by political editor Paul Francis

Long-awaited plans to dual the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury have been put on hold for at least five years.

The government has confirmed that it is to defer the £111m scheme because of spending cuts. The news comes after a second scheme – to improve the road between Kippings Cross and Lamberhurst – was also deferred.

The decision is a major blow to the area as it was aimed at easing congestion on of the south east’s most notorious bottlenecks. It is also considered vital to improve journey times between west Kent and the new hospital at Tunbridge Wells.

But the Department for Transport said it did not have the money to progress the project until 2015 at the earliest. The news is the latest setback to a scheme which has been blighted by delays over a decade.

Transport minister Norman Baker said: "You can’t do everything at once because there is a limited pot of money and we have to use that as best we can. We will get to it when we can. If the economy does pick up, that would enable us to look again. We do want to improve transport in the region. On our independent analysis, it did not score as highly as other schemes."

The decision is guaranteed to trigger protests from MPs and businesses.

Cllr Nick Chard (Con), KCC cabinet member for highways, said KCC planned to see if an alternative cheaper option might be possible.

"We are disappointed but in truth it is not unexpected. What we are going to do in the interim is see if we can propose a cheaper scheme. We want to make sure the Highways Agency have 'valued engineered’ it and see if there might be an alternative way of constructing it. We think it is extremely important for west Kent, particularly in view of the new hospital."

Cllr Roy Bullock, the leader of Tunbridge Wells council, said: "Every delay is a serious blow because the traffic is only going to get worse. It’s a dismal scenario. However, this is an ideal opportunity to ensure the preparations for the scheme, including a public inquiry, are completed so we are ready to go in 2015."

The improvements are linked to associated plans for the Hastings-Bexhill Link Road.

The dualling of the A21 is aimed at easing congestion on a stretch of road carrying 40,000 vehicles a day.