HUNDREDS of residents on a housing estate have their fingers crossed that highway chiefs will agree to move a planned road scheme further from their homes.

Kent County Council has drawn up two alternative routes for the £40million Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road which could move it between 63 to 102 metres from 500 homes on the Church Milton estate and Kemsley.

The council’s original scheme had the road within 30 metres of homes in Recreation Way, Walsby Drive and Yeates Drive.

The public can view the alternative scheme full scale drawings at an exhibition on Friday at Kemsley village hall from 3pm to 8pm and Saturday at the same location from 9.30am to 1pm.

The Move It North-East Action Group (MINAG) was formed earlier this year to try to get an alternative route.

Group member and spokesman Derek Clarke, of Saxon Shore, Kemsley, said: "If they choose Alternative Route B then we will be organising a big party to celebrate because this will move the route well away from our homes.

"MINAG is not opposed to the relief road in principle. We acknowledge the need to relieve congestion in Sittingbourne, but not at the expense of residents."

John Farmer, KCC head of highways transport projects, said in a report to planning councillors that moving the road could cost up to £3million more than the original planning application, but he added this was "not that significant in percentage terms compared to the overall £40million nature of the scheme".

Costs could also be saved because the Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum is moving out of Milton Creek in October so the new bridge across the creek could be lower than planned.

KCC urges as many residents as possible to look at the detailed plans because their views will be made known to the planning applications committee in the near future.

The road involves a single carriageway from Ridham Avenue, over the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway and Milton Creek, and then onto the existing roundabout at Castle Way on the Eurolink estate.