Parish Council Highways Update – Oct 2025

It’s important to explain that the Parish Council is not the Highways Authority – that role sits with exclusively Kent County Council (KCC), who manage the roads and must follow strict national rules set by the Department for Transport. This often limits what can and can’t be done, even when issues are very clear to us locally.

What the Parish Council can do is take residents’ concerns to KCC and push for all options to be explored and considered. We do this through the Highways Improvement Plan (HIP) – a formal process where we put forward local issues, agree priorities with KCC, and explore possible solutions. Last week we met with KCC Highways to discuss the main issues that have been raised:

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜, 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐀𝟐𝟐𝟓 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 & 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝)

We know that traffic volumes, HGV use, speeding and the impact on nearby homes are some of the biggest concerns in the parish. It was proposed by Parish Councillors that the A225 should be reclassified to a B-road, as this might open the door to HGV calming measures, and we asked KCC if this was feasible.

This request was refused – their response was that:

Road classifications exist to guide traffic onto the most suitable routes.

o A roads are major routes for long-distance and regional traffic.

o B roads link different areas and feed into A roads.

o Classified unnumbered roads and unclassified roads are smaller, intended for local use.

• Declassifying or downgrading a road is rare and normally only happens when a new bypass is built. KCC told us they cannot justify a change in the A225’s classification – it would require Secretary of State approval and there is no suitable alternative A-road to carry this traffic.
• Even if it were possible, reclassification would not prevent HGVs from using the road, nor would it permit speed bumps or other physical calming measures (these are not allowed on A or B roads).
• An additional downside is that declassified roads actually receive less maintenance, fewer inspections, and may be removed from winter gritting priority lists.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 & 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 – 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬

We know that vehicles regularly speed through the village. We pushed for speed monitoring and the results from the July 2025 Automatic Traffic Count (ATC) surveys are as follows:

• A225 Hawley Road:

o Northbound – Average 32.8mph (85% of drivers at or below 37mph) o Southbound – Average 31mph (85% of drivers at or below 35.2mph)

• A225 Main Road:

o Northbound – Average 29.9mph (85% at or below 34mph) o Southbound – Average 31.2mph (85% at or below 35.9mph)

KCC’s engineers conclude that these speeds do not show ‘excessive speeding’ and therefore do not meet the criteria for funded measures. However, the Parish Council believes the data is misleading, as congestion at peak times reduces the average figures – masking the real issue of drivers accelerating too quickly at quieter times.

This data means that the roads are not eligible for any of KCC’s speed reduction measures.

The best option available to us for now is to establish a 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. This is a volunteer-led scheme where residents use approved equipment to record speeding vehicles. Details are passed to Kent Police, who can take follow-up action. Crucially, Speedwatch also provides us with hard data to strengthen our case for additional traffic calming measures. KCC have indicated that funding for equipment may be available if we are able to get a team together quickly – but we need volunteers to start. In areas where Speedwatch is running, they have had some really positive results.. If you’d like to get involved, please contact the clerk: [email protected]

More information on Speedwatch can be found here: Community Speedwatch | Kent Police

𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝟐𝟐𝟓 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐞 – 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐞)

We also raised the possibility of some kind of pedestrian crossing here. Sadly, KCC engineers explained that the site does not meet the strict safety and funding criteria required for either a zebra crossing or a pedestrian refuge island. Reasons include:

• Speed and visibility requirements not being met.
• Driveways and narrow carriageways preventing safe siting.
• Very high costs for extending the footway (around £100k), which would not secure funding priority from KCC.

KCC have suggested that an informal crossing point with tactile paving and dropped kerbs may be possible and their engineers will be assessing the site for suitability.

𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐞

Following concerns raised about visibility when leaving Roots allotments, the Parish Council spoke to both the management team and KCC Highways. We are pleased to say the allotment managers have responded positively – hedges have already been cut back, and they are installing warning notices for tenants exiting. KCC are also reviewing the site.

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 – 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞

Parking on pavements in Keith Avenue is causing difficulties for pedestrians, wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs. We know parking is limited, but please do be considerate – blocking pavements forces people into the road and puts safety at risk.

KCC have agreed to investigate installing dropped tactile kerbs at the end of the road to make it easier for people with mobility needs to cross safely.

𝐏𝐚𝐫k𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐬!

Parking continues to be an issue throughout the village and we are extremely grateful for the community support in working together to alleviate issues. Thank you to:

• St John’s Church – for kindly allowing the school to use Sutton Court at drop-off and pick-up times.
• Hawley Garden Centre – for offering Sunday morning parking in the short-term to help with football overflow, while we explore longer-term options.