Taxi bus service to start on Monday

Following KCC's Big Conversation on support for rural public transport, the first of the resulting pilot schemes to get under way starts running on Monday, and it's in part of the Darent Valley.

The Sevenoaks taxi bus will run from Fairseat and Stansted to West Kingsdown, then into East Hill, down into Otford (by the station) and finally to Sevenoaks (bus station). It will run off peak, Mondays to Fridays, with set stops but also a hail and ride facility in more rural areas such as East Hill.

The taxi bus model uses a smaller vehicle suitable to the patronage expected in this area. Concessionary Travel passes are accepted (though a voluntary contribution of £1 may be made); other fares will be £3 for a single journey, £5 for a return (and £1 for a child). The service is run by Express Cabs and Couriers, in partnership with Kent County Council.

Other pilot schemes in Tenterden and Sandwich will be getting under way in the next few weeks. The latest on the rural transport initiatives, including details and timetable for the Sevenoaks pilot, can be found on the Kent County Council website.

A new commitment on fly-tipping

KCC's new policy of introducing a modest charge on certain forms of 'non-household waste', such as rubble and hardcore, at its 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will come into effect on 3 June.

The policy is a controversial one, with many residents concerned that it will lead to an increase in fly-tipping, especially in rural areas (such as my own Division of Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley). The County Council argues that experience elsewhere - and many other authorities have introduced such a charge - does not indicate that fly-tipping will increase. There is evidence to support this claim, but it isn't widely accepted (as I know from my own experience of discussing the issue at parish and residents' association meetings).

At the County Council meeting last Thursday, KCC Leader Paul Carter, while confirming that the charges will go ahead, made three key announcements linked to its implementation:

• Despite earlier concerns, agreement has been reached with Medway Council that the reciprocal rights of each council's residents to use the other's recycling facilities (an important issue for Kent residents living near the Medway border) will continue unchanged
• A new KCC HWRC will be established at Allington in Tonbridge and Malling (and near Maidstone) to serve the local area and ease pressure on Medway's facility at Cuxton
• £250,000 will be invested in additional measures to work with District Councils to tackle fly tipping, including ultimately bringing prosecutions against offenders

All these announcements are very welcome, especially the last. I have always regretted that the County Council, as part of its heavy savings requirements in recent years, had to scale back the 'Clean Kent' initiatives by which it worked with the Districts to tackle fly tipping. This went beyond our statutory duties but was well worth it. We still provide some enforcement support and expertise, but hopefully this new commitment will get us back a little to the more extensive role taken by the County Council in tackling what remains one of resdients' most common concerns.

Bus service changes in Kemsing

Recently Arriva has announced that it is ceasing the Number 2 bus service from Kemsing to Sevenoaks (which includes a service to the Sevenoaks schools - Knole, Trinity and the Weald annex), with effect from this coming weekend. This is a commercial service, and the judgement about the viability of the route is the company's. KCC does not commission or subsidise such routes, but it will always examine the options (and in this case had good notification from Arriva) and work with the bus companies to try to find a solution, or at least a mitigation.

That is what KCC officers have done in this case, and Go Coach has stepped forward with its number six service to fill in many of the gaps. As is often the case, this does not substitute in full – for example there is a loss of services later in the day – but does nonetheless provide cover, including with respect to the school journeys albeit combined into one service (with a larger vehicle) from two. It is good that Go Coach have stepped forward in this way, and we will have to see how the new replacement service works out.

Riverside works

Following a visit to Eynsford some months ago with Kent Highways and the Parish Council, there was an investigation of measures to change priorities at Riverside. Highways officers concluded that a change of priorities had significant drawbacks, but that an alternative plan - to remove kerbing and replace it with reinstated yellow lines - could achieve many of the same aims.

Local residents were concerned I responded to residents’ concerns that this would result in a return to inconsiderate parking in the area by raising the matter with SDC’s parking enforcement officers and getting assurances that this would be enforced effectively. However, as of Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the works were suspended. The kerbing is set to be reinstated because of some BT Openreach fibre optic equipment which was previously shown as being under the road rather than the buildout (but which had been moved by BT Openreach, and against which the Council has no redress). Moving such equipment would be very expensive. Clearly all options will now need to be revisited, and I will be in contact with both Kent Highways and the Parish Council on this.

SD 341: delay at the last moment

As I reported in January, Network Rail had committed to installing a new railway bridge section to replace the unsafe bridge crossed by Right of Way SD341 in Crockenhill in March.

Preparations were advanced for this to take place early tomorrow (Sunday 17 March), with notices going out to residents in Green Court Road asking them to avoid parking that would block the very large lorry bringing the bridge section.

Yesterday, however, Network Rail's contractors had to take the decision to postpone the installation because of a forecast continuation of the high winds. This will result in a 13 week delay, from the anticipated Week 51 of the current financial year to Week 12 of the new financial year, which will take us to mid-June (around the time that the current closure of the path is due to end).

The delay is very disappointing, but hopefully the issue will be resolved in the summer; it has certainly been a problem, especially for walkers, for more than long enough.

Bus service feedback form launched

Linked to its Big Conversation on bus services, KCC committed to launch a service giving scope for feedback on bus services. The bus feedback form can now be accessed via the KCC website.

The form enables anyone to comment either on KCC's own bus-related services (such as the Young Person's Travel Pass, or subsisted bus services) or on specific commercial bus services (ie the overwhelming majority of bus services that are not subsisted by KCC).

Recording feedback on commercial services will not generate a reply; you will still have to go directly to the operator for that. However, it will provide information about issues to form the basis of KCC's regular conversations with the bus companies through Quality Bus Partnerships. This should be a valuable way to ensure that concerns (for example, over experiences of school buses) are heard and expressed.

SD341: hope for an end to the closure

Public footpath SD341, which runs north-west from Stones Cross Road in Crockenhill, has been closed at the railway bridge since October 2017, as a result of Network Rail concluding that the bridge was unsafe. This has been a cause of mounting concern to residents, not least when the closure has been extended twice, the second ending last week (11 January).

I have taken up these concerns, working with both KCC Rights of Way officers and with Sir Michael Fallon MP, who has raised questions in Parliament with the Transport Secretary.

Just before Christmas (23 December), the bridge itself was removed by Network Rail contractors. This added to the concerns, but on investigation it appears that replacement of the bridge is scheduled for week 51 of the financial year (17 March). Once the works have been completed, the footpath should be able to reopen, probably around the end of March. In that case, the full extent of the new closure (running from 11 January until 21 June) should not be needed.