One month since a landside caused the collapse and closure of a major road residents and businesses are no closer to finding out when repair work will start and when the road will reopen.

On Easter bank holiday Monday residents and businesses near the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe were shocked to discover a massive chunk of pavement and road had disappeared and collapsed onto the industrial estate below.

The collapse was thought to have been triggered after a large 150mm mains pipe burst, sending hundreds of tons of rock and debris onto the industrial estate below.

The section of road was cordonned off and busineses below the landslide were forced to evacuate. Residents nearby were left without water and broadband connection while buses were put on diversion through narrow streets.

HGVS added to the traffic chaos, despite signs warning them to avoid the route.

In the four weeks that have followed, Thames Water has provided water to residents using tankers and internet providers have worked hard to restore connection.

But despite regular inquiries from KentOnline and local councillors, Kent County Council and Thames Water have failed to take responsibility for the cliff collapse or inform residents what is happening or give a possible date when the road, which connects Greenhithe and Northfleet, will reopen.

Joanne Hales, who lives in Church Road in Swanscombe, said: “It would actually be nice to know what is happening with the road, like a weekly update or something.

“It would be great to have a video link to the work that we could log into. I would expect it would make interesting viewing.”

She said the traffic situation is so difficult her friend had to abandon a trip to visit at the weekend.

“I understand a bus broke down on Stanhope Road yesterday and then two others got stuck. My friend tried to come to see us and gave up after getting stuck for so long, she said she’s not attempting it until the road reopens.

“I hope to see her someday.”

The traffic situation is still causing major issues.

Katie Bell drives an Arriva click bus so makes regular journeys between Ebbsfleet and Greenhithe. She said her colleagues would like to see more traffic wardens to help ease the traffic flow as she said cars parked illegally just add to the chaos.

She said: “The bus drivers just don’t want to drive through there anymore. It is so frustrating for them.

“Cars park really badly along Stanhope Road and Swanscombe High Street with no visible signs of traffic wardens or community officers to help the traffic flow.

“Often a car parked on double yellows where the parking space is along Stanhope Road. It really needs a sign there saying to leave it empty fo traffic flow.”

Antony Griggs, who lives in Orchard Road, witnesses the heavy traffic every day.

He said: “From 7.30am till 9am is the worst and again from around 2.30 till 5pm. We have to do a three to four mile detour just to get out of Swanscombe.

“Quite often we can’t even get out of our road due to traffic.”

He said his wife and son have both had to add extra time to their commutes to work just to get out of Swanscombe.

“My wife works at Northfleet Boys School and a 10 min journey now takes around 20 mins as she used to use London Road and along Thames Way but now has to go along Stanhope Road and Southfleet Rd along with everyone else.”

‘We’ve not been updated about anything’

He added: “My son works in Gravesend and quite often has been stuck on Stanhope Road due to a HGV coming along or getting stuck there.

“He works by Woodville Halls and the diversion he has to take has added an extra seven to eight miles and extra 15 minutes on his journey.”

He agreed that the situation is showing no sign of improving.

“Nothing seems to be getting done,” he said. “There should be more physical parking restrictions on the High Street and Stanhope Road to allow for the extra traffic or make Stanhope Road one way and Church Road one way, with better parking restrictions to allow traffic to flow better.

“Extra signs and physical barriers at the bottom of London Road and Southfleet Road could be put in place to stop the HGVs using it to cut through.

“It is so frustrating looking at what is going on, knowing what they could do if they really wanted to. It just seems no one cares or listens to the residents of Swanscombe.”

Swanscombe councillor Emma Ben Moussa says it is Stanhope Road which seems to be suffering the most traffic wise.

“My residents struggle to park as it is and now they can't park safely as HGVs keep using the road. One badly parked car can block access for all and impact emergency services and public transport.”

For those not driving transport is equally difficult because of the usual bus routes being affected by diversions.

Suzi Mason, who lives in All Saints Close, travels from Swanscombe to Greenhithe twice a week to care for two relatives. Her journey has been hampered by the change in bus route.

“I provide care for two relatives in Greenhithe. I used the George and Dragon pub bus stop to go to Greenhithe Railway Station but now I can go only get it to Greenhithe McDonald's and have to walk, which is impossible with heavy shopping, or I can get the 490 to Bluewater and a bus or train the rest of the way.

The 52-year-old added: “It's a bit quicker by train but I have to pay. I have a free bus pass but the steps at our train station are a nightmare. So steep and there is no lift either.

‘It would actually be nice to know what is happening – like a weekly update’

“It can take up to an hour to get to my mum’s and it's usually a short journey that I can do with a few bits of shopping.”

It’s not just the inconvenience of a change in the bus route. Louise Davies, who lives on Swanscombe High Street, is worried her son, Lewis, might be late for his GCSE exams this month as it is such a struggle to get to school on time in the mornings.

Louise said: “He is currently getting a train to Gravesend and then the B bus to school because it’s quicker than waiting for a bus to arrive, if it even arrives, in Swanscombe.”

“When it first happened we tried a few different ways to get my son to school. We tried the Swanscombe bus 483 but it’s always been unreliable, it never turns up on time and sometimes it doesn’t turn up at all and my son would be waiting almost an hour before he would come home and I had to pay for a taxi which I can’t really afford.

“We tried Arriva click but that would get cancelled because it just could not get through because of traffic.

“Then we tried the train to Gravesend and then the B bus from Gravesend to Vale Road. Sometimes he is still a little late because the B bus route has changed and sometimes the train is delayed but it’s still a quicker way for him to get to school.

“It has added an extra 20 minutes on to his travel time and I’m worried he will be late for his exams.

“He is finding GCSEs stressful enough. He has a lot of anxiety about them and him worrying about getting to school on time is not helping at all.”

As well as the road closure, the footpath has also been closed connecting Swanscombe High Street with Ebbsfleet.

Richard Stone, who lives on the High Street, is concerned about the safety of the alternative footpaths.

“The lack of a footway down Galley Hill is a pain as to get to the bottom by the Barney Sands area means a lengthy walk via Stanhope Road and the Donkey Path which is not safe, especially the end part which leads to the Thames Road area down the bottom.

“I would be very reluctant to walk this way if alone at night becaue of the poor lighting and lack of cctv.”

He also agreed the silence from the major companies involved is a major issue.

He said: “The lack of communication from Thames Water and KCC is woeful. We still do not have a single point of contact or contact numbers for either of the companies a month after it all went bad.”

And it’s not just residents who have been affected.

Caroline Webb, works for car repair shop Bamber Garage on Ebbsfleet Industrial Estate.

She said her company fears losing business if the road closure continues as customers will be put off by the huge detour to get to the facility.

She said: “We have had no update as to what is happening. We have had no communication from anyone in authority as to what the progress is. Will the road ever reopen?

“Customers from Dartford, Greenhithe and Swanscombe have had to find a new way to get here as have some of the staff.

“Just some information would be useful as so many rumours are around at the moment and it causes uncertainty to the businesses.”

Demoltion company LanceBox were the most severly affected when the cliff first collapsed as the falling rubble landed directly onto their premises and damaging buildings, vehicles and machinery.

They have been advised to leave their premises at the foot of the cliff in Manor Way Business Park in case any more rubble should fall.

Jake Hughes, who works there, said that is not an option, although an unreliable internet connection is making business hugely difficult.

‘No one is taking responsibility’

“We are trying to set up remote working, but that’s not easy without any internet access. We had none when it first happened, then we finally got some and now it’s gone again and we’ve been told it will take another 21 days to get sorted.

“We are keeping out of the warehouse directly underneath the collapsed part but all our materials are here so we can’t leave completely.”

And he admits the company is losing money.

“We are operating but not at maximum capacity by any means.

“No one is taking responsibility,” he said. “KCC send us to Thames Water when we ask anything and vice versa. The same with the internet. BT and Open Reach keep sending us to each other.

“We have been asking KCC to come down for meetings but nothing is happening.”

Kimberley Beech lives in Black Eagle Drive, Northfleet which was left without water and internet access after the cliff collapsed.

They were quickly given bottles of water from Thames Water and tankers were set up to provide a constant supply of fresh water.

But things are far from getting back to normal.

“My neighbour hasn’t had wifi since it happened and has only just got it back up and running this week,” she said: “We’re still not on a main water pipe and are still being supplied water by the tankers.

“We’ve only got access to one bus route at the moment as the Fastrack B bus doesn’t come down here at the moment.

‘Nothing seems to be getting done’

“My family from Greenhithe are having to come right round through Swanscombe when coming to mine.

“We’re having lorries coming into the estate, as there is no proper signage for them to see, resulting in peoples cars being damaged when they get stuck.”

And she said the worst part was the lack of information.

“We’ve not been updated about anything,” she said. “There’s just no end in sight. This could go on for years.”

A spokesman for internet provider OpenReach said: “We continue to work closely with the local authority and Thames Water who are leading the response to this incident.

“We have resolved the impact on our network but if anyone is still experiencing problems with their phone or broadband service they should contact their provider and we will be notified.”

Kent County Council declined to comment.

Thames Water has been asked for comment.