Street lining in Swanley Village

One issue that Swanley Village Residents' Association have raised with me has been the condition of much of the lining and road markings in the village. The centre line in Highlands Hill has been a particular concern. 

I secured with a payment from my Combined Member Grant the services of a lining team for a morning in the village. The team arrived promptly at 9 one day a couple of weeks ago, met the Residents' Association chairman (who had volunteered to oversee the work) and worked through until around noon. All the junctions on Swanley Village Road done - School Lane, Beechenlea Lane, Button Street and Wood Street - were painted, plus the centre line at the bottom of Highlands Hill and the two SLOW signs near Elizabethan Cottage. It looks a big improvement.

Action on A225 flooding

As I reported in an earlier post, Kent Highways officers have been working for some time to resolve the severe flooding by the railway bridge on the A225 between Shoreham and Eynsford, close to Preston Hill. Following various surveys, in late January and early February a number of drainage systems near the road (gullies, a catch pit and a soakaway) were identified, dug out and cleansed.

Since these works were carried out, there has been only one significant flooding incident, suggesting that this had at least some effect. However, further improvements are now being undertaken (hence the traffic lights that you may have seen on the road in the last few days). A new soakaway is being installed and the ditch immediately behind it is being cleared of debris. Further works may be investigated in the longer term, but this should in any case deliver improvements and greater safety on the road.

More resurfacing in Eynsford

The A225 running through Eynsford has already seen two significant road resurfacings over the last eighteen months or so: the first (in September 2014) ran from the Baptist Church in the High Street northwards to the junction with Mill Lane; the second (in October 2015) from the end point of the first works up towards Farningham and the junction with Beesfield Lane.

Next week will see resurfacing further south on the A225: from the point at which Station Road becomes High Street to the junction with Bower Lane.  The works will be carried out overnight (between 10pm and 5am) on two consecutive nights, starting on 28 April.

Unlike last year's works, this project was not initiated by a bid from our local Highways team (though they are certainly supportive of it) but rather as a result of what is called the 'gateway survey'. KCC carries out regular inspections of the county's roads, and as part of this process all roads in the county are inspected annually to determine their condition and priority for resurfacing. This is undertaken through both mechanical and visual inspections. It was this survey that identified this section of the A225 as a resurfacing priority. We should therefore see a third enhancement to the main route through Eynsford.

Flooding in Eynsford

Flooding in Eynsford High Street near Gibson's Place and the bus stop has been a serious problem for a number of years. It has caused significant difficulties for local residents and businesses, such as Norman's the Butchers. I have at a number of points worked with Kent Highways officers to seek both a diagnosis of the problem and ultimately a solution.

A CCTV survey of the area was carried out last year, and it identified that the outfall (ultimately going into the River Darent), which is linked to the foundations of Gibson's Place, is damaged. Officers have been in touch with the landowner, Apex Eynsford Management, to agree solutions.

The current proposal is to put in an extra catch pit in the area by the lay by, and then connect this to an existing chamber. From there it will connect to and discharge into the river. I understand that KCC's drainage engineer for the area will be meeting contractors to discuss the project early next week. At this point there is neither full confirmation of the project (which would require significant traffic management), nor a date, but there is at least some prospect of tackling this long-standing problem.

Something a bit different ... Government academy plans

By and large, I have kept this blog pretty local - I have occasionally touched on wider Kent issues, including aspects of my work in education, health and (earlier) broadband, but the main focus has remained on Darent Valley matters.

This morning I'll make a bit of an exception, though. The government's plans in a recently published White Paper to require every school in the country to become an academy by 2020-22 have stirred a lot of concern and opposition. As widely reported in the media - including the Daily Mail, the BBC and the Guardian - that opposition has included many Conservatives, especially those in local government.  In my role as Cabinet Member for Education at KCC, I was one of those who expressed concern.

The result was that I had a rather busier than expected Easter weekend, with two national TV interviews, and I was then invited by the website Conservative Home to set out my thoughts on why the government's plans are flawed.

You can find the article here. As you will see, I am far from hostile to academies, and the thinking behind many of the academy freedoms. But I do object to compulsion and the imposition of a uniform model on schools. There are also big questions - currently unanswered - as to how the capacity for a large number of Multi-Academy Trusts, able and willing to take the huge number of (chiefly) primary schools across the country who have not yet shown any wish to convert to academy status, will be brought into being. In Darent Valley, we have seven primary schools, none of which is currently an academy - and all of which would be required to convert under these plans, whatever their wishes.

Crockenhill 20 mph zone takes shape

As part of the range of schemes aimed at reducing speeding in the heart of Crockenhill, a 20 mph zone has been established. The signage that supports this comprises signs and roundels at different entry points to the centre of the village, in Cray Road, Green Court Road, and Eynsford Road, as well as in Stones Cross Road, Church Street and Old Chapel Road.

Most of this has now been installed. However, there were some difficulties in finding a site that did not inconvenience residents for a sign in Eynsford Road. However, this appears now to have been resolved and a satisfactory site found: the sign should go in early next week. In addition, some High Friction surfacing is due to be installed in Stones Cross Road by the school, but this will require a road closure and will not take place until the next school holidays in May.

These works have been paid for from my Combined Member Fund. This leaves the one remaining issue of installation of granite setts or an equivalent that can be put in without disrupting existing utilities under the road. I hope to post more news on this soon.

Steve Armstrong, community warden

Steve Armstrong, KCC's Community Warden for Eynsford, Farningham and Crockenhill, retires this week.

I have worked a lot with Steve over a number of years and he has been a huge asset to both the County Council and to the communities that he has served and where he is a well-known figure. A lot of the very strong reaction from Darent Valley Parish Councils to the Community Warden consultation in 2014 reflects the value put on Steve's work.

There has also been a lot of concern as to when and how a successor will be appointed. Having discussed the issue with Parish Councils, I took it up with both my Cabinet colleague, Mike Hill, and with the officers at KCC responsible for the warden service.

The difficulty is that recruitment and training of Community Wardens takes place in cohorts rather than on an individual basis, in part because of cost and in part to fit in with the schedules of partners in community safety such as Kent Police. However, officers have undertaken to give a clear timeline for the next round of recruitment as soon as possible. In the meantime, support for the communities that Steve has served will be provided (on, I understand, a proactive rather than a merely reactive basis) from wardens serving in Sevenoaks District and working with the local Community Safety Unit.

I will continue to monitor this with the aim of ensuring that a replacement is found as soon as possible, and that good cover is provided until then. In the meantime, I'm due for a coffee with Steve to thank him and wish him a happy retirement.