Dartford Borough Council News

Tri-athletes from across the country will gather at Dartford on 18 August 2012 to take part in the UK’s first overnight long distance triathlon. Known as the Midnight Wo/Man, the race will be held at The Bridge, the new development next to Junction 1a of the M25 that is rapidly becoming a leading triathlon venue.

The Midnight Wo/Man race will include a 3.86km (2.4 mile) swim in The Bridge’s South Lake; a 180.25km (112 mile) cycle and a 42km (26.219 mile) marathon run, all of which are to be completed in less than 17 hours.

“There is a great deal of interest in this new race because we can offer almost perfect triathlon conditions,” explained John Setford, Race Director. “The swim is in clear freshwater, while both the cycling and the running courses are flat and very fast. Because the race is taking place at night, there will be very little chance of competitors overheating!

“Another benefit is that the race will not take up too much of the weekend. Competitors will arrive on Saturday afternoon, start racing at 6.00pm and potentially, they could be home in time for Sunday lunch with the family.”

Earlier this year, The Bridge was the venue for a standard distance triathlon that was a qualifying event for the ITU World Championships in Beijing. This was followed by a multi-distance triathlon and an aquathon race series, all of which attracted keen competition.

“Triathlon is one of the country’s fastest growing sports and we are delighted that Dartford is becoming such an attractive triathlon venue,” said Jeremy Kite, Leader of Dartford Borough Council. “The new Midnight Wo/Man race is an innovative idea and I am sure it will be a great success.”

The Bridge is a 264 acre mixed use scheme that is being developed as a joint venture by Dartford Borough Council and Prologis.

Further information on all triathlon events at The Bridge can be found at www.bridgetriathlon.co.uk

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For further information please contact Caroline Melvin on 0117 946 6654 or 07739 456336

The consultation on the Northern Gateway Supplementary Planning Document is now underway.

To find out about the proposals for your area and give your views on the document, see www.dartford.gov.uk/planningpolicy/NorthernGatewaySPDConsultation.htm or visit your local library. Responses to the proposals must be made by Thursday 1 December 2011.

You can also come to the drop-in session at the Living Well Centre, St Edmunds Road, Temple Hill, on Wednesday 9 November 2011 from 12.30pm to 7pm.

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Dartford MP, Gareth Johnson, and the leader of Dartford Borough Council, Jeremy Kite, joined Network Rail, Southeastern and the Homes & Community Agency to mark the beginning of major construction work on the new entrance and ticket office at Dartford station.

Mr Johnson said: “This is an exciting project for Dartford that will provide a much needed improvement to the station. As a commuter myself, I am looking forward to using the enhanced facilities that will be provided.”

The multi-million pound revamp will modernise station facilities, provide better journeys for more than 3m passengers every year.

Funded jointly by the Homes and Communities Agency through Dartford Borough Council and the government’s national stations improvement programme, the work includes:
- Demolition of the existing station building and re-constructing an eye-catching new three-storey structure
- Creating a new concourse and ticket office to make it easier for passengers to move around
- Installing better facilities at ground level, including new toilets, improved retail facilities and passenger information
- Creating more parking bays and a more open environment at the front of the station.
- Extending the canopies on both platforms and installing new waiting facilities on platforms 1 and 2
- Repairs and re-gauging of platform 1 and 2 to reduce the gaps between the platform and the train. The work also includes re-surfacing and improvements to the surface water drainage

Councillor Jeremy Kite, leader of Dartford Borough Council said: “The improvement of Dartford station cannot come soon enough for the residents and commuters of the town. It’s wonderful to see the work finally underway and I can’t wait for local people to be able to use the new station.”

Dave Ward, Network Rail’s route director for Kent, said: “The upgrade of Dartford station is a big step forward and will make a big difference for the community. We want more people to choose to travel by train, which means we need to give passengers the end-to-end journey experience they expect. This starts with providing a station environment and modern facilities which meet their needs.”

Vince Lucas, Southeastern’s service delivery director added: “Dartford is one of our busiest stations and deserves an environment to match. This project will help provide our passengers with a better experience when travelling by train and help area around the station. We will be working hard with Network Rail to ensure that there is minimal disruption to our services.”

The station will remain open to passengers throughout the construction with no disruption to the train services. A temporary station entrance and ticket office will be created to allow passengers to continue safely using the station during the 15 month construction period.

The work, which is being delivered by Osborne on behalf of Network Rail, is scheduled to be completed by Winter 2012.

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Notes to editors:
This press release was issued by Network Rail on 14 September 2011. Please direct any enquiries to gary.gaskarth@networkrail.co.uk

Work starts this month to provide Dartford with a much-needed new railway station.

In August, Network Rail will be starting work on the new station. Once complete, it will provide a better experience for the people who use it to make over three million journeys each year.

In order to keep the station open during the works, the Civic Centre visitor car park must be closed to make room for a temporary ticket office.

Visitors to the Civic Centre are advised to use the Westgate surface car park in Kent Road, DA1 2DF.

Jeremy Kite, Leader of the Council said, “I know closing the car park while Network Rail build the station is a pain, but it is essential if Dartford commuters are to have the new station they deserve.”

Residents are also reminded that many Council services are available online at www.dartford.gov.uk which may mean that visiting the Civic Centre is not necessary.

Payments such as rent, council tax and parking fines can be made online or by phone with a credit or debit card.

Payments can be made online by visiting www.dartford.gov.uk/payments

Telephone payments can be made by calling 01322 343760 (during office hours) to speak to an advisor or the 24-hour automated payment line on 0845 634 3001.

Direct Debit can also be set up to pay regular payments such as rent and council tax automatically each month. Download a form from www.dartford.gov.uk/directdebit or call 01322 343070 or 343570 (rents) or 01322 343700 (council tax) to arrange this.

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It was top marks for everyone at a special certificate presentation on Tuesday 21 June.

So far 177 of the Borough’s food businesses have been awarded the top grade of five in the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and a number of the businesses were presented with their certificate by Council Leader Jeremy Kite at the event.

Councillor Kite said, “Our food safety team have been working hard to launch and roll-out the scheme across Dartford. We hope that the food outlets with high scores will find that it boosts their business. It will also make those with lower scores make essential improvements. The scheme helps Dartford’s residents to know their local restaurants are safe and hygienic places to eat.”

Food safety inspectors are visiting and assessing all Dartford’s eligible food businesses to grade performance on food hygiene standards at the premises. The resulting grade is between 0 (urgent improvements required) to 5 (very good). Around half of Dartford’s eligible food businesses have been inspected and graded since the scheme’s launch on 1 April this year.

The roll-out of the scheme across Dartford follows its successful introduction at Bluewater in November 2010.

The Food Hygiene Rating allows the public to make an informed choice about where they eat. This information is displayed on a sticker and certificate in the food outlet or online at www.food.gov.uk/ratings

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Dartford Borough Council’s Cabinet has approved the setting up of a fund to allocate the £375,000 goodwill payment from EDF.
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