very long day in the county, starting with flood prevention and other adaptation initiatives in Margate (including the ‘Cool Towns’ project, which uses tree pits and tree planting to both manage flood risk and cool high temperatures), a discussion with students at Herne Bay High school, meeting local leaders in Kings Hill - and then, I’m pleased to say, a visit to Darent Valley itself. This was at Preston Farm in Shoreham, where with the support of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, flood and drought management schemes on the Darent are also supporting better biodiversity. We ended the day with a discussion with many of the businesses, voluntary groups and others working to address environmental issues at Chatham Dockyard. 

The day was not simply a chance - important as it was - to showcase Kent’s environmental initiatives; a major focus of the day (and a key reason for the Climate Change Committee to get out of London and see work in localities across the country) was to highlight the obstacles to delivery. These included major gaps in the planning system (an important consideration in a county that has seen some of the fastest housing growth in the country), uncertainty over how future initiatives will be funded (an especially important consideration for the AONB, which has historically benefited from EU funding streams) and the challenges, highlighted in an important report for KCC and its partners by the expert consultants Anthesis, of delivering net zero in the household sector. 

The day seems to have been of great value to Lord Deben and his team, and gives us in Kent the chance to build a long-term and valuable working relationship with the Climate Change Committee.

KCC response to the Ukraine crisis

The last few days have seen strong interest in how councils respond to the horrendous events in Ukraine, and to President Putin’s aggression against that country. Over the last weekend, I asked our most senior officers to review all our operations and supply chain, both at the level of KCC and of our companies, to ensure that there was no exposure to Russian entities linked to the current regime. 

There is very little such linkage, but in the case of our energy buying company Laser (which acts on behalf of many public sector organisations) one framework does include the Russian energy giant Gazprom. This has now been suspended from the framework and will not be taking part in future  transactions. 

This review goes alongside a number of measures that we are taking to express our solidarity with Ukraine (the country’s flag now flies over County Hall) and to ensure that the County Council and its services are as protected as possible from the spillover effects of the conflict, ranging from potential cyber attacks to the financial impact of yet higher energy costs. You can find our press release about this here. 

Brompton Bicycle investment: good news for Ashford and for Kent

Brompton Bicycle, the UK’s largest bicycle manufacturer, announced this morning its commitment to a new factory and HQ in Ashford, with investment of £100 million and 4,000 jobs. Ashford overcame strong competition from other parts of the country and demonstrated its appeal - and that of Kent - as a place to invest and do business. 

Brampton’s plans - subject to planning approval by Ashford Borough Council - should take effect in 2027. In addition to its economic impact, the scheme promises major innovation and environmental benefit. Sited on a 100 acre floodplain near the International Station and the Designer Outlet, the factory will enable restoration of wetland and development of a public nature reserve and cycle way.

You can find KCC’s response, including my statement, on Facebook here. We are delighted at this investment, and this reflects the commitment and vision of Brompton and close work between Ashford Borough Council, Kent County Council and inward investment body Locate in Kent. More detail can be found on Ashford For Investment.

SEND transport changes: an apology, and information for families

Kent County Council is introducing changes to the transport arrangements for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) from the start of next week (Monday 21 February). These changes, which will affect routes, transport and travel with other children, reflect the rapid growth in SEND children requiring transport and a severe shortage of drivers.

However, the process of allocating transport to SEND children has taken longer than had originally been anticipated and a significant number of parents were not informed of their child’s new transport arrangements by the promised date of the end of term (last Friday, 11 February). This has, naturally, caused huge anxiety to these families. 

We recognise that this is an utterly unacceptable position for these families to be put in. Councillors and officers have sought this week to secure transport for many of the affected families, and communication has been through email and a dedicated phone line to seek to keep all parents as informed as possible as to the latest position and the arrangements for their child. KCC has also worked with Kent PACT (Parents and Carers Together, the forum for SEND families), who have sought to help and communicate with rightly distressed parents.

This KCC statement sets out the details of how parents can get more information and, quite rightly, apologises fully for the distress and anxiety that families have experienced. We will review in full how this happened, but the immediate priority is to resolve the uncertainty over transport for many SEND families. 

Road closure in Beechenlea Lane

Beechenlea Lane in Swanley Lane will once more be closed at the railway bridge because of Network Rail works between next Monday 7 February and Friday 11 February. The closure will be between 8am and 4pm daily. The signposted diversion route will be via Swanley Village Road, Highlands Hill, Swanley Lane and London Road in Swanley.

These works are intended to conclude the rail bridge replacement works undertaken last October. At the conclusion of the works, Kent Highways will send an inspector to confirm that there is no damage or defect arising from the works - and if there is, the defect will be raised with Network Rail.

Opening the Boys Grammar Annex in Sevenoaks

During the week I attended the formal opening of the Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys (TWGSB) annex in Sevenoaks. The annex had its first year of entry in September. 

I was asked to speak, along with the Chair of Governors, Dr Philip Drew (pictured with me along with the plaque recording the opening of the annex) and Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott. Among those who attended were Sir Michael Fallon and Sir Paul Carter, who as the then MP for Sevenoaks and then Leader of KCC respectively, did an enormous amount to promote and bring forward both the Weald of Kent and TWGSB annexes. So did Andrew and Sarah Shilling, and Ed Walker, who kick started the initial campaign for grammar provision in Sevenoaks. The event ended with a ‘thank you’ from a group of Year 7 students and a tour of the annex.

In my remarks, I commented on the long journey that had got us to this, and emphasised the courage of both Weald of Kent and of TWGSB - and in particular head teacher Amanda Simpson - in making the big commitment to their respective annexes in Sevenoaks. With three schools on this site - Trinity, Weald and TWGSB - along with expansion at Knole, secondary education in Sevenoaks has been transformed over the last decade.

Park Lane Kemsing closure

Some residents of Park Lane Kemsing recently received notification of emergency works by South East Water starting this coming Monday (24 January) requiring a road closure and which could last until 27 January. The notification indicated that residents would not be able to access their properties while the works were taking place.

Under an emergency closure (unlike a planned closure), utility providers do not have to secure a permit from KCC as the highways authority. The utility is required to notify KCC, though only within two hours of starting work.

However, when a Parish Councillor raised the closure with me, I took it up with our Streetworks team, who contacted South East Water. There is some uncertainty over whether the works will go ahead on Monday or not, apparently because of difficulties securing digger drivers. If the works do go ahead, there will be a road closure but access for residents will be maintained, and KCC will send an inspector to ensure that this happens.

It seems that we will not know for certain until Monday morning itself whether or not the works are going ahead; I will post again if and when I know more.

Booking system to stay at HWRCs

Following our biggest public consultation for many years, KCC has decided to continue with use of the booking system at our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

In the consultation, which ran from 19 August until 30 September, some 10,705 people responded, far in excess of those who have taken part in other consultations such as those on our budget. Opinion was fairly evenly divided, with 5,152 (51.9% of those who expressed a preference) in favour of the system and 4,778 (48.1%) unfavourable. Furthermore, the most favoured option for improving the existing system (including among those who were opposed to it) was to have the scope for same day booking. This has been trialed in two sites and will now be made available across all 18 HWRCs.

Any decision in this area will always be controversial, given the fairly even split in opinion. However, the booking system has evolved significantly since its introduction as an emergency measure to reopen the HWRCs in May 2020, and has (as we saw from resident comments in the consultation) won quite a number of converts once used; the ability to secure a slot, and not be stuck in long and unpredictable queues has proved very popular. The system has proved to be efficient and cost effective.

Following the conclusion of the consultation, its findings were debated in both KCC's Cabinet and elsewhere, followed by a formal report yesterday (18 January) to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee, which voted decisively to recommend maintaining the booking system. The formal decision to do so was then taken by Susan Carey, Cabinet Member for Environment. KCC’s press release can be found here.

Councils and residents - catching fly-tippers

A recent fly-tipping conviction has provided a good example of councils - and residents -  coming together to combat this anti-social behaviour.

Shane Walker of Swanley pleaded guilty to fly-tipping crimes at Sevenoaks Magistrates Court last week (5 January) and was fined £2,530. He had been investigated by Sevenoaks District Council's Environmental Enforcement Team, and was charged with four fly-tipping offences in:

- South Ash Road, near West Kingsdown (3 November 2020)

- Crockenhill Lane, Eynsford (on or before 9 November 2020)

- Chelsfield Lane, Shoreham (27 March 2021)

- Rabbits Road/ Canada Farm Road, South Darenth (also 27 March 2021)

As SDC's press release makes clear, their investigation work (which included tracing paperwork in the fly tipping to businesses who had paid for their waste to be disposed of) was assisted by a KCC employee observing and recording the registration of the (hired) vehicle used in the first incident and by observations of local residents in the final incident. 

In the case of Chelsfield Lane, this was recorded on a KCC-installed CCTV camera following a number of fly tipping incidents.

District Councils lead on the response to fly tipping, but KCC works with them in a number of ways (ranging from camera deployment to county-wide campaigns to increase householders' and businesses' awareness of their responsibility for disposal of their waste), and this case is a good example. 

Given the severe incidence of fly tipping in rural areas such as Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley, I have on a number of occasions sought to work with SDC and KCC officers, and there is a strong and effective working relationship between them. I hope to be able to report on other examples of successful cooperation in future.

Kemsing Library to reopen on 17 January

KCC contractors have been working since late October to put in new windows, gutters and roof in Kemsing Library. The works were originally due to be completed in early December, but delayed because the damage to the windows in the upper part of the building was discovered to be more extensive than anticipated. 

The revised reopening date was to be tomorrow (4 January) but there has been a further delay and reopening will now be on Monday 17 January. Clearly any further delay is disappointing but I hear that the building is looking good and hopefully residents should see a significant improvement when it does reopen.