Sevenoaks Town Council has a Speed Indicator Device which is moved between three locations within Sevenoaks Town.
The purpose of this device is to reinforce the 30mph speed limit on roads near schools which had been identified by the Town Councillors of the 2019-2023 electoral period to be especially prone to speeding. After much debate by the Planning Committee on which roads to prioritise – with the limit allowed being three. These locations are shown on the maps below, indicated with an “X”.
The following roads were selected:
Bradbourne Vale Road – facing South, affecting North-bound traffic travelling towards Knole Academy
St Johns Hill – bidirectional
Brittains Lane – bidirectional
The following timetable shows the scheduled location for Sevenoaks Town Council’s Speed Indicator Device:
| St Johns Hill near Holly Bush Lane SOUTH (affecting North-bound traffic) | 18th December 2024 – 12th February 2025 |
| Brittains Lane by Beaconfields facing NORTH (affecting South-bound traffic) | 12th February 2025 – 8th April 2025 |
| Brittains Lane by Beaconfields facing SOUTH (affecting North-bound traffic) | 8th April 2025 – 4th June 2025 |
| Bradbourne Vale Road facing WEST (affecting East-bound traffic) | 4th June 2025 – 30th July 2025 |
| St Johns Hill near Holly Bush Lane NORTH (affecting South-bound traffic) | 30th July 2025 – 24th September 2025 |
| St Johns Hill near Holly Bush Lane SOUTH (affecting North-bound traffic) | 24th September 2025 – 19th November 2025 |
| Brittains Lane by Beaconfields facing NORTH (affecting South-bound traffic) | 19th November 2025 – 14th January 2026 |
| Brittains Lane by Beaconfields facing SOUTH (affecting North-bound traffic) | 14th January 2026 – 11th March 2026 |
| Bradbourne Vale Road facing WEST (affecting East-bound traffic) | 11th March 2026 – 6th May 2026 |
The above locations were publicly consulted on between March 2022 and April 2022, and after a 77% positive consultation response the equipment was subsequently ordered in June 2022. Following installation of the SID posts and receipt of the equipment, the device has since been operational since 28th February 2023.
The St Johns Hill and Brittains Lane locations were successfully installed as bi-directional, meaning that the SID can be turned around to face the other direction after the initial 8 weeks facing one direction. Bradbourne Vale Road however is operational only facing West, due to the site not being viable for Eastern facing infrastructure. This leaves the SID with five scheduled different placements between three locations.
The equipment will remain in each of its five placements for 8 weeks each before being moved to its next location. This is in order to comply with traffic sign regulations, and also has the added benefit of limiting the effects of “sign blindness”. Also known as “inattentive blindness”, this can occur when a driver sees the same traffic signs everyday, and therefore stops being as aware of and adhering to them.
