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downsmail.co.uk Call for thought on roadworks
ABUS company boss has asked KCC to be more considerate when planning road closures. The number of temporary road closures has
risen dramatically sinceKCCintroduced the Kent Permit Scheme, whereby contractors are required to get approval from KCC – and pay a levy – to carry out road repairs. Although the schemewas devised to streamline
roadworks and ensure several small projects on one stretch of carriageway could be completed in one “hit”, the effect has actually led to more road closures, according to Norman Kemp, of bus com- pany Nu-Venture. Mr Kemp (pictured) claimed that in the past,
drivers may have “muddled through” while pot- holes were filled or minor works carried out, but the increased health and safety requirements have led to more bureaucracy – and more road clo- sures.
While Mr Kemp appreciates that the work has
to be done and the legislation is there for a pur- pose, he says his customers, however, generally blame the bus company when they are late – or fail to turn up – because of traffic diversions. Mr Kemp said: “Whilstwe do our best to advise passengers of forthcoming disruption, it is not al- ways possible – especially in rural areas where people are used towaiting at the end of their drive for a bus. Often the diversion can be some distance away and they will have no knowledge of it. “At other times, the dates are changed at short
notice, leaving us little or no time to give our pas- sengers advancedwarning.” The most recent in a long line of closures af- fected Horseshoes Lane, Langley in December,
when Mervyn Lambert Plant Ltd replaced over- head power cables. The closure affected the A274 from Sutton Road
to Heath Road. Mr Kemp pointed out that if the project had been deferred by just a few days, it would have caused much less disruption as the
schoolswould have broken up.He said: “The var- ious ad-hoc closures of this road in recent weeks have proved to be very disruptive to local bus routes. “It would have been most helpful and sensible
if this further closure could have been scheduled after the end of the school term [December 20], when there was less pressure on the local bus services which use this road.” “I abhor the prospect of leaving adults waiting
in vain for a bus which does not turn up, but the thought of small children trying to get to and from school and missing their bus is evenworse.” Mr Kemp, who has written to KCC, added:“We
are going to have to get used to living with a level of uncertainty and unreliability. At least when there is snow, people anticipate problems. How- ever, nobody could have foreseen this huge paper chase emanating from KCC.”
KCC’s permit system‘ground-breaking’
A SPOKESMAN for KCC said: “KCC introduced the groundbreaking Kent Permit Scheme two years ago, which requires companies to apply for permission to dig up a road. This allows the county coun- cil to manage and co-ordinate works – getting firms to work at the same time instead of digging holes separately – so minimising
jams and delays suffered by mo- torists and other road users.” Kent is one of only two places
to operate a “lane rental scheme”, which provides an incentive for companies to schedule works at the least inconvenient times – such as during the night or out- side school holidays. The spokesman said: “Traffic re-
duces by 20% in school holidays, so the cost of carrying out works then is lower, as it is for work car- ried out during the night. “Obviously, utility companies
have a legal obligation to respond to an emergency, so this is be- yond our control – but they do have to apply retrospectively for the necessary permissions.”
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