Tackling drainage in Watery Lane

Watery Lane will be closed overnight from tomorrow night (20 March) for up to two nights. The closure will be between 8PM and 5AM, and the closure will be from Chaucer Business Park to the junction of Saxbys Road. This is for KCC to undertake drainage works to address the long-standing problems on the road. 

While there are a number of factors affecting Watery Lane, in particular the interaction between the Network Rail drainage system under the bridge and the Kent Highways drainage system, the works to be undertaken over the next couple of days will focus on the latter. There will be a thorough cleanse of all the gullies, catchpits and manholes and jet all the pipework in the Kent Highways system in that section of the road.

Once these works have been completed, and it is confirmed that they have been effective (our drainage engineer will review the works on completion) the Highways Operations team will be able to carry out the necessary repairs to the road surface; they have been unable to do so as long as the water is running.

Hopefully these works will provide some relief from the problems that have affected this section of road. I will post again when there are further updates on how the works have gone and when the road surface repairs can take place.

Pilgrims Way closures

A quick note on today’s significant disruption on Pilgrims Way and Pilgrims Way East. 

The Pilgrims Way closure (between junctions with The Landway and Old Terrys Lodge Road) was for urgent highway works by KCC - patching that needed to be undertaken rapidly. These works are set to go on through to the end of the week.

When these works were under way, BT Openreach closed PWE between Tudor Drive and Row Dow under emergency closure provisions (I’ll come back to the merits or otherwise of that shortly). As is usual in these cases, KCC was not notified until after the road was closed.

My thanks to Simon Reay for highlighting that there were severe problems/ deficiencies with the signage and access for residents on the KCC Pilgrims Way works. I took this up with the Streetworks team and got the following information/ action.

The surface for the patching work in Pilgrims Way will reinstated tomorrow and Wednesday, and from Wednesday the section between The Landway and Cotmans Ash Lane should be reopened. Between Cotmans Ash Lane and Old Terrys Lodge Road will remain closed until Friday. Residents should already have access to their homes, although there may be delays while specific sections of the road are made safe for that access. The Streetworks Inspector will attend the site tomorrow morning to make sure the right signage is in place.

This should not have been as disruptive as it was, and I am sorry for the bad experiences residents had today; hopefully these steps will make the situation a lot more manageable for the remainder of the works. 

In relation to PWE and the BT works, Openreach confirmed at 1:15 that they were complete and the road was being reopened. What this does highlight, though, is the use made of emergency provisions. KCC (and other highway authorities) has been raising this issue for some time. A change in national policy is required. Fortunately, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee is carrying out an inquiry into the issue because it is a major problem across the country. KCC put in a very strong submission to the Inquiry and so we have been invited to give evidence this week.

Finally, all this is separate from the highways improvement works on Pilgrims Way East next week (24-25 March), which as anyone who has driven through there will know, has been notified for some time.

Safety enhancements in Kemsing

Some minor works to enhance safety at the Dynes Road/ Childsbridge Lane crossing should be installed today. After a collision at the crossing late last year, I asked Kent Highways officers to investigate STOP signage at the junction. 

The junction does not meet the Department for Transport criteria for these signs, but officers are introducing additional Give Way signs (in the West End and Dynes Road approaches to the junction) and the junction markings are being refreshed to reinforce and clarify the need to give way at these points.

Pilgrims Way closure: South East water works

 For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Pilgrims Way has from this morning been closed by South East Water. This is under emergency provisions to address a burst water main and the closure is until 1700 on Wednesday. It runs from the Childsbridge Lane junction to the Cotmans Ash Lane junction, so diversion routes will use those two roads (which will send more traffic through the village (West End/ High Street).

The physical closure point is either side of Brushwood Cottage, and access for residents will be maintained up to that point.

Defects on PWE speed ramp

I’ve taken up reports of vehicles being damaged and a defect on the speed ramp near the Row Dow junction in Pilgrims Way East with Kent Highways. They have sent someone from the contractor to investigate it this afternoon/ evening. I’ll post any further information when I get it.

UPDATE: A further update on PWE … The contractors have attended and located two curbs that are coming loose and will need resetting. They have been made safe for now pending a more lasting fix. 

Upcoming works in Kemsing

West End, Kemsing has a closure (for works by SGN) starting on 25 May. Initial signage seemed to indicate that the closure would be for 4 weeks. This, however, was misleading. The works are scheduled to take 4 weeks, but not the closure. The closure is due to start on Saturday 25th May and finishes at the latest on 3rd June (the road must re-open for the school before 0600hrs).  The remainder of the works are under traffic lights rather than a closure. Our Streetworks team requested that the contractors amend the notice so that it shows the correct dates for the closure period.

The closure is required at the start of the works because this will take place in the relatively narrow stretch of road outside the school. Once the works have reached the point where the road widens out, 2-way lights can be used the closure will be lifted.  The road has to reopen for Monday 3rd June, when the schools resume; if the works requiring closure are not complete, those works will be cancelled and resumed at a future date.

Separately to all this, West End will be closed overnight (from 7PM to 7AM) on the night of 22-23 May for road repairs by Kent Highways. This closure will be between the junctions with Childsbridge Lane and St Edith’s Road.

22 May will also see a daytime closure on Pilgrims Way between the junctions with The Landway and Cotmans Ash Lane, also for Kent Highways works. This will be between 9:30 and 2:30 (again, to avoid an impact on schools traffic) and should take less time than this (hopefully about 4 hours); the works are to fix some large potholes, hence the closure. As I reported previously, Kent Highways carried out a number of works in Pilgrims Way during the recent SGN closure, but this is in a different section of the road.

Pilgrims Way to reopen

I now have an update and Pilgrims Way will be reopened, most likely late tomorrow (Wednesday) evening. In any case, it will be open before 0600 Thursday.

There are currently three sets of excavations by SGN and these will be filled in and left to cure in the course of tomorrow. The reinstatement needs to cure (harden); if traffic goes through the road before this, there could be damage to the road and the need for a yet further closure.

While these works have been going on, KCC has used the closure to carry out three sets of works in Pilgrims Way, addressing kerbing, drain cleansing and potholes at the edge of the carriageway. As a result, the closures that I highlighted originally for the end of this week are now thankfully not needed.

Pilgrims Way reopened

Pilgrims Way is now open, and the South East Water works are complete. 

The Traffic Management signs are still up, but the company which supplies them will be retrieving them shortly. Our Streetworks team has sought to get the utility to get these works completed ahead of the scheduled three days, and they are now done.

Pilgrims Way closure for South East Water works

Residents have raised the further closure on Pilgrims Way next week, coming shortly after last weekend’s works.

Pilgrims Way will be closed for three days commencing 14 February between the Row Dow junction and Beechy Leas Road. This is for works by South East Water to replace a leaking stop cock at a nearby property. The stop cock is at the edge of the carriageway in a narrow part of the road, so a closure is required for the works.   

 This is therefore a closure undertaken by the utility, for which they have statutory powers. It is not a KCC closure for highways works, though a planned closure of this kind is coordinated with KCC (as opposed to emergency closures, on which KCC is not required to be consulted in advance).

Our Streetworks team are working to reduce the disruption that this will cause by requiring that the road is closed only when work is taking place (this is possible for works of this kind because they do not require, for example, a period to set). At other times, the signage will be pulled in and the road opened, though at present there are no set times for this.

It is very disruptive for residents that this comes so soon after the closure in Pilgrims Way East, and that this comes after a number of other closures. In addition to the approach described above to try to reduce this impact on residents, the works are scheduled for the half term week for the same purpose.

It’s been asked why the two sets of works could not have been carried out at the same time. The reason is that, because they were at, in effect, opposite ends of Pilgrims Way East, residents living between them (including all those in Tudor Drive and Tudor Crescent) would have been unable to get out, except perhaps via Row Dow and routes beyond that, which would in most cases have been a vastly greater diversion than is required by either set of works on their own.

Pilgrims Way East: works at the weekend

Many residents will have seen from the signage up in Pilgrims Way East that there will be a further closure this weekend. The closure will be between the Tudor Drive junction and the A225 Shoreham Road, and will be from 7:30 am on Saturday 3 February until 11:59 pm on Sunday evening. 

The works are to address the deficiencies on the tabletop by the Tudor Drive junction, and the outcome should be something more like the tabletop at the Row Dow junction. This design also requires less time for the curing of the kerbs. 

The recommended diversion route is, as before, via Childsbridge Lane, the A25 and the A225 Sevenoaks Road and Station Road.

Pilgrims Way East closure

A reminder - since the signs have been out for a while - that Pilgrims Way East will be closed tomorrow between 0700 and 1500. The closure will be between the Shoreham Road junction and Row Dow. 

This is to enable lining work to be undertaken to improve visibility/ awareness of the speed humps, along with high friction surfacing and resetting of some kerbs. The lining works were intended to be carried out when the hump near Row Dow was repaired in November; however, as a result of wet weather this was not possible. Clearly, these works are also weather dependent, although the forecast suggests that they should be able to go ahead.

Improving Rights of Way

 One more positive development of the last few weeks …On 29 November Sevenoaks District Council’s CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) Spending Board approved an application from KCC’s Public Rights of Way and Access Service for £209,000 in funding to improve nine key PROW routes in Otford, Kemsing, Swanley, West Kingsdown, Knockholt, Sevenoaks and Edenbridge.

The aim of the application was to deliver surface and signage improvements to ensure all year and all weather access. The routes supported include:

- SR49a, running from Kemsing (Dynes Road) to Otford Station; it’s long been a priority for residents and its importance, not least in serving the station, has been recognised by the PROW service (it was previously short listed, though ultimately unsuccessfully for a bid to national government for active travel funding)

- SR44 (between Shorehill Lane and Birchin Cross Road) and SR80 (running off Cotmans Ash Lane) in Kemsing both serve the North Downs Way

- SR54 in Otford serves the West of the Parish, providing a route from Rye Lane to the High Street, and hence to the primary school

CIL is a form of developer contribution, with the funds held by the District Council as local planning authority; the Board adjudicates bids for part of this funding. I discussed this bid with KCC officers and submitted an expression of support for the bid to get through the first round of assessment before it got to the Committee. At the Board meeting, KCC officers presented the case for the bid, along with Cllr Irene Roy (Otford and Shoreham District Councillor).

This is a very positive development, and I will update on progress of the schemes. You can find SDC’s media release about the outcomes of the CIL Spending Board here.

Weekend closure at Pilgrims Way East

The signs for this weekend’s closure of Pilgrims Way East have been up for some days. The closure is for works both to reset the loose and damaged kerbs on the raised table near the Row Dow junction and to reset its height. 

The closure will be from 8am on Saturday morning (25 November) until 6pm on Sunday. The later stages of the closure will be to allow time for the materials to cure before the road reopens.

Further closure on Pilgrims Way East

As is quite widely known, there will be a further road closure in Pilgrims Way East over the weekend of 25 and 26 November.

The initial reason for this was for further works on the speed table near the Row Dow junction to address the drainage kerb that has come loose along with resetting some other kerbs. In addition, the issue of the height of this speed table remain to be addressed and this is being taken up by Kent Highways officers with the main contractor and sub-contractor. 

These works do not affect the speed table near the Tudor Drive junction, and the closure will take effect between the Tudor Drive and Row Dow junctions. The Road Closed signs (indicating Access Only) will go up at the PWE/ Shoreham Road junction; however, residents of Tudor Drive and Tudor Crescent, as well as of properties in the affected section of PWE will have access from the Shoreham Road junction with Pilgrims Way East. 

Given the amount of disruption residents in and around Pilgrims Way East have had over recent months, it is important that these works are concluded effectively. Having spoken with Kent Highways officers, I know that they are very much aware of this and are meeting with contractors to ensure this is delivered.

I will update again as soon as I have further details.

Pilgrims Way East half term closure

Many residents will already be aware of next week’s further closure of Pilgrims Way East. 

The road will be closed from 23rd October for four days between the A225 and Row Dow.

This will be a full (24/7) closure.This is unrelated to the other recent closures and is to allow SGN to carry out works on their services. Our Streetworks team attempted to get these works carried out at the same time as the table tops were being installed, but SGN was not ready to deliver those works at that time.The works have therefore been delayed until half term week to avoid any impact on school journeys.

The closure is a full one, because PWE is a narrow road and there is no scope to carry out the works while traffic can pass safely.

Regrettably, this does mean further significant disruption to residents who have had a lot to put up with in recent months - but is within the utility’s powers as a statutory undertaker.

The utility has not provided advanced warning signs to residents as it should have. KCC officers visited the site yesterday to check this out, and have issued a fixed penalty notice as well as challenging as to whether or not a letter drop has been completed.

There has to be access for residents, given the length of closure and the number of people affected, but at certain points one way in will have to be closed as the works take place.

Quite separately, there has been an emergency closure starting today (in these cases, KCC is often informed only after the works have started) on Pilgrims Way between Cotmans Ash Lane  and Heaverham Road. This is for works by South East Water, and could last for up to four days - KCC officers are seeking to get this accelerated.

Pilgrims Way update

A further update on the Pilgrims Way closure. SGN staff worked to identify the gas leak yesterday evening, and then were due to finish the repair this morning, followed by backfilling the area of excavation. Reinstatement of the road surface will take place tomorrow morning (Saturday 30th) and, allowing some time for the reinstatement to settle, the road should be open by the end of the day. The permit to SGN has been amended accordingly with an end date of 30 September. Hopefully that should be the end of this significant disruption to residents.

Another closure: SGN on Pilgrims Way

 A quick note/ update on the closure in Pilgrims Way. 

This is an emergency closure by the utility (SGN) to address a gas escape. This is different from a scheduled closure: in these cases the utility (statutory undertaker) does not arrange the timing with KCC and has to inform us only within two hours of starting the closure. 

I contacted the relevant KCC officer, who asked SGN to work extended hours to reduce the duration of the road closure (booked as up to 8 days, but this is a maximum). The KCC area inspector attended this morning but by mid-afternoon SGN had not located the leak and so their investigation work was continuing. 

KCC have made clear the importance of these works being completed as soon as possible, and I should have an update tomorrow.

Pilgrims Way East: work on the ramps

An update on the table top ramps on Pilgrims Way East. As reported, KCC are working with the Principal Contractor to investigate the severity of the ramps and where necessary make alterations to reduce the ramp angle. Due to the urgency of the corrections, any works to the ramps will need to be undertaken at short notice during the next available weekend. At present KCC is awaiting availability from the Contractor, and will let residents know through road signage and through the Parish once this has been agreed. I will also post as soon as I know more.

In other words, it is not yet confirmed as to when these works will take place but there should be confirmation of this very shortly. Clearly given all that residents have already had to deal with on this, it makes sense to work at times (such as the weekend) that reduce the impact of further disruption; it’s also important that this is addressed as soon as possible. I will, as I say, update when I have more information.

Childsbridge Lane works: latest

A further update on the Childsbridge Lane works. It was intended to finish them today. However, a JCB was apparently stolen from the site, delaying the start of works and so they are not yet complete.

There will be no works - and the road will be open - tomorrow, because the crew are scheduled (in line with the original plan) to be working elsewhere. There will therefore be a further closure on Thursday and Friday (it is not yet clear whether the whole day will be needed on Friday, but it seems highly likely that not everything can be completed on Thursday). The hours of closure should be as before, 0900 to 1630.

That’s the picture as I had it from Kent Highways officers a little earlier this afternoon; if this changes at all I will post again.

Childsbridge Lane closure for road patching

KCC will be carrying out carriageway patching (road repairs) in Childsbridge Lane, resulting in a road closure. 

The road will be closed from Friday 25 August for up to four days, excluding the weekend. The closure will run from School Lane to the railway bridge, and the official diversion route is via A25 High Street in Seal, A225, Pilgrims Way East/ Pilgrims Way and into Childsbridge Lane (or vice versa if coming from Kemsing or any point north of the closure).