PRESS RELEASE Town councillors welcome the start of work on the new East-West walking, wheeling and cycle route for Sevenoaks

Town councillors have welcomed progress on the new East-West walking wheeling & cycling route after work started on October 28.

The new route is expected to be finished by Spring 2025.

The scheme, which was proposed by SDC and KCC, has £1.2million funding from Active Travel England and aims to provide a new walking, wheeling and cycling lane between A25 Worships Hill and B2019 Seal Hollow Road in Sevenoaks.

Councillors at Sevenoaks Town Council’s Planning and Environment Committee on Monday this week [4/11/24] expressed delighted that so many of the new 20mph roads - delivered by KCC and funded by the Town Council – are encompassed within this scheme, so benefiting user safety.

The route connects many of the town’s schools for safer cycling, from Riverhead and Amherst schools in the west of the town with Trinity, Weald of Kent and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys annexes in the east. It also picks up Sevenoaks Primary, Walthamstow Hall Junior School and Knole Academy along the way.

The route will also provide easy access to Sevenoaks railway station. By improving these connections KCC hope that the network will be popular with children, commuters and the wider community.

The aim is to encourage residents to walk, wheel and cycle safely as an alternative to using their cars for short journeys.

Town councillors at the meeting commented they look forward to further collaboration with SDC and KCC to make Sevenoaks Town safer for cycling.

Works will go on over 28 weeks, from October 28 between 8am and 4pm, using temporary lights. To complete resurfacing works some night closures will be required between 8pm and 4am.

The scheme will include:

• a new shared (pedestrian and cycle) crossing at A25 Worships Hill, London Road and St Johns Hill

• an upgrade from footway to bridleway of the existing public right of way (PROW) SR734

• new raised table ramps at Lambarde Road, Hillingdon Avenue and The Crescent

• new separated cycle lane along the A25 Bradbourne Vale Road (between Oakdene Road and St Johns Road)

• 6 new parking spaces - A25 Bradbourne Vale Road

• new route signage.

For more details about the route and the scheduling of the works, go to the County Council website www.kent.gov.uk then go to Roads and travel/ Road projects/ In Progress road projects.