Eynsford works: the next test

Plans to ease the congestion around Anthony Roper Prinary School in Eynsford include proposals - which I would pay for from my Member Fund - to extend the yellow lines in the village and to create bays in the road outside Fernbank. These plans have been on the stocks for a long time, and I had hoped that by now we would have been out to consultation.

However, initial surveys threw up a potential problem of BT services being under the pavement; most critically, there might be a cable there. The cost of moving this could be prohibitive, raising questions about the whole scheme, at least in its current form.

Kent Highways (with BT representatives present) will drill some trial holes to test for what is under the pavement. These works will take place next Sunday, 7 June. Residents have been notified. Hopefully we should know soon if it is possible for the scheme to proceed.

Road closure for works in Daltons Road

Daltons Road in Crockenhill has had a series of problems of erosion of the edges of the road, leaving a potentially dangerous dip down into the neighbouring field.

Some time ago, I supported from my Member Fund the installation of some bollards in the worst affected area. Now another section of erosion has opened up. However, Kent Highways have responded quickly to the issue being raised by residents and by Crcokenhill Parish Council. I was able to tell the Parish Council late last week that works are due to take place starting tomorrow (19 May). This will require a road closure, which is likely to last for a couple of days.

Shoreham Village School goes straight to Good

OFSTED has published its report on its most recent visit to Shoreham Village School and it makes for very happy reading.

The school was previously inspected in November last year and found to be making progress towards the removal of Special Measures. It has now gone straight to a Good rating, bypassing entirely the Requires Improvement rating.

While it is not completely unheard of for a school to make such rapid progress while coming out of Special Measures, it is most unusual. The Ofsted visit started as a Section 8 monitoring exercise (which reviews the progress of a school in Special Measures) but morphed into a full inspection as it became apparent to Ofsted that Special Messures were no longer applicable.

The report is also comprehensively favourable, with a Good rating in all areas. This is a great tribute to pupils, staff and governors, and to the galvanising impact of Gillian Lovatt-Young as head teacher. Ofsted says that "her uncompromising drive to raise standards, coupled with good quality training and development for staff, has brought about rapid improvements in teaching and achievement."

As I mentioned before, I was very encouraged by all that I saw on my last visit to the school late last year - it is good to see that the school has made such remarkable progress, to the benefit not only of staff, children and families, but also of the village.

Losing the 403 bus

The 403 bus, run by Arriva as a commercial service (i.e. with no subsidy from KCC), ceased to run north of Sevenoaks at the end of last week (the more southerly Tunbridge Wells to Sevenoaks route will continue to run). This provided a service up to Swanley, Dartford and Bluewater for communities in the Darent Valley such as Shoreham and Eynsford. However, Arriva concluded that the more northerly part of the route was insufficiently used and was not viable.

The 421 Go Coach service, which is a KCC subsidised service, continues to run from Sevenoaks, up through Darent Valley communities such as Oftord (not part of my division, thought very much part of the Darent Valley), Shoreham, Eynsford and Farningham to Swanley - and of course back. However, this runs only four times a day each way, ceasing by the mid-afternoon.

The end of the 403 is a clear loss of service to residents. I have discussed with Kent Highways as to whether there are any options for enhacing the subsidised service, whether it is the 421 or looking again at the 478 (now being run by Nu Venture, who have just taken it on), which used to serve Eynsford but does not do so at present. There are no immediate obvious options; at its simplest, the subsidised bus budget is limited and will not be increasing any time soon, so what would be effectively an addition to subsidised services is not easy to support or fund. Nonetheless, I will continue to search for possible ways to tackle this new and unwelcome development. I will post an update if there is further news.

Farningham Hill and other works

There are several favourable developments to report around Eynsford and Farningham. 

In the last few days resurfacing work has been under way on the A20 at Farningham Hill. The works stretch from close to the roundabout at the M25 junction to near the junction with London Road. They are much-needed but represent a major commitment by Kent Highways; it was a significant achievement on the part of our local Highways team to secure this at a time of severe competition for limited resources. The works should conclude on Monday.

Secondly, Kent Highways have committed to following up last year's resurfacing in the High Street in Eynsford by tackling the problems further north between Eynsford and Farningham. This resurfacing work should take place in the late summer or early autumn.

Finally, patching will take place to tackle the serious potholes in Bower Lane from 4 May, requiring a road closure for up to six days. This should be followed by surface dressing in 2016.

Shoreham traffic issues: looking for ways forward

Last week I chaired a meeting, organised by the Shoreham Society and with strong involvement from the Parish Council, on traffic issues in the village. There are long-running concerns about on-street parking and consequent blockage of roads at the heart of the village - especially High Street and parts of Church Street - and a number of key issues and actions were identified during a walk of the village in 2012. These also included a lack of clear identification to drivers at the edge of the village that they are coming into a residential environment.

It has been possible to take action in response to some of these issues. We have run speed and traffic checks at various points in the village, yielding valuable information (broadly speaking - and unsurprisingly - traffic speeds at the edges of the village are at higher levels than would enable a 20 mph zone to be implemented, but they are much lower in the High Street). While full village gateways were eventually rejected, red high friction surfacing and road markings were introduced at the approaches to the village.

Not all the traffic issues come within the County Council's remit; some will, for example, require action by the Parish Council. However, a number of potential ways forward were identified at the meeting:

• I will pursue actively the possibilities for a footpath to the station. This was in any case on my list of projects for consideration, though awaiting adequate money becoming available within my Combined Member Fund

• I will pursue the possibilities of a limited 20 mph zone within the heart of the village

• The Parish Council to continue to examine sites for extra parking, including controversial possibilities such as land near the allotments

• There was strong interest in strategic use of yellow lines to create passing places in Church Street and High Street. There was also renewed support for looking at yellow lines around the George bend. (Any yellow lines that are implemented will have to be of a design compatible with a conservation area; on which subject, Kent Highways have promised me to tackle the long-running 'wrong sort of yellow lines' at Crown Road).

It was a very productive meeting. Doubtless, as proposals are brought forward, there will be less consensus and harmony than was then apparent. But it gives us quite a lot to work with.

Bower Lane potholes

I have to declare an interest on this one, since I am a fairly frequent user of Bower Lane, but the potholes in the road are a significant problem for local residents, and have been for a while. There are a number of concentrations of problems, especially towards the East Hill end of the road.

Speaking to Kent Highways officers today, I understand that works will be carried out to tackle the problem as part of the spring assault on potholes. It is likely to be a quite costly and demanding job, with some need for a road closure. This work will have to wait for better weather and the best timing for a closure, so in the interim we are likely to see some patching as a very short-term fix. Good news nonetheless.