Business owners have taken a sceptical view of council figures about rush hour traffic around a busy industrial park.

Bosses were surprised at documents claiming journey times around the Medway City Estate in Strood are less than four minutes per mile at peak times.

Workers at some companies on the site described the traffic situation as a “nightmare” during rush hour.

The Medway Council figures were compiled after recording traffic movements between 8am and 8.59am around the Wainscott bypass, Main Road Hoo (towards Medway Tunnel) and the Medway Tunnel itself (towards Will Adams Way roundabout).

A consultation event is ongoing to allow businesses on the Medway City Estate to put forward suggestions to cure the issue.

Lorraine Thompson, who works at Santone Carpets, said: “It’s a nightmare. It’s not four minutes a mile.

“On a bad day, the traffic goes back to our offices in Sir Thomas Longley Road.

“Sometimes, it takes about an hour-and-a-half to get off the estate.

“When there are roadworks, I’ve taken to cycling or walking to my home in Rochester as it’s quicker.”

“Sometimes, it takes about an hour-and-a-half to get off the estate..." - Lorraine Thompson, Santone Carpets

Kim Pataria from PC Doctor, based in Culpepper Close, added: “I’ve been working on the estate for 16 years and I must say you’ve got to get your timing right.

“I finish at 5.30pm, but wait for that rush to pass and go before 6pm to get out. If not, it’s awful.

“There were a couple of days last week when you were just sitting there in traffic.”

Rush-hour queues getting on and off the estate were branded “disgraceful” at a meeting of the council’s regeneration, culture and environment overview and scrutiny committee yesterday (March 28).

Cllr Tristan Osborne (Lab) said the council figures did not reflect people’s experiences and called for further measures to tackle the delays.

He said: “I cannot accept the Wainscott bypass journey time around that location is acceptable.

“I cannot accept the Medway City Estate is well serviced at the moment, and I don’t care what green tick you give yourself, that road junction is a disgrace and all of us in this room should be ashamed.

“After four years of badgering, this administration’s cabinet still hasn’t got a firm solution.”

Cllr Andy Stamp (Lab) added: “People’s frustrations are rising by the day – I really do think the council needs to clearly articulate when those measures which are promised are going to be implemented.”

Improvement work around the Medway City Estate includes three exit lane extensions at Anthony’s Way onto the A289, and new traffic signals on the eastbound entrance of the Medway Tunnel to improve traffic flow – but these have been out of action since late last year.

Medway Council’s deputy chief executive Richard Hicks told the committee improvements were reported when the system was working, and said the council had “made some moves to address this issue”.

Mr Hicks also highlighted £11.1 million of funding available for widening the Four Elms roundabout, with a further £2.1 million allocated to improving the Medway City Estate’s road infrastructure.

He added: “Some of that work is still coming to fruition and I do apologise to members that it is taking longer than we would want it to.

“Of course we would want to ensure our businesses, residents, and visitors are able to get around Medway smoothly. That’s not quite the case in all circumstances at the moment and we’re doing our best to try and work on that.”

The council plan performance monitoring report also said journey times on the A2 corridor were over five minutes per mile – more than a minute over the authority’s target.