Following many developments locally over the last week, I want to use my weekly column to provide an important update on three issues: Storm Eunice, the Maidstone East Fast Line, and the future of the Sevenoaks Chronicle.
I would like to start by thanking our emergency services and the many volunteers who following Storm Eunice have been out supporting our community in the clean-up effort.
Following the red weather warning for a gale which was issued on Friday morning, conditions across the constituency left many homes without power – including my own. Over the weekend, I worked closely with UK Power Networks to ensure families and the most vulnerable were supported whilst they waited to be reconnected, and I thank the team at UK Power Networks for their round the clock support and hard work.
This week I also asked the Business Secretary in the House of Commons for reassurance that areas such as Knockholt, and Swanley Village, who have faced difficulty being reconnected after the storm, and have had repeated power cuts over the years due to out of date infrastructure, will be prioritised for an upgrade. I will continue to campaign for this in Parliament.
At the time of writing, I know some issues are still ongoing, so please if you know of anyone struggling, please do encourage them to email my office, at [email protected], and we will do all we can to support. There is plenty of help available.
In happier news, I am pleased that after years of campaigning and many, many setbacks, this week we finally started to see some limited progress on securing better rail services on the Maidstone East line.
Southeastern – now under different ownership – have this week started an additional off-peak services during the week on the Maidstone East line, serving both Otford and Swanley stations. There are now three new services to and from Blackfriars in each direction (leaving Blackfriars at 8.32, 11.39, and 14.29; leaving Otford (towards London) at 10.18, 12.55, 16.18; and leaving Swanley (towards London) at 10.27, 13.04, 16.27).
This absolutely isn’t the full-service improvement that we need, but it is – finally – some small progress. I am pleased that consistent campaigning has started to work, and the next stage is to get the frequency of service extended into peak times and, hopefully, the full service to London Bridge we were promised many years ago.
And finally, local newspapers have always been at the heart of communities, sharing local achievements, stories, problems and successes. That is why the loss of our local reporters here on the Chronicle would have such a detrimental impact.
Following the decision by Reach PLC to consult on redundancy for the local staff of Sevenoaks Chronicle, I wrote to the local director to express my urgent and serious concerns. Never have trusted news sources in the community been more important, and without local journalism, many issues may be entirely overlooked. The Sevenoaks Chronicle has a wonderful 140-year history in our community, and while I have been informed the paper will continue to be printed, I am worried about its content, and therefore future survival, if local journalists will no longer be providing the copy. The local team are well established and know everyone and everything - without them there will be no on the ground perspectives on stories, no questioning of press releases and no promotion of worthy causes.
Reach PLC have now responded to my letter (which you can see this in full on my website), to reassure me that the Chronicle will continue to see reporters covering the major issues locally. However, Sevenoaks Chronicle is not just a source of news, but an institution in our town. I will continue to monitor developments and I hope many residents will join me in calls for it to be protected.
