Safety concerns have been raised after it emerged hundreds more lorries will be using one of the area’s busiest junctions.

Officials at a £340 million power plant being built in Kemsley confirmed there will be 258 daily truck “movements” to and from the site, passing through the Grovehurst roundabout.

Construction of the Wheelabrator, located next to the Paper Mill, is due to begin within weeks, and will process 550,000 tonnes of rubbish a year from across Kent.

Iwade resident Paul Scanlan, who has been lobbying authorities to create a safe footbridge since his daughter was nearly hit by a car crossing the junction last year, said: “There are children riding their bikes across those roads from Iwade to Kemsley every day and it’s not going to be long before one of them gets killed."

“It’s just a matter of time before someone gets killed.”

-Paul Scalan

Kemsley Cllr Mike Dendor said he was not against the plant as long was the traffic was taken into account.

“The Grovehurst roundabout has been designated as a priority by Highways England but we don’t know how high up on their list it is,” he said.

“This will definitely put extra pressure on the roads so it’s important that the roads are sorted.”

James Hunt, Iwade Parish Council chairman, said residents had been pushing for something to be done about the roundabout for years.

“We have plans to redesign the junction and built a footbridge, but that will cost £37 million and would only be implemented by 2021,” he said.

“We have been pushing it for so many years. It’s understandable that it can take some time to get the money but this really could have been done earlier.”

The Wheelabrator is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs, and 40 long-term positions.

It will produce enough electricity to power more than 800,000 houses from the burning of waste and also plans to work with the mill to help it reduce its carbon footprint.

Paul Green, managing director of Wheelabrator UK, said: “We are committed to bringing our experience and industry expertise to Wheelabrator Kemsley to deliver the highest safety and operational performance.”

The plant is expected to be built within three years.