The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on Wednesday, 08 March 2023 were signed by the Chair.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on Wednesday, 08 March 2023 were signed by the Chair.

Members were presented with an update on actions that were requested or promised at the previous Gravesham JTB meeting.

Traffic Issues raised on White Hill Road

Cllr Rana confirmed that he had received no response from the Service Team working on the issue; the Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) agreed to chase the team for an update.

Springhead Parkway Rumble Strips

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) confirmed that the rumble strips had been removed.

Speeding on Rochester Road

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that a response had been emailed directly to Cllr Hills and Bob Lane.

Issues Crossing Valley Drive

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that a team of officers was still looking into the issue with crossing Valley Drive.

Kent County Council Salt Bins

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) advised that the work was almost completed filling up all requested salt bins and an email would be sent out to everyone who requested one soon.

In total, Gravesham had fifteen salt bins stolen this year.

Improvements to Northfleet Roundabout

The Dartford & Gravesham District Manager (KCC) confirmed that a street works team were looking into the improvements for the roundabout and discussions were ongoing about the placement of a refurbished anchor to be placed there. The Chair requested that an update be fed back to County Cllr Sullivan regarding the anchor.

The Board was presented with a report that provided an update and summarised the schemes that had been programmed for delivery in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Following a discussion, Members requested that:

• Information should be included in the programme relating to the fixing of potholes and any strategic programmes that impacted Gravesham  
• Inclusion of an asset management plan and a presentation at the next Committee meeting explaining how the works were determined and how decisions were made; if possible, a Highways Director should be invited to attend a meeting
• Officers from different relevant departments (street works, highways, resurfacing etc) and those responsible for projects in Gravesham to be invited to Committee meetings to explain their work and answer Members questions  
• Lower Higham Road had recently had micro resurfacing works carried and there were excess stones on the pavement causing problems to residents with mobility issues; County Cllr Sullivan requested that KCC send a team to clean up the site 

Following Members comments and questions, the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) explained that:

• Team Leaders were the best officers to invite to Committee meetings as they would have the best knowledge of the projects and works that Members were interested in finding out further information on
• Following micro resurfacing works carried out by KCC, a clean up team revisits the area one month after completion to remove excess stones on the highway/pavements. If KCC received further reports of excess stones then another visit would be scheduled; occasionally Gravesham’s own road sweepers would take care of the issue during their usual routes, but it was KCC’s responsibility. The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) agreed to resolve the matter 
• The site where the cliff/road collapsed along Galley Hill Road towards Swanscombe was now fully within KCC’s control; the road closure was in effect for eighteen months and would affect the residents of Swanscombe the most although residents living in Northfleet would also be impacted. KCC had imposed traffic orders with a 7.5 tonne limit on the surrounding roads in order to stop lorries using residential roads; those traffic orders went live yesterday and further orders may be imposed to parts of Northfleet in order to keep roads clear for residents and buses

The Chair informed the Board that moving forward, he would have agenda setting meetings with the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) to ensure the necessary items were on the agenda for the board meetings.

The Chair reminded Members that the public were able to raise transport issues in the Borough, through Councillors, to be discussed at the Board meetings.

The Chair allowed Members to raise various issues in the Borough with the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC).

Cllr Ridgers Issues

Perry Street – White lines

Cllr Ridgers advised that money had been allocated in the past to redraw white lines through Perry Street but they had not been completed yet.

The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) confirmed that the order was in the system but there was backlog due to frost damage and a large amount of potholes; the money to address the issue was secured against last years budget and the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) agreed to follow it up.

Parrock Road – Island

Cllr Ridgers asked if some highlighted kerb stones or arrows could be placed around the island on Parrock Road heading towards Echo Square to show that drivers should keep left.

The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) explained that a bollard indicating drivers to stick to the left lane had been placed at the start of the island.

Constitution Hill – Residents Wall Broken

Cllr Ridgers advised that a resident at the top of Constitution Hill had a house wall damaged several times from vehicles using the road as a cut through and asked what measures could be taken to deter vehicles from attempting the cut through.

The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) advised that there was a weight limit in place, and it was a ‘except for access’ road; the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) added that it wasn’t possible to reverse down the road and the damage reported had been mainly from refuges lorries. A bollard has been looked at it in the past but it would have toppled lorries and caused more damage to buildings. The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) agreed to look into the matter further.

Cllr Rana’s Issues

Whitehill School – Zebra Crossing

Cllr Rana had previously asked for a zebra crossing to be installed outside of Whitehill School and it was looked into by Claire Venner before she left KCC. Cllr Rana requested an update.

The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) advised that the matter was with the West Kent Improvement Team; the Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) agreed to contact the team and request an update on when it would be completed

Lack of Bus Services

Cllr Rana and Cllr O’Malley had received numerous complaints from residents about the lack of bus services; specifically, one resident lived in Coldharbour and could not use the bus to get to work as the earliest bus was 10:00am.

The Gravesend & Dartford District Manager (KCC) agreed to speak to the Public Transport Team and Arrive; KCC weren’t able to control the bus schedule, but KCC did work closely with bus companies to make sure the demand for all areas were met. The Public Transport Team could request that a representative of Arriva attend a Board meeting.

County Cllr Sullivan advised that in the past Arriva and Redcoach had been invited to attend Board meetings and it would be interesting to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.