Cycle Pump Track Taster Day - 28th July

Waste Collection Service

We have received lots of complaints recently about the waste collection service.

TMBC have reassured us that they are using every possible clause in the contract (including issuing fines and defaults to the contractor) to ensure that Urbaser collect bins at the right time, but it's clear that the service is not up to standard. 

We will continue to press TMBC and Urbaser to get the service back to the level that we all expect.

Whilst there have been some genuine reasons for missed bins collection, including the national shortage of HGV drivers, as referenced by ITV : https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2021-07-21/hgv-shortage-hits-the-souths-supermarkets-as-haulage-firm-describe-heartbreak , it's clear that Urbaser have been struggling with the contract for some time and there are problems that run much deeper than this.

You can check for waste updates from TMBC here : https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/bins-waste/check-waste-collection-updates/1

As your local councillors we will put every effort into making sure that the council and the contractor work together to resolve these problems.

The future of the former Co-op stores

Cllr Sue Bell and I, along with the Chief Exec of the Town Council, met with the Co-op Estates Manager regarding the future of the two former Co-op stores on the High Street.

Number 46 High Street (the former Post Office) is owned by the Co-op. They have been trying to let it for over a year but due to the size of the unit they have had no success. It doesn’t easily sub-divide because it’s a long thin unit, but there is unused space above with the potential for conversion to flats. They are going to investigate this option. We suggested that they approach someone like Gym Group to see if it could be viable as a gym. If they cannot find someone to lease it then we expressed the view that they consider residential use rather than leave it empty.

We will also approach BT to see if an arrangement can be made to better utilise the land next to number 46 to provide parking and access to 46.

Number 11-13 High Street only has a very short period left on the lease and is NOT owned by the Co-op. At the end of the lease period they intend to return it to the freeholder. In the meantime, we have encouraged them to work with others (and we have put them in contact with potential partners) to allow the unit to be used as a community hub. We have also asked them to repair the fascia board above the shop, which is an eyesore.

Obviously, at the end of the lease, the freeholder could divide the large unit back into smaller shops which could be more easily let.

The Co-op are going to work on these options and then feedback to Sue and I. When they do, I will post it on here.

Parking in Snodland

Many of you will have seen information on social media about the potential introduction of a charge for parking in the Rocfort Road car park.

At this stage, it is important to emphasise that TMBC (the car park owner) are not even at a consultation stage yet. There was originally a proposal to have a consultation now, but this was postponed after the intervention of myself and Cllr Sue Bell who pointed out that the knock on effect on parking in the centre of the town, and in particular along Malling Road, could be considerable.

Therefore, we have persuaded TMBC to do a review of parking in the town to identify potential additional spaces and to see if all of the current road restrictions are required. There will also be an opportunity for people to request a residents parking scheme, if they want one.

There is also an obvious need to make sure that the car park is not abused by people who park there all day (such as commuters and some SE Water employees) and reduce the number of spaces available for visitors and residents.

Whatever happens, it is clear that something needs to be done as the car park is not serving the community. When I took some time to observe the car movements on a mid-week morning recently, during the 45 minutes that I was there, not a single car left the car park. It was absolutely full and there were 14 cars that arrived who were unable to park. This cannot be good for local businesses who need a turnover of spaces so that their customers can park without having to drive round in circles.

The consultation on charging is not likely to happen until June (at the earliest), but when the consultation goes live, I am happy to host a public meeting so that residents can make their views known.

The cost of running the car park is considerable (about £23,000 per year) which is made up of business rates, maintenance, CCTV monitoring, Civil Enforcement Officer salaries and other administrative costs. Whilst the motivation behind the idea to introduce a charge is not primarily financial (but about managing the parking to achieve a turnover of spaces), the council does have a duty to ensure that the charges for the services it provides are made fairly on a borough-wide basis. Car parks are one such service to which this applies. Under the law, the council has no duty to provide car parking spaces, but it does have the power to do so where it will benefit communities’ local economy.

The Council owns many car parks across the Borough, and most of them attract a fee for their use. Therefore, TMBC does have to be mindful that the running costs of car parks where there is a charge are paid for by the users of that car park. We have to consider whether it is fair for those users to pay for their own car parks AND to subsidise (through their council tax) free parking in other areas of the Borough. Likewise, is it fair for public transport users to subsidise free car parking?

In 2017, TMBC corrected the long-standing unfairness of Snodland residents paying for services in Tonbridge that would normally be carried out by a Parish or Town Council. However, as Tonbridge has no Town Council, it fell to TMBC to pay for those services. This was stopped when Tonbridge residents were asked to pay “Special Expenses” for Tonbridge local services in the same way Snodland residents pay a separate Council Tax charge to Snodland Town Council. However, having done this, Tonbridge residents are now quite rightly pointing out that the boot is on the other foot in regard to car parks!

When TMBC introduced car parking charges in West Malling, there was lot of public opposition and residents were concerned that it would cause local businesses to fold. That has proved not to be the case and the town centre is as thriving as ever, with shop vacancy rates at 3%, compared to 11% nationally. My personal view is that a small charge will not drive people away to other towns; this hasn’t happened in other places. The convenience of shopping in your local village outweighs the time spent in travelling elsewhere. Additionally, it would cost more in petrol to drive to another town to find the same services than it would to simply pay the 20p for half an hour parking (that’s just an indicative figure).

Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to this problem, but when the consultation begins, we do want to hear your views!

Councillor David Lettington

An update on Holborough Lakes fire.

We wanted to give you a brief update on the situation at Holborough Lakes after the fire.

Berkeley Homes are still accommodating several families at a local hotel and have been liaising with residents about their longer term rehoming options. This is not a straightforward process as there were a mixture of tenures with some families being owner-occupiers and other being tenants of private landlords.

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council are working together closely with Berkeley and have allocated Housing Officers to the families that need it. TMBC may need to give short term financial assistance to some households, depending on their circumstances. TMBC are also monitoring the cases of all those who have been displaced from their home.

Those families who were temporarily displaced from the adjacent block due to the electrical power outage have all been given the all clear to return. Some flats required a "deep clean" before residents could return.

The rebuild timescale is dependent upon the findings of a forthcoming engineering assessment to be carried out by Berkeley Homes. Berkeley Homes are carrying out air quality monitoring in the adjacent block whilst temporary works take place to remove debris and put up scaffolding.

We haven't heard any further news on the cause of the fire, other than that it started on a third floor balcony.

Cllr David Lettington

The fire at Holborough Lakes

I just wanted to write a quick post to say how proud I am of the way that the residents of Snodland have responded to the fire at Holborough Lakes.

It is clearly absolutely devastating for the families affected; many have lost their homes and treasured possessions. The shock of seeing flames engulf your home cannot be understated. The feelings of sadness for those families are also mixed with an immense relief that no lives were lost and that there were no serious injuries.

The emergency services responded swiftly, which undoubtedly saved lives, and have acted with total professionalism and compassion for the residents. Likewise, I wanted to thank staff from TMBC Building Control who worked with Kent & Fire and Rescue Service to establish the extent of the structural damage, and to the Housing Officers who gave advice to residents about their rehoming options.

People who have been following the ongoing parking saga at Holborough will know that I don't always agree with the actions of Berkeley Homes, but I have to say that both Berkeley and their managing agent RMG have responded brilliantly and, where those affected could not stay with friends or family then Berkeley have paid for them to stay in a local hotel.

The community have also been incredibly generous, there were more donations than could be handled and there has also been a JustGiving page set up ( www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/holboroughlakesfire ) that has raised over £3000 at the time of writing.

It is apparent that the whole block will need to be rebuilt - the damage from fire and water is too significant to permit repairs, even on the lower levels.

I'm sure there will be further information coming forward in the next few weeks, but for now I just wanted to say a big thank you to the community for all of the support that has been given to everyone that has been affected.

Cllr David Lettington

An update after the Holborough Lakes parking public meeting

This morning we sent this email to residents who attended the Holborough Lakes parking public meeting:

Many thanks for your feedback.

There were nearly 70 residents at the recent Holborough Lakes parking meeting, with 24 people completing the questionnaire.

The response to the first question was as follows:

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects your view:
- I am completely happy with the road markings at Holborough Lakes and would like them to be enforced according to the markings.	3
- I am generally happy with the road markings but think improvements could be made.	4
- I am generally unhappy with the road markings but would like to see some adjustments.	8
- I am very unhappy with the road markings and would like to see significant changes.	9

I am seeing Berkeley on Tuesday and will give them feedback from the meeting.

KCC also need to decide whether they will instruct Berkeley to remove the lines in areas without TROs (or just remove the lines themselves).

There was a wide range of responses to the other questions in the questionnaire, and here is a selection of comments:

"This is not a family friendly estate. More disabled spaces required"

"Parking problems in Holborough Lakes cause problems in Holborough Road too"

"Cars must be kept off pavements"

"Staggered lines on main routes [would help]"

"More parking bays where possible. Compromise is needed"

"I would like double yellow lines to be enforced"

"Roadside parking should be allowed"

"More provision of visitor parking [is needed], especially in phase 1 & 2"

"We are fed up with Berkeley Homes not considering the views of residents"

"The yellow lines will not work. People need to be able to have family and friends visit"

"Yellow lines need to be added where there are cobbled areas"

"it is very important that there is parking control over the whole of the development"

"Enforce parking restrictions at the nursery"

"Staggered parking needs to be in place on the main roads to create more spaces"

"Please consider that we would like to have family round without a parking nightmare"

"We do not need this strict, unnecessary enforcement"

"A blanket of yellow lines is not the answer".

I will keep you updated when I have further information from KCC and Berkeley.

Cllr David Lettington, on behalf of Snodland Conservatives

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