Pedham Place and the Sevenoaks Local Plan

Yesterday I submitted my response to Sevenoaks District Council’s Regulation 18 consultation on the Local Plan (Plan 2040). This is copied below; it sets out my concerns about Options 2 and 3 put forward by the Council, both of which incorporate development proposals for 2,500 houses at Pedham Place. The implications of this for Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley, and for the northern parishes of Crockenhill, Eynsford, Farningham and Horton Kirby and South Darenth in particular are very concerning. The proposals for the Wasps stadium in the same area create a still more serious cumulative impact.

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.

Bollards replaced in Holmesdale Road

The bollards in Holmesdale Road near Giffords Cottages which I funded from my Member Grant in 2016 were knocked down by a car at the end of October. Tomorrow (Saturday 30 January) will see a road closure between the junctions with Devon Road and East Hill to enable Kent Highways to replace the bollards. The closure is scheduled for between 8 am and 2 pm.

Holmesdale Hill

Resurfacing works are taking place yesterday and today at the corner of Holmesdale Road and Holmesdale Hill, going up the hill as far as the SLOW sign. The new surface will have higher skid resistance than the previous one

There there are also white line edge markings going in (or refreshed when already in place) on either side of the road and approaching and going round the bend. The cats eyes on the outside of the bend are also being replaced. These latter works may take a day or two longer to complete. 

Kent Highways officers will also examine, at my request, what other actions may be possible to address continuing concerns about traffic speed and safety on this stretch of road.

Keep Kent Clean

The Great British Spring Clean - a national effort to clean and tidy up the country, hopefully set to become an annual event - is due to take place this weekend. Over the last few weeks, Kent County Council has been promoting the Keep Kent Clean initiative, designed to support the Great British Spring Clean but also to run throughout the entire month of March.

The County Council, working with District and Parish Councils and through community wardens and its other officers, is undertaking its own cleanup and is encouraging others to get involved. KCC's work will include vegetation clearance, refreshing of white lines, litter picks in areas such as country parks (of which more in a minute) and cleaning of road signs.

The County Council is also pressing for details from Highways England as to the work they will be undertaking concerning the condition of their verges (which are a significant concern, and are an issue that constituents have raised with me).

You can find out more about Keep Kent Clean from this Facebook page, which includes a video with KCC Leader Paul Carter.

Events in Darent Valley over the weekend include litter picks in Swanley, in Horton Kirby and South Darenth (starting from the village hall) at 11 on Sunday, and in Lullingstone Country Park on Saturday morning at 10 - I'm planning to be at the Lullingstone pick.

Works completed in Holmesdale Road

The works to remove an unwanted rumble strip and install bollards near Giffords Cottages in Holmesdale Road, South Darenth, started on schedule on 25 January. The works, which also included some resurfacing of the road, necessitated a road closure. All this was carried out successfully, as the (admittedly rather dark) picture demonstrates.

The only outstanding item is that some yellow lines need repainting. KCC's lining team is committed to doing this as soon as possible (weather permitting, of course) and I understand that on Friday our Highways Steward was due on site to measure up for the reinstallation.

Date set for South Darenth works

As I reported in an earlier post, Kent Highways will be removing an unwanted rumble strip and installing additional bollards in Holmesdale Road, South Darenth. The project is paid for from my Combined Member Fund.

A date for the works, which will require a week's road closure, has been set for 25 January. Given the time of year, there is always some uncertainty because of the weather, but hopefully thus can go ahead.

Works to go ahead in South Darenth

Some time ago, I committed to support some works outside Giffords Cottages in Holmesdale Road, South Darenth, from my Combined Member Fund.

An unwanted rumble strip that is highly damaging to nearby properties will be removed. At the same time, new bollards will be installed outside Giffords Cottages, providing some protection from large vehicles and replacing the rather unsightly barrier currently in place. 

I visited the site with Highways officers a few days ago, along with the Horton Kirby and South Darenth Parish Clerk, to check final details of the project. It will require a road closure and Kent Highways will take the opportunity to carry out some much-needed repairs to the surface (paid for from the general Highways budget rather than my Member Fund). The works should certainly be soon; if all goes well, they could be carried out as soon as January.

Salt bin for New Road

A long-running saga has finally come to a satisfactory end. I reported over a year ago that I hoped to install a second salt bin, paid for from my Combined Member Fund, in New Road, South Darenth. I had already had one installed near The Queen pub, which is certainly useful for the middle to higher sections of the road. However, the lower sections approaching the Horton Road junction were not covered by this, and residents had quite rightly raised the issue.

The difficulty was finding a site where the bin would not block a pavement, and last year a Highways engineer and I visited and agreed that we would try to install an older, smaller bin in a passageway leading off the northern side of the road. However, the installation did not take place and it emerged that we no longer have the smaller bins that could fit on the site without creating an obstruction. Since some of our Highways staff had changed in the meantime, there was a certain amount of revisiting the issue needed to that New Road needed two salt bins rather than just the one.

One of our Highways officers came up with the creative suggestion of approaching H&V Building Services to ask their agreement to install the bin at the front of their premises. I am very grateful to H&V for agreeing to this.

So, as the picture shows, the bin is now installed - at the tail end of this winter, but now there for future cold spells.

Road issues in Horton Kirby and South Darenth

I recently joined a meeting of the Parish Council, District Council, Kent Highways officers, The Mill management company and others to discuss a range of traffic and highways problems in Horton Kirby and South Darenth.

In addition to the parking issues discussed and picked up by Sevenoaks District Council, we also addressed the continuing and problematic presence of HGVs in parts of the village; on this I undertook to check on the ongoing work that KCC does with the SatNav companies, as well as looking into 'Not Suitable for HGV' signs.

Kent Highways has undertaken to remove the unwanted rumble strip outside Gifford Cottages. There is also a wish to replace the temporary bollards there with something more permanent. I am looking into the possibility of covering that - possibly co-financed with others - from my Combined Member Fund.

Finally, we are looking again at speed surveys, notably on Dartford Road (for which there has been a petition to reduce the speed limit) as well as reviewing the results of past surveys that I paid for from my (then) Member Highway Fund.

Salt bins in Swanley and South Darenth

I continue to fund a number of salt bins across the Darent Valley Division from my Member Highway Fund. Late last week, accompanied by a Kent Highways officer, I set out to resolve some details as to how best this should be done on sites in Swanley and South Darenth.

In Pinks Hill, I had agreed to fund a salt bin towards the lower end of the road, which is not as well served as the higher reaches and which includes a small turning area used by many families as a cut through on their way to High Firs School. The difficulty was that Highways officers could not locate a satisfactory site (not blocking the pavement, not killing grass, etc.) that was close to where residents wanted it to go. However, a brief site meeting with some local residents yielded a satisfactory compromise: the bin will move from its current location (close to the site of the recent and ongoing flooding) somewhat further down the road.

On to South Darenth, where a bin sited in Towers Wood (pictured) was positioned satisfactorily as far as some residents were concerned (and serves rather well residents in neighbouring Coopers Close). However, there was also a strong wish for the bin to be of more use at the top end of the road, near the approach to the garages. Another site meeting (by which time the rain was setting in), and we agreed that the existing bin will stay in place while a new one will be installed at the top of the road.

While in South Darenth, my Highways colleague and I took a look at the situation in New Road, which often suffers badly in snowy and icy conditions. The road is steep, but unlike East Hill, which runs in parallel to it, it is not classified as a secondary route. I have already funded one new bin, which has gone in near The Queen pub, but there remains a strong case for another bin closer to the junction with Horton Road - the difficulty being finding a space where it does not block the pavement. My Highways colleague and I found a possible space by a footpath, though that will require one of the older style, narrower bins. Hopefully this can be taken forward and this will be of help to residents of East Hill.

Works in progress

A number of projects are now being taken forward in different parts of Darent Valley.

As mentioned before (post of 21 October), safety measures were due to be installed on the A225 Dartford Road, on the Farningham-Horton Kirby border. New signage is now in place. Road markings have still to be refreshed, but this should be carried out shortly, with a comprehensive programme from the Farningham Road Station bridge to the junction with the A20.

Secondly, the reduction in the speed limit on the Orpington by-pass in Badgers Mount has met no objections, and so will not even need to be considered (though it may be noted) at Wednesday's meeting of the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board. An order has been sealed for early in the New Year, and speed limit signs should be brought forward around the same time. Works are starting on the traffic island and short section of footway in Old London Road, though I understand that there have been concerns expressed by some local residents as to the degree to which they were consulted and the impact of the measures on them. I will pick up this issue.

Finally, new salt bins, paid for from my Member Highway Fund, have been installed in New Road, South Darenth (near The Queen pub) and on the corner of West View Road and Southview Close in Swanley. More are on the way, once we have sorted out the precise best location.

Take part in the Darent River survey

As its name implies, my Darent Valley Division includes much of the course of the River Darent and many of the villages that sit on it: Shoreham, Eynsford, Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth. The river's future is important to us all. Many people remember how the river was severely diminished around the turn of the millennium, and at a meeting of the Lullingstone Liaison Group (which I chair) in early 2012 many of us were concerned about a possible repetition after two dry winters - but then the heavens opened.

The North West Kent Countryside Partnership are undertaking a survey (link below) to help shape the Catchment Improvement Plan and develop projects and priorities for improving the river. It is important to get a wide cross section of responses to ensure that the Catchment Improvement Plan reflects the views of everyone who cares about the river and the valley.

The survey can be found at:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YM5JLJZ

Jobs done

Drainage works on Rock Hill (see post of 5 July) are now complete, and I have had compliments from residents for the efforts of Kent Highways to minimise disruption while the quite lengthy task was being undertaken. Hopefully we will see the full benefits in the next and subsequent winters.

Meanwhile, I am also informed that Crabtree Property Management have now fixed the prolonged leakage near Millstone Mews (post of 17 June). Thanks are due in this case too to Kent Highways staff for their great determination in following this up and pushing for a resolution. It took a very long time, but it appears that we are finally there.

Millstone Mews - Further Update

Since my post yesterday, there has been a meeting between Kent Highways, Dartford Borough Council and Crabtree Property Management. I understand that, following the meeting, Crabtree Management will be dealing with the leak and hope to have contractors on site later this week.

Action on Millstone Mews flooding

The water outflow at Millstone Mews has now continued for many months (post of 2 April - the problem goes back well before that). Kent Highways identified the problem as originating in a pumping station under the stewardship of Dartford Borough Council. the defect is under the private footway that was part of the Fairview development and is managed  by Crabtree Property Management. Initial attempts to get a resolution were unsuccessful.

After reviewing its legal options, Kent Highways has therefore now written to DBC and Crabtree, setting out their obligations under Section 163 of the Highways Act 1980, which deals with flooding of public highways, and requiring action to resolve the problem within 14 days of the latter (dated last Friday, 14 June). If action is not taken, Kent Highways will act to tackle the problem and to bill DBC.

This should mean that, in one way or another, the problem should at last be addressed by early next month. I will continue to monitor it and keep in contact with Kent Highways officers.

Flooding at the Mill

Local residents and the Parish Council raised with me concerns about water runoff at Millstone Mews in South Darenth. This has been going on since November.

I took the issue up with Kent Highways officers, who were already investigating the problem. They have identified the runoff as coming from a surface water pumping system which is the responsibility of Dartford Borough Council.

Kent Highways wrote to DBC on 8 March to ask that action be taken within 28 days. As of yesterday at least, the problem persisted. I will continue to monitor the issue to see that it is resolved quickly.

Horton Kirby Fire Station update

Around the turn of 2011-12, I campaigned along with many others in Horton Kirby and South Darenth against the proposal by Kent Fire & Rescue Service to close the Horton Kirby Fire Station. The Parish Council asked me to be their representative and set out the community's view at the meeting of the Kent and Medway Fire Authority at which the decision on a range of changes to fire stations across the county were discussed. Nonetheless, the Fire Authority voted to go ahead with all the changes, including the closure of the Horton Kirby station once a new station at New Ash Green was established.

I remain concerned that this plan is damaging to people in Horton Kirby, South Darenth and other northern areas of the Darent Valley division. However, the Fire & Rescue Service is bringing forward two measures which, if enacted, will hopefully have some mitigating effect.

The first is that coverage at Swanley - like Horton Kirby, a part-time station - is being enhanced with more part-time staff being recruited. (Dartford will, however, remain the nearest full-time station). For anyone interested in finding out more about being a part-time firefighter and the recruitment at Swanley, this link gives the details and includes a video.  

Secondly, the Fire & Rescue Service is rolling out an Automated Vehicle Location System (AVLS) - essentially a GPS tracking system so that the nearest vehicle out on the road can go straight to a fire or other incident, rather than a crew at a station having necessarily to be called into action. To a fair extent, this already happens through radio contact, but AVLS will make the process quicker and more reliable. This should also help response times.

It is clear that the Horton Kirby closure is going ahead. The new fire station on the borders of New Ash Green and Ash-cum-Ridley (to be known, I understand, as the latter) is expected to be completed later this year. This means that we could see the closure of Horton Kirby either before Christmas or early in 2014. 

My concern has been to confirm that any enhancement at Swanley and the introduction of AVLS (which is scheduled for spring 2014) should go ahead to mitigate as much as possible the impact of the closure on local residents. Having spoken to the Fire & Rescue Service, I am encouraged that this is the case.  

I continue to regret the closure of the Horton Kirby Fire Station. However, I hope that these two initiatives will help to maintain the safety of local people and will continue to monitor their operation.

£6,000 grant for Royal British Legion in South Darenth

In addition to or individual Member Community Grants, Sevenoaks County Councillors can allocate £40,000 each year to community capital projects in the Sevenoaks District - the Small Community Capital Grant.

This year the £40,000 pot was heavily over-subscribed, making for some difficult decisions for the seven Sevenoaks County Members. However, I am pleased that we were able to agree a £6,000 grant to the South Darenth and District Royal British Legion for improvements to their car park. The Legion has carried out an impressive amount of fund-raising on its own account, and this grant will provide an essential top-up to help the works to go ahead.

Details of new 411 route this week

As reported in my post of 20 November, Go-Coach with support from KCC is providing a replacement bus for the overcrowded 413 to Leigh Technology Academy. Pressures on this service have been a worry for families from Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth. The new service will be running from the start of term in January.

The 411 will follow much of the 413's existing route, from White Post Corner up the A225 to the junction with Cedar Drive, and on to Leigh Technology Academy and ultimately the Longfield Academy. Go-Coach are handing out details on the bus this week. Hopefully the new term will be much easier on the young people travelling to school than this term has been.