Villagers fighting for a bridge to be included in plans to revamp Stockbury Roundabout turned out to protest at the weekend.

Highways England is planning to build a flyover at the A249’s junction with the M2 at Junction 5 for Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Maidstone.

But, while Swale and Minster Parish Councils support the proposals, Stockbury Parish Council takes a different view.

It says the village faces being cut off under the plans because the crossover on the dual carriageway to the Church Hill junction with the A249 will become “even more dangerous”.

The junction would also be the only access to and from the village if the proposals are approved as Honeycrock Hill would be closed permanently.

The council said: “The current crossovers are the site of frequent minor accidents at the moment, even when people can take advantage of the gaps in traffic flow caused by the current roundabout.

“A free flow, which will be ‘nose to tail’ during peak periods will render crossing the A249 a potentially lethal experience. As a parish council, we cannot support a scheme that may lead to the serious injury or death of parishioners and visitors to the village.”

The council says the scheme would also “seriously harm” the economy of Stockbury and break up the cohesion of the community by making the village’s access more dangerous.

It is now lobbying for a bridge across the A249 to be included in the project and villagers stood at the bottom of Church Hill on Saturday with their banners to draw attention to their campaign.

“Our view is that a bridge or underpass should be included in the scheme connecting the south carriageway of the A249 with what will become the sole access point to the village of Stockbury,” the council said.

“This would mean the village could be safely and relatively easily accessed from the Maidstone-bound A249.”

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