The Space Wagon Takes Off

Congratulations to The Space at the Riverside Club for a wonderful launch of its Community Transport service this morning. This comprises a growing network of volunteer drivers, using their own cars, but also a bookable wheelchair accessible vehicle: the Space Wagon, the inspired winner of a competition to name it.

This builds on the remarkable work of Adrian Elms, Steve Boddington and everyone at The Space in combating isolation. Access to transport plays a vital role in this, yet in Kent (and across the country, especially outside the big cities) the bus industry is under severe pressure. This is why at Kent County Council we have stepped up our support for Community Transport. Last year we allocated over £500,000 to a dozen such schemes across the County. The Space was one of these, being awarded £44,000 in capital and £3,000 in start up costs. I was delighted to be able to support the successful bid.

Steve and Adrian both spoke at this morning’s launch, along with Cllr Lawrence Ball (Chairman of Sevenoaks District Council), Sally Coston of Eynsford Village Society and me. And the ribbon was cut by Mrs Diana Grant.

I was struck this morning by Steve Boddington’s remark that the focus on transport came out of the work that The Space was already doing, picking up another important need. I was also reminded that, while public sector bodies (including KCC) are financially very constrained, grants that are quite small in relation to our total budgets can help community initiatives like The Space Wagon to thrive.

To begin with at least, The Space’s community transport initiative will focus on Eynsford, Farningham and Lullingstone but will hopefully be able to extend to a wider area, the more so given the importance of access to medical appointments and the coming together of the Farningham and South Darenth practices.