Work is set to start this month on a new multi-million-pound A2 road layout which will feature a Roman statue of the sea god Triton uncovered nearby.

A new roundabout and access road are part of controversial plans to build 300 homes next to Frognal Lane, Teynham.

Work will start on Thursday, February 22 and is set to be completed by September 2024.

There will be “enabling and ecology” works undertaken before this date.

The roundabout will also connect the existing Claxfield Road junction.

Developers, Chartway Partnerships Group, say the majority of the work will be completed internally within the site off the A2.

The new roundabout will then be connected to London Road and Frognal Lane at a later stage.

During this stage “diversions will not be necessary”, a Chartway spokesman said. The works will be carried out “sensitively” with temporary traffic controls on the A2 when needed

Within the landscaped centre of the roundabout and the precinct wall will be a Roman statue of the sea god Triton, which is 1,700 years old.

The statue was discovered during an investigative dig related to the housing development which also uncovered Roman mausoleum which contained a coin dating back to c.320 to 330 AD.

Those living near the works have been informed about the start date via an open letter.

In the letter site manager Matt Freeman said: “As part of our commitment to achieving the highest possible standards of operational excellence we will be monitoring every stage of the project to ensure that our work does not cause un-due disturbance, inconvenience or stress.

“We advise you of any activities which may affect you and would like to take this opportunity in advance to apologise for any inconvenience which may be caused during the construction.”

Work on the roundabout had been earmarked to begin in October last year.

Chartway says it decided to delay the project “to avoid the festive period and take advantage of more favourable weather conditions”.

Once the road works are finished, building work will start on the 298 homes with an anticipated completion date of 2027.

The new development, built in partnership with Moat Homes, will sit between Frognal Lane and Orchard View Lower Road.

The plans for Frognal Place include new employment space, sports pitches, a pavilion and an open space with allotments.

Some 50 of the homes will be available as “affordable housing” while another 50 will be shared ownership.

A public exhibition of the plans was held last April in Teynham Community Hall and was attended by more than 200 residents.

However, the development has not been wholeheartedly welcomed in Teynham.

Conservative councillor for the area, Cllr Julien Speed, said in May: “No one locally is happy about this. Teynham doesn’t have the infrastructure to cope with 300 more houses.”

It comes as the village’s population looks to rise sharply, with the area being described as a “dumping ground” for new homes.

Cllr Speed pointed to the fact that the area does not have a GP surgery, forcing some 7,000 people to go further afield for basic medical services.

Hopes of reopening the village’s only GP practice were snuffed out after plans were approved to redevelop it into a dental laboratory.

Teynham used to have two doctor’s surgeries, but the last of those, in London Road, shut in May 2022.