WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE
WHAT THE NEW TEAM HOPE TO ACHIEVE.....
Many of our team that hope to persuade you to vote for us as a new Parish Council, are long term members of BG-TAG, and other activists with a long history of voluntary work in the village.
We have not always been alone in these campaigns, often support from the Parish Council has played a significant part. But it is equally true that many of our campaigns have suffered from lack of support, or even outright opposition by that same Parish Council.
We currently have 4 members on the Parish Council, voted there with thanks to your support. But how much more could we achieve as a "can do" team rather than constantly fighting the status quo to get anywhere, often over months and even years.
 | PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS One of our major successes was the pedestrian crossing campaign. No doubt at times input from the Parish Council helped, but they also oftimes opposed, but in the end we achieved three. |
SPEED CAMPAIGNS Another early campaign was the BG30 campaign, urging traffic to slow down and working with the Police on a pre-cursor to the Speedwatch program. Our campaigning was a major step towards the camera on |  |
 | LORRY ROUTE SIGNING Very early on we realised that some lorry traffic could be controlled by a decent |
BYPASS No doubt many people over many years had campaigned for our Bypass, but spirits flagged and Tim & Mike took up the campaign, using our pedestrian crossing marches as an important tool. |  |
 | DROP-IN CENTRE Some of our team have been volunteers at the centre since before its opening in 2003, working with young people until the present day. |
BYPASS AGAIN !! We felt that KCC at the time were singularly lacking in enthusiasm for our Bypass, so we cooked up a scheme to put Tim up as a candidate in the 2005 KCC elections against Valerie Dagger. We didn’t win, but we took a big bite out of her majority, and KCC’s attitude to Tim has been markedly different since, leading to Paul Carter's pledge to fund a new application, and his willingness to carry out a safety audit on the A25
JUNCTION 5 SLIPS One of Tim's major campaigns has been to build an alliance of Parish Councils from West Malling to Westerham, with Mike Yianni as his Environmental Advisor. The aim is to bring pressure to bear on the Department of Transpor and the Highways Agency to build slips at the A21/M25 junction that would take traffic off minor roads like ours and move it onto the motorways. The current economic climate has stalled the process for now, but the mechanism is in place
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 | DISABLED DROPPED KERBS Another early success was a campaign with T&M to put disabled dropped kerbs in to save disabled people having to trundle along in the road on the busy A25. We have continued this with surreptitious additions to the Highway that allow wheelchair access where it did not exist before. |
| FOOTPATH CLEARING Whilst we accept that it is KCC’s responsibility to clear footpaths, most would have disappeared in undergrowth while we waited for them to turn up. BGPC point blank refused to allow their staff to maintain these footpaths, so we have through the drop-in centre arranged teams of young people to have a go |  |
 | FOOTPATH RESURFACING Again, a KCC responsibility, but direct talks with KCC Rights of Way Officer Michele Snoding, and the efforts of young people clearing vegetation, Michele has now resurfaced 3 footpaths in the village, Crowhill, |
| SALT BINS Now it is true that BGPC authorised the money to pay for these bins, and the salt, and now their staff are helping maintain them, a good team. But hidden behind the scenes is the two year fight to get them agreed. We had all the “not our job”,” H&S won’t allow it”, “we would be liable if someone fell” excuses, but they eventually gave in and to be fair are now solidly behind the campaign. |  |
