by Alan Smith
ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk

The pressure is on for the creation of a “West Kent Bypass” to ease traffic misery plaguing many villages.

Campaign group J5Slips.org, which includes 27 parish councils across Tonbridge and Malling and Sevenoaks, has taken its concerns to transport secretary Justine Greening (pictured).

They want to establish the missing east-facing slip roads at Junction 5 of the M25.

Miss Greening has been told that slip roads would enable the formation of an long overdue “West Kent Bypass” by linking the M26 and A21 at M25 Junction 5 Sevenoaks.

It said such a slip road would create a bypass for the West Kent triangle of villages from Maidstone to Sevenoaks along the M26 to Pembury on the A21.

Chairman Tim Shaw said: “The people of West Kent have suffered enough of a continuous and horrendous onslaught of passing freight and traffic simply because the slip roads were not constructed as they should have been back in the 1980s.

"This has caused incredible misery and a lack of quality of life for our people. The slip roads would support a new lease of life with many benefits to West Kent.”

Mr Shaw of Sevenoaks Road, Borough Green, said: “West Kent can now pride itself in a brand new £200million hospital on the A21 at Pembury which was partially built on the conditions of adequate highways infrastructure having rapid links to Maidstone hospital.

"However, with the A21 widening project at both Pembury and Kippings Cross put on ice in the government’s 2010 programme of cuts, we are left with a 21st century hospital connected to a congested 16th century road network.”
To date, Miss Greening has been too busy to respond."

See www.j5slips.org