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.

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. 

… and works delayed

An amendment to the post below … The start of the Rye Lane works has been delayed as contractors have been diverted by emergency works elsewhere. These works will now start on Monday 13th and so there will be no closures until then. They will either make up the time or the programme overall will be rescheduled - to be confirmed. I will update this when we know more about timing.

Road closures for gas works in Otford

A reminder of the series of road closures in Otford in the coming weeks and months. These are planned closures for gas mains replacement works by SGN in the roads to the south of Pilgrims Way West. Here are the closures and diversion routes: 

Rye Lane, Otford - Phase 1, Pilgrims Way West to Willow Park

06.05.2024 – 24.05.2024

Diversion is via Willow Park, Telston Lane, Pilgrims Way West, London Road, Dunton Green, Station Road, Dunton Green, Rye Lane, Dunton Green and vice versa.

Phase 2,   Rye Lane between Willow Park and Ryecroft.

13.05.2024 – 14.06.2024

Diversion is via Pilgrims Way West, London Road, Dunton Green, Station Road, Dunton Green, Rye Lane, Dunton Green and vice versa.                    

 Phase 3,  Rye Lane between Ryecroft Road and 14 Rye Lane

13.05.2024 – 14.06.2024

Diversion is via Pilgrims Way West, London Road, Dunton Green, Station Road, Dunton Green, Rye Lane, Dunton Green and vice versa.

Broughton Road, Otford (Private Road) Full Length of the Road

06.05.2024 – 31.05.2024

Access Maintained

The Charne, Otford   Junction with Rye Lane

20.05.2024 – 14.06.2024

Access Maintained

Ryecroft Road, Otford (Private Road)  Full Length of the Road 

13.05.2024 – 18.06.2024

Access Maintained

 WILLOW PARK, OTFORD   BETWEEN Rye Lane and O/S 11

06.05.2024 – 24.05.2024

Diversion is via Telston Lane, Pilgrims Way West, Rye Lane and vice versa

Willow Park, Otford         Full Length of the Road

03.06.2024 – 12.07.2024

Diversion is via Telston Lane, Pilgrims Way West, Rye Lane and vice versa.

Flowerfield, Otford     Junction with Willow Park

24.06.2024 – 22.07.2024

Access Maintained

Telston Lane, Otford     Pilgrims Way West to Willow Park

01.07.2024 – 02.08.2024

Access Maintained         

Hale Lane, Otford      Junction with Telston Lane

01.07.2024 – 02.08.2024

Access Maintained

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.

A225 Shoreham Road: latest on the works

An update on the works on the A225 Shoreham Road. All still going ahead, but a change of timing.

As anyone using that stretch of road may have noticed, the temporary 30mph speed limit has not yet been introduced (I had previously posted that this would start on Monday 15th. Work has started, but the contractor is so far focusing on vegetation clearance. There’s a lot to do - some 950 metres to be cleared. Most of this is mobile works, though I believe that there were some temporary traffic lights in place on Monday.

The temporary speed limit to accommodate the signing work will now begin next Monday, 22 January. It will be scheduled for two weeks, though hopefully the works should take less time than that. Lining and red surface patching should also be installed at that time, though this is subject to weather conditions (in other words, not as cold as it is now).

A225 Shoreham Road speed limit: works to start tomorrow

Work is due to start tomorrow to implement the long-awaited 40mph speed limit and improve safety on the A225 Shoreham Road, in particular in the section near the junction with Station Road Shoreham. Starting to the north of that junction, and running south beyond the Fackenden Lane junction, it should also support observance of the 30mph zone on the approach into Otford.

The measures introduced will comprise warning signs (pedestrian crossing signs) approaching the crossing points of public footpaths SR18 and SR22 along with white Glasdon Gates, village signs, red surfacing and both 40mph signs and roundels. 

The works are expected to take around two weeks (the precise outcome being dependent on weather conditions) and will require from tomorrow a temporary 30mph speed limit, running from 160 metres south of the junction with Fackenden Lane to 400 metres to its north. 

The scheme has been a long time in preparation and Shoreham Parish Council have rightly been determined in pursuing it. I have worked with the Parish Council and with Kent Highways to get this delivered. It will be good to see it in place.

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.

Tudor Drive works postponed

More detail to follow later, but the works on Tudor Drive (and associated road closure), scheduled to start tomorrow, are postponed. This is because work by the crew on another scheme has overrun. I will add more later when I have it but I thought important to get this out as quickly as possible.

Tudor Drive road works

 Residents of Tudor Drive (and Tudor Crescent) were concerned by the initial notice of a road closure of up to 5 days for Kent Highways to carry out pothole blitz/ carriageway patching works, in particular in relation to access. I have taken this up, and understand that a letter has been delivered to residents that hopefully addresses some of these concerns.

To summarise, the aim is now to have the works completed within three working days. On those days (Friday 29 September, Monday 2 October and Tuesday 3 October) the road will be closed for its full length between 0900 and 1700. The road should be open and accessible outside these hours and over the weekend. Officers have emphasised that every effort will be made to maintain access for residents, but that this may be difficult at times when (for example) hot material is being laid. Emergency vehicles are of course exempted from this. Officers have also emphasised that usually a situation can be worked round if residents speak to the gangs, and hopefully this can be accommodated practically while these much desired works take place.   

I have also followed up queries as to whether it would be possible to focus first on the area before the junction with Tudor Crescent, leaving that open once the works there are done. However, the large-scale patching that is being undertaken is (I am told) best and most efficiently done across the entire road. The advice I have from the highways engineers is that the quickest way to do the work is to plane out all of the patches first, which can normally can be completed in a matter of around 2-3 hours. The patching then starts shortly afterwards and will be completed using a paving machine usually reserved for resurfacing works. This approach – using quite large machinery and aiming to move as quickly as possible - means that it is not possible to do all of the patches at the top end and then move on to the bottom end of the road.

However, the aim is to get the works done as quickly as possible, hopefully well ahead of the 3 days indicated. Officers are also very aware of the need to secure maximum access and flexibility for Tudor Drive/ Tudor Crescent residents and our Highways Steward will be on site on Friday morning.

PWE: contact point for claims

With apologies for the delay (I had to double check something this morning), anyone wishing to make a claim relating to damage from the initial installation of the raised tables in Pilgrims Way East should send it to this email address:

activetravel@kent.gov.uk

In some earlier responses, I was working from advice that the claim should be sent to Amey; hopefully using this KCC address is a lot easier and more straightforward for any residents wishing to make a claim.

Addressing defects on PWE works

As many residents will know, works over the weekend on the Row Dow junction table top were defective with a severe gap at the top of the ramp. There was therefore a site meeting this morning between KCC and the contractor and subcontractor. There was an action for temporary tarmac to be installed in the afternoon to make it safe until the top of the ramp could be surfaced, although this was not apparent to me when I drove through it in the early evening. With a further closure organised, surfacing was due to take place tonight, and the road is now closed.

Hopefully- though experience makes us all cautious on this - the work should be carried out and the road reopened before the morning. The works on the Tudor Drive junction table top should be carried out this weekend as previously advised.

It shouldn’t be like this, and from KCC’s side, I can only apologise. We will of course be going through this with the contractors to establish what has gone so badly wrong. I also took up with officers earlier today the best route for residents who wish to make a complaint or have a claim in relation to damage to a car. This is being worked through and I will confirm when I have the full details.

My apologies too that this report comes late in the day; I was in long meetings with very poor Wi-Fi through much of today. 

Weekend works in Pilgrims Way East

Following on from yesterday’s post about Pilgrims Way East, permits to close the road have been raised and granted. This is for remedial works to ensure that the tables are now installed to KCC’s specification. This will involve two weekend road closures:

Saturday 16 - Sunday 17 September (ie the coming weekend) - closure between Tudor Drive and Row Dow - for the table near the junction with Row Dow to be treated

Saturday 23 - Sunday 24 September- closure between Shoreham Road and Tudor Drive - for the table near the junction with Tudor Drive to be treated

At these times, there will be no access for vehicles through the works site. The road will be closed overnight each Saturday but access to properties will be through the relevant diversion route.