A section of the A226 Galley Hill Road gave way in April 2023
A catastrophic chalk cliff landslip which has brought chaos to a Kent community for the last two-and-a-half years could see some positive movement towards a £50m solution in 2026.
Residents, business owners and motorists in Swanscombe have been subjected to almost three years of misery since a section of the A226 Galley Hill Road gave way in April 2023.
Reform UK Kent County Council (KCC) member for the area, Thomas Mallon, says he is encouraged by recent signs of progress and hopes key decisions on solutions will be made shortly.
Initial surveys – such as geological and ecological – have now been completed as part of the second phase and the project could soon be ready to move to the next stage which will be to seek tenders for the work.
But Labour MP for Dartford Jim Dickson warned KCC must be ready to tap into a government fund, possibly released this year, which could pay for a replacement structure in Galley Hill Road.
Neighbours complain cars, vans and lorries seeking a way around the closure have been forced along residential streets, such as Stanhope Road, bringing dangerous disruption at rush hour periods. Business and retail traders have also been impacted by the long-running closure.
KCC’s team of experts has already identified two potential solutions – a bridge or a land embankment. Once a favoured option has been chosen, the council hopes to access the government’s soon to be launched Transport Structures’ Fund (TSF) to pay for it.
Cllr Mallon has been working with other local councillors, community groups and Mr Dickson, who has been acting as the vital Westminster link in the chain.
Mr Dickson has been urging the government to get the £1bn TSF bidding process up and running. But he added: “Kent (KCC) needs to be ready to get its bid in as the TSF is the only game in town. They need to be focusing on that.”
Cllr Mallon, who was thrust into the GHR crisis when he was elected to KCC in November 2024 after a by-election, said: “It is a long and slow process but there is movement.
“My preferred option is the bridge because it will be quicker. It might cost a bit more in the long run but the process will be more efficient.
“The land embankment may work out to be the cheaper of the options but it could take a lot longer if there are any issues in securing pieces of land needed. I will be writing to the KCC highways people shortly which I hope will help build the case for the funding.”
The MP says he continues to be “open-minded” about either a bridge or the embankment. The TSF is designed to be used for projects such as the Galley Hill Road collapse.
Cllr Mallon estimates a three-year timeframe as a minimum, a view also held by Mr Dickson.
There was a hold-up of around a month in the autumn to assess the impact on chalk-face nesting birds and to be assured of the absence of bat colonies, said Cllr Mallon.
Cllr Mallon has made the case for residents in Stanhope Road where he has helped secure the extension of a 20mph speed limit, the enlargement of parking bays into passing places and more double yellow lines which could help to keep the traffic flowing and stop vehicles mounting narrow pavements.
The councillor has also played his part in introducing plastic blocks to deter lorries and other large vehicles off the Castle Hill roundabout which feeds Stanhope Road.
