An unwanted housing development now looks set to cause traffic chaos in the town.

Furious residents in Tenterden are voicing their concerns over the plans to install traffic lights at the Ashford Road and Beacon Oak Road junction as part of the Tilden Gill housing development.

The controversial development, by Redrow Homes, was accepted in 2016 after an appeal to the Planning Insepctorate. It will see 100 homes built on land south of Tilden Gill Road and close to an area of outstanding natural beauty.

As part of the plans, the developers were also required to install a roundabout at the current Ashford Road/Beacon Oak Road T-junction before any of the new houses are occupied.

However, Redrow Homes have now applied to Ashford Borough Council to install traffic lights at the junction instead of a roundabout, as they claim it will cost them £500,000 to remove a BT Fibre optics box located near the current junction so lights would be more "cost-effective".

Yet residents believe that lights would cause unnecessary congestion and are rooting for the roundabout instead.

Cllr Sue Ferguson said: "This is madness, I'm really angry.

"The BT fibre box has not just appeared, it is in full view of anyone inspecting this junction and has been there a long time. The builders should have looked at the junction first before buying the land and agreeing to the roundabout condition.

"A roundabout is by far the best option, I believe traffic lights at Beacon Oak Road/A28 junction will cause an unacceptable build-up of traffic. You’ve only got to look at what happens when there are roadworks around this area, the traffic jams back up a long way along the A28 in both directions. This will bring Tenterden to a grid-lock"

She continued: "Also, there's been a real lack of consultation, only the residents near Tilden Gill have been notified - not the ones near Ashford Road and Beacon Oak Road.

"This is the urbanisation of Tenterden."

Nigel Wilson, who lives in Beacon Walk, said: "If traffic lights are installed, this could cause greater queues at peak traffic times and create additional congestion at the junction.

"The pollution from queuing traffic, both air and noise, would increase. There would also be additional noise pollution at night due to traffic waiting at the lights, which would affect residents not only in Beacon Oak Road but also residents whose houses back on to the road.

"Traffic lights are also likely to cause queues during non-peak hours, whereas traffic would flow better with a roundabout in place

"The plus side of a roundabout is that it will help to calm and slow down traffic both on the Ashford Road and Beacon Oak Road. Cars often hurtle into Beacon Oak Road from the St Michaels side of the Ashford Road, this poses a significant risk to vehicle drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

"A roundabout makes complete sense."

Redrow says that they "acquired the site after outline consent was granted so wouldn’t have been involved with the plans for the roundabout".

David Banfield, the Planning Director, said: “As part of our plans for new homes in Tenterden, we have been working very closely with the County Council to agree greater improvements to the junction which will benefit motorists and pedestrians alike.

“These include new pedestrian crossings to help children and parents attending Homewood School, as well as a simplified turn from Ashford Road to Beacon Oak Road to improve the safety of vehicles turning right.”

A spokesperson for Openreach said: “Removing our roadside fibre cabinet from the side of Ashford Road would cause considerable disruption to our network, service providers and customers in the local area.”

“The estimated costs of removing and re-locating the fibre cabinet in addition to associated duct, cables and manhole were based on the developers plans and allowed them to change or alter their plans to minimise disruption to our network."

A special planning meeting is being held about this application tonight at the Tenterden Town Hall at 7pm.

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