Rights of Way Improvement Plan

KCC is responsible for the management and maintenance of some 6,900km of Public Rights of Way across the County, with its huge potential for enjoyment of the countryside, support for healthy living and journeys by walking or (in many cases) cycling.

The Council is required by law to produce a Rights of Way Improvement Plan every ten years; the last such plan, for 2007-17, delivered significant improvements to the network.

Now the Council is consulting on its 2018-28 plan, focusing on a range of issues including the shape of the network, maintenance and improvements and means of ensuring high public awareness. The consultation began on 20 June and runs until 12 September. You can find it, along with a range of related materials, here and can complete an online questionnaire.

If you wish to request hard copies or alternative formats of any consultation materials, you can email alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 421553 (text relay service number 18001 03000 421553).

Buses for Wilmington schools

In the last fortnight or so, constituents have been raising concerns with me over the prospects for children travelling to school in Wilmington (to the Boys' and Girls' Grammar Schools, and to the Academy) from September.

The immediate cause for concern has been the cessation of the Number 2 bus service run by West Kent buses. This is not related to any decision by KCC regarding subsidy; the 2 was always a purely commercial service.

I understand that there are a very small number of children in Otford who are affected, and for whom a rail and bus journey will regrettably be needed. For children travelling in from Eysnford and Farningham, Go Coach has rerouted its 429 service, which should provide cover. There are some quite significant changes in timing from the 2 service, and some specific concerns about those at the end of the school day. I am investigating whether any changes are possible.

There is a bigger problem for children travelling in from Horton Kirby and South Darenth (as well as Sutton at Hone, just outside my Division). Here the alternative option is the Arriva 414 bus, which has been a cause of significant concern and complaint because of lateness, sme lack of driver knowledge and overcrowding. The school journey from north of Farningham to Wilmington will add another twenty or so children to the service.

I have also taken this matter up with Kent Highways officers (and had discussed the 414 with Arriva previously). Arriva have been making some efforts to invest in the route, but the outlook for September remains uncertain. We will be watching very closely and will seek to respond to concerns if and when they arise.

A resurfacing example: Noah's Ark

Kemsing Parish Council raised with me some weeks ago the condition of Noah's Ark - a stretch of road in bad need of surface works, not just filling in some potholes.

Shortly afterwards, I went out with Kent Highways officers on a tour of my Division, identifying and discussing areas for action. The Highways officers confirmed that works would be undertaken in Noah's Ark, and these followed within a couple of weeks.

As the two pictures show, the works have made quite a significant difference - an example of wider-ranging surface works that are taking place as part of the pothole blitz.

Transport 'big conversation' getting under way

The County Council's planned engagement and debate with residents - especially in rural areas - on transport issues, dubbed the 'Big Conversation', is getting under way. The aim is to engage the public, groups such as Parish Councils, and potential providers of services such as community transport, in a detailed examination of the best way in which we can provide access to transport in rural and more isolated areas.

The engagement programme will include parish seminars and 11 District-based public meetings, which will be held between 7 and 9 in the evening. The Sevenoaks meeting will be in the Stag Theatre on Wednesday 4 July. This should be an opportunity to help shape policies that will be important to many of the communities of the Darent Valley and surrounding area.

Eynsford Road floods again

Amid today's heavy downpours, I was called by residents in Eysnford Road, Farningham, about flooding in the road that was affecting their properties.

I have written about this problem before, and have been taking it up with Kent Highays officers since last summer. Cleansing and other works have been carried out, and it did seem as though some real progress had been made. But today the problems recurred.

In fact, the earlier works may have had some effect. The picture at the top of this post was taken at the time when the flooding was at its strongest; the picture at the bottom was taken a couple of hours later, at the time when I was able to get there and meet residents. The water had run away more rapidly than would have been the case in the past; not, however, before the waters had reached unacceptably high levels. Clearly more substantial works are required, and I will once more take the issue up with Kent Highways.

Renewing the Speed Indicator Device in Childsbridge Lane

One of the first issues that Kemsing Parish Council took up with me after my election last year was the need to replace a Speed Indicator Device (SID) in Childsbridge Lane. A SID was installed some years ago, but eventually became faulty. It was removed and Kent Highways were not willing to replace it.

Following discussion with the Parish Council, it became clear to me that there was still a strong desire in the village to have the SID at this point, so I undertook to pay for it - if it could be installed - from my Combined Member Fund. Even so, it was not quite as simple as that; Kent Highways were not prepared to approve a SID, even one paid for from my Fund, if it could not be justified. In particular, traffic counts and speed checks were needed to see if enough vehicles were travelling at 35 miles per hour or faster to trigger the Device a reasonable number of times.

The traffic count - also paid for from my Fund - took place in early March. Because of the snow (which clearly would distort any speed readings), measurements had to be taken over fewer days than would usually be the case. Nonetheless, the end result was that there were enough speeding vehicles to support the introduction of a new SID, and I was able to tell Kemsing's Annual Parish Meeting that we should now be able to go ahead.

More money for pothole campaign in the new financial year

As I reported last month, KCC committed £5.2 million to its Find and Fix campaign in 2017-18; nonetheless, January 2018 saw some 4,000 pothole notifications, the highest January level for four years.

And that was before the Beast from the East, and the second, shorter-lived bout of snow in mid-March. Mike Whiting, Cabinet Member for Highways, indicated that the costs to the road network of the severe weather could come to some £4 million. However, the County Council has been able to announce an extra £2 million in funding, bringing the total budget for potholes and drainage for this year to £8.1 million.

So far. The Find and Fix campaign gets under way in April, and the Council Leader, Paul Carter has added that, "Towards the middle of June we will then reflect on how the work is going, and I can assure you that, if more work is needed, we will find the additional budget required to fix the potholes."