• Tens of thousands of foreign-registered lorries fail to pay the Dart Charge for the existing Dartford crossing
• Failure to improve link roads will cause chaos in long term warn Kent Lib Dems as Highways England consults on Second Thames Crossing

More than 150,000 foreign-registered lorries failed to pay the Dart Charge in the past year according to a Freedom of Information request by Kent Liberal Democrats, who are calling for a new system to be introduced as soon as possible.

Liberal Democrats joined a cross-party group of 40 MPs and members of the House of Lords calling on the Chancellor to bring forward preferential tax rates for company electric cars in his forthcoming Budget. The letter to Philip Hammond comes shortly after the Government scrapped grants for new plug-in hybrids and slashed discounts on other electric vehicles.

Highways England officials have been accused of ignoring the people of Kent after refusing to face councillors to account for the traffic chaos caused by multiple roadworks on the M20 and M26.

Highways England chiefs were invited to come to the Maidstone Joint Transportation Board (JTB) to explain to councillors how they are managing the various works on the M20 and how they will operate the controversial Operation Brock post Brexit.

The Government has promised that Thameslink trains will be running from Maidstone via West Malling to Central London from December 2019, following sustained pressure from Maidstone Liberal Democrats.

Today Rob Bird, County Councillor for Maidstone Central and Lib Dem Leader at Kent County Council, got official reassurance from the Department for Transport that the long-overdue services would finally start running at the end of next year.

Following the successful National Productivity Investment Fund bid, Kent County Council has been awarded £9.4m of Government allocation. This combines with £1.5m in developer contributions and £500k investment from Maidstone Borough Council to deliver a congestion busting improvement on the A249 Bearsted Road. This involves the widening of the carriageway between Bearsted Road and New Cut Road roundabouts, the connection onto the M20 and other works necessary to join other connecting local roads.

'It is unacceptable that a "double-whammy" has been dealt to rail passengers in mid-Kent' were words used by the KCC Leader in response to a question from Liberal Democrat Environment & Transport spokesperson, Ian Chittenden,

At yesterday's County Council meeting Ian Chittenden asked what steps the KCC Leader, Paul Carter, is taking to ensure that the Secretary of State puts Kent's County Town back on the rail map.

• Critical state of County's roads and pavements affecting all Kent residents
• The repair backlog could top £1 billion over the next ten years
• £77 million needed per year just to stop situation getting worse; KCC are spending less than £29 million
• Lib Dems propose spending extra £5m from reserves to use on the most urgent repairs this year

Kent County Council is asking for Government for an additional £4.6 million of 'Incentive Fund' support for highways maintenance. They need another £50 million just to stop the roads getting worse.

Kent's roads have suffered from chronic under-investment over many years. A small budget is spent patching potholes. But new ones appear and others get bigger every day. Other highway assets, such as bridges and drains, also urgently need attention.

Rail users from Maidstone & West Kent are facing up to the very real threat of services going backwards toward levels of service experienced in steam days. Promised improvements have been delayed and may never arrive.

Thameslink postponed again
Without any consultation, we were told back in November that the vital Thameslink services from Maidstone will be delayed by a further year to the end of 2019. This is due to perceived capacity issues and to provide a more "phased" introduction of the new services. Most unfairly, the only line to have this delay is the (Bearsted) Maidstone East, Malling, Otford, Swanley to Cambridge service.

Statement by Liberal Democrat County Councillors Rob Bird, Ian Chittenden & Dan Daley

The many Maidstone commuters who travel to London each day are incensed by the news that the new Thameslink service has once more been delayed, for a further year until December 2019.

While other counties continue to benefit from new railways investment and are given priority, West Kent has once again shunted into a siding.