A £32.7m revamp of an often gridlocked roundabout has been given the green light by county councillors.

Members have passed plans to build a second bridge over the A249 at Grovehurst Road, Kemsley, to cut down on queues.

The improvement, which will take around 18 months to build, is also crucial in unlocking another 6,000 homes around Sittingbourne.

It will coincide with a £5.9m safety upgrade at nearby Key Street roundabout, where the A249 meets the A2, and is coupled with work on a £92m flyover at Stockbury roundabout to improve traffic congestion at junction 5 of the M2. Work on that is already under way.

KCC's planning committee on Wednesday was chaired by Sheppey councillor Andy Booth.

His colleague Cameron Beart said: "Following a long debate, the planning applications committee unanimously voted to approve the highway improvements to the A249 Grovehurst Road junction."

He added: "This is very good news. Upgrades to this junction are long overdue and will hopefully end the tailbacks of cars on the exit slip roads every day that impact on the flow of the A249."

It was initially hoped work could start this October but it is now unlikely to begin until February next year.

The scheme will use the existing bridge but will replace the 'dumb bell' design with a new one-way gyratory system incorporating a second bridge. The new bridge will be built on the Sheppey side of the roundabout and will include a cycleway and footpath linking Iwade.

The bulk of the cost will come from a £38.1m grant from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF). The rest will be paid for by developer contributions.

Work will allow building to start on 1,200 homes earmarked for north of Quinton Road. Persimmon Homes has plans for the 64-hectares of farmland alongside the railway track.

There are also plans for 466 more houses and a country park at Iwade, 115 homes at Great Grovehurst Farm and 69 at Pond Farm.

The roundabout revamp will mean a new entrance for Nicholls Transport, which has its depot off Swale Way, and the introduction of traffic lights.

As Sittingbourne's Eurolink Industrial Estate has continued to grow, more lorries have been using the Grovehurst roundabout.

KCC planning officer Helen Edwards told members: "Road users often experience high volumes of traffic at the junction which can result in significant queueing and congestion particularly at peak hours in the morning and evening.

"The volume of traffic through the junction is expected to increase as a result of future housing growth set out in the Swale Borough Local Plan."

She added: "Existing congestion levels are of such severity that both Kent County Council and Highways England have had to restrict new home occupations. Therefore the current junction is considered to be a significant constraint on delivery of the Swale Local Plan."

Swale council raised no objections. Only one objection was received from a neighbour who complained about noise and light pollution and the impact on birds and wildlife.

The new bridge will be 73m long and 10m high and have a clearance of 5.3m. The height of some of the slip roads, which will not have lights, will need to be raised by 6m.