After several years of sustained pressure from Liberal Democrat councillors and local campaigners, Kent County Council have confirmed that the long-awaited pedestrian crossing at Barming Heath in Maidstone will be installed next year. The confirmation was provided in response to a formal question posed by Dan Daley at last week's County Council meeting.

Last week Paul Carter stood down as Leader of Kent County Council, having been in post for 14 years. The Council elected Roger Gough as his successor. Roger Gough was previously the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education.

Rob Bird, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition at KCC, paid tribute to Paul Carter and proposed three priorities for the incoming Leader.

Millions of people care for relatives, friends and neighbours, often at huge personal cost. They need more than our gratitude; they need our support.

Carers UK have estimated that over 8 million people are currently caring for someone ^[1]. That is an increase of nearly 40% on the number of reported carers in 2011. It is likely that 3 in 5 of us will be caring for someone at some point in our lives.

In a letter to Tonbridge & Malling MP, Tom Tugendhat, Thameslink and Network Rail have advised that Thameslink trains will not start running from Maidstone East to Central London in December. No new date has been given for the introduction of these services.

This devastating news comes less than a year after the former Conservative Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, gave a written undertaking that Thameslink would be going ahead this December to Rob Bird, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats at Kent CC.

Kent County Council voted unanimously in support of the Liberal Democrat motion ^{[see below]} today. The motion was proposed by Ian Chittenden and seconded by Ida Lindfield, It was then accepted, without amendment, by the Cabinet Member on behalf of the Conservative Group.

Now the KCC officers need a constructive negotiation with the bus operators. Then we will need agreement at February's budget meeting. So there is still some way to go but it's a good step forward.

At tomorrow's County Council meeting Liberal Democrat, Ian Chittenden, will ask Kent County Council to consider allowing disabled persons and their companions to use their bus passes at all times. Currently they cannot be used in Kent before 9:30am.

Being disabled should not stop someone from going to work or getting to a medical appointment or doing so many things which most of us take for granted. But it does.

Despite repeated requests, the Department for Transport continues to refuse to confirm that Thameslink services will be running from Bearsted, Maidstone and West Malling to Central London by the end of December.

"Further delays to the introduction of this long-overdue service would be totally unacceptable", says Rob Bird, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at County Hall. "Local rail users, residents and businesses are fed up with the continued uncertainty."