Beleaguered Chatham drivers face further traffic misery with the permanent closure of Globe Lane.

It will be shut from Monday, November 29 to allow work to go ahead to complete the £5m Waterfront bus station.

With roadworks already blighting Chatham's streets, Medway Council chiefs admit the closure will cause "confusion, congestion, and disruption".

There was further confusion when signs were erected around the town giving the wrong date of the road closure. Bosses say these will now be removed.

Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers said he understood closing the road in the run up to Christmas could cause problems for traders, but said free parking and park-and-ride services will be introduced to encourage shoppers into the town.

He start as soon as possible because funding for the station had been granted on the condition it was spent by spring 2011.must said work

Robin Cooper, Medway Council director of regeneration, said the end result would be a "stunning transformation" of Chatham.

He added: "We are going to have one of the best bus stations in Britain."

For the full story, see Friday's Medway Messenger.