A road improvement scheme to serve a community “overwhelmed” by housing has been deferred to make it fit for purpose.

Changes to junctions at Paddock Wood, where 1,000 new homes are being delivered by three separate developers, were to be undertaken by Kent County Council (KCC).

The £4.7million cost of the scheme at Mascalls court Road was collected through section 106 contributions from the house builders.

The improvements to the A228/B2017 and B2017/B2160 junctions will now require a larger roundabout and extra land, say KCC officers.

A new traffic-signalled crossroads design near Mascalls Academy has also proved problematic.

New flood mapping by the Environment Agency meant planners now have to find a way of redirecting surface water entering a culvert section.

Papers before the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on February 25 state KCC’s predicament: “This is a difficult situation, and the way forward is a clear choice of either progressing this amended scheme or not carrying out an improvement at all.

“Abandoning the scheme has been rejected because this would result in no mitigation or improved accessibility to support the major housing developments in Paddock Wood delivering nearly 1,000 homes.

“Officers and our consultant have been unable to identify any other scheme that can offer a better solution to that being proposed that can also mitigate the flood risk, within the land available.”

County councillor for the area, Sarah Hamilton, told the committee: “The impact of development in Paddock Wood has been overwhelming and the impact on the highways network is overwhelming too.”

She warned that “we must get it right” in terms of flooding.

Vegetation clearance will take place almost immediately to avoid the bird nesting season and quotes are to be obtained from the supply chain during March and April.

The council papers state: “The improvement of the A228/B2017 and B2017/B2160 junctions are important schemes to provide increased capacity and improve accessibility to help mitigate three large housing developments in Paddock Wood.

“After considerable flood risk modelling and scheme development work, an amended scheme has been developed that will still provide the increased traffic capacity and accessibility improvements that were the objectives of the original proposal.”

Construction will start this summer and work is estimated to take between four and six months.

Completion is expected before March 2026.