Cookies

We use essential cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. These will be set only if you accept.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our cookies page.

Essential Cookies

Essential cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. For example, the selections you make here about which cookies to accept are stored in a cookie.

You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytics Cookies

We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify you.

Third Party Cookies

Third party cookies are ones planted by other websites while using this site. This may occur (for example) where a Twitter or Facebook feed is embedded with a page. Selecting to turn these off will hide such content.

Skip to main content

Road Closure Speldhurst Road, Langton Green

By Katie Neve - clerk@speldhurstparishcouncil.gov.uk Speldhurst Parish Council

Tuesday, 19 September 2023

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Speldhurst Parish Council Contributor

VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

We had frequent contact with SGN and Kent County Council (KCC) last week regarding the emergency road closure on Speldhurst Road, Langton Green.

SGN explained that having discovered a series of gas leaks, they investigated and found the gas main along Speldhurst Road was in poor condition. To avoid having to return at a later date to repair more leaks, they decided to replace 243m of their gas network with a new plastic pipe.

We pointed out that the closure affects two bus routes - the 285 and 286 - which impacts school pupils, and those commuting for work and the shops in Tunbridge Wells. We also highlighted Langton Green Primary School, Langton Pavilion Cafe, the village hall, and Little Birches Nursery at Langton Green Recreation Ground, which are affected too.

We said that although we appreciated that emergency works must happen, we were concerned about the lack of work that often appears to be done during long-term road closures by SGN, giving the road closure in Southborough at the end of 2022 as an example. This closure had lasted for upwards of 3 months and had caused significant disruption, especially for school buses, and we didn't want to see a repeat of this.

SGN said that lessons were learned from the Southborough closure and they no longer used the contractors who had done the work. For the current road closure, they are using the same contractors who completed work on Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells during the summer (this work was completed ahead of schedule).

SGN has promised that they will update us, the bus companies, and local primary and secondary schools on progress throughout the works and hope to be finished by 6th October.

We have requested that KCC does not schedule any non-emergency works in the parish while the work by SGN is happening. This comes after the one-day road closure on the Speldhurst Road from Southborough on Friday - when cars that were already unable to use the Langton Green route to Tunbridge Wells were diverted again. Many of you will know that this caused chaos. It also affected the school bus route.

We will continue to keep you updated whenever we can. Please visit https://one.network for up-to-date information.

Contact Information

Katie Neve - clerk@speldhurstparishcouncil.gov.uk

  • 01892 862927
  • 07760 769513

Find Speldhurst Parish Council

Langton Green Recreation Ground, Speldhurst Road, Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN3 0JJ

DIRECTIONS