Road's final leg to shape the future

PROSPECTS for the final leg of the proposed Northern Relief Road could have a bearing on whether hundreds of homes should be built in Bapchild.

The multi-million pound route between the A249 at Kemsley and the A2 east of Sittingbourne came up at last week's planning inquiry into proposals to develop farmland in the village.

The planned link is of particular significance to residents opposed to housing being built on Stones Farm.

Chairman of Bapchild Parish Council Andy Hudson, who is spearheading the campaign against the homes, said development would not be possible without the road in place.

Villagers are also concerned that building on the agricultural land will lead to Bapchild being swallowed up by Sittingbourne.

Mr Hudson aid: "It would be my guess that the inspector would say there are too many issues to bring this for-ward at this time.

"All the traffic would have to come out on the A2, there would be nowhere else for it to go"

Without the relief road it is widely believed the traffic generated by hundreds of extra houses at Stones Farm could cause severe congestion.

Swale Council is yet to secure funding for the final part of the massive three-stage construction of the new road.

Just one of the three sections has been finished and although the second phase
has funding, it has been held up by a wrangle over the design of the bridge crossing Milton Creek.

Completion of the whole road is unlikely in the near future and could even be more than 10 years away. A Kent County Council spokesman confirmed the final section of the relief road was not included in the Local Transport Plan for Kent for the next five years.

It is also not one of five major road-building schemes identified by KCC for starting between 2011 and 2016. However, a Swale Council spokesman said everything possible was being done to find the money.

"We are confident it will be found in time and all options are being considered," the spokesman added.