A21 Sevenoaks Road safety improvement scheme

Update 18 July 2024

Between 04 January 2024 and 15 February 2024, we held a public consultation on proposals to make safety improvements to the A21 Sevenoaks Road.

We have now published our report on the outcomes of the consultation, which you can view in the Documents section of this webpage.

We received 786 responses to the consultation and thank you to everyone who took part. A range of views were expressed during the consultation, with comments, concerns and suggestions raised.

Having undertaken an initial review of the responses to the consultation and taking into account the safety case for the proposals, we have decided to keep the current road layout as it is, at least for the time being, whilst we undertake further investigations. These will include surveys and additional traffic modelling in the area, to ensure the scheme would not impede the safe and efficient movement of traffic through the area. We have decided that this is the best way to proceed because a number of respondents to the consultation questioned what effect the scheme would have on traffic flow.

This means that the right turn from the A21 Sevenoaks Road into London Road will remain closed while we complete our further investigations, for safety reasons. We have not yet made any decisions about what the longer-term future of this junction should be, and we will not do so until we have completed this further work and considered the issues raised by respondents to our consultation.

The Traffic Order that we used to enable us to prohibit the right turn from the A21 eastbound onto London Road will expire in November 2024. Prior to this we will ‘make’ a new Traffic Order to enable the closure to remain in place while we complete the further work we described above.

We will continue to liaise with the borough, local residents, community stakeholder groups and others to provide updates on our progress. We will write to all those people who responded to our consultation again later this year, by which time we hope to have completed our further investigations. At this point we will explain the outcomes of our further work and we will publish our responses to the issues raised by respondents to the consultation. We will also explain our next steps, and whether the banned right turn will be retained in the longer term.

-update ends-

Update 16 February 2024

This consultation has now closed. Thank you to everyone who responded. We are analysing your feedback and will report back shortly.

-update ends-

In May 2023 we made some emergency changes to the A21 at its junction with Sevenoaks Road. We have now reviewed the changes and want to hear your thoughts about a new set of proposals.

On this page you can read what is proposed and how you can have your say.

You have until  Thursday 15 February 2024  to give us your feedback.

Our new proposals for the junction

Background

Information to help you respond

Equalities Impact Assessment

Tell us your views

What happens next

Our new proposals for the junction

In summary, we propose to:

• To reduce the speed limit from 50mph to 40mph
  
  
• Reinstate the banned right turn on the eastbound A21, but to control it with new traffic signals
  
  
• Keep the westbound traffic at one lane, reduced from two

We have also produced a map to illustrate these changes.  

(Click on the map for larger version)

Background

In May 2023 we made some emergency changes to the A21 at its junction with Sevenoaks Road (commonly known as London Road) to make it safer for all road users. Specifically, the changes we made were:

• Banning the right-hand turning movement from the A21 into Sevenoaks Road
• Moving the ‘merge point’ for traffic further east and reducing the eastbound lane of A21 Sevenoaks Road down to a single lane. We did so to help road users be more visible to one another

We made these changes because over the last three years or so, there have been two collisions at this junction in which three people tragically lost their lives. These collisions occurred between vehicles travelling westbound with vehicles turning in and out of this junction. The changes were intended to keep everyone using this junction safe. This is in line with The Mayor’s Vision Zero Action Plan which is central to our aim to eliminate all death and serious injuries on London’s roads. To achieve this, we must take steps to reduce road danger for everyone.

These changes were made using an Emergency Traffic Order (ETO) so that we could introduce the changes quickly, and so that we could monitor their impact.

Information to help you respond

We have provided more information to help you respond. Visit the Documents section for:

• A map of our proposals
  
  
• Frequently asked questions about the scheme
  
  
• An Easy Read version of our proposals and survey
  
  
• Audio version of the proposals and survey
  
  
• A downloadable copy of our consultation survey in case you would prefer to respond offline

You can use the questions tool on this page during the consultation period. We will respond your questions as soon as we can.

If you need to translate this page into another language, please use the ‘Select language’ button at the bottom of this page.

Drop-in events

As part of our consultation, we are hosting in person drop-in events for local people who have questions about the scheme. We will be hosting the event on:

Wednesday 17 January 2024 (07:00 - 09:30) and Thursday 25 January 2024 (07:00 - 09:30), Knockholt Station, Old London Road, Chelsfield, Sevenoaks, TN14 7HR

We will have paper copies of the survey, maps and consultation materials available and the team will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Equalities Impact Assessment

Our Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) identifies:

• The affects these proposals could have on people
  
  
• How we propose to minimise any negative impacts

After we’ve considered all comments, the EqIA will be reviewed and may be updated.

We use the EqIA to help us decide if, and how, we should proceed with these proposals.

Connecting with London's deaf community on our consultations

A British Sign Language video of the proposals and survey is available.

To enhance how we engage and consult with London's deaf community we are trialling a British Sign Language (BSL) consultation conversation service for this consultation. This service will allow the TfL consultation lead to have a two-way BSL translated discussion on any aspect of this consultation with a BSL speaker.

To request a BSL consultation conversation please contact us at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk and we will be in contact to arrange this at a convenient time. Following this trial, we will evaluate the service to determine if this is something we are able to offer on other consultations in the future.

What happens next

These proposals are subject to the outcome of our consultation. Once consultation ends on Thursday 15 February 2024, we will spend time considering all the responses we receive and will prepare a consultation report.

The report will be available to everyone that takes part in the consultation and a copy will be published on our website.

Top