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More on KentOnline
Plans for roads surrounding a 900-home development will be a “disaster” if a multi-million-pound bridge is not constructed, a councillor has warned.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is hoping to install a new slip road onto the Thanet Way as part of its application to build on land at Hillborough on the outskirts of Herne Bay.
It also has plans for traffic lights and widened lanes in Sweechbridge Road and a one-way system in May Street.
In planning documents, highways bosses at Kent County Council (KCC) said they are satisfied with a number of recent amendments made to the proposals but want Sweechbridge Road to be widened.
City councillor Ian Stockley stresses the scheme in its current form will create gridlock in the centre of nearby Beltinge.
“It seems like we’re fighting against KCC,” he said.
“It annoys me KCC is sticking with the idea that the road infrastructure, with some minor tweaks, is sufficient – there’s no way I can understand how that could possibly be true.”
Cllr Stockley says a bridge needs to be built over the railway running through the centre of the site.
Without it, he argues it will result in vehicles leaving the northern half of the site with little option but to travel through the centre of Beltinge.
“The cost of the bridge has been mooted at around £4.5m - but if we don’t get the infrastructure sorted, it will be a disaster,” Cllr Stockley said.
“The estate as it is envisaged - without a purpose-built road bridge over the railway - will effectively be cut in half.
“Unless we can get good access across the line into the Thanet Way side of the site, everybody coming out of there will have to go through Sweechbridge, Bogshole Bridge or over the one in Spring Lane.
“It’s a no-brainer. Beltinge won’t be able to take that amount of traffic from the development.”
North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale held a meeting with Herne Bay's county and city councillors three weeks ago about the scheme.
He fears the proposals will result in Hoath being flooded with motorists travelling towards Canterbury.
He said: “We all believe there’s a need for a new bridge, otherwise we’re going to have a rat run through Hoath and nobody wants that.
“We’re not opposing the development, but we want to get the infrastructure right before the event, not after it.”
A Kent County Council spokesman says there is no evidence to justify the inclusion of the bridge.
He said: "The county council is of the opinion that the approach to access for this site is currently unsatisfactory.
“The authority has repeatedly suggested that the widening of Sweechbridge Road or alternative access would be necessary.
“While the highway authority is maintaining a holding objection to the site on a number of factors, there is no policy or other evidence to justify requests for the inclusion of an additional bridge."
A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey has defended the proposals, adding that they include measures to help mitigate the impact of the development on nearby roads.
The company originally submitted an application to build the first 194 homes, of a total of 955, on the land at Bogshole Lane and Sweechbridge Road in 2017.
But last year the firm lowered the number to 193 in the first phase, and 900 overall.
The modified application also contains plans to build an 80-bed care home, a convenience store and 33,000 sq m of employment space.
A spokesman for Taylor Wimpey said: “Our proposals have been subject to close consultation with the local community and Canterbury City Council.
“Although there are no plans for a new road bridge, our planning application has been carefully considered and includes a number of measures to help to mitigate the impact of the proposed development on the local highway infrastructure.”
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