KCC wants no waiting Monday to Saturday, 8am to noon, on three stretches of Chipstead Lane's north side, partly so bin lorries can get through. Responses close at noon on 31 August.

Kent County Council wants to ban parking every Monday to Saturday morning along three stretches of Chipstead Lane in Riverhead, and residents have until 12 noon on Monday 31 August to object or support the plan. The proposed single yellow lines would mean no waiting from 8am to 12 noon on the north side of the lane from number 4 to number 60, from number 80 to number 92, and from number 96a to number 112. (Kent County Council, public notice: Various Roads, District of Sevenoaks, Amendment No.4 Order 2026 (PDF))

The consultation opened on Friday 7 August on the county council’s Let’s Talk platform, and Riverhead Parish Council flagged it to residents the same day. (KCC, Chipstead Lane Amendment 4 consultation; Riverhead Parish Council, public consultation announcement, 7 August 2026)

Why the council says it is needed

The statement of reasons published with the order is short but specific: the restrictions are proposed “to help with traffic flow and help with the waste collection”, alongside the standard legal grounds of avoiding danger to road users, easing the passage of traffic including pedestrians, and preserving local amenities. It is signed by Lorna Day, KCC’s Kent Parking and Enforcement Manager. In plain terms, parked cars on the north side are getting in the way of through traffic and the bin lorries that serve the lane. (Kent County Council, statement of reasons in the public notice (PDF))

Because these would be single yellow lines rather than double, the restriction only bites during the hours on the sign: parking would stay legal on those stretches outside 8am to 12 noon, and all day on Sundays. The consultation page also says the scheme will be reviewed after it is in place, with the council deciding whether to make the order permanent, amend it or abandon it. (KCC, Chipstead Lane Amendment 4 consultation)

Panel of key facts on the proposed Chipstead Lane waiting restrictions: single yellow lines with no waiting Monday to Saturday 8am to 12 noon, three stretches on the north side between numbers 4 and 112, proposed to help traffic flow and waste collection, responses due by 12 noon on 31 August 2026
Graphic by Sevenoaks Online

Parking on the lane has been an issue all summer

This is the second time parking on Chipstead Lane has surfaced on the public record this summer. Riverhead Parish Council’s 2026 Highway Improvement Plan, submitted to KCC in June, named the corner of Barnfield Road and Chipstead Lane as one of its four priorities, arguing that cars parked on the blind corner force traffic coming out of Barnfield Road onto the wrong side of the road, and recording county councillor Nigel Williams as advocating double yellow lines on that stretch. (Riverhead Parish Council, Highway Improvement Plan 2026 (PDF))

The current proposal is a different measure: morning-only single yellows on defined numbered stretches, made under the district-wide waiting restrictions order rather than through the parish’s plan. Anyone wanting to check whether their own frontage is covered should open the site plan on the consultation page, which maps the exact extents. (KCC, site plan for Chipstead Lane (PDF))

We covered the parish council’s wider priorities, including the London Road zebra crossing it is saving up for, in our report on the Highway Improvement Plan.

How to have your say

Responses supporting or objecting can be made through the response form on the consultation page, or in writing to The Senior Parking and Traffic Regulation Officer, Traffic Management Team, Kent Highways and Transportation, Kroner House, Eurogate Business Park, Ashford TN24 8XU. Either way they must arrive by 12 noon on Monday 31 August 2026. The notice warns that an objection “must explain the impact on traffic in the local area to be valid”, so a response that sets out specific effects, on visibility, on displaced parking in nearby roads, or on residents without driveways, will carry more weight than a bare objection. The order documents can also be examined in person at Kroner House by appointment booked through tro@kent.gov.uk. (Kent County Council, public notice (PDF))

If the order is made, the county council will publish a further public notice confirming it. For where you can park in the town itself, see our guide to parking in Sevenoaks, and for what else is happening on the district’s roads, our roadworks and travel update.

Sources

Image: Chipstead Lane, Riverhead by Chris Whippet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph.