Plans to seal off parts of a critical route for two months will drive tourists away from two Kent seaside towns, business owners fear.

Both carriageways running along the A299 New Thanet Way between Whitstable and Herne Bay will take it in turns to shut for four weeks from the beginning of April.

Kent County Council officials say teams will replace the lights in the Chestfield tunnel and carry out "deep carriageway reconstruction repairs" in the area while the closures are imposed.

With much of the coast- and London-bound traffic expected to be directed along the Old Thanet Way, locals worry there will be gridlock on the approach to the towns at Estuary View and Greenhill.

Nejmi Hassan, who runs Makcari's Coffee Lounge in Herne Bay, believes the hold-ups will cause him and other traders to a lose a sizeable chunk of their custom at the start of the summer.

"Of course I think that - it's going to be the worst-possible time," he told KentOnline.

“A lot of our customers check to see if the traffic’s bad before they come and if it is they just won’t bother.

“I understand roadworks need to get done, but what surprises me is the council seem to have no consideration for local businesses when setting the date.”

Mr Hassan thinks his business could lose money as perishable stocks might go unused during what should be his busiest time of year.

A notice penned by the county council states the lighting in the Chestfield tunnel needs replacing as it "has reached the end of its life".

The authority will close the Thanet-bound side for 24 hours a day between April 24 and May 26.

It will then seal off the carriageway used by motorists heading towards London until June 30.

And to make matters worse, Herne Bay-to-Canterbury rat-run Bullockstone Road will remain closed until the end of July.

“Just as we prepare to go back to some form of normality we get hit with this, but now it’s not the pandemic, it’s the council making silly decisions," Mr Hassan continued.

“We’re a tourist town, and when you rely heavily on that, timetabling is of the utmost importance - you’d have thought they would have that in mind.

"Another fear is we will lose the customers to other towns such as Folkestone or Ramsgate and then they may never come back.”

One Bay resident also says his "town is basically getting cut off" by the roadworks.

He expects the projects to "massively clog up" the A2990, with "every car heading to Thanet or the other way affected".

Tankerton councillor Neil Baker has also warned "those who didn't experience the area before the New Thanet Way was built might soon get a taster" of what it was like.

His Tory colleague Ashley Clark says the works are a "damn nuisance".

“All over the county wherever you drive it’s traffic lights, it’s delays," the Seasalter councillor explained.

“The trouble is there doesn’t seem to be coordination between different works being carried out by KCC.

“It’s a nightmare - a vicious cycle."

County council bosses say teams will replace Chestfield tunnel's lighting system, which has “reached the end of its life”.

They plan to carry out the works under day-long carriageway closures to allow teams work on each bore of the tunnel.

"Work will be carried out between April 24 and June 30," a traffic notice reads.

"The lighting has reached the end of its life and needs replacing therefore we propose converting the lighting to energy efficient LED lighting.

"The replacement lighting will not only improve visibility within the tunnel but will also reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

"While the lighting replacement work is being carried out, we will also be carrying out deep carriageway reconstruction repairs to the A299 Thanet Way in various locations."

KCC has been contacted to comment further.