A council has asked the government why their suggestions for shorter roadworks along a key route were rejected.

The A228 Frindsbury Hill is due to be closed in both directions for 15 weeks so an entrance to the new Maritime Academy School can be constructed in time for September.

But concerns has been raised by locals, the council, and Rochester and Strood MP Kelly Tolhurst (Con) about the potential for serious inconvenience to drivers.

Medway Council have written to the Department for Education (DfE) to raise concerns and ask why their proposals of longer working hours and work being done over weekends to shorten disruption time were rejected.

The closure is due to take place between March 11 and June 21.

The local authority say they rejected an initial proposal by the DfE which would’ve meant the roadworks would take 19 weeks on the basis the level of disruption was unacceptable.

The length is now set to be 15 weeks but the authority has written to ask why their requests for work to last from 7am to 7pm rather than ending at 5.30pm were denied.

They also asked if work could be done seven days a week and the possibility of night works to reduce the length of time that the road would be closed.

The DfE rejected these suggestions, saying the costs would be too high, but Medway Council has asked them to reconsider, saying the costs of extended road-closure are too high for local residents and businesses.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked the DfE how they had decided upon the schedule for the roadworks and the costing analysis of the options put forward by Medway Council.

They said when there are concerns about disruption, appropriate consideration is taken to minimise disruption to the community.

They added they are working with the contractors to review the feasibility of Medway Council’s requests to extend working hours, both financially and in terms of safety.