Public meeting on Sevenoaks grammar satellite

On Thursday evening I attended a public meeting at Amherst School as part of the consultation on Invicta Grammar School's proposal for a Sevenoaks annex, and chaired the question and answer part of the meeting. Dr Phil Limbert, chief executive of the Valley Invicta Academies Trust (which includes both Invicta and the non-selective Valley Park School, both rated Outstanding by Ofsted) and Julie Derrick, head teacher of Invicta, set out their thinking and their motivation for pursuing the annex application.

They set out some of the detail of their plans: the satellite would come under the overall Invicta governors and head teacher, though wth a head of school in place in Sevenoaks; the satellite would develop its own staff, so that there would be little need for staff to travel between the Maidstone and Sevenoaks sites; and the aim is to open on the former Wildernesse site with six forms of entry in autumn 2015.  They also set out some of their thinking and values: a belief that being Outstanding under Ofsted's criteria was a starting point but not an end point, the aim being to provide world class education, with schools in Finland, Germany, the United States and elsewhere seen as benchmarks and a peer group.

The meeting was very well-attended, and there were a lot of questions. The overall mood was enthusiastic. The consultation on the Invicta proposal closes on 19 July (for details of how to submit a response, see post of 20 May), and soon after that a formal application to expand Invicta will go to Education Secretary Michael Gove (since Invicta is an academy, the decision will rest with Mr Gove rather than with KCC).

The other major development of the last ten days has been the expression of interest from Weald of Kent grammar school  As I made clear in interviews that I gave at the time, KCC was not informed in advance of this application; our earlier discussions with the school had ended in January with a clear statement from Weald of Kent that it did not wish to pursue a Sevenoaks satellite. Clearly, any application of this kind from a Kent school must be examined seriously by the local authority; at the same time, we have made clear that the Invicta proposal represents a strong partnership between the school (and the Academies Trust) and KCC, and is one that is now a very long way down the track towards the point of decision by the Secretary of State.

The Sevenoaks Chronicle has covered developments extensively; here is their latest account, while Invicta's page on its Sevenoaks proposal can be found here.

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.

Rock Hill works at the start of July

Works to tackle the long-standing problems of water runoff on Rock Hill - by installing a French drain towards the top of the hill and cleansing the drainage system further down the hill on the Bromley-facing side - are due to start on 1 July.

This will require a road closure from the intersection with Pump Lane up to the top of the hill. The Kent Highways notice states that the closure can be for up to 14 days, though in practice it is likely to be only for a day or so.

I set out these plans in earlier posts (23 February) and indicated the probable timing likely when I spoke at the Well Hill Residents Association AGM earlier this year. I have sought through the Residents' Association to have the plans sent out so that any concerns over the works can be raised and addressed. Anyone who is still concerned should contact me since there are still a couple of weeks to go before the works start.

The other significant road works in Well Hill - tackling the potholes and drainage problems in Well Hill, in the dip between the Parkgate Road and Firmingers Road junctions - took place some weeks ago (post of 20 May).

Well Hill road works

There have for some time been problems in Well Hill (the road) in the dip in the road between the junctions with Firmingers Road and Parkgate Road. The flooding issues in this patch of road were raised during a site visit last year and subsequently large potholes have emerged.

As I mentioned at the recent AGM of the Well Hill Residents' Association, Kent Highways were looking to take advantage of a road closure required by water supply works. This was originally scheduled for 24 May but the water company's programme of works was brought forward to today (20 May). Kent Highways have ensured that the road works have been brought forward to take advantage of this revised schedule. Hopefully this should result in the resolution of persistent road problems.

Public consultation on grammar school satellite

Invicta Grammar School, which is proposing to bring forward the Sevenoaks grammar school satellite, is beginning an eight week public consultation on its plans today. The consultation will run until 19 July.

This consultation is required by the Department for Education because the school is proposing a significant expansion. However, it also gives the school an opportunity to engage with the local community and to demonstrate the support for its plans.

Public meetings will be held during the consultation period, but you can also set out your views by emailing the school at clerktotrust@viat.org.uk (please put 'Sevenoaks Consultation' in the Subject box of the email), or by writing to:

The Clerk to the Trust
Invicta Grammar School
Huntsman Lane
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 5DS

Please write 'Sevenoaks Consultation' on the envelope.

Given the strong support demonstrated for the concept of grammar school provision in Sevenoaks through the petition to KCC in March last year, I very much hope that local people will demonstrate to the DfE how much enthusiasm and commitment there is to this project.

You can find the Chronicle's coverage of the issue here, and a further article about it on the Sevenoaks Grammar School Campaign's website here.

Crockenhill: new date for Stones Cross Road resurfacing

The resurfacing of Stones Cross Road has been delayed several times because of the weather (see posts of 4, 10 and 14 April).

The new date proposed for the works is next Monday, 13 May. Events have made a monkey of me enough times to add in the heavy proviso "weather permitting." But Kent Highways certainly have that date in their sights, and have put a sign in the road to publicise it.

Meanwhile, it is good to note that many elements of the safety works at the Cray Road - Main Road - Broadway junction are now in place, though the granite setts are still to be installed.