Crockenhill granite setts to go in

A major element of the safety measures targeted at the centre of Crockenhill - in particular, around the junctions of Main Road, Cray Road and Broadway - has been the potential installation of granite setts to focus drivers' attention that they are coming into the centre of the village.

At a meeting that I held with Kent Highways and the Parish Council in September, it was agreed that an alternative approach, using rumble strips, would be tried out. The strips were installed at the Broadway approach to the junction, and given a trial period to see if it was felt that they could provide the same or similar benefits.

The Parish Council, drawing on feedback from residents, concluded in January that the rumble strips were not sufficient, and so it was agreed to go ahead with the installation of the setts, paid for from my Combined Member Fund. This will begin tomorrow, starting with the Eynsford Road/ Main Road approach. This will require a road closure, probably lasting a couple of days; for the other approaches, contrary to earlier anticipations, traffic lights should be sufficient.

The installation of the setts should give added force to the other measures undertaken so far, including the 20mph zone. For the main action still outstanding, the installation of village entry signs, locations have been agreed; this should take place early in the new financial year.  

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.

Eynsford school run: next steps

On Thursday morning I joined members of the School Run Safety Campaign (SRSC), the Parish Council and Kent Highways Officers to review the impact so far of the yellow lines installed in the High Street just over a fortnight ago.

We all recognised long in advance that the yellow lines would be only part - albeit an important one - of the response to the traffic issues around the school, that we would need to watch for any intended or unintended consequences of their implementation, and that there are other changes (in particular, the careful use of bollards) that could and should be made on the roads and pavements.

Experience so far suggests that the lines outside Alton Cottages have had a beneficial effect. Among the big continuing concerns are vehicles mounting the pavement; parking on narrow stretches of pavement that blocks pedestrian access, especially for anyone with a buggy; and cars parking across the newly installed dropped kerbs.

We agreed that bollards should be installed in three places: on the narrow pavement near the school entrance, where children pass through in large numbers after the end of the school day; a little further along the same stretch of pavement, outside 19 Alton Cottages; and to one side of the dropped kerb near the junction with Priory Lane. In addition, a pedestrian sign will be put on the column by the corner of Priory Lane to alert drivers to those crossing at the dropped kerb.

These measures (which will be paid for from my Combined Member Fund) will be implemented as soon as possible. We also examined the situation further south on the High Street (heading towards the Bower Lane junction). There is an argument for some bollards to be installed there too, and this was discussed at previous meetings with Kent Highways. There are, however, practical problems; for example, regulations do not allow bollards to be placed on narrow sections of pavement, where they would make the space for pedestrians too narrow - but if they are installed on the wider sections, cars will park on the narrower sections, making the pedestrians' problems still worse. 

We therefore agreed to review the situation again, around Easter, and come to a decision then as to whether more bollards are required. As we come into the new financial year, we will also look at the possibility of resurfacing the pavement outside Alton Cottages, which is in poor condition and likely to take an increasing number of pedestrians.

I will write a further update after we next review the situation around Easter.

Drainage works for Eynsford 'lake'

Anyone in or passing through the centre of Eynsford recently will have seen the works (pictured) taking place near Gibson's Place. These are being carried out by Kent Highways and are designed to address the long-standing flooding there, about which I have posted before. The flooding problems have generated a mini (or not so mini-) lake whenever there is significant rainfall, creating significant problems for residents, the butcher's opposite, parents taking children to the school and others.

The current works in the carriageway should be complete by the end of the week, with the next phase starting next Monday (20 February). A new pipe, running from the current area of flooding, will be installed along with a large catch pit. The final section of piping (some 6 metres) that connects the drainage system under Gibson's Place to the river will be upgraded, with a flap over the end of the pipe run to prevent water running back up the drainage system when the river levels are high.

Barring weather or other setbacks, the works should be completed by the following weekend (around 25 February). Then we will wait to see if - as will hopefully be the case - this long-standing problem has been tackled.

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.

Swanley Village - everything except the sign

Just before Christmas, KCC contractors were at work in Swanley Village, installing a new island at the top of School Lane, with a base on which the village sign can be reinstated. This is part of a long-running project, paid for by my Combined Member Fund to restore what had become a dangerously insecure village sign. However, as the picture (taken during the Christmas/ New Year break) shows, the sign itself is not yet back in place.

Hopefully, it very soon will be. The frame containing the sign is rusty, so is currently in the hands of the contractors, who will have it cleaned and repainted. Then, finally, it should be back in its place as the symbol of the village.

Goldsel Road lights out (still, again)

Around Christmas 2015, residents of the Crockenhill end of Goldsel Road had to endure a long period of the street lights being out. The problem recurred in November, and has yet to be fixed. I have had many representations from local residents, and from the Parish Council, and have sought to get this resolved.

At the time,  I notified Kent Highways' lighting engineer, who concluded that (as was the case last year) the problem reflected a power failure. This was reported to the network supplier, UK Power Networks (UKPN).

I understand that a UKPN team visited the site before Christmas, but were unable to locate a fault. However, Kent Highways has remained of the view that this was indeed a cable fault - the fact that half a dozen or so new lights have all gone out together strongly supports this - and relayed this view to UKPN.

The Lighting Engineer has since spoken to the UKPN local authority helpline; they have confirmed that the fault is on the UKPN system. It is now being treated as a high priority as it relates to a group of lights being out (and, of course, have now been so for some time). The work has been passed to a crew who are experienced in locating underground faults and are treating the fault as a priority.

Kent Highways' Lighting Engineer will continue to check the area regularly. I share residents' frustration that this has taken so long, but continue to pursue the issue and hope that this now represents progress towards getting it fixed.

UPDATE 12 January: As of last night, the lights are reported back on.