Cllr Bryan Sweetland wasn't wrong when he opened a joint meeting of the Gravesham East and Rural Neighbourhood Forum saying "there's likely to be more questions than there are answers".

More than 500 people squeezed into Thamesview School on Thong Lane last night to speak to Department for Transport officers James Hooson and Fiona Wilson.

Ms Wilson, deputy director for the Department for Transport (DfT), advises the Secretary of State for Transport on investment strategy for the road network.

She advised the audience that the DfT had not made any decisions on a preferred route and was keen on receiving as many responses as possible to the consultation.

She said of the existing crossing: “It won’t be able to deal with the forecasts in population growth and in the, traffic growth, which will go up by about 20% in the next 20 years.

“It’s not about ticking box A, B or C – we’re interested in people’s comments and have made provision for people to express their views" - Fiona Wilson

“There is a need for capacity and that’s the question we’re interested in answering.

“This is your chance to tell us whatever it is you want to tell us about putting extra capacity in.

“It’s not about ticking box A, B or C – we’re interested in people’s comments and have made provision for people to express their views.

“The department has not taken a decision on this. This is genuinely a consultation.”

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions which included fears about the loss of Paramount park if option B was chosen.

The DfT said it had met with developers during one meeting and had urged them to take part in the consultation.

This was essentially the mantra throughout the evening.

But there was fun to be had too – Thong Lane resident Mike Higgins asked whether any work had been done on how the A2 would be affected, to which Ms Wilson said “the A2 is not showing up as problematic”.

As the audience roared with laughter, their sides continued to ache when Ms Wilson told them the congestion charge “helps to manage the traffic” and “getting rid of the tolls will increase traffic”.

The meeting concluded with the politicians having their say.

Gravesham council leader John Burden said: “We will be opposing all the options. This is something the community should work together on.”

Gravesham MP Adam Holloway urged everyone to take part in the consultation, adding: “This is the chance for us all to get our point across.”

Yesterday, the Port of Dover responded to the consultation going for option C.

Chief executive Tim Waggott said: "Although the longest route of all the options, Option C avoids traffic heading to London and improves the connectivity of the strategic road network.

"It also provides additional opportunities downstream to promote regeneration and growth in the community of Dover in line with government’s planning policy.

For more on this meeting and what KCC leader Paul Carter had to say, see next Thursday's Messenger.

For more details on the scheme, click here.