Additional reporting by Finn Macdiarmid

A council leader has sought to reassure worried businesses who fear six-month long roadworks could starve them of trade.

Roadworks which threaten to rumble on for 23 more weeks started on the West Hill and Spital Street junction in Dartford town centre last week.

KentOnline previously reported that the works, which will see a new bus stop, crossing and smart traffic lights added to the intersection, had caused concerns among worried traders who feared the disruption might “finish them off”.

They form part of Dartford council’s £12m regeneration scheme to make the town centre more accessible for pedestrians and public transport.

Council leader Jeremy Kite says the upgrades to the West Hill junction will also ease ongoing problems for motorists.

“We are trying to improve a difficult situation in Dartford - the congestion issue is not one of our makings, it is caused more by the M25 and its locality,” he said.

“The council always gets the blame for it but it comes down to the national network - when the tunnel is in trouble we get a knock-on effect.

“The whole idea is to create a better traffic scenario around the whole town but I can’t promise an end to congestion until we get the Lower Thames Crossing built.

“But we’ve got to do something about it and the work we’ve done on the earlier phases has made a difference.”

The regeneration scheme consists of four stages - the first saw the creation of Brewery Square in Market Street and phase 1a is underway to give the High Street a “major facelift”.

The current phase 2 works at West Hill will make minor changes to the layout of the junction and also include repaving.

According to the council, pedestrian crossings will be made simpler and new traffic lights technology will be installed to help reduce vehicle idling.

There will also be a new bus stop with a green roof shelter.

The works are to be completed in several phase and are scheduled for completion by Spring next year.

But some local traders have hit out at the works and say the three-way traffic lights and parking restrictions in place are having a devastating impact on their businesses.

Jason Astell, owner of Allison’s Pantry in Spital Street, said he has been unable to receive deliveries because of the road closure.

Since the works started last week he claims to have seen a footfall loss of 20% which he expects will only worsen as the works continues.

The cafe boss added: “It’s killed my trade - I’m looking to close by Christmas.”

Meanwhile, a store worker for Cycle King, a few doors away echoed similar concerns.

“Most of our colleagues are local and they think the works are stupid,” they said.

“They [the council] think it will help us but it will do the opposite.”

But other business owners such as Nick Byram from the Growler Stop Tap Room, which looks out onto the current phase of works, are in support of the changes.

The pub boss said: “This end of the town has been neglected for a long time so I think it might encourage people to come here.

“It will definitely lead to increased footfall in the street.”

Judith Cheeseman at Craft Frames agrees but has concerns over the timescales involved.

She said: “I think it’s quite an important bus stop they are putting in.

“Anybody wanting to go to Crayford has got to walk all the way up the hill [for a bus] and the path is very narrow so it will make a difference to people wanting to get about.

“I just don’t know why they are going to take so long.

“I don’t feel they are doing enough to justify that amount of time.”

Traders are not the only ones impacted and motorists too have also raised problems with the works adding further congestion in a frequently bottlenecked part of town.

Jason, who travels to shop from Swanley, said: “As soon as there is something at the tunnel or the A2, that’s it - it becomes gridlocked.”

And some motorists have noticed issues with the phasing of the temporary measures.

Bill Green added: “The timing of the lights at the junction is way off and is causing problems - lots of cars trying to turn around at the bottom of West Hill.

“I personally thought they were broken and was stuck at the front of the queue the other day looking at a 6-8 minute wait, it needs adjusting to sort the traffic flow out better.”

In early August signs were put up by contractors warning of the works set to last six months.

But Cllr Kite concedes this could lead to confusion as to the true length of the works, explaining: “That’s the whole period of work so not everything will be closed and interrupted for that whole period.

“When we did an earlier phase in Lowfield Street, that was down as a three-month phase but in truth, we ended up shutting that road for two Sundays in a row for about four hours.”

He’s also encouraged anyone with concerns to approach the council.

“Roadworks are never particularly welcome but we will try and get them done as quickly as possible, we monitor them very carefully and I think we have a liaison worker who goes out and talks to businesses so they can be reassured on exactly what’s happening outside their premises too,” he added.

“But, the last thing we want to do is disrupt businesses and the work we are doing is designed to help them.

“If they want to speak to me and talk about their troubles I’ll try and make sure an officer is there to get something resolved.”