Community Wardens for the villages

When Steve Armstrong, the highly-regarded Community Warden for Crockenhill, Eynsford and Farningham retired earlier this year, the County Council committed to finding a replacement as soon as possible. At the same time, it was recognised that the recruitment needed to be undertaken along with a number of other appointments to the Warden service. Until this took place, other Wardens covering the Sevenoaks area would serve the three villages on a rotational basis.

This recruitment round has now taken place. All the advertised posts were filled; however, the person appointed to Crockenhill, Eynsford and Farningham had to withdraw at a late stage. It has therefore, regrettably, not been possible to fill the post at present. However, Paul Sharrad, the new Warden for Swanley, will now also cover Crockenhill (as well as Swanley Village and Hextable) as and when required. Similarly, Paul Robertson – who is very well-known in Darent Valley as the Warden for Shoreham, as well as covering Otford - will cover Eynsford and Farningham when required. Thus all the villages should get more frequent and more personal coverage than has been the case since Steve’s retirement.

KCC hopes to fill the vacancy in the next recruitment round. However, the interim solution proposed by the Service should provide a valuable enhancement to the Warden presence in the three villages.

Wanted: a new Community Warden

When Steve Armstrong, the popular Community Warden for Crockenhill, Eynsford and Farningham, retired earlier this year, there was concern in the villages that he had served that there would not be an immediate replacement for him.

At the time, KCC's Community Warden Service made clear that, because recruitment, and in particular training is done in batches, there could not be an immediate replacement; however, they undertook to make clear as soon as possible when it would be possible to recruit.

The Service has now placed advertisements for posts in a number of areas in Kent, and in particular for two vacancies within the Sevenoaks District. This should, if there is a successful recruitment, enable posts to be filled in areas that previously had a Warden, of which Crockenhill, Eynsford and Farningham is one. 

Applications for the post should be in by 1 September, with interviews taking place in the middle of the month. Successful candidates will begin their four week training on 24 October, so hopefully a new Warden should be in place before the end of the year.

Steve Armstrong, community warden

Steve Armstrong, KCC's Community Warden for Eynsford, Farningham and Crockenhill, retires this week.

I have worked a lot with Steve over a number of years and he has been a huge asset to both the County Council and to the communities that he has served and where he is a well-known figure. A lot of the very strong reaction from Darent Valley Parish Councils to the Community Warden consultation in 2014 reflects the value put on Steve's work.

There has also been a lot of concern as to when and how a successor will be appointed. Having discussed the issue with Parish Councils, I took it up with both my Cabinet colleague, Mike Hill, and with the officers at KCC responsible for the warden service.

The difficulty is that recruitment and training of Community Wardens takes place in cohorts rather than on an individual basis, in part because of cost and in part to fit in with the schedules of partners in community safety such as Kent Police. However, officers have undertaken to give a clear timeline for the next round of recruitment as soon as possible. In the meantime, support for the communities that Steve has served will be provided (on, I understand, a proactive rather than a merely reactive basis) from wardens serving in Sevenoaks District and working with the local Community Safety Unit.

I will continue to monitor this with the aim of ensuring that a replacement is found as soon as possible, and that good cover is provided until then. In the meantime, I'm due for a coffee with Steve to thank him and wish him a happy retirement.

Community wardens: responding to the consultation

Following the consultation on proposals to reshape the community warden service, reducing the number of wardens to 45, KCC announced last week that warden numbers would be kept at the present level of 70.

The County Council will still take half of the proposed saving of £1.3 million by reductions in management and supervisory structures, but the remaining funds will be found elsewhere within the Growth, Environment and Transport (GET) directorate.

This follows a powerful public response to the consultation, making clear how much the warden service is valued by communities across Kent. The response was particularly strong from Parish Councils; almost all of those within Darent Valley responded to the consultation.

At the start of the process, I said to Parish Councils that the consultation was for real rather than a sham process. Last week's announcement confirms that, and is good news for the wardens and for the communities they serve across the County.

Community Warden Service consultation

KCC has launched a consultation on the future of its Community Warden service. The wardens have been a popular and successful innovation in the parts of the county that they have served since they were introduced in 2002. Much of Darent Valley is well served by wardens, tackling low-level crime and antisocial behaviour, working with the police and other agencies and engaging with many of the most vulnerable members of local communities.

Nonetheless, there are communities that do not benefit from the warden service, while we also need to make significant savings. Our community warden service has been asked to deliver savings of nearly £1.3 million.

The consultation document proposes a reduction in management structures; among other changes, team leaders will be reduced in number from 12 to 6, with each one overseeing two Districts. Each will oversee a network of 6 or 7 wardens who will work across the area. While wardens will no longer be attached to specific parishes, parishes will still get a regular service from them, as will urban and other areas that have not so far been covered. It is proposed to reduce the number of wardens from 79 to 40. KCC is also looking at the possibility of external funding for warden posts in some areas and building up volunteer support for the wardens.

These are important proposals for a valued service. If you would like to comment on the plans, the consultation is open until 9 November. No formal decision will be taken until then. You can comment by completing an online questionnaire, or by completing a hard copy version of the questionnaire and sending it in to:

FREEPOST RTKS-UABE-USGJ
Community Warden Service
Invicta House
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 1XX