Canterbury's Westgate Towers will be closed to cars for a year

Traffic has built up on the first day of a controversial roads scheme in Canterbury.

Delays have developed along St Peter's Place towards the towers, along Forty Acres road and tailing back about a mile towards Kent College.

That is despite early signs of freeflowing traffic this morning.

Drivers in Canterbury were braced for the worst on Canterbury's roads.

But by around 8am today, the confusion and bottlenecks weren't nearly as bad as expected.

That changed by around 8.30am to 8.45am, when the tailbacks grew. Traffic police were guiding motorists unfamiliar with the new traffic flow.

The Westgate Towers have been closed off to motorists as part of a 12-month trial to protect the historic landmark.

One hundred vehicles per hour are expected on Station Road West and London Road - an area already affected by congestion during peak times.

Richard Moore, Canterbury City Council transport manager, said: "We're going to stop all traffic through the Westgate Towers because it gets damaged on a daily basis. So we'll be preventing all traffic through St Dunstan's direction unless it is a bus or taxi.

Traffic in Canterbury town centre on the first day of the closure of the Westgate Towers

"We are monitoring traffic flow, speed and air quality. That will be the evidence for councillors to use at the end of the trial, as to whether the benefits of preserving the towers, and improving air quality outweigh the disadvantages that may occur in other parts of the city.

"We know in Canterbury we have congestion, but we can't build our way out of that so we need to encourage people to travel more sustainability, like catching more buses and trains, walking and cycling."

Maps of the scheme were put on display at a public exhibition held at the Westgate Hall earlier this month.

Resident Ron Green, 64, of Whitehall Bridge Road, Canterbury, said: "We're concerned about crossing points, especially for children as a pelican crossing on St Peter's Place is going. Some businesses are also concerned about their loss of trade."

The scheme is costing Canterbury City Council and Kent County Council £50,000.

If the trial proves successful, the local authorities have already secured £400,000 from the government to make the changes permanent.