M20 Smart Motorway Junctions 3 to 5

The request was refused by Kent County Council.

Dear Kent County Council,

all information you hold about the works, to commence with early vegetation works to commence January 2018.

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Joseph

Kent County Council

Dear Ms Joseph

 

Thank you for your email below.

 

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 29^th January 2018 (20 working days from date of receipt).

 

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/17/2185 - in any
communication regarding this particular request.

 

Best regards,

 

Kirsty-Leigh Robertson| Information Access Officer  | Information
Resilience & Transparency Team | Room 2.87, Sessions House, Maidstone |
Tel 03000 418301 | Fax 03000 420303 |
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...

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Jacob Smith left an annotation ()

it's Carillion and Kier ...
Carillion read CN Briefing @constructionnews.co.uk who reported 'Convincing your lenders to fund a business that is carrying around £1bn of debt, is under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority and is being watched closely by the government won’t be the easiest of business presentations to deliver.'
For Kier read englandhighways.co.uk
JS

Kent County Council

Dear Ms Joseph

 

Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) 2000, relating to vegetation works on the M20.

 

I am writing to advise you that after consulting with the appropriate
departments, I have established that the information you require is not
held by Kent County Council. This is because Motorways are dealt with by
Highways England, not KCC Highways.

 

Highways England may hold the information you are seeking. If you have not
already done so, you may wish to contact them direct:

Contact Highways England

Highways England
National Traffic Operations Centre
3 Ridgeway
Quinton Business Park
Birmingham
B32 1AF

Email[1][email address]

General enquiries 0300 123 5000

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied
with legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints
process; details can be found at this link
[2]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...
on our website. Please quote reference FOI/17/2185.

 

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information Commissioner’s website [3]http://www.ico.org.uk/concerns.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Kirsty-Leigh Robertson| Information Access Officer | Information
Resilience & Transparency Team | Room 2.87, Sessions House, Maidstone |
Tel 03000 418301 | Fax 03000 420303 |
[4]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...

 

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Jacob Smith left an annotation ()

15th Jan 2017. Carillion collapses into liquidation as talks fail. PwC has been appointed to carry out the liquidation.
https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/

Dear Kent County Council,

So Highways England do not liaise with the Council before starting these works and using contractors about which it seems they knew there were problems and have now gone bust?

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Joseph

Kent County Council

Dear Ms Joseph,

 

Thank you for your email below,

 

I can confirm that Highways England are not obligated to liaise with Kent
County Council on works that occur on roads they are responsible for.

 

Kind regards

 

Kirsty-Leigh Robertson| Information Access Officer  | Information
Resilience & Transparency Team | Room 2.87, Sessions House, Maidstone |
Tel 03000 418301 | Fax 03000 420303 |
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...

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Dear Kent County Council,

What area are KCC responsible for? An area of woodland / tress has been decimated far from the road, beyond the fencing, beyond a public footpath at junction 4. Why so much clearance? What permission was obtained and what consultation took place? Why does a smart motorway project require trees, 100m from the highway to be cut down, beyond a footpath.
What consideration was given to the residents and the noise barrier provided by the, now felled, tress?
http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/m2...
Yours faithfully,

Sarah Joseph

Kent County Council

Dear Ms Joseph
 
Further to your complaint dated 5th March 2018, I have been tasked with
carrying out an independent review of the Council’s response to your
request for information; this is in accordance with your rights under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 
 
On 30^th December 2017 you asked Kent County Council (KCC) to provide you
with documentation relating to vegetation in relation to the M20 Smart
Motorway project between junctions 3 and 5.   
 
We provided a response to your request on 11^th January 2018 (within time
scales) advising that KCC does not hold any information, this was because
Motorways are the responsibility of Highways England.  In our response we
advised you would need to re-direct your request to Highways England and
their contact details were provided. 
 
On 16^th January 2018 you asked us to confirm whether Highways England
liaised with KCC before starting these works and on 19^th January we
confirmed that there wasn’t any obligation for them to liaise with us
about roads that were their responsibility. 
 
In your most recent email dated 5^th March you asked us to carry out an
internal review of our previous responses and asked a series of questions
about vegetation removal as part of the Highways England project and about
consideration to residents in relation to the noise barrier provided by
the trees that had now been felled.
 
I have now completed my review and can confirm that our earlier replies to
you were correct.  By way of further clarification I can confirm that
although KCC’s Highway Department is responsible most of the roads in
Kent, the motorways and trunk roads across the UK are the responsibility
of Highways England.  Additional information about KCC’s responsibilities
can be found on our website via the following link
[1]https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel...
 
Because your request relates to a project on the M20 Motorway, any
information relating to that project would be held by Highways England. 
KCC does not hold any information falling under the scope of your request
and therefore you will need to re-direct your request to them, as
previously advised.  
 
To conclude, KCC’s earlier responses your requests do still stand and we
are therefore unable to uphold your complaint. 
 
If you still remain dissatisfied following this internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information Commissioner’s website [2]http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Pauline Banks | Information Governance Specialist | Information Resilience
& Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.87, Sessions House,
Maidstone, ME14 1XQ Telephone 03000 415811 |
[3]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...
 
 
 

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Dear Kent County Council,

I am asking you to clarify and confirm the extent of Highways England's interest in the area. How far from the road do they control and where does the council take over?
Tress have been cut down far from the motorway, far from the slip road North-bound, junction 4.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.307519...
The tress have been cut down both sides of the footpath and unless there is an intention to remove the footpath, I do not understand why the removal of trees has gone beyond the fencing adjacent to the motorway , beyond the footpath and into woodland and wet area. the adjacent land appears to be owned by a fishing club, is adjacent to the lake.
Whose responsibility is this woodland, furthest from the road? please provide a plan displaying the boundaries

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Joseph

Kent County Council

Dear Ms. Joseph

Thank you for your email which asks us to clarify and confirm the extent of Highways England's interest in the area. How far from the road do they control and where does the council take over? I am sorry but only Highways England can confirm the extent of their interest in this area. They will also be able to confirm whether and to what extent their scheme impacts on any privately owned land.

Enquiries relating to KCC's highway boundary's can be made to our Highway Definitions Team. Highway boundary enquiries are a chargeable service provided by the County Council, details about how to make an enquiry, contact details for the team and the charges that apply can be found on our website via the following link: https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel...

Although the Highways England state on their website that “We are working with Kent County Council to ensure diversion routes are fit for purpose when they are to be used.” This only refers to co-ordination of their traffic management with KCC's network for traffic diversion purposes. I can confirm that KCC is not involved in the actual works being undertaken by Highways England.

A full and comprehensive description of what they are doing can be found on their website at this link - http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/m2...

If you feel KCC has not complied with our obligations you can appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the Information Commissioner’s website http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints

Yours sincerely

Pauline Banks | Information Governance Specialist | Information Resilience & Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.87, Sessions House, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ Telephone 03000 415811 | http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...

 

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