Council puts plans in place to keep services running

Published: Wednesday, 18th March 2020

Sevenoaks District Council recognise that many residents and local businesses rely on it services.

As the Coronavirus outbreak continues, the Council is putting its plans into action so it can continue to deliver services to the usual standards for as long as possible.

The Council is taking action to reduce contact amongst staff to limit the transmission of the virus. Wherever possible, staff are working from home and whole teams are not working in the same place together.

This means that some Council services are starting a little earlier than usual, including the Garden Waste collection service. Customers are being asked to put their garden waste bins and sacks out half an hour earlier, by 6.30am, on their collection day.

Other services starting earlier include the street sweepers, the fly tipping response crew and the cesspool emptying team.

The Council’s weekly refuse and recycling collection service is continuing as usual, however it may be necessary to change routes so collection times may be earlier or later than residents are used to, therefore it is important that residents put their sacks out by 7am on their collection day.

The Council is also urging residents to follow the Government and NHS advice to avoid unnecessary travel and therefore to only visit its offices if necessary. Residents can find information, apply for services, make payments and do business on its website www.sevenoaks.gov.uk or by calling 01732 227000.

Cllr Peter Fleming, Leader of the Council says: “These are very challenging times for many in our community and, over the next few days, we will be setting out the extra help and support we can offer as a Council.

We have been putting in place plans so we can continue to provide the services our communities need, these plans mean we can continue to clean the streets and collect the rubbish at a time when it’s crucial to keep our environment clean for the safety of everybody.”

“Although our offices currently remain open, and we’ve taken extra precautions to improve safety, we would urge residents to only come to our offices if absolutely necessary. Residents can still speak to us over the phone or use our website, where they will also find the most up to date information.”