BUS OPERATOR Arriva has defended the lack of a direct service between New Ash Green and Sevenoaks.

It said there was a lack of demand for such a route despite there being some 7,000 people living in the New Ash Green area who pay council tax to Sevenoaks District Council.

A further 6,000 people living in the neighbouring villages of Hartley and Fawkham look to Sevenoaks as their administrative centre, but suffer from the same problem.

Commercial manager for Arriva Southern Counties, Malcolm Spalding, said: "New Ash Green may be within the Sevenoaks District Council area, but travel movements do not respect administrative boundaries. New Ash Green has best transport links with places to the north such as Longfield, where the nearest station is located, Gravesend, Bluewater and Dartford."

Mr Spalding claimed good road links existed between the village and areas to the north, making the provision of bus services more practical.

"Much of the other area around New Ash Green is on the North Downs and is lightly populated," he said. "This makes it impractical to run commercial bus services through these areas."