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.

… and some more road closures

More on some road closures.

One coming up very quickly is the closure of Pilgrims Way East for two days, starting tomorrow (15 May). This is to replace a length of kerbing. Signs have been up in the road for some time.

Somewhat further out, Noah's Ark bridge over the M26 will be closed overnight (between 2200 and 0500) on 6-7 and 7-8 June. This is for works undertaken by National Highways, who are examining the joints and structure of the bridge. This will overlap with a closure of Watery Lane/ Heaverham Road outside the Manor House; scaffolding for roof works will mean a closure of the road between 6 and 15 June. 

These two closures clash to some degree, since the normal diversion route from Watery Lane would be through Noah's Ark; vehicles affected by this will have to take the same diversion as that applied for Noah's Ark, which is to go back to the A25 and then Childsbridge Lane (or vice versa). This clash will, however, only apply during the two night closures, so the number of journeys affected should be much less than would otherwise be the case.  

In Shoreham, Shacklands Road will be closed for three days starting 5 June outside Timberden Farm for works to be carried out by Thames Water.

In Otford, Rye Lane will be closed for four days starting 9 June between 0930 and 1530 outside number 30 for works to be carried out by Openreach.

Road closures coming up

There are an increasing number of local road closures reflecting highway repairs carried out by Kent County Council. Here are a few that are coming shortly:

Fackenden Lane (Shoreham) closed on 11 May for 1 day.

Bower Lane (Eynsford/ Shoreham) closed between Bower Farm and Westwood Ho on 12 May for 1 day.

Firmingers Road (Well Hill, Shoreham Parish) - closed at the junction with Well Hill on 1 June for 1 day between 0900 and 1600.

For other reasons, Rock Hill (Well Hill, Shoreham Parish) will be closed outside Rock Cottage on 24 May for 2 days - this is for KCC drainage works.

For Shoreham residents, it's also important to note that later in the month, and for other reasons, there will be a longer closure. Station Road will be closed at the junction with the A225 for 9 days from 27 May; this, however, is for works by UK Power Networks.

Road closures in Knatts Valley and Kemsing

East Hill Road, Knatts Valley, is due to be closed for much of the next two days. (The part of the road in Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley is in Shoreham Parish). The closure will be from 0930 to 1530 for up to two days starting tomorrow, Thursday 20 April. 

The closure is for Kent County Council to carry out carriageway patching - which reflects the state of the road after winter damage. Since East Hill Road is a No Through Road, there is no alternative route, but Kent Highways adds that ‘Every effort will be made to maintain access for residents whenever it is safe to do so’.

For anyone living in Knatts Valley/ Otford Hills, there is a further closure in the area, of Cotmans Ash Lane, the route between this area and Kemsing. This is described as being on or after the 20th, for up to one day. It is also a Kent Highways closure, in this case related to drainage works.

Road closures coming up in Shoreham and Crockenhill

A couple of road closures coming up in the area in the near future are for very different reasons.

Fackenden Lane in Shoreham will be closed for up to 4 days starting this Friday (24 February) for its full length, from the junction with the A225 to the junction with Magpie Bottom. This is to enable Kent Highways to carry out carriageway patching - which is welcome given the severe damage that this road has taken during the winter weather. There have been an increasing number of road closures for Kent Highways works recently, reflecting work getting under way to repair the winter damage.

In Crockenhill, the closure of Wested Lane for works carried out by Network Rail, which has been delayed several times, is now scheduled to run from 0600 on 15 March to 1800 on 22 March. The closure will be between Eynsford Road and the Mark Luck Ltd entrance in Wested Lane near the junction with the B2173 London Road in Swanley. The recommended diversion route is via Eynsford Road/ Main Road, Broadway/Green Court Road/Goldsel Road and the B2173.

Tackling drainage on the A225

Kent Highways drainage officers have been working to address the flooding issues on the A225 between Shoreham and Eynsford. Some of these issues, notably at the railway bridge near Preston Farm, have been persistent problems over a long time, while others such as those closer to the entrance to Eynsford have become more severe recently.

Works (cleansing, emptying chambers) were carried out by the Eynsford Station railway bridge around a fortnight ago, though there is still some root cutting that is due to take place shortly. A little to the south, a second drainage system, which drains to a soakaway in low lying land near the road, has been worked on but further cleansing is due to take place. The drainage engineer has also been in contact with the Environment Agency, since their have a pumping station appears also to be an important part of the system, pumping ground water into the river. Finally, there will be further works up the hill from these sites, where water drains into a filter pipe system in the verge.

There will be a further cleansing of the system all the way down from the area around the Preston Farm railway bridge. Taken together with what has already been done, this should make a real difference but I will urgently relay any new problems that arise to the drainage team.

Drainage works on the A225

Drainage work is set to be carried out on the A225 between Shoreham and Eynsford tonight. Recent bouts of heavy rainfall have led to flooding and dangerous amounts of water in several places on the carriageway, in particular by the railway bridge near Preston Farm. 

Contractors did undertake works pre Christmas (21 December) but these did not deliver the desired result, and so Kent Highways drainage officers have required more works. At least two of the key sites are being worked on tonight, and I will update when I have further information.

JTB approves Shoreham and Seal schemes

Tonight's Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board (JTB), which brings together County and District Councillors, considered the proposal to reduce the speed limit on the A225 between Eynsford and Otford to 50mph in its more northerly section and to 40mph from just north of the junction with Station Road Shoreham.

The proposal, which has long been championed by Shoreham Parish Council and which I have supported, was consulted on between 16 September and 10 October. Of 113 responses, 82 were in favour of the proposal, 31 were objections (of which 6 were held to be valid objections on traffic management grounds). The issue was therefore considered at the JTB and the Board supported it. Both Brian Jeffery from Shoreham Parish Council and I spoke in favour.

The JTB also considered the proposed reduction in the speed limit on the A25 Seal Road entering Seal from the west. This was incorporated in a Traffic Regulation Order which related largely to 20mph proposals in Sevenoaks Town, but the JTB agreed to consider the A25 issue separately from a much longer debate on the Sevenoaks Town item. The Seal Road speed limit reduction was quickly approved, recognising the anomalous nature of the stretch of 40mph road between two 30mph zones.

A225: Draft Order for speed limit reduction

Kent County Council has placed a proposed Speed Limit Order for the A225 Shoreham Road on public deposit, starting today (16 September). This will continue until 10 October.

The Order proposes reducing the speed limit from the current National Speed Limit:

-  To 50 mph from a point 83 metres southwest of the junction with Station Road Eynsford (in other words, on the edges of Eynsford village) to a point 476 metres north of the junction with Station Road Shoreham; and

- To 40 mph from this point to one 95 metres south of the junction with Fackenden Lane (the start of the approach to Otford)

This is a proposal on which I have worked with Shoreham Parish Council and Kent Highways officers over several years. There have been detailed discussions and debates over where exactly the limits should be placed, and a lot of work has gone into harmonising community wishes with the judgements of Kent Highways and the role of Kent Police as the enforcement authority.

Shoreham PC has long argued for this change, and, if enacted, it should enhance safety at the junction with Station Road in particular. It should also, by reducing speeds near and south of Shoreham, reinforce the 30mph on Shoreham Road Otford. Eynsford Parish Council has also been engaged and supportive though there is much less direct effect on Eynsford than on Shoreham.

The details of the proposals can be found on KCC’s highways consultations page, and you can make representations supporting or objecting to the proposals via the page, or by writing to KCC: The Senior Parking & Traffic Regulation Officer, Traffic Management Team, Highways & Transportation, Kent County Council, Ashford Highway Depot, Henwood Industrial Estate, Javelin Way, Ashford TN24 8AD.

Lullingstone and the Ancient Canopy

Lullingstone Country Park has been chosen as one of the 70 ancient woodlands and 70 ancient trees that will make up the Ancient Canopy, part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, the network of tree planting to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee. 

Lullingstone’s veteran and ancient trees are well known locally, and the park itself is widely recognised as one of the jewels among Kent County Council’s country parks, but this is wonderful national recognition. You can find KCC’s media release here. We will be releasing more about our support for Kent’s celebration of the Platinum Jubilee in the coming days.

Shoreham: fixing the leak and the pothole

Residents of Shoreham will be aware of the closure in High Street that started today. The closure, which is at number 74, is to enable Thames Water to carry out water pipe repairs. The closure is scheduled for up to seven days, but it is to be hoped that the work will be completed much more quickly than that and the resulting water leak stopped. 

Residents have raised the issue of the nearby pothole with me. Kent Highways carried out a short-term repair on 28 March but this did not last because of the water leak. Highways officers plan to go back in and carry out a lasting fix to the pothole once the Thames Water works are completed. 

Councils and residents - catching fly-tippers

A recent fly-tipping conviction has provided a good example of councils - and residents -  coming together to combat this anti-social behaviour.

Shane Walker of Swanley pleaded guilty to fly-tipping crimes at Sevenoaks Magistrates Court last week (5 January) and was fined £2,530. He had been investigated by Sevenoaks District Council's Environmental Enforcement Team, and was charged with four fly-tipping offences in:

- South Ash Road, near West Kingsdown (3 November 2020)

- Crockenhill Lane, Eynsford (on or before 9 November 2020)

- Chelsfield Lane, Shoreham (27 March 2021)

- Rabbits Road/ Canada Farm Road, South Darenth (also 27 March 2021)

As SDC's press release makes clear, their investigation work (which included tracing paperwork in the fly tipping to businesses who had paid for their waste to be disposed of) was assisted by a KCC employee observing and recording the registration of the (hired) vehicle used in the first incident and by observations of local residents in the final incident. 

In the case of Chelsfield Lane, this was recorded on a KCC-installed CCTV camera following a number of fly tipping incidents.

District Councils lead on the response to fly tipping, but KCC works with them in a number of ways (ranging from camera deployment to county-wide campaigns to increase householders' and businesses' awareness of their responsibility for disposal of their waste), and this case is a good example. 

Given the severe incidence of fly tipping in rural areas such as Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley, I have on a number of occasions sought to work with SDC and KCC officers, and there is a strong and effective working relationship between them. I hope to be able to report on other examples of successful cooperation in future.

Concessionary fares on go2 in Shoreham

Today sees a further step forward following the good news that I was able to confirm about the go2 service in Shoreham. 

KCC Public Transport, working with Go Coach, agreed last week that as the supported bus service cannot be restored to Shoreham Village, that ENCTS (concessionary fares) bus passes will be accepted on the go2 shared demand responsive transport service.  Up until now the ENCTS passes have not been accepted on this service.

 Go Coach worked with their demand responsive transit software provider to put this arrangement in place and the key elements agreed were:

- Valid for free travel from 09:30 Monday to Friday and any time on Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holidays

- Maximum distance of free travel would be 7 miles (which allows access to Swanley/Sevenoaks destinations).

- Only available on go2 shared

- Pick up existing bus stops only and possibly outside the Kings Arms in the village.

- No routing of  buses through the High Street to Mill Lane.

The software provider had to test the system, but the launch was confirmed by Go coach on Tuesday evening (5 October).

From a user perspective when they book a go2 shared journey, the system will identify where they will be picked up and their destination.  It will advise when it can make the pick up and journey time length.  It will of course be free to pass holders.

Initially the system was agreed but not able to be operated because of fuel shortages. This meant that Go2 shared did not run as priority was given to school journeys. However, as of today (11 October) go2 shared services are running again.

A225 night time closures start next week

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the A225 Shoreham Road will be closed at night (8PM to 6AM) for 14 nights excluding weekends starting next Tuesday (27 July). The closure, which is for Kent Highways to carry out road resurfacing, affects a long stretch of the A225 from Castle Road Lullingstone to Station Approach in Otford. 

I have been asked about access by residents to their homes. I have checked and the usual approach is being followed, which is that every effort will be made for residents to be able to get access, but there could be delays if (for example) you live in a side road and there is heavy machinery working directly at the entrance to your road. 

For roads such as Hillydeal Road and Greenhill Road, which have a horseshoe shape with two entrances, this is less likely to be a problem since the two entrances should not be worked on simultaneously. However, where there is a single access on to the A225 the possibility of delays is greater. 

East Hill Road: new dates for road works

East Hill Road residents have today received a notification of the delayed Kent Highways road improvement works, billed as part of the 'pothole blitz', but also involving significant road surface patching. (There is an error in the heading of the note, indicating that it relates to 'Pedestrian barrier improvement works' - this is not the case). 

As before, I must declare my interest as an East Hill Road resident.

The works will now take place for five nights (between 8pm and 2am) between Monday 2 August and Friday 6 August. 

This will require a full road closure during those hours; however, as was the case during the earlier plans for the works (delayed by the need for South East Water to repair a water leak, now carried out) every effort will be made to give residents access and, as is the case with such closures, restrictions will not apply to emergency vehicles.

The aim remains to keep disruption to residents to a minimum and the end result should be some much-needed improvements to a road that is showing a lot of wear and tear.

Works in Romney Street

Residents in Romney Street, Knatts Valley (in Shoreham parish) have long been affected by the works being undertaken by Serenity Parks Ltd to create a new residential park (Kingsdown Meadow Residential Park) on the site of the former Romney Street Caravan Park. Most of the issues raised by this are not within the remit of Kent County Council; however, where there are concerns related to KCC (invariably highways matters) I have worked with officers to try to find the best solution.

This included kerbing works in February to reduce flooding risk to a number of properties, and most recently road resurfacing which Serenity carried out in Romney Street this week. Residents had raised concerns over how the works would be carried out and in particular the status of the verge opposite the entrance to Kingsdown Meadow, which has been worn down and become in effect a parking bay. Serenity were committed to reinstating the verge.

Kent Highways officers have kept in close touch and visited to confirm that the works have proceeded as planned; as the picture demonstrates, the outcome appears positive with a good road surface and the verge area marked out for reinstatement.

A small step regarding the 421

The Go Coach 421 service to Sevenoaks was withdrawn from coming in to Shoreham late last year, following difficulties in access for buses and concerns on the part of the company about limited use of the service from the village. The nearest bus pickup was now on the A225, a cause of difficulty and concern to older village residents in particular.

Various attempts have been made to resolve the problem, and this week Go introduced a once a week shopping service, leaving the village just after 10am and returning shortly after 1230. Kent Highways officers have also sought to make residents aware of the Kent Karrier service, which can provide a cost effective alternative. In the longer term, the aim is to develop an on demand service, rather on the model of some of the Big Conversation options. These were explored as an alternative at the time of the service withdrawal, but it was not feasible at that point. The work for a longer term solution, hopefully to be in place by the early summer, continues.

The Big Conversation: coming to the Darent Valley

Yesterday evening I attended KCC's Bus Summit at County Hall, which represented the next stage in the 'Big Conversation' on the future of rural public transport.

During the initial consultation, three main options were discussed: feeder services from more remote areas to the main bus network; a 'bookable bus' service; and a taxi-bus service, using smaller vehicles to run services. The first and third options would be timetabled; the bookable bus (which turned out to be the least popular) offered flexibility but potentially long and somewhat unpredictable journeys.

The 'Big Conversation' consultation ran through the summer, including opportunities to respond both on paper and online; a series of public and parish meetings; and deliberative meetings involving some 110 people at three venues across the County. The Sevenoaks public meeting in July, in which I took part, appears to have been one of the best-attended and effective meetings.

The next stage was the development of a series of pilot projects, and these - along with the feedback from the consultation - were reported at last nigth's meeting. Drawing on feedback received in the consultation, along with statistical information, assessments of operator capacity and the like, Kent Highways officers have come forward with five projects, three using the feeder service model and two the taxi-bus model. They are:

• Dover villages feeder bus service
• Villages South and East of Maidstone: feeder bus 
• Sevenaoks villages taxi-bus service
• Tenterden taxi-bus service
• West Malling and other villages: feeder bus service

The Sevenoaks pilot has direct implications for Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley. Starting in Fairseat and Stansted - very much outside the Division, and indeed the District - it is then proposed to run through West Kingsdown (bordering the Division), East Hill in the outer parts of Shoreham Parish, then through Otford to Sevenoaks.

The pilots should be formally approved in January 2019, to be followed by a period of mobilisation. It might have been possible to launch them in April, but with the possibility of pressures on Kent roads in the aftermath of Brexit, the launch will instead take place in June. The pilots will run for a year, after which conclusions can be drawn, and - if they prove successful - the models applied more widely.   

Crown Road lining works to start today

Today should see the start of resolving the long-running saga of the yellow lines in Crown Road Shoreham. Back in 2012 (!), lines were painted at the end of an extensive debate over the need (or not, depending on your point of view) for yellow lines in various parts of the village. In itself, this was fine; however, in part because the debate had already gone on for some time, and Highways staff had changed, the yellow lines were not painted, as agreed, in conservation area style but in standard format.

Since that time I have been seeking to get the issue rectified and at various points it seemed likely to be resolved. Part of the problem has been the cost and possible impact on the carriageway of removing the current lines. Earlier in the summer, some very welcome works were carried out to resurface Crown Road - but at that point the existing lines were repainted. In the aftermath of this, I reached agreement with our local Highways operations team that the repainting to a conservation area  primrose would take place as soon as possible.

The road is set to be closed today for up to three days for carriageway patching and lining works. Hopefully this should mean a final and satisfactory resolution to this issue.