A controversial £41m highway project has been delayed again by at least another 18 months because of potential funding hiccups, council chiefs have revealed.

Construction of the Sturry Link Road was due to start last autumn and then put back to summer 2025 by Kent County Council (KCC).

But new papers published state the work is scheduled to start in April 2026 with completion set for December 2027.

The delay was highlighted in documents for the Canterbury Joint Transportation Board (JTB) which is due to meet tomorrow (Tuesday).

The road is designed to link the A291 Sturry Hill to midway down the A28 Sturry Road and ease congestion in Canterbury.

Traffic would avoid the railway level crossing at Sturry which causes jams at peak times with around 18,000 vehicle movements per day.

KCC member for Canterbury and the cabinet member for highways and transport Cllr Neil Baker (Con) said he remains “hopeful” the project will start to move “at pace”.

Most accept the project is complex, not least because of the number of different councils, landowners and other interested parties to be aligned to make it happen.

There are also multiple funding sources, including development sites through Section 106 agreements with housebuilders, to finance the current estimated cost of £41.6m.

The JTB - a cross party body made up of Canterbury city, Kent county and parish councillors from around the district -suggests most of the land will be available but a parallel process of obtaining compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) is also in place.

Cllr Baker said: “As much of the funding for this project comes from numerous development sites, timescales are hugely impacted by the planning process - which is outside the control of the county council.

“The report to the Canterbury City Council’s JTB makes clear a significant amount of work has been taking place in order to deliver this crucial infrastructure and I remain hopeful that when the funding is all secured things will begin moving at pace.”

The JTB papers said updates are being sought about the collection of developer contributions from the “associated” developments.

And there will be a financial review “prior to committing to the construction phase of the project”.

The Sturry Link Road will run alongside hundreds of new homes planned for the former Greenfields Shooting Grounds.

The viaduct will transport vehicles over the the River Stour and the railway level crossing before emerging on the Sturry Road, where a new roundabout will be built.

The JTB meeting will provide committee members with an update on the project - but no formal decisions are due to be proposed.

The JTB papers states: “The section of A28 through Sturry is particularly difficult because of the level crossing on the Canterbury-Thanet railway line and the inevitable interruption to traffic and queuing through the centre of the community.

“At present there are approximately 18,000 vehicles per day using the level crossing at Sturry.

“This is the combination of traffic from Herne Bay via the A291 and Thanet via the A28 joining and heading towards Canterbury city centre.”