Plans to permanently close a road leading into a new estate have been branded “premature” with residents fearing it could make traffic around their homes worse.

Kent County Council (KCC) is consulting on proposals to shut a stretch of Finn Farm Road in Bridgefield, Ashford, between Rutledge Avenue and Brockmans Lane.

It means the three-way traffic lights on the bridge over the A2070 and railway line heading into the estate will instead become two-way traffic lights in a bid to make the road safer.

Residents who usually turn left at the lights will instead have to access their homes by turning right and going through the estate via Heritage Road.

The proposed closure comes as part of a highways agreement when the estate was approved, but ward councillor for Kingsnorth Village and Bridgefield Ray McGeever (Ash Ind) feels now is not the right time to make the permanent changes.

“As far as I'm concerned, the closure is premature,” he said.

“The two access points leading into Finberry aren't ready yet so the traffic that comes into Bridgefield has nowhere to go.

“In the near future, we will have what I call ‘Bridgefield three’ which is a new development to the south of Brockmans Lane.

“That will put lots of traffic onto Brockmans Lane, then through Heritage Road.

“The Finn Farm Road traffic lights should remain a three-way operation and open to vehicle access until the proposed housing development is complete. It should also remain until Rutledge Avenue is successfully linked with Finberry.”

Once 500 homes are occupied in neighbouring Finberry, the two estates will be linked together via Rutledge Road.

But until the milestone is reached, the access will remain blocked. Just opposite Heritage Road is the land where up to 100 homes have been earmarked for development.

Cllr McGeever explained the changes to the road layout were approved before the new development was even on the cards and therefore the plans are “out-of-date”.

“The 2018 Section 106 agreement doesn't tie in with the 2019 new development scheduled for ‘Bridgefield three’, he explained. “They are not sequenced which is where the safety issue comes in for people in Heritage Road.

“All in all, it's the wrong time to push this project forward.

“The phasing of this scheme should be delayed until the new development of ‘Bridgefield three’ is completed.

“KCC Highways need to complete a traffic survey and impact assessment on current traffic flows and an assessment of how this will impact Heritage Road prior to the commencement of the new contract.”

Cllr McGeever feels one of the only ways to get the scheme pushed back is for residents to share their concerns in the online consultation, something many said they would get behind.

Resident Hilda Ler-Zeineh said: “I didn't even know it was going to happen, it is a very bad idea. It will make traffic worse and make it much longer for us as we will have to go through the estate.

“It's not really busy, but you have to wait a long time at the lights because it’s three-way traffic. How will it make it safer? It's not like there have been accidents there.“

Aylin Vasileva who has lived nearby for almost three years feels the closure will make it harder to get into Bridgefield.

“We are not happy about it,” she said. “It will take more time to get here, maybe an extra 10 minutes. They say it will be safer when it's closed but I don't agree.”

“I think they should keep it open.

“And I don't know why the road to Finberry is not already open.”

Kimberly Burrows, 37, said: “We haven't been told much, I’m worried about how I'll get to work. We didn't know anything about the road closure when we started renting. I don't want it to happen.

“It’s handy coming out of that junction, I don't want to have to go all through the estate when I can just get through there.”

“I think the road is fine as it is.”

But resident Joseph Gravina says he doesn't think the closure will make any difference.

“I don't really know why they're doing it, it means you will have to go through a residential area instead,” he said.

“I think the road is fine as it is...”

“The traffic lights up there are a problem and can go on forever so if it makes the situation with the lights better, then I'm all for it.

“If it slows people down who go tearing through there, that might be a good thing, but we will have to wait and see.”

The KCC consultation says the order is being made to “avoid danger to persons or other traffic using the road or any other road or for preventing the likelihood of any such danger arising.”

It is also designed to “preserve and improve the amenities of the area through, and for facilitating the passage on the road or any other road of any class of traffic”.

The consultation – which can be viewed here – opened on Friday and is set to close on September 11.

Once all responses are in, KCC says the scheme will be reviewed so the authority can make the decision to make the order permanent, amend or abandon it.

A KCC spokesperson said: “We have launched a public consultation on a proposed order to prevent traffic from using part of Finn Farm Road, Bridgefield.

“This approach was agreed in response to a planning application approved by Ashford Borough Council which included full details of the closure of Finn Farm Road to vehicle traffic.

“Finn Farm Road is currently not wide enough to safely cater for two-way vehicle movements, which will be required for the Park Farm South East development and the potential to be a future bus route.

“This is why the improvements to Brockmans Lane have taken place and this will act as the access point for the new development and for existing residents via the new site access junction onto Brockmans Lane.

“The new Heritage Road has been built to a local distributor road standard and so is far wider than the existing Finn Farm Road.”