The controversial closure of a side road at a key junction has finally been completed three years on from when it first shut.
The permanent closure of Cranborne Avenue, at the Wheatsheaf junction in Maidstone, has brought to an end the unsightly temporary bollards which have been in place since March 2022.
Residents’ hopes that Kent County Council (KCC) may be persuaded to reverse its unpopular decision have also come to an end.
The closure of the road is the only tangible measure taken from what was originally scheduled to be a £2million redevelopment of the junction in a bid to ease congestion on the A229 and A274, Sutton Road.
KCC has now officially adopted a “do minimum” approach.
It imposed the closure against the wishes of residents as expressed in a public consultation held in November 2022, where 76% of respondents said they were opposed to the closure.
Subsequently, the county council insisted that the closure – which reduced one sequence at the junction’s traffic lights – had saved motorists time.
A survey showed morning peak period queue lengths had reduced by 53% and evening peak period queue lengths by 42%.
However, residents who lived in Shepway, behind the closure, said this had only come at the expense of giving them far longer journeys as they sought to join the main road,
In particular, they argued the closure had made the junction of Plains Avenue and the Loose Road more dangerous, as displaced traffic heading north into town now had to cross four busy lanes of traffic to join the A229 Loose Road, without the benefit of traffic lights to support them.
Loose Road resident Michelle James said: “It’s disgusting. Clearly we are never going to get Cranborne Avenue opened up again now, but KCC has not carried out any safety assessment and people are taking a leap of faith every day as they try to cross four lanes of traffic.
“On top of that, the traffic on the Loose Road is diabolical – it’s worse than it’s ever been.”
Sean Carter is a spokesman on highway affairs for Loose Parish Council and took a different view.
He said: “The closure has clearly eased traffic movements, especially heading towards the Sutton Road. And it’s nice to see the area has been tidied up at last – it took long enough.”
“But the job is not done. KCC still needs to find a way to improve the Wheatsheaf junction.”
