Edenbridge Town Council
Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, wants to know how much crime and antisocial behaviour affects people across the county and what issues you think Kent Police should focus on.
The new Police and Crime Plan (the blueprint which Kent Police should follow) is being drawn up and we want you to have your say. Please spend 5 minutes filling out this anonymous survey.
Kent County Council has launched a county-wide consultation on its new draft Local Transport Plan. The Local Transport Plan is a statutory plan which is designed to set out the Council’s ambition and proposals for major changes to the transport networks and to help the Council make the case for future funding for delivering improvements.
You can take part in the LTP5 consultation at www.kent.gov.uk/ltp5 and find a list of locations where the project team will be hosting drop-in events of the proposals for the relevant district of Kent and can take questions and help attendees with providing responses to the consultation. For the list of locations just navigate to the link under the heading ‘Drop-in events’ or visit https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/ltp-drop-in-events .
The consultation closes on Tuesday 8 October
For queries or to request hard copies of the consultation material, please
email ltp5@kent.gov.uk or phone 03000 416595.
For any alternative formats, email alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk or call
03000 421553 (text relay service number 18001 03000 421553). This numberngoes to an answering machine, which is monitored during office hours
Thank you to everyone that completed our recent survey about dog fouling and possible dog-walking restrictions in Edenbridge. Your feedback has been really valuable and is going to help councillors with any future decisions they need to make to tackle irresponsible dog ownership and improve our open spaces.
At the Open Spaces Committee in November, councillors discussed the results and comments at length, which had produced 256 survey responses revealing that opinions were divided for and against the possibility of introducing dog-walking restrictions on the Council’s open spaces. Though there was a clear majority who agreed there was a problem with dog fouling at Town Council open spaces, there was no evidence that a dogs-on-leads policy was overwhelmingly supported or would solve the problem.
Your comments have provided many constructive ideas and suggestions, which councillors will continue to explore alongside other considerations. For now, the Council will be looking at making improvements to signage as well as continuing to remind people that Council litter bins are now dual-use and can take bagged dog waste.
Sevenoaks District Council has drafted a new Local Plan to cover the period up to 2040 – an important document that sets out what can be built and where over the next 15 years.
A ‘Pop-up’ session, where you can find out more about the latest version of the Plan and comment, will be held on: Wednesday 6 December 2023, 4.30pm to 7.30pm at the Eden Centre, Four Elms Road, Edenbridge, TN8 6BY
UPDATE: Meet with Edenbridge Town Councillors at another pop-up on Thursday 4 January 2024, 3-7 pm at Rickards Hall, off the High Street. View the plans, share your views and find out how to have your say.
Sevenoaks District Council says: “This Local Plan consultation, called ‘Regulation 18 (Part 2)’ continues to focus on development opportunities in built up areas but also considers Green Belt land in the most suitable and sustainable locations, on the edge of existing settlements including land that may already have been built on.”
View the Plan and take part in the survey by midnight on 11 January 2024 or download copy of the response here.
Edenbridge residents may be keen to view Page 55 of the Plan 2040 as it lists the sites that are being proposed for potential development (below).
In the initial Regulation 18 Consultation held earlier this year, Edenbridge Town Council already commented on SDC’s housing density proposals, and made representation on the Plan’s vision for the high street. The Town Council will now thoroughly review the new Plan documents and consider its full response to this consultation. On initial inspection, the Council is disappointed to see the number of houses that are being potentially proposed for development on Green Belt land in Edenbridge and believes that future housing need should already be met by the new Four Elms development and other sites in the town. Over the coming weeks Councillors will be considering which sites they may wish to object to and those they feel they could support as being more suitable for development. To this end, Town Councillors have agreed to engage a consultant to ensure we can submit the best possible representation for Edenbridge. The Council is also keen to ensure that the views of those living in Edenbridge are heard at district level and would encourage all residents to complete the survey.
Regulation 18 Consultation (Part 1)
Earlier this year we encouraged all residents to find out more about the Local Plan proposals and to complete the initial consultation survey. The Town Council also submitted its response to Sevenoaks District Council, including comments on SDC’s housing density proposals and vision for the high street. View Edenbridge Town Council response
Regulation 18 Consultation (Part 2)
Feedback from the initial Regulation 18 (Part 1) consultation was presented to Sevenoaks District Council’s Development and Conservation Advisory Committee on 11 July. At a further meeting on 31 October 2023, district councillors approved the next stage of consultation on the Local Plan, which focuses on housing development. This is running from 23 November 2023 to 11 January 2024.
The Local Development Scheme (LDS, July 2022) outlines the timetable and the next steps for the Local Plan:
• Reg.18 (Draft Local Plan consultation – Part 2) – autumn/winter 2023
• Reg.19 (Plan publication) – spring 2024
• Reg.22 (Submission) – summer 2024
• Reg.22 (Submission) – summer 2024
Due to the resignation of the postmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use, the above branch will be closing temporarily on Thursday 2 November 2023 at 1pm.
If you have any comments you can email: comments@postoffice.co.uk
For further information visit Edenbridge TN8 5AB – 097948 – Post Office – Citizen Space (postofficeviews.co.uk)
Edenbridge Town Council manages a number of parks and open spaces for the use and enjoyment of the whole community. From sports, to playgrounds, exercise and dog-walking, these spaces are used for many activities that benefit our health, social and mental wellbeing.
The Council wants to ensure that these spaces remain inclusive, safe and clean for everyone, so it’s important that we manage these sites effectively by balancing the needs and views of all users.
We want to hear whether you think there is a problem with dog fouling in Edenbridge and if you believe we should implement dog-walking restrictions in the Council’s parks and open spaces.
Currently, dogs are permitted at all the Council’s open spaces off leads, apart from playgrounds, and at Blossoms Park where there is already a no dogs policy except for on-leads around the perimeter only.
Please tell us what you think by taking part in our short survey. It should take less than 5minutes to complete. A paper copy of the survey can be picked up from our office at Doggetts Barn, 72a High Street TN8 5AR.
Thank you for your time – the results will be presented to the Council’s Open Spaces Committee and help councillors with any decision-making. The results will also be published on our website.
Deadline: 11.59pm on Sunday 22 October
As the countdown to the opening of Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre begins, local people are being given another opportunity to hear about the services that will be delivered from our new community hub when it opens at the end of November.
Email: kchft.edenbridge@nhs.net
The High Weald AONB Management Plan is the single most important document for the area. There is a statutory duty to review it every five years.
It sets out a vision for the kind of place that is desired for the High Weald to be in years to come and, crucially, some of the activities that a range of organisations and local people could take to achieve that vision.
This year, a new Plan is being prepared by the High Weald AONB Partnership, working on behalf of the area’s 15 local authorities.
The new Plan will run from March 2024 to March 2029.
The Plan is informed by research and the many conversations the Partnership has had with organisations, farmers, businesses, charities, community groups and residents over the last 30 years. In 2022 a public survey was also undertaken to gauge opinions on introducing new topics into the Plan.
On Wednesday 5 July 2023, transport watchdogs London TravelWatch and Transport Focus launched public consultations on behalf of rail operators across the country to consider how tickets are sold and to improve customer service.
The consultation runs until 26 July 2023.
The proposal aims to better support passengers by moving colleagues out from behind traditional ticket offices windows, which would close, onto station concourses where customers need them most, making them more visible and accessible.
The aspiration is that colleagues would move to roles that cover a broader range of customer needs in the future – from travel and fares advice to accessibility assistance – following engagement with both colleagues and the unions.
These potential plans support wider moves to modernise the railway, put customer service at its heart and would offer a more varied and interesting role for colleagues.
No final decisions have been made as the industry is currently at local public consultation stage.
No stations that have staff today will become unstaffed and station opening hours would remain the same.
The proposal for Edenbridge Town Station, which is operated by Southern Railway, is to close the ticket office and to provide ticket assistance instead. The times would remain the same (Weekdays 06.30 am to 1.05 pm; Saturday 07.00 am to 1.35 pm; Sunday closed).
To view the proposals in more detail and to find out how you can comment, please visit the Southern Railway website.
You can also check proposals for other stations and find out how to comment by visiting the respective operator websites below.
As this public consultation is being carried out by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, GTR (Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express) cannot take your feedback directly. The only way to ensure your response is accepted is to complete the consultation by emailing or writing to Transport Focus or London TravelWatch.
For Edenbridge Town station or other Southern operated ticket office, email your response to: southern.consultation@londontravelwatch.org.uk
Or write to:
Freepost RTEH-XAGE-BYKZ
London TravelWatch
PO Box 5594
Southend-on-Sea
SS1 9PZ
A month of public listening events is taking place for people in Edenbridge as the build of the new Edenbridge Memorial Health Centre enters its final phase.
The full range of proposed services that could be delivered from the centre will be talked through, plus Edenbridge residents are being asked how the community space could be used by community and voluntary groups.
Please note: The online meetings on 8 and 17 March will follow the same format and content as the public meeting on 4 March.
