SEND schools for Swanley and Whitstable

Some excellent news for the delivery of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) education in Kent. The Education Secretary has approved two special Free Schools, in Swanley and Whitstable. 

Both will serve children with Profound, Severe and Complex Needs. They formed part of our Safety Valve agreement with the DfE late last year, which aims to put SEND education in the County on a financially sustainable basis. They will also make an important contribution to meeting need and improving SEND services in the County.

You can find the KCC media release here.

New Southeastern timetable - and good news for Otford

The new Southeastern timetable, published today, includes the excellent news of an hourly service (twice hourly in rush hour) from Maidstone East to London Bridge and Charing Cross, stopping at Otford and Swanley. From Otford (I declare an interest in this as my local station) the journey to London Bridge will be just under 30:minutes, and 40 minutes to Charing Cross.

Along with many others, KCC has (in particular through our Rail Strategy) urged these changes over a long period. We are currently reviewing all the details of the timetable, which will come into force on 11 December. There are some changes elsewhere in the system that can be viewed less favourably, such as those on the Medway Valley line, which will cease (off peak) at Paddock Wood rather than Tonbridge (though even here there will be positive features, with the restoration of a half hourly weekday service throughout the day. And there may yet be other detailed features that are less positive. Yet overall this appears a very good outcome for a network that is being recast for a post-Covid world of reduced passenger numbers (especially at peak hours) and large-scale dependence on government subsidy.

Road works in Crockenhill and Swanley

A brief update on the utility works that have been contributing to huge traffic disruption in Crockenhill and Swanley.

Thames Water's permit for their works in the centre of Swanley runs out today. They applied for an extension to the permit but KCC/ Kent Highways have refused this. I have spoken with Kent Highways' Streetworks team and I understand that they have been urging (and escalating within Thames Water) that the remaining works, chiefly relating to reinstatement, be expedited. Any continuing work from 0800 Monday will incur a fine, but clearly it is important that the works are concluded well in advance of that.

For the village, this is all exacerbated by the start of the Wested Lane closure for works to the cutting being carried out by Network Rail. This closure started at 0600 this morning and is due to run through until 1800 on Tuesday evening (21 September). However, while this is far from certain, it is quite possible that the works will be concluded, and the closure lifted, sooner.

I will post an update if I get any further information, in particular on expediting the end of the Thames Water works.

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.

Downsview keeps its Good rating

Downsview Primary School in Swanley has been rated Good by OFSTED since March 2012. The school had a short inspection (under OFSTED's new framework of inspections) in July. The resulting Inspector's letter to head teacher Duncan Edwards, confirming the school's continuing Good rating, has now been published.

The letter makes very encouraging reading. It speaks of a "continually improving school [which] does a great job for its pupils." It praises Duncan Edwards' leadership and that of his senior team, the school's teachers, and the role of governors and (I am glad to see) the local authority. It speaks of an environment that is nurturing but also develops its pupils academically (though this is, as the report notes, not yet fully reflected in Key Stage 2 results). Pupil Premium is spent effectively, ensuring that pupils who are supported by it do well. Those with Special Educational Needs do well.

As I noted a few months ago, all the schools in the Darent Valley Division are now rated Good. Downsview, notwithstanding drawing from some of the less affluent parts of the Division, has held that rating for longer than many.  It is nonetheless heatening to see this maintained, and in such decisive fashion. The head, governors, staff and pupils how to be  congratulated on this excellent result.

Launching the new 429 service

I was in Swanley earlier today to attend the launch of Go-Coach's new and improved 429 bus service.   Councillors and officers from the County, District and Town Councils joined Go-Coach staff and residents at the formal launch of the new service, which started running on Tuesday.

The new 429 supersedes both the earlier service under that number and the previous 478 service. Starting in West Kingsdown, the service runs through Farningham and Swanley in my Darent Valley Division before heading up through other parts of Swanley, Wilmington and Dartford. It will offer, among other things, very good access to a number of secondary schools in the area.

David Brazier, County Councillor for Sevenoaks North East, has provided support for the West Kingsdown part of the service, while the Sunday service (which runs from West Kingsdown to Darent Valley hospital and Bluewater, taking in Eynsford, Farningham and Swanley) has had support for some years from County Councillor Ann Allen (Wilmington), the late Councillor Robert Brookbank and me. For all of us, this has come from our Combined Member Funds.

The more southerly-facing Go-Coach services, such as the various 409 services and the 421 are currently unchanged, though Go-Coach continues to examine its services to schools and the town of Sevenoaks to see if there is scope for enhancement.

Councillor Robert Brookbank

I was very sad to hear earlier this week of the death of my colleague and neighbouring County Councillor, Robert Brookbank.

Robert was elected to represent Swanley in 2009 (having been unlucky to miss election narrowly in 2005), and, in a very personal victory, re-elected in 2013. All County Councillors - so long as they are doing their job - have a strong link to the Division they represent. Some, however, are particularly associated with an area. This is true, for example, of our current County Council Chairman, Tom Gates, who is 'Mr Faversham'. And it was true of Robert, who was very much a representative of Swanley. He sat also on the Town and District Councils, and was a strong and knowledgeable representative of the town at County Hall.

In addition, he chaired the County Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC), winning respect from council and NHS colleagues alike. Increasingly, he had to battle his own ill-health, but continued to contribute.

Robert was dedicated to Swanley and to Kent. He knew local government well from long experience, including his previous career working for the GLC. He was wise and knowledgeable; I, and many others, will miss him.

Swanley verges and Kent Highways

Many constituents from Swaney have contacted me since early summer about the state of grass verges in the town. There is widespread concern that the town looks messier than before, affecting pride in the area - think of Swanley in Bloom - and residents' amenity. Much (though not all) of this relates to highway verges, and so residents have come to Kent Highways and to me.

For quite some time, Swanley Town Council undertook grass cutting not only for its own spaces but (under contract) for KCC/ Kent Highways and Sevenoaks District Council as well. Back in the spring, the Town Council felt that it was unable to continue this and, for example, the work on highway verges came back to Kent Highways. There is no doubt that the Town Council undertook more cuts than are specified in the regular Kent Highways schedule; they also extended their cuts beyond Kent Highways verges. Add in the growing conditions of a wet spring and early summer, and this explains some of what has happened.

Last week I arranged to meet our local head of soft landscaping and a leading local resident to look around many of the areas of particular concern, especially in the High Firs estate and around Goldsel Road. The picture that we got from this was quite a mixed one. Some unmown verges (for example, between Goldsel Road and Lila Place) belong not to KCC but to the developers of the site. Some were private property; where shrubs obstruct a highway or footpath, Kent Highways will ask the owner to cut them back. We also identified some areas - such as a verge near the top of Pinks Hill, and an overgrown area of shrubs and trees in Station Road - that either are or appear to be in KCC ownership and will be added to the list to be cut back. Another area in Pinks Hill, which has recently been cut, is clearly under the Town Council's ownership.

Early last week also saw one of the eight scheduled 'urban cuts' for verges through the town. Some of those on the edges of town (in London Road, approaching the M25 junction) were not cut and the grass there is high. These, however, are on a different schedule, that for 'visibility splays', which are cut three times a year (and should be followed up this week).

All told, this was a useful visit and established the areas in which Kent Highways can and will take action, and those that are others' responsibility (though as local Member I am always happy to take these matters up with owners, even if it is not something that is KCC's direct responsibility). It is a situation that I will continue to monitor and residents are more than welcome to contact me if they have continuing concerns.

 

United House

Over the last ten days, Swanley residents have been very much affected by the unauthorised encampment of a traveller group on the United House site. There were strong local concerns about the security of homes and of High Firs school.

The latter issue very much drew me in, as both local County Councillor and with my Education responsibilities. As soon as I was aware of the situation, I contacted KCC's Property team, who arranged for security cover for the school. There had been some break-ins to the school before this was put in place, but it did ensure that the site was secure from last Sunday onwards and much of what was apparently taken from the school appears to have been retrieved.

The owners of the United House site went to court for an Interim Possession Order (IPO), which the court granted them on Wednesday. This gave the travellers until 12:15 yesterday to leave; they did so late yesterday, with the police providing strong support to the bailiffs to ensure that this took place.

At local residents' request, I convened and chaired a meeting between the acting Chief Inspector,  and local residents in Swanley Town Council this morning. Town councillors, town council staff and the deputy head of the school were also present. This gave an opportunity to review all that had happened, and there was agreement to look at ensuring the best possible communication between the police (as well as councils) and local residents, while maintaining the police role as impartial upholders of the law.

All this has meant a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty for local people, as well as for the school staff, whose summer break has been significantly disrupted, and who put a lot of time and energy into ensuring that the school was secure. However, with the illegal encampment ended, hopefully those anxieties can now ease. The site itself, of course, remains the subject of a major planning application at Sevenoaks District Council, albeit one that is, I understand, in the process of revision.

Visit to the Swanley Gateway site

(L-R): Sue Meads (KCC); Cllr. Tony Searles, Swanley TC; me; Gavin Ernest  (gdm Architects);  Paul Kemp (Mears)

This week I had a chance to visit the site of Swanley Library, undergoing its tranformation into the Swanley Gateway. I was accompanied by Tony Searles, leader of Swanley Town Council, who has long played a key role in the project; architect Gavin Ernest of gdm Architects; KCC officers and staff from the contractor Mears.

The Gateway site lies just outside my Darent Valley Division (the boundary with the Swanley Division is essentially along the railway line), but the project is of considerable importance to many of my constituents. I also had extensive involvement in earlier plans and discussions about the project in my previous Cabinet role, which included responsibility for property.

Image courtesy of Portsdown

The project involves an extensive refurbishment and demolition of the interior walls. As the plan (pictured) shows, the ground floor will have an extensive open library space and cafe. The Post Office and KCC Social Services will be found to the rear of the ground floor. Job Centre Plus will have desks on the ground floor (JCP's only on the ground presence in Sevenoaks District), while KCC Registrar services, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Swanley Volunteer Centre and others from the voluntary and community sector will also have desks. Perhaps most importantly, West Kent Housing will have a major presence in the Gateway, including offices on the first floor. As before, the building will be used by the Member of Parliament for surgeries.

The Gateway should succeed in its aim of delivering a one stop shop and community hub for Swanley in a new, more comfortable and energy efficient building. Architect, contractors and council staff are very committed to its successful delivery. The next major public stage will be the setting up of a mobile Gateway exhibition for a few days (28-30 March) in the square byAsda to give residents a taste of how the Gateway will operate. It will also give residents a chance to vote for a name for the new Gateway. The building itself is scheduled to open in the summer.

Oasis Academy Hextable to close

Oasis Academy in Hextable has announced that it is due to close. Current Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students will be offered places at alternative schools. No new Year 7 will join the school in September but current Year 10 and Year 12 students will remain at the school to complete their studies. The school will finally close in summer 2016.

Clearly this is a worrying and distressing development for students and their families, as well as for teachers and other staff. Many of the families affected live in my colleague Robert Brookbank's Swanley Division, but there are certainly also Darent Valley constituents of mine (chiefly from Swanley) with children at the school. In any case, as KCC Cabinet Member for Education, I have been very much involved in discussions about the prospective closure and was interviewed about it by Dominic King on BBC Radio Kent drive time yesterday.

Since Hextable is an academy, the decision for closure was not for the County Council; the proposal came from Oasis, the academy sponsor, and was ultimately agreed by government ministers. The County Council was, however, involved in discussions on the proposal, not least because we have the responsibility to ensure that students displaced by the closure are found new places.

We opposed the initial closure proposal, not least because we expect the population of secondary school students to grow strongly in North West Kent in the coming years. However, the school was certainly operating far below capacity and faced the prospect of relatively large numbers of students leaving in the next couple of years while current Years 7 and 8 are much smaller groups. The pressures faced by Oasis are in part a reflection of the current school funding system, introduced in 2013, under which more than 90% of a school's funding reflects its number of pupils on roll. Add to this the current dip - soon to be reversed - in secondary school numbers, and any school which finds it hard to attract pupils can find itself very vulnerable. We understood the pressures Oasis faced, but remain very concerned about the need to ensure adequate secondary places in the future. In any case, the Department for Education approved the closure proposal.

KCC's role is to secure places for the 150 or so students currently in Years 7 - 9. Letters offering a new school place will go out at the start of next week, and should arrive with families on Tuesday. We have had extensive discussions with local secondary schools, as well as with neighbouring education authorities. Orchards Academy, Wilmington Academy, Ebbsfleet Academy and Dartford Science and Technology College are among the schools likely to offer the largest number of places.

For current Year 6 pupils, preferences for Hextable have been removed from the system for primary offer day on 2 March. Parents who did express a preference for Hextable - and have therefore 'lost' one of their options - will be able to add in an extra preference at the time of the reallocation of places in the spring.

Longer-term, we will have to look to the need for secondary provision in the area. As with any academy that converted from being a community school, the academy trust leased the school buildings (on a 125 year lease) but the freehold of the land remains with the local authority. The Hextable site will therefore revert to KCC on then closure of the school next year.

Pinks Hill bund to be installed

As part of the interim measures to ease the flooding risks to Pinks Hill, it was agreed last autumn that Kent Highways would install a bund on the open space across which much of the water flowed. This would protect some of the most exposed properties. 

These and other interim measures are designed to ease some of the more immediate problems while longer-term measures to address the problems of the lagoon are planned and undertaken.

At a November meeting of Swanley Town Council - which owns the open space - councillors agreed that the bund could sited on their land. Since then, however, there have been delays in its installation. These are apparently caused by an absence of recyclable material to be used in the bund. 

However, I now understand that the work is set to be carried out in the very near future - either tomorrow or early next week. The gang who will work on it are currently completing a project in Edgar Close and should then move over to work on the Pinks Hill bund.

Connect Plus carried out de-silting works on the lagoon before Christmas and these resulted in an immediate drop in water levels of 1.5 metres. It seems that this has had a positive effect over recent weeks, and in addition we have fortunately not seen the rainfall levels of twelve months ago. Nonetheless, installation of the bund should represent a very welcome development.

Pinks Hill: update with the Highways Agency

Accompanied by Kent Highways officers, I met recently with representatives of Connect Plus and the Highways Agency. 

We reviewed the follow up to our site meeting in June. HA/ Connect Plus contractors carried out a range of short-term works (clearing vegetation, in particular around the ditch, cleansing bore holes) earlier in the year and this will be repeated at the time of the usual cycle of maintenance on the lagoon next spring. CCTV work has been carried out to understand flows to and from the lagoon, though more remains to be done to build up the complete picture that is needed to establish the works that will be needed to enhance the lagoon's capacity. These works are likely to involve increasing the overall size of the lagoon and/or adding another deep borehole, but this will be confirmed once the further CCTV works are carried out.

The Highways Agency will shortly be issuing its new severe weather plan, on which Pinks Hill will be identified as a vulnerable location. This should aid the prospect of securing funding for the lagoon works, building on previous plans that were drawn up before last winter's floods. It will also ensure a more timely response in secondary resources attending Pinks Hill.

In the more immediate term, Kent Highways and HA/Connect Plus are agreeing a protocol to deal with crises over the coming winter. It is helpful that both sides use Hydrocleanse for a range of services, such as supplying tankers and carrying out CCTV surveys. It was therefore agreed that residents should be advised to use Kent Highways as their first point of contact; Kent Highways will then dispatch Hydrocleanse tankers and funding will be sorted out between Kent Highways and HA/ Connect Plus afterwards. The soakaway by London Road has enormous capacity and can be used to discharge from tankers.

A process map, setting out the roles and responsibilities of all parties, has been drawn up and agreed.

There is also a need to protect specific properties. Kent Highways is raising an order for bunding work to protect the properties opposite the ditch. Residents will be asked nonetheless to contact Kent Highways if the ditch is threatening to overflow, since there will then be a need to bring tankers into the area before the Kent Highways drainage is overloaded and other parts of the estate are threatened. Kent Highways will also act to deal with other vulnerable individual properties. 

Pinks Hill: the next steps

This week I met on site in Pinks Hill with local residents, our Kent Highways drainage engineer for the area and representatives from Connect Plus (delivery agents for the Highways Agency).

The ditch near the A20, which I have written about before in several posts, remains a major cause for concern. Some weeks ago it filled up rapidly and at some points overtopped. Whereas it was possible to argue that earlier this year we were in the midst of the wettest January since the days of George III, this was heavy but not outlandish levels of rain. The Highways Agency/ Connect Plus undertook significant works on the ditch following our last site meeting in January, but it remains a major worry for local residents.

We took an extensive tour of the site, including the lagoon (pictured - currently at relatively low levels but clearly subject to quite rapid fluctuations). There is further work to be done to establish the direction of flows of water between the lagoon, the ditch and the other side of the A20. Once that is completed, there is likely to be a strong case for works including expanding the lagoon. The Highways Agency were examining such a project earlier in the year, but understandably the immediate crisis took priority.

The meeting was very constructive; at the same time, it is clear that these more structural solutions to the problem will take time. Meanwhile, we will need to establish more immediate ways to protect residents from a recurrence of serious flooding through an agreed contingency plan by the Highways Agency and Kent Highways and if possible additional protection for the properties most immediately affected.

Swanley Sitrep

With further heavy rainfall and flooding taking place, I went to look at the situation in Pinks Hill, Waylands and adjoining roads both last night and again this morning.

Last night, water was once more flowing from the ditch by the A20 across the common land into Pinks Hill and down to Waylands. Once more, the cul de sac in Waylands was heavily inundated, though the water had not quite reached the houses. I asked Kent Highways for both extra flood sacks for the most immediately affected houses in Pinks Hill and for tankers for taking action on the ditch and for Waylands. The flood sacks certainly arrived; I am a lot less sure about the tankers.

This morning, the situation had eased considerably in terms of water runoff, but the ditch itself was very full. I spoke to some local residents and some Highways Agency contractors who were carrying out some cleansing of the (Kent Highways) road drains.

What is a lot less clear is what will happen with the works in the ditch. There is little doubt that the ditch is filling up from another source, whether the A20 itself, the lagoon or sources to the other side of the A20. What is much less clear is what the precise root of that inflow is, and whether and how the current works - which appear in any case to have been suspended - will ease this. I am asking for answers to these questions from the HA.

Pinks Hill flooding: the misery continues

Water running onto Pinks Hill at about 3PM

Yet again, heavy rainfall in the latter part of the week has caused severe flooding in Pinks Hill and neighbouring roads. I visited again this afternoon and toured the site with some local residents.

The flow of water on to Pinks Hill was very rapid, though I understand somewhat less so than was the case this morning. In that case it must have been an absolute torrent earlier in the day. The water continues to run from the ditch next to the A20 across the common land to Pinks Hill. Nearby homes are currently protected by flood sacks. The water then runs down the road, diverting into Waylands. However, the water there has been contained and I understand that both Kent Highways and the Highways Agency have been on site with suckers and tankers.

The Highways Agency was due to start work on the ditch and pipes that run from it on Thursday (post of 27 January). This work did commence, though so far it appears to have been limited to tree clearing. The ditch is now very full of water indeed, across a wider area and at a much higher level than I have seen before. With this depth of water, it is not clear how and when the works can be taken forward.

High water levels in the ditch

We also examined the A20 lagoon and found it to be at a worryingly high level. The Highways Agency installed a pump there yesterday, though thus did not appear to be running when we visited.

Residents have asked that the ditch be pumped out to stop the flow of water at its source. I have asked Kent Highways to do this, although it is not clear when the optimal time would be to carry out pumping.

This is now turning into a matter of enormous concern and frustration for residents. It appeared after our site visit that we had a way forward; we now need to establish whether we have simply seen our course of action delayed by the very severe downpours of the last couple of days, or whether that way forward is no longer valid. If the latter is the case, we urgently need another.

Update on Swanley flooding

Residents in Pinks Hill and other neighbouring roads such as Waylands were once more affected by flooding overnight and into today. I visited the area again during the late morning to see the state of the problem.

On Friday afternoon, the Highways Agency told me that they had a gulley sucker on standby for the area, and I know that both HA and Kent Highways staff were in attendance during the night. Nonetheless, the impact on residents has still been severe.

More encouragingly, the HA also told me that everything was lined up for the planned works on the ditch and pipes that should drain the runoff from the A20 (see post of 27 January) to start next Thursday, 6 February.

Broom Hill: Inspector's decision goes against residents

Last year saw an appeal by the developers ProVision against Sevenoaks District Council's refusal of permission for four applications for between 20 and 61 houses on the Broom Hill site. Residents of. Beechenlea Lane were deeply concerned about the proposals, fearing a major impact in terms of traffic, noise and a change in the character of the area in which they live, often for many years. I worked with residents in support of their stance and spoke at the second leg of the Inquiry in October (posts of 24 February and 8 October).

Late last week, the Inspector handed down his verdict, which was solidly in favour of the developer's appeals on all four applications. This is a bitter disappointment to local people, who feel that they have lost out on everything. Reading the Inspector's Decisions, it is clear that the new National Planning Policy. Framework (NPPF) weighed heavily in the Inspector's thinking. So did the lack of formal protections on the land; it was taken out of Green Belt 20 years ago, though never with the intention on the part of Sevenoaks District Council of its being subject to residential development.

The full Decisions report can be found here.

Site meeting to tackle Pinks Hill flooding

In the latter part of last week, I had a phone call from a senior manager at the Highways Agency to discuss the problems on the High Firs estate, especially Pinks Hill (post of 19 January). He told me that the Highways Agency and contractors would be on site shortly to examine issues with the ditch that takes water runoff from the A20 to the lagoon nearby. We subsequently agreed that this could provide the basis for a site meeting involving the Highways Agency, KCC/ Kent Highways and local residents. That meeting, which I attended, took place this morning.

Contrary to my earlier belief, the lagoon appears to be working satisfactorily. Significant works were undertaken in 2009, adding a large borehole to enhance the runoff and soaking away of water; it is equipped for everything up to a 1 in 100 years storm. However, there are clearly significant problems with the ditch. Fencing surrounding the ditch is in poor condition and a great deal of debris has been dumped near the entrance to the pipe that takes the water to the lagoon. Result: the pipe has become blocked, water builds up near the pipe and entrance and then runs down the ditch to exit at its lowest point, near the common land where heavy flows of water have been observed.

The Highways Agency's contractor was on site as well this morning and will undertake extensive works on the pipe (as well as the course of the ditch itself, to prevent water overflowing at the point where it currently does). This should be within the next two weeks; I will update with another post. Over the longer term, there is need to confirm ownership of the fence (Kent Highways undertook to check this) and ensure that it is reinforced. This might not stop debris being dumped there, but it would surely help.

There are a number of other issues to be taken forward, including the buildup of water that has taken place rather higher up on the common ground; this appears to have contributed to the flooding then days ago, and there is still a lot of stagnant water there. Kent Highways undertook to examine its drainage network in the area to see if there is any linkage to this problem, and to examine a number of drainage issues related to individual properties.

Altogether, a very positive site meeting with clear actions coming out of it. I will post updates as and when we have further news, but hopefully this will offer some relief for residents. The most immediate concern is that the works cannot take place immediately, so that problems could recur with further heavy rain in the coming days. Kent Highways has undertaken to provide further flood sacks later today.

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.