“No Excuse Now Not to Fix Tenterden’s Pothole Plague” Says David Ward

David Ward, Labour’s candidate in Tenterden for the Kent County Council Elections on May 1^st has been campaigning hard to tackle the town’s pothole crisis. These efforts – working with local councillors and the community – have achieved results but still the High Street and too many roads in Tenterden seem to have more craters than the surface of the moon.

David, who is a member of Tenterden Town Council, is now calling for more action: “With £54 million in new Government for KCC’s pothole blitz there is no excuse not to fix Tenterden’s pothole plague. We need urgent action now because potholes are not just costly to motorists but dangerous too. Since 2017 nearly one person per week is killed or seriously injured due to potholes and road defects. That is why we cannot afford to delay repairing potholes that damage people as well as cars”.

Concern about these risks prompted David in January 2023 to launch a community petition highlighting the proliferation of potholes at East Cross, Beacon Oak Road, and in St Micheals. On National Pothole Day he organised a protest event at East Cross and quickly the petition obtained over 600 signatures. His campaign gained considerable media coverage and has been featured on BBC South East, BBC Radio Kent, KMTV, ITV Meridian, and in the Kentish Express.

In response to this high profile initiative KCC brought forward plans to resurface East Cross and along the A28. Then in 2024 David again highlighted the appalling state of Beacon Oak Road with 50 holes in 250 meters; making it a candidate for the worst road in Kent. He arranged for an AA Road Patrol and a road safety expert to visit the site to confirm their professional opinion that the road surface was not fit for purpose and unsafe. In March last year he also proposed that Tenterden Town Council hold a special session on potholes with Kent County Council’s Highways Chief Cllr Neil Baker. Finally in the autumn last year Beacon Oak Road was given a long overdue resurface.

The repairs at East Cross and Beacon Oad Road are very welcome but still leaves many roads in the town in a parlous state. It was, therefore, very encouraging that in December the Labour Government committed additional funding for pothole repair with £54 million allocated to KCC – see here. To ensure that Tenterden does not miss out from these new resources David in January initiated a joint letter with local councillors to highlight roads in Tenterden that need urgent attention. These include:

• Tenterden High Street at the Junction with Recreation Road where multiple potholes blight this very busy intersection in the centre of our town.
• The pedestrian crossing at West Cross close to West Cross Gardens where there are multiple potholes and faded white lining.
• Smallhythe Road near the Longfield turning – where both the developer and KCC need to take joint action on multiple potholes that are destroying the entire road surface..
• Appledore Road between Shrubcote and William Judge Close where a long section of the road is cratered with holes and now requires a completely new surface.
• The pedestrian crossing on the A28 in St Michael’s near Grange Road where there are multiple potholes and faded white lining.

Cllr Neil Baker replied in March confirming that KCC’s Highway Manager was aware and identifying priority sites for repair in the financial year 25/26. It is now to be hoped that with additional funds and clear priorities identified action by KCC can follow as soon as possible. This long running story also shows how important it is to have a local councillor – like David – committed to campaigning consistently to make Tenterden a better and safer place to live.