Work to install traffic lights at a key junction has been completed.

The new lights at the junction of Willington Street and Deringwood Drive, in Maidstone, have been paid for by the developer Bellway Kent.

It was one of the measures required by a government inspector when he granted the firm planning permission to build 421 homes at Parsonage Place in Otham, at appeal, in 2021.

It is thought much of the traffic from the new homes, now under construction, will travel along Deringwood Drive to join Willington Street.

The work has included installing new pedestrian crossing points, widening the pavement and providing a right-turn lane in Willington Street.

Chris Moore, managing director of Bellway Kent, said: “We want to thank everyone for their patience, while these necessary works were carried out.

“Throughout the process, we have liaised with the local authorities to ensure this design is suitable for all road users. The works carried out will improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in the area.”

The company has also previously completed works to improve the junction of Deringwood Drive with Church Road, widened and resurfaced Church Road and improved the junction of Spot Lane and the A20 Ashford Road.

The Willington Street lights have proved controversial in the past, with Kent County Council at one stage arguing they should not go ahead because they would be unsafe.

The junction is at the bottom of two steep hills and it was argued motorists, especially HGV drivers, coming down either hill would be reluctant to stop at the lights.

On the other hand, Chapman Avenue estate residents argued that without the lights they would be stuck in lengthy queues of traffic waiting to join Willington Street because of the increasing volume of traffic that uses the road.

Pedestrians too were keen to see the lights installed so they could safely cross Willington Street to reach the entrance to Mote Park opposite the junction.

The completion of the lights marks the end of the off-site works by the developer, which has already completed the construction of around 120 of the homes.