Reform UK’s flagship council have been ridiculed after it repainted road markings outside a school which closed nine years ago.
Kent County Council (KCC) have apologised for the “error” which saw it repaint yellow zigzags and “School Keep Clear” warnings outside the former site of Halfway Houses Primary School in Sheerness.
The school moved to another location in October 2016, and has been closed since.
The mistake has sparked confusion and criticism from residents and opposition councillors, who have labelled the paint “a farce”.
Mike Whiting, an independent councillor for Swale Borough Council, said the council’s departments out to “talk to each other more” as he wrote on Facebook: “What on earth is going on at cash-strapped Kent County Council?
“Rather than saving money, they have just repainted the yellow ‘School Keep Clear’ lines in Southdown Road, Halfway, almost 10 years after the school closed.
“How many times are we told there’s not enough money for really important projects, yet they waste money like this, painting irrelevant signs, both sides of the road.”
Local residents expressed their disbelief, with one saying: “This has really tickled me. I live in the same road and this school hasn’t been open all the time I’ve lived here.”
The council sold the disused school buildings and grounds to Government agency Homes England in March.
Zigzags and other markings are used outside most school entrances and exits to keep them clear when pupils are crossing the road.
Peter Osborne, cabinet member for highways and transport for KCC, said: “The repainting of the ‘School Keep Clear’ markings on Southdown Road was carried out in error, and we’re sorry for any confusion this may have caused.
“We deliver an annual programme of signs and lines replacement in the order of £1 million and the cost of painting these lines was £350 from this budget.
“We take our financial responsibilities seriously to ensure public money is spent carefully and mistakes like these are exceedingly rare.”
It is the latest furore KCC has faced in the months since they won 57 out of 81 seats at the local elections in May, overturning a 30-year Tory majority.
It now has 48 councillors after removing nine, most through decisions which appear to be related to a leaked video of KCC leader Linden Kemkaran shouting and swearing at her members.
Several members of the party in Kent were suspended after footage of the meeting was leaked last month, in which council leader Linden Kemkaran could be seen berating backbench councillors when they questioned her.
Ex-Reform councillor Bill Barrett has called the expulsions “operation clean sweep” and claimed the KCC hierarchy wanted to get rid of councillors who challenged them.
