Tuesday, January 12, 2010

It is no joke!...

Ok that's it the joke is over. (I could have said Snow joke again but that's a tired one!) We've had enough. Over a week of snow and we still have disruptions everywhere. Disruptions to most Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells schools, disruptions on the roads, car parks mostly still like ice rinks, pavements mostly still not gritted. I am pleased to say though that the men from Kent Highways have (at long last) done a great job of clearly the High Street and gritting it very thoroughly; I would say too thoroughly but that would start to sound like I was being picky! But just walking from the Castle car parks this morning you could see that they could do a lot more good by just using their noddles a bit. For instance if they can't clear all the paths then why not concentrate efforts on the hilly bits and slopes where people are, rather obviously, more likely to slip over. I did notice yesterday while driving for the first time since last Tuesday that the pavements on Deakin Leas, which is one of the steepest hills in Tonbridge, had a small army of men out gritting the pavements. Was it because they are using their logic and prioritising the hills or was it that the road has a school on it and they have been told to make it safe for school children? Whatever the reason, it was good to see, albeit several days too late. Might it be a good idea to invest in a pavement gritter, which could probably do all the main pavements of the town at lightning speed? Is there a problem in whose responsibility it is to buy the equipment? Is it Tonbridge and Malling Council's or is it Kent County Councils? I would guess the latter which could be part of the problem. If KCC can afford to squander money on dodgy Icelandic investments then surely they can invest in a few mini gritters to stop old folks from slipping over and potential breaking limbs. That way we can all enjoy the snow in future years without being housebound....

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its all down to KCC, the council where the cabinet member for Highways is the same person that was cabinet member for finance when our money was put down the drain! I think this was a sideways move - something you will be good at in the snow.
A lot of the snow problem are due to KCC talking over total control of highways matters from the District councils 3 years ago. Agreements now have to be put in place between KCC and the 12 councils for assistance in winter.
Its not been a success when put to the test. A KCC email went missing between Sevenoaks council and KCC and chaos prevailed on the footpaths of Sevenoaks. KCC have a record of not reading important emails.
A lot of the problems on the roads stem from KCC centrallising into 3 Highways Depots for all of Kent. Not a solution that can use local knowledge. And yes the cost of this was £17,000,000 of our money.
Both the Libdems and Labour parties opposed this move but they are represented in such small numbers on the KCC council.

You may also be interested in the cost of the salt KCC has so far used this winter. 13,500 tonnes at £35 per tonne = £475,000. \By comparision in the last year KCC has spent £900,000 on Kent TV and Kent HealthWatch if you know what value they have added to the community.

So next time when elections come round in 4 years time have a good think about what KCC has delivered for you this winter and get out and vote.

alesteir crowley said...

They should put rivotts down to stop us from making fools of ourselves.
This blog- business - needy or just delusional? What do Sid and Doris think??????

Tonbridge blogger said...

Thank you anon you seem well informed on this subject. Certainly something has gone badly wrong even taking account of the unusually cold conditions. It's boring to go on about it now but this morning the buses along the relatively clear Quarry Hill and into Tunbridge Wells were severely delayed causing schools to issue notices on their web sites telling students not to bother setting off if they hadn't already, so bad were the delays. It's probably too late for this year but I sincerely hope that KCC and TMBC get their heads together and sort out a more efficient procedure for coping in the future....

Tonbridge blogger said...

Incidentally, people keep saying to me in my shop things like: "when we were kids everyone used clear the pavement in front of their houses but now you can be sued if you do that and then someone slips over there!" Is this just tittle tattle Daily Mail-type hyped nonesense or is there any truth in it. Anyone out there know the answer? Other people have informed me that in countries such as Germany and Canada you are obliged to clear the area in front of you house. Can anyone shed any light on that?...

delia said...

As far as I am aware and this was also confirmed on the panel of The Wright Stuff (Channel 5) that yes indeed if we clear our pavements in front of our houses and the path leading to it we could be sued if someone falls or has an accident on the cleared area. If the Council clear it it is a different matter. I was pretty shocked when I heard this and decided to leave my spade firmly in the garage. As far as Germany or the continent is concerned I have no idea. Sadly, this is another example of the ridiculous way of life and laws imposed on all of us. I would love to clear my path but I am certainly not going to set myself up for a law suit. Very very sad.

Anonymous said...

TonbridgeBlog, it doesnt take long to get up to speed with what KCC is upto. All council meeting are available to view live or after the event on the KCC website. You can be selective on subjects that interest.
You can see that one of the cllr members for Tonbridge is on the ball, the other one I have yet to see.
As an example this weeks cabinet meeting gave the news that freedom passes (under 16) where becoming available to all Kent school children regardless of whether thechild goesto school at a KCC school. It wasa pity though that one of the cabinet members who spoke on the subject did not declare his personal interest at the start of the meeting as he is duty bound to do so. The council Leader had to point it out to him, its not his first failure. I am watching!

I also recommend Paul Francis blog
(google for it)
of Kent Messenger.

Tonbridge blogger said...

Thanks anon you inspired me to make enquiries about the Kent Freedom Pass which my son is currently using. It's great for him because he can go anywhere in Kent on the buses and great for his mum and dad because we don't have to fork out over £700 a year on his bus fares back and forth to Tunbridge Wells. See next post for more. I'll take a look at the video links on the KCC web site but I'm not sure I'll be abl to stomach watching for very long!

Liz Simpson said...

Hi I have only just discovered the Tonbridge Blogger - makes interesting reading. Your first blogger was absolutely right - the blame for lack of coordinated response can be laid fairly and squarely at the feet of Mr Chard Cabinet Member for Highways. Borough Councils were offering to provide staff to help with the snow clearance before Christmas but KCC refused. KCC staff were telling people who phoned in asking for roads and pavement to be gritted that it was a Parish Council responsibility to provide salt bins - when the decision had been made last Autumn that KCC were not going to allow Parish Councils to provide bins (and of course Tonbridge is not parished anyway - so goodness knows where the good folk of Tonbridge were supposed to get theirs from). Following the huge public outcry Mr Chard was forced to apologise for having said it was their responsibility and after Christmas did accept help from the Boroughs. Has now decided that County Councillors can provide salt bins out of their Highways Grant Budgets they all hold - but at over £500 a pop - suggest you look at websites to see how much they cost wholesale. So complete about face. So why not contact your County Councillor and ask for a bin for places like Deakin Leas - that is steep enough at the best of times - must only have been passable by Eddie the Eagle in the snow.
And please do remember when you next come to vote that KKC have £50 million people tied up in Iceland, a highways department in chaos, an internet TV station (now dumped) that no-one watched and cost over a million pounds to set up, millions of pounds spent on reorganisation after reorganisation and a demoralised workforce .... the list is almost endless.

Liz Simpson Lib Dem PPC Tonbridge and Malling


Absolute scandal - casualty departments over-run, elderly marooned in their homes for up to three weeks.

Tonbridge blogger said...

Liz Simpson: That's the Tories for you!!