The Sevenoaks District Manager (KCC) reported the following to the Board:

Streetlighting project update

Kent County Council had recently awarded the Contract, (to Bouygues E & S Infrastructure UK Ltd), to convert all of its street lights to Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. The work would involve changing the lantern on the existing column to LED technology and would start in March 2016. When combined with a Central Management System (CMS) it would be possible to monitor energy use, detect faults, dim lights and control the time that the lights turned on and off.

At the Extraordinary meeting of Kent County Council’s Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee on the 12 February 2016, a decision to return to optimised all night lighting was endorsed. The KCC Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport would be signing off a new street light policy based on the endorsement in preparation of the first lantern being installed. (As required under contract, Bouygues will be designing each individual street with LED’s, and will have to work within the restrictions of current column locations, heights and conflict zones that may exist (e.g. trees, roundabouts and junctions).  Part of the design would include an evaluation of an appropriate optimal illumination level within the individual street).

The new policy would come into force once the individual street light had been converted to LED and was commissioned on to the CMS.

The Authority had agreed with Bouygues a proposed programme for delivery of the LED conversion project. It would take 14 months to complete the residential areas, so dependent on where the individual district was within the programme; would depend on when a new policy would be implemented. The programme for the residential areas had been split into four phases and the approximate timeline was as follows:

·         Phase 1 (Ashford, Shepway & Dover) = March 2016 to July 2016

·         Phase 2 (Sevenoaks Dartford & Gravesham) = July 2016 to September 2016

·         Phase 3 (Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells * Maidstone) = September 2016 to November 2016

·         Phase 4 (Swale, Canterbury & Thanet) = November 2016 to May 2017

In response to a question, he advised that because of the control this system gave, it was easier to adhere to local wishes for lights off or dimmed.

Combined Members Grants – Verbal Update

A review of the delivery of highway projects using County Members’ discretionary Combined Members Grant had been undertaken. As a result of the review the scheme would be revised from 1 May 2016.

The key changes were intended to create key contacts for County Members through the District Managers who would support County Members in identifying highway projects.  District Managers would also be responsible for reporting through Joint Transportation Boards on Combined Member Grant scheme, and County Members would be fully briefed on the changes in April 2016.

Members considered the report before them.  The following corrections were noted:

Appendix C – Street Lighting

should read  ‘Footpath Green Court Road..’

Orpington Bypass was in Badgers Mount Parish not Shoreham

Appendix E – Developer Funded Works

SE 003029 was Sevenoaks Town Council, not Shoreham Parish.

In response to a question concerning the use of mirrors, the Sevenoaks District Manager (KCC) advised that applications for mirrors would be considered but only in specific circumstances and locations would they be allowed as they could give false impressions, of speed for example.

In order to provide a holistic approach to the improvements being looked at with regards to Bat and Ball Train Station Improvements, it was suggested that as Sevenoaks Town Council were in negotiations to take over a building there, it would be worth liaising with them.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.