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.

Yellow lines go in

Shortly before Christmas, the Sevenoaks JTB approved two important lines projects in Darent Valley.  These were for Alton Cottages in High Street, Eynsford, just north of Anthony Roper Primary School, and for Green Court Road in Crockenhill. Both are designed to help tackle the parking problems near the respective village schools.

The issues in Eynsford in particular have been very long running, and the new measures have been carried out working with the School Run Safety Campaign in the village. The yellow lines (which are likely to be supplemented very shortly by bollards at critical points  in the village) should be complemented by greater access to alternative parking places, such as the car park next to the scout hut and parish office.

As of today, the yellow lines are installed in both locations. I will add a picture as soon as possible.

JTB approves schemes for Crockenhill and Eynsford

The Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board, of which I am a member, met on Tuesday evening. Among the items on the agenda were two schemes that I am supporting through my Combined Member Fund. They are:

• In Crockenhill, double yellow lines on Green Court Road, running north east from the junction with Stones Cross Road
• In Eynsford, on the A225 High Street near the Anthony Roper Primary School, restrictions during school run times outside Alton Cottages, and ashort extension of the double yellow line is near the Priory Lane  junction

You can find the meeting papers here; the two schemes are reported under agenda item 8. The report summarised the outcome of consultations on the two schemes. There were only two objections to the Eynsford proposal, and none to the Crockenhill proposal. Both schemes were therefore approved, and should proceed in the near future -  which should be very good news for both villages. 

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.

Shoreham: Crown Road yellow lines and other issues

I was unable to attend Shoreham Parish Council on Thursday evening since I was speaking at a KCC event elsewhere in the County that evening. However, I submitted a written report. Here are some of the key issues from it.

Regarding the yellow lines that were wrongly painted in standard Highways style on Crown Road (see post of 9 October last year), a Kent Highways officer has now visited the site to see how much impact the winter weather had on them. An order is now being raised for their removal and replacement by lines suitable for a conservation area, as had originally been agreed between the Parish Council, Kent Highways and me. This will be carried out in the near future; it should be done within 4 to 8 weeks.

Secondly, after some close cooperation between KCC and Bromley Borough Council, a fly-tipping case will be brought to court shortly; a date is due to be set next week. This relates to fly-tipping incidents in Redmans Lane and Chelsfield Lane, which have both been hot spots for this sort of illegal activity.   

Concerns have been raised about a large pothole in High Street, which reopened shortly after apparently being fixed. I took this up with Kent Highways, who told me that the previous work had always been intended to be a temporary solution, albeit that it had not been expected to reopen quite so quickly. The pothole has now had more lasting work carried out to fix it. As mentioned in my previous post (3 March), the County Council is now undertaking a 'Find and Fix' drive to tackle potholes. If you're concerned about particular potholes, please contact me; I will raise the issue with Kent Highways to ensure it is dealt with through this programme.

I have also taken up the issue of water leakage in the village (from High Street, leading into Church Street) with Kent Highways, who have identified it as a Thames Water matter and raised it with the company.

Finally, I have in recent weeks been dealing with the issue of potential seismic exploration work in the Darent Valley by Tesla Exploration on behalf of Northdown Energy. This is being treated as permitted development rather than something that requires planning permission; however, Kent County Council is ensuring that local Members have the opportunity to meet the company to discuss the details of the project, and I will be doing this. I have also asked that the Parish Council be contacted by the company and should have the opportunity to meet them to address local concerns.

Crown Road Shoreham - the wrong sort of yellow lines

In June the Sevenoaks Jojnt Transportation Board voted to put in yellow lines at the corner of Crown Road and High Street in Shoreham. The lines have now been painted, but not in the style that residents had hoped for.

When yellow lines were first proposed for Shoreham, a number of residents expressed concern at they would be too intrusive for the village. I therefore secured from Kent Highways an agreement that the yellow lines would be in a style suitable for a conservation area, in a primrose yellow and rather narrower than the standard lines. This commitment has been repeated at least once since then. However - and I think that this is because of changes in personnel in Kent Highways, resulting in a loss of continuity in handling the issue - what we have is standard yellow lines.

I have raised the issue with Kent Highways and will endeavour to get it resolved as soon as possible. Replacing yellow lines once they are painted is not quite as simple as we might think (or as I might have thought), but the problem clearly needs to be resolved and will be, so that these necessary measures are carried out in a way that suits the character of the village.

Yellow lines approved for Crown Road, Shoreham

At its March meeting, the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board voted in favour of putting in yellow lines at the corner of Crown Road and High Street in Shoreham, but not two other proposed sites (the Church Street bend near The George pub and the corner of Mill Lane). Following a representation that consultation figures had not been fully presented at the meeting, the JTB considered the issue again. I spoke in favour of the stance taken in March and the JTB voted in favour of this.