Ann Allen MBE

A horrible, shocking day with the news that Ann Allen, Chairman of the County Council, died suddenly at home. For many, many people across the council - Councillors of all parties as well as council officers - as well as the Wilmington community that she represented; the people and organisations across the county that she met and supported; and above all the children and young people in the council’s care that she championed - the loss is overwhelming. 

Ann championed Wilmington, Dartford (where she was a long-serving and senior Borough Councillor) and Kent. At KCC she was (among many other roles) a shrewd and highly effective Conservative Chief Whip; a very successful Chairman in 2019-20, who had taken on the role for a second term in May; and perhaps her most characteristic role, Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel, which brings together KCC councillors with representatives of the children and young people in the council’s care and others (such as foster careers) involved in these issues. 

Ann insisted on retaining the Chair of the Panel through her terms as County Council Chairman, and for her the role was always about much more than chairing some meetings. She cared deeply about and advocated for the young people in KCC’s care (and the Care Leavers who have recently left it) and it showed. The KCC Panel was something of a model for building relationships between the Council and Children in Care - and much of that was down to Ann. 

Ann’s family - to whom she was devoted - have suffered the greatest loss, and our thoughts must be with them. And for all of us who worked with her and were privileged to have had her friendship, the loss is also huge. She really did represent the best of us.

You can find the Council’s statement on Ann here:

Childsbridge Lane closure in half term

Childsbridge Lane will be closed for 5 days from 25 October. It will be closed at Castle Drive to south of the railway bridge. In this case the closure is for works (carriageway patching) carried out by Kent Highways. The suggested alternative route is via the A25, Otford Road, Station Road and Pilgrims Way East.

Crockenhill and Swanley Village - road works and closures

Wested Lane Crockenhill is set for another closure, from 0600 on 1 November to 1600 on 5 November. As before (17 - 21 September), this is because of Network Rail works to stabilise a railway cutting. 

I have checked the situation regarding other works in the area. There are a number of closures during the previous (half term) week, or slightly earlier, but they are scheduled in with Kent Highways' Streetworks team to finish in advance of the Wested Lane works. 

The rail bridge replacement works on Beechenlea Lane in Swanley Village are due to be completed on 24 October. Nearby, Thames Water works in Swanley Village are resulting in a closure on Swanley Village Road from 25 - 31 October. These works have to be carried out in the school holidays, and are also timed not to coincide with the Network Rail works.

Also in Swanley Village, there are works at Harringtons Nursery on Highlands Hill (with two way lights) which are scheduled to finish on 22 October. 

Finally, in Swanley, Hilda May Avenue is also closed for drainage works on 25 - 29  October - also works that have to be completed in the school holidays. 

Concessionary fares on go2 in Shoreham

Today sees a further step forward following the good news that I was able to confirm about the go2 service in Shoreham. 

KCC Public Transport, working with Go Coach, agreed last week that as the supported bus service cannot be restored to Shoreham Village, that ENCTS (concessionary fares) bus passes will be accepted on the go2 shared demand responsive transport service.  Up until now the ENCTS passes have not been accepted on this service.

 Go Coach worked with their demand responsive transit software provider to put this arrangement in place and the key elements agreed were:

- Valid for free travel from 09:30 Monday to Friday and any time on Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holidays

- Maximum distance of free travel would be 7 miles (which allows access to Swanley/Sevenoaks destinations).

- Only available on go2 shared

- Pick up existing bus stops only and possibly outside the Kings Arms in the village.

- No routing of  buses through the High Street to Mill Lane.

The software provider had to test the system, but the launch was confirmed by Go coach on Tuesday evening (5 October).

From a user perspective when they book a go2 shared journey, the system will identify where they will be picked up and their destination.  It will advise when it can make the pick up and journey time length.  It will of course be free to pass holders.

Initially the system was agreed but not able to be operated because of fuel shortages. This meant that Go2 shared did not run as priority was given to school journeys. However, as of today (11 October) go2 shared services are running again.

PWE closure ends, Cotmans Ash Lane closure delayed

Reinstatement works for the emergency water pipe repairs carried out by South East Water in Pilgrims Way East have been completed today. A Kent Highways Streetworks Inspector visited the site earlier in the afternoon and reported that the traffic management items (signage etc) were being collected and the road being used.

The PWE emergency closure has meant that the closure of Cotmans Ash Lane (for BT works) scheduled for the last three days of this week has not taken place and is not doing so. A new date for these works will be published once it has been confirmed.

HWRC consultation: last chance to have your say

Kent County Council launched a consultation on the future use of the booking system for our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) on 19 August, and there are now under ten days until the consultation closes. 

The booking system was introduced when we reopened the HWRCs (after their closure in the early days of the pandemic) in May 2020. Views on the system are divided, and have been throughout. Some people dislike the inability to simply fill up their car and turn up at the tip; others like the certainty that they will not have lengthy queues, sometimes (as with the Swanley HWRC) stretching back onto major roads. 

The consultation has generated enormous interest. As of the start of this week, there had been 9,162 responses, easily the biggest response to a KCC consultation in the last decade or so. The outcome will contribute to the recommendations that we will bring to our Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee, for final decision by the Cabinet Member.

You can find out more about the consultation, and contribute to it, here.                         

Road closures in Kemsing

 There are two road closures affecting Kemsing that are coming up this week.

Cotmans Ash Lane will be closed for three days from Wednesday 22 September from 8AM to 6PM. The suggested diversion route is via Row Dow, Birchin Cross Road and Clarke’s Green Road.

Watery Lane will be closed for one day (Thursday 23 September) from 9:30AM to 3:30PM between Heaverham Road and Honey Pot Lane. The suggested diversion is via Honey Pot Lane, Noah’s Ark, St. Edith’s Road and High Street.

Both of these closures are for works being carried out by BT Openreach.