Following KCC's Big Conversation on support for rural public transport, the first of the resulting pilot schemes to get under way starts running on Monday, and it's in part of the Darent Valley.
The Sevenoaks taxi bus will run from Fairseat and Stansted to West Kingsdown, then into East Hill, down into Otford (by the station) and finally to Sevenoaks (bus station). It will run off peak, Mondays to Fridays, with set stops but also a hail and ride facility in more rural areas such as East Hill.
The taxi bus model uses a smaller vehicle suitable to the patronage expected in this area. Concessionary Travel passes are accepted (though a voluntary contribution of £1 may be made); other fares will be £3 for a single journey, £5 for a return (and £1 for a child). The service is run by Express Cabs and Couriers, in partnership with Kent County Council.
Other pilot schemes in Tenterden and Sandwich will be getting under way in the next few weeks. The latest on the rural transport initiatives, including details and timetable for the Sevenoaks pilot, can be found on the Kent County Council website.
Showing posts with label Darent Valley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darent Valley. Show all posts
Friday, 31 May 2019
Wednesday, 3 May 2017
Out and about 2017
The establishment of the new Division, created by the Boundary Commission, replaces the current Darent Valley Division. This means, regrettably, an end to my representing Swanley (except for Swanley Village, which comes into the new Division) and Badgers Mount. I attended last Friday's Badgers Mount Annual Parish Meeting and said my goodbyes. I am sad that, whatever happens tomorrow, I will no longer represent either area.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Boundary Commission: the final verdict
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has now issued its final recommendations for new Division boundaries for Kent County Council, to come into force at the elections in 2017. They will be laid before Parliament in a draft order in the coming months before being formally adopted.
As I wrote in the autumn, the Boundary Commission revised significantly its earlier proposals for Sevenoaks District. It was already established that, as part of the reduction in size of the County Council from 84 Members to 81, Sevenoaks would lose one Division. It has also long been clear that the undersized Swanley division would have to expand to the South, taking in Christchurch and High Firs polling districts. But in other respects, the Commission's revisions were very significant regarding Darent Valley; bringing Swanley Village back in rather than incorporating it into Swanley, putting transferring Badgers Mount to Sevenoaks West, and expanding a renamed Sevenoaks East and Darent Valley to the south and east as far as Seal.
Following a further consultation, the Commission has stuck with these revised recommendations. Swanley Christchurch and High Firs go into an enlarged Swanley Division, but Swanley Village stays in what will now be the Sevenoaks North & Darent Valley Division. In spite of strong representations to the contrary from the Parish Council and others (including me), Badgers Mount is transferred to the Sevenoaks West Division, which will run down the western County border as far as Westerham.
All other parishes in the existing Darent Valley will remain in the successor Division, and will be joined in it by Otford, Kemsing and Seal. The result will be a very large Division indeed, in terms both of area (especially north-south) and in terms of electors per County Councillor (at 15,629, the second highest in the County).
You can find full details of the Review, including maps, on the LGBCE's website.
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Boundary change proposals: the effect on Darent Valley
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has over the last year or so been conducting a review of Kent County Council's electoral divisions. Today it issued revised proposals for the Sevenoaks District area.
The Boundary Commission proposes a modest reduction in the number of KCC Members, from the current 84 across Kent to 81. Sevenoaks, which has seen much smaller population growth than many other parts of the County, is set to reduce from 7 Members to 6.
Some of the implications of this for Darent Valley are fairly clear. To its north, the Swanley Division is relatively small and will need to expand. Since a Division cannot cross District or Borough lines, Swanley can only expand to the south, into the contiguous sections of Darent Valley.
Under the Boundary Commission's original proposals, published in May with a consultation that ran through until July, the whole of the Swanley Town Council area, as well as Hextable, would be taken into the Swanley Division. Darent Valley would therefore lose Swanley Christ Church, the High Firs area and Swanley Village. It would, however, expand to the south, taking in Otford and Dunton Green, while adding Knockholt and Halstead to Badgers Mount (the latter three together currently make up a District ward). The remainder of the Division - Shoreham (including Well Hill and East Hill), Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth - would remain within it.
However, following initial consultation and a number of representations (including an alternative proposal from Sevenoaks District Council), the Boundary Commission has brought forward significantly revised proposals. Under these, while Swanley Christ Church and High Firs would still leave Darent Valley, Swanley Village would remain. Badgers Mount would leave the Division, joining Halstead and Knockholt in Sevenoaks West. To the south, Otford would still come into the Division but Dunton Green would not; however, Kemsing and Seal would come in. The new Division - rather cumbersomely named Sevenoaks East and Darent Valley - would be very large, running from the north of the District and the London boundary to the south-east of Sevenoaks town (which, in contrast to the Boundary Commission's earlier proposals, is the centre of one Division rather than being split between two - almost certainly a key factor in the adoption of new proposals). You can see a map of the proposed new Divisions here.
Sevenoaks was the only District in the County for which the Boundary Commission's original proposals were amended; these are now subject to a stand alone consultation. This closes on 26 October and the final recommendations will be published on 19 January 2016.
The Boundary Commission proposes a modest reduction in the number of KCC Members, from the current 84 across Kent to 81. Sevenoaks, which has seen much smaller population growth than many other parts of the County, is set to reduce from 7 Members to 6.
Some of the implications of this for Darent Valley are fairly clear. To its north, the Swanley Division is relatively small and will need to expand. Since a Division cannot cross District or Borough lines, Swanley can only expand to the south, into the contiguous sections of Darent Valley.
Under the Boundary Commission's original proposals, published in May with a consultation that ran through until July, the whole of the Swanley Town Council area, as well as Hextable, would be taken into the Swanley Division. Darent Valley would therefore lose Swanley Christ Church, the High Firs area and Swanley Village. It would, however, expand to the south, taking in Otford and Dunton Green, while adding Knockholt and Halstead to Badgers Mount (the latter three together currently make up a District ward). The remainder of the Division - Shoreham (including Well Hill and East Hill), Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth - would remain within it.
However, following initial consultation and a number of representations (including an alternative proposal from Sevenoaks District Council), the Boundary Commission has brought forward significantly revised proposals. Under these, while Swanley Christ Church and High Firs would still leave Darent Valley, Swanley Village would remain. Badgers Mount would leave the Division, joining Halstead and Knockholt in Sevenoaks West. To the south, Otford would still come into the Division but Dunton Green would not; however, Kemsing and Seal would come in. The new Division - rather cumbersomely named Sevenoaks East and Darent Valley - would be very large, running from the north of the District and the London boundary to the south-east of Sevenoaks town (which, in contrast to the Boundary Commission's earlier proposals, is the centre of one Division rather than being split between two - almost certainly a key factor in the adoption of new proposals). You can see a map of the proposed new Divisions here.
Sevenoaks was the only District in the County for which the Boundary Commission's original proposals were amended; these are now subject to a stand alone consultation. This closes on 26 October and the final recommendations will be published on 19 January 2016.
Monday, 15 December 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, 19 October 2014
Making Kent (and Darent Valley) Quicker
As described in an earlier post, Kent County Council has been working for some years to bring faster broadband to those parts of the county - around a quarter of properties - that will not benefit from the unaided commercial development of the network. In my previous Cabinet role at KCC I oversaw our agreement last year with government agency BDUK and BT and I remain involved in our monitoring of that programme and our development of new broadband initiatives.
Last year's agreement - part of the 'Making Kent Quicker' scheme - involved a £40 million investment (£10 million of it from KCC) to ensure that at least 91% of Kent properties had access to superfast broadband - defined as download speeds of 24 Megabits per second (MBpS) or faster - and that all properties had access to at the very least 2 MBpS in the project area. This would bring superfast broadband to over 120,000 properties across Kent and be concluded by the end of 2015. The main method of achieving this is to bring fibre to each of the BT cabinets that you will see dotted around the area by adding an extra cabinet next to the existing one.
By the end of September, more than 50,000 properties had been covered by the scheme. More immediately relevant to Darent Valley residents, Sevenoaks District was within Phase 2 of the scheme that ran from March to September, i.e. it has just been concluded. The Farningham exchange, serving much of the Division, was one of the later exchanges in the District to be enabled to supply fibre to the cabinets it serves, but this took place in early September.
You can check out the position for your own home using the postcode checker onwww.kent.gov.uk/broadband This is updated very rapidly after fibre is brought to each cabinet, so the information should be very current. You will then need to contact your Internet Service Provider to upgrade. Some of the most remote areas may not have been covered in this phase but will be part of a final, County-wide phase in the latter part of 2015.
Longer term, there will be a Phase 2 to Making Kent Quicker, to which central government and KCC are each committing £5.6 million with the aim of achieving at least 95% superfast coverage by the end of 2017. It is anticipated that the contract for this will be awarded in April 2015. BDUK are currently developing a Phase 3 programme to tackle the most difficult areas of all ('the final 5%').Kent is a national pilot area for work currently being undertaken by BDUK, to trial new technologies, which will inform these plans to achieve full coverage.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Grammar school places for Darent Valley children
Many children from Darent Valley, especially to the north, have gone to the Dartford and Wilmington grammar schools for their secondary schooling. It has always therefore been a cause of concern that some or all of the schools might move to admission procedures that would be less favourable to local children, such as a focus on ‘super-selection’ (essentially, taking children simply on the basis of the highest test scores) or strengthening the focus on distance rather than named parishes, which would in some cases favour children from across the London border in Bexley over many Kent children.
The issue has been rumbling on for some years, with proposals brought forward, shelved and brought forward again. The County Council has a strong interest in this, given its responsibility to ensure access to education for Kent children, and our Admissions Team have worked hard on the issue, responding to proposals and arguing the case for local children. I have been involved both as local County Councillor for Darent Valley and, in the last year, as Cabinet Member for Education. All the schools have brought forward proposals for 2015. While the debate on these proposals remains live, there has on the whole been movement in a positive direction for Kent children and those from Darent Valley.
Here is where things stand at present:
Dartford Grammar School (admission number: 180)
The school has hitherto operated a system of giving priority (after Looked After Children) to boys from a series of wards in Dartford (Zone A) who have passed the Kent Test. None of these wards is in Darent Valley. Once qualifying Zone A boys are admitted, all remaining places are allocated on the basis of test score, with distance from the school as a tie-breaker. The new proposals, which can be found here, modify this by putting a cap of 90 on the number of boys admitted from Zone A, thus strengthening somewhat the super-selective element.
Dartford Grammar School for Girls (admission number: 160)
This currently operates the following system of priority for those who pass the Kent Test: Looked After Children; siblings of those attending the school; those living within a mile of the school; those living within the Borough of Dartford or one of a set of ‘named parishes’; all others on the basis of score, with distance as the tie-breaker. The ‘named parishes’ include Crockenhill, Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby & South Darenth and Swanley from within Darent Valley. New proposals can be found here. As with Dartford Grammar, the new proposals would cap the number from 'named parishes' at 100. They would also remove preference for siblings and those within a mile of the school.
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys (admission number: 150)
This gave priority to: Looked After Children; those with a sibling at the school; those with a sibling at Wilmington Girls; those with combined scores in the top 10%; those nearest the school. The revised criteria for 2015 can be found here; they preserve the priority for Looked After Children and siblings at the two schools, but then add 15 governor places for those achieving the highest combined scores in the Kent Test, followed by priority for those within 1.5 miles of the school or in named parishes which cover the whole of the Darent Valley division (including Shoreham). Any remaining places are allocated on a distance criterion.
Wilmington Grammar School for Girls (admissions number: 120)
This was very similar to the boys, prioritising Looked After Children; those with a sibling at the school; those with a sibling at Wilmington Boys; the top 12 scoring girls in Mathematics; those living nearest the school. The 2015 proposals are very similar to the new proposals for Wilmington Boys. The 12 Governor Places will be the awarded to those with the highest Mathematics scores, while the named parishes will extend as far South as Sevenoaks, easily incorporating the whole of Darent Valley.
The issue has been rumbling on for some years, with proposals brought forward, shelved and brought forward again. The County Council has a strong interest in this, given its responsibility to ensure access to education for Kent children, and our Admissions Team have worked hard on the issue, responding to proposals and arguing the case for local children. I have been involved both as local County Councillor for Darent Valley and, in the last year, as Cabinet Member for Education. All the schools have brought forward proposals for 2015. While the debate on these proposals remains live, there has on the whole been movement in a positive direction for Kent children and those from Darent Valley.
Here is where things stand at present:
Dartford Grammar School (admission number: 180)
The school has hitherto operated a system of giving priority (after Looked After Children) to boys from a series of wards in Dartford (Zone A) who have passed the Kent Test. None of these wards is in Darent Valley. Once qualifying Zone A boys are admitted, all remaining places are allocated on the basis of test score, with distance from the school as a tie-breaker. The new proposals, which can be found here, modify this by putting a cap of 90 on the number of boys admitted from Zone A, thus strengthening somewhat the super-selective element.
Dartford Grammar School for Girls (admission number: 160)
This currently operates the following system of priority for those who pass the Kent Test: Looked After Children; siblings of those attending the school; those living within a mile of the school; those living within the Borough of Dartford or one of a set of ‘named parishes’; all others on the basis of score, with distance as the tie-breaker. The ‘named parishes’ include Crockenhill, Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby & South Darenth and Swanley from within Darent Valley. New proposals can be found here. As with Dartford Grammar, the new proposals would cap the number from 'named parishes' at 100. They would also remove preference for siblings and those within a mile of the school.
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys (admission number: 150)
This gave priority to: Looked After Children; those with a sibling at the school; those with a sibling at Wilmington Girls; those with combined scores in the top 10%; those nearest the school. The revised criteria for 2015 can be found here; they preserve the priority for Looked After Children and siblings at the two schools, but then add 15 governor places for those achieving the highest combined scores in the Kent Test, followed by priority for those within 1.5 miles of the school or in named parishes which cover the whole of the Darent Valley division (including Shoreham). Any remaining places are allocated on a distance criterion.
Wilmington Grammar School for Girls (admissions number: 120)
This was very similar to the boys, prioritising Looked After Children; those with a sibling at the school; those with a sibling at Wilmington Boys; the top 12 scoring girls in Mathematics; those living nearest the school. The 2015 proposals are very similar to the new proposals for Wilmington Boys. The 12 Governor Places will be the awarded to those with the highest Mathematics scores, while the named parishes will extend as far South as Sevenoaks, easily incorporating the whole of Darent Valley.
Thus the overall effect is that the 2015 criteria proposed for the two Wilmington grammar schools are much more favourable to Darent Valley children than those in operation up until now. The criteria for Dartford Grammar School represent a partial shift towards super-selection with some disadvantage to Kent children (in Dartford, though not in Darent Valley). The Dartford Grammar School for Girls are making a similar shift, in this case affecting Darent Valley children. However, this represents a significant modification of initial proposals that were much more purely super-selective. The number of places for named parishes was revised up in the course of consultation and is now quite generous.
I understand that the Dartford (but not Wilmington) schools' proposals have had challenges brought before the Schools Adjudicator. This may take some time to resolve, but the overall outcome for children in Darent Valley looks likely to be quite a good one.
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Shoreham: Crown Road yellow lines and other issues
I was unable to attend Shoreham Parish Council on Thursday evening since I was speaking at a KCC event elsewhere in the County that evening. However, I submitted a written report. Here are some of the key issues from it.
Regarding the yellow lines that were wrongly painted in standard Highways style on Crown Road (see post of 9 October last year), a Kent Highways officer has now visited the site to see how much impact the winter weather had on them. An order is now being raised for their removal and replacement by lines suitable for a conservation area, as had originally been agreed between the Parish Council, Kent Highways and me. This will be carried out in the near future; it should be done within 4 to 8 weeks.
Secondly, after some close cooperation between KCC and Bromley Borough Council, a fly-tipping case will be brought to court shortly; a date is due to be set next week. This relates to fly-tipping incidents in Redmans Lane and Chelsfield Lane, which have both been hot spots for this sort of illegal activity.
Concerns have been raised about a large pothole in High Street, which reopened shortly after apparently being fixed. I took this up with Kent Highways, who told me that the previous work had always been intended to be a temporary solution, albeit that it had not been expected to reopen quite so quickly. The pothole has now had more lasting work carried out to fix it. As mentioned in my previous post (3 March), the County Council is now undertaking a 'Find and Fix' drive to tackle potholes. If you're concerned about particular potholes, please contact me; I will raise the issue with Kent Highways to ensure it is dealt with through this programme.
I have also taken up the issue of water leakage in the village (from High Street, leading into Church Street) with Kent Highways, who have identified it as a Thames Water matter and raised it with the company.
Finally, I have in recent weeks been dealing with the issue of potential seismic exploration work in the Darent Valley by Tesla Exploration on behalf of Northdown Energy. This is being treated as permitted development rather than something that requires planning permission; however, Kent County Council is ensuring that local Members have the opportunity to meet the company to discuss the details of the project, and I will be doing this. I have also asked that the Parish Council be contacted by the company and should have the opportunity to meet them to address local concerns.
Regarding the yellow lines that were wrongly painted in standard Highways style on Crown Road (see post of 9 October last year), a Kent Highways officer has now visited the site to see how much impact the winter weather had on them. An order is now being raised for their removal and replacement by lines suitable for a conservation area, as had originally been agreed between the Parish Council, Kent Highways and me. This will be carried out in the near future; it should be done within 4 to 8 weeks.
Secondly, after some close cooperation between KCC and Bromley Borough Council, a fly-tipping case will be brought to court shortly; a date is due to be set next week. This relates to fly-tipping incidents in Redmans Lane and Chelsfield Lane, which have both been hot spots for this sort of illegal activity.
Concerns have been raised about a large pothole in High Street, which reopened shortly after apparently being fixed. I took this up with Kent Highways, who told me that the previous work had always been intended to be a temporary solution, albeit that it had not been expected to reopen quite so quickly. The pothole has now had more lasting work carried out to fix it. As mentioned in my previous post (3 March), the County Council is now undertaking a 'Find and Fix' drive to tackle potholes. If you're concerned about particular potholes, please contact me; I will raise the issue with Kent Highways to ensure it is dealt with through this programme.
I have also taken up the issue of water leakage in the village (from High Street, leading into Church Street) with Kent Highways, who have identified it as a Thames Water matter and raised it with the company.
Finally, I have in recent weeks been dealing with the issue of potential seismic exploration work in the Darent Valley by Tesla Exploration on behalf of Northdown Energy. This is being treated as permitted development rather than something that requires planning permission; however, Kent County Council is ensuring that local Members have the opportunity to meet the company to discuss the details of the project, and I will be doing this. I have also asked that the Parish Council be contacted by the company and should have the opportunity to meet them to address local concerns.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Coping with snow - secondary routes to be treated tomorrow morning
Kent Highways divides up the network into primary routes (the main arteries that are a priority to keep open - the A225 through the centre of Darent Valley is a good example), secondary routes which get attention after that, and the rest. You can find a map of the gritting routes, and whether you live on a primary, secondary or other route, here
With the heavy and continuing snowfall through today, Kent Highways has been focused on keeping the primary routes open - though in places even this has been a struggle. (It is apparently a similar story on the motorways, which are the responsibility of the Highways Agency). As a result, secondary routes, which have had treatment in recent days, have not been touched today. This can be seen in my road, as the picture shows.
In the next few hours, this is likely to remain the case - the snow that has been falling through the day will not clear Kent until around midnight. However, Kent Highways tell me that they plan to work on the secondary routes before 6:30 tomorrow morning, hopefully improving them in time for the morning rush hour.
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