East Malling and Larkfield Parish Council Report Belle Court shop to open
The ground floor retail premises at Belle Court flats, near the Morrisons junction at Larkfield, is to open as a kitchen equip- ment store. Planning consent exists for the store, but permission is being request- ed for a change in the colour scheme of the frontage to fit the shop brand. It will be great to see this property opening after having been boarded up for so long.
Bin Collection Roadshow comes to Lunsford Tesco
There will be a roadshow to explain the new TMBC bin collection service at Tesco’s Leybourne Way store on June 21 from 9 to 3.30pm. Residents who have queries can go along and get some answers from officers on how the scheme, which is due to start in September, is expected to work.
Leybourne Park play equipment The parish council has set aside £1,000 to buy a new piece of play equipment
for Leybourne Park play area. The residents association is choosing what to buy.
Footpath change
The parish council has received notice of an application for a change of status on the definitive footpath map for footpath MR114, which runs from The Heath to Teston Road close to the ancient woodland of Warren Wood. The application has been made by the Byways and Bridleways Association for the footpath to become an “Old Road”. This would mean it could be used by walkers, horse riders and cyclists, and KCC would be responsible for pro- tecting the historic width of the path, which is that suitable for a cart. It is important that the line of this path is identified and protected in the light of the current application from Liberty Trust for further housing on meadows adjacent to the path.
New Belvedere Oast access decision deferred
An application to create a new safer Wateringbury Road access for Belvedere Oast, between the chicane and The Heath crossroads, led to an extraordi- nary committee discussion. The KCC Highways expert recommended refusal on the basis that the access did not meet KCC sightline requirements for a 40mph stretch of road. Councillors protested that the new access was, nevertheless, safer than the existing arrangement, and that KCC had refused to drop the speed limit to 30 mph. This was accepted, but did not alter his objection.
The parish council argued that, whilst the new access might not be perfect, it was the best that could be achieved within the land owned by the applicant, and should be supported.
Councillors deferred making a decision to give the applicant time to collect speed data for traffic at this point in the road.
New crossing lights to impact road safety
HIGHWAYS bosses have revealed that a new design of crossing lights at the New Road - London Road junction, Larkfield, will be rolled out across the county, despite complaints. Pedestrians are concerned they cannot see the green man signal as they cross, as it no longer appears on the other side of the crossing. There have also been complaints about the absence of the beeping sound, which indicates the safe crossing period for people with limited sight. Toby Howe, from KCC Highways, responded to questions from local councillor Trudy Dean with this explanation. He said: “We are no longer legally able to install far-sided red/green figures for pedestrians on the crossing. These must now be near-sided units and the red/green symbols appear above the ‘wait’ button - all new crossings will be of this type. “Whilst the green man is illuminated for a very short time, the crossing uses detectors to extend the time for pedestrians. Therefore, slower people or large groups will receive a longer time to cross the carriageway. Once pedestrians begin to cross,
there is no need to look for a green man as it will be behind them and the lights will not release vehicles until people are safely across the road.
There is no audible signal at the crossing but every push button has a rotating cone beneath, which is active when the green man is lit, to help those with visual impairments. We do not install audible indicators at junctions with multiple crossings as it is possible to overhear the sound from adjacent crossings which may not be safe to use at that moment. This is similar to the situation with the Tonbridge Station lights but it is omitted by design in order to protect pedestrians.”
Cllr Dean said: “I feel the lack of a visible green man sign whilst you are crossing the road may confuse and worry people about whether they have time to cross. The rotating cone button which is meant to show a person with sight problems that they can cross depends upon them being able to reach it, and I worry how reliable it will be over time. “This experiment needs watching carefully and I would welcome people’s comments. “
LOCAL CONTACTS
Trudy Dean, Malling Action Partnership chairman E:
trudy.dean@
kent.gov.uk T: 01732 843 119 Citizens Advice Bureau – T: 01732 440488 Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council main switchboard – T: 01732 844522
Pothole reporting – T: 08458 247800
Travel Enquiries Nu-Venture Buses – T: 01622 882288 Trains – T: 08457 484950 Arriva Buses – T: 0871 200 22 33
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