People are calling for a well-used route to become a dual carriageway before more than 1,000 homes could be built nearby.
The A2500 Lower Road on Sheppey regularly gets high volumes of traffic at peak times, however, Kent County Council (KCC) says there are no “further plans for improvements”.
The A-road stretches 6.20km (3.85 miles) from Queenborough to Eastchurch and is one of the main routes used to get across the Island and onto the A249.
John Twiselton, who lives in Minster, believes it must be upgraded now before any more houses are built.
He says it gets ”gridlocked for miles” in the morning and evening during rush hour, as well as when there is a boot fair at Wallend Farm on Saturdays.
“The queues stretch back to the A249 main carriageway regularly,” the 76-year-old said.
“It’s a narrow country road coping with a volume of traffic that is far past its excess and needs to be improved.
“When the Sheppey Crossing was built it pushed all the traffic into one corner. I’ve asked KCC so I can understand what their forward plans are as there seems to be a void.”
He believes the only solution is to widen the road and turn it into a dual carriageway.
“It should go all the way from Cowstead Corner to the bottom of Scocles Road and even further on to Eastchurch,” John added.
“There’s enough land on either side that it could be expanded without bothering anyone at all. It’s quite possible.”
Calls for the change come following the approval of two major developments on the Island.
The first is a 700-home estate, with green spaces and a play area at Ovinia Chase, a site off of Barton Hill Drive and Lower Road in Minster.
Plans submitted by Persimmon Homes were approved in March 2020 and since then, diggers have been spotted working on the site.
Last week, an additional 650 homes were allowed on appeal for Scocles Road in Minster.
Proposals for the controversial new estate – the size of 43 standard 11-a-side football pitches – were first put forward in May 2022.
“Most of those people will be commuting. That’s at least a thousand more cars,” John explained.
“It doesn’t seem to me that there is any S106 money going towards the Lower Road from the developers.”
Kevin McKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, said: “Labour is investing in the infrastructure, including roads and utilities, to support the building of much-needed new homes.
“The Isle of Sheppey has been neglected for years by KCC, which has led to the problems we see today.
“The recent spending review saw £24bn dedicated to roads investment, it is important that Sheppey gets its fair share and this is what I will be pushing for.”
Cllr Maxwell Harrison, who represents Sheppey at KCC, told KentOnline the overdevelopment of housing is causing “considerable problems” in the community.
He said: “Notwithstanding our underfunded and evidently struggling infrastructure, it is abundantly clear that our local area now requires the serious and well-overdue development Sheppey taxpayers deserve.
“Rather than allowing congestion on our roads to further impede and impact the lives of families on the Island, KCC must now take the necessary steps to end the continued neglect that our Island has experienced.
”Sheppey clearly voted for Reform on May 1, and we will precisely deliver that.
“As such, I will be shortly sending a letter to the cabinet member for highways and transport, Councillor Bill Barrett, expressing our interest in exploring the options of the Lower Road being turned into a dual carriageway.
“Despite the financial mess the Tories left KCC in, if residents want change, we must listen to them.
“In this letter, which I will publish in due course, I will also propose a public forum for Sheppey residents to directly outline their road quality and experience concerns to the relevant cabinet member, as well as Councillor Peter Osborne, our deputy cabinet member.
“All members of the public will be invited to this. Any such changes to the Lower Road might bring about short-term issues for locals.
“However, my view remains that improvement on our infrastructure is an absolute necessity, all the time more housing is built on the island. A Reform UK Government will scrap Labour’s ridiculous target to build 1.5 million houses.”
Cllr Isabella Kemp added: “As one of the county councillors for Sheppey, I want to assure everyone that I am committed to listening to all residents’ voices and working towards solutions that are reasonable, feasible and within our powers and budget.
“I understand the importance of addressing local issues and will do my best to explore any proposals that have genuine merit.
“While I think this is a fabulous idea, further discussions will be necessary to assess whether such improvements are practical and to determine the best way forward.
“I am open to hearing more from residents and stakeholders to ensure that any action taken reflects the needs and priorities of our community.”
According to stats provided by the Department for Transport, the annual average daily flow along the road has increased by 38% since 2012.
Manual counts revealed the total number of vehicles had risen from 20,153 to 27,909 by 2022.
Specifically, cars and taxis had jumped from 16,781 to 22,502.
A spokeswoman from KCC told KentOnline the authority completed improvements to the Lower Road in 2020.
She added: “The scheme was funded using money from the Local Growth Fund and the National Productivity Investment Fund, which were for projects to drive Kent’s economic and business growth.
“The scheme was completed in two phases and saw improvements between the A249 Sheppey and the east part of the Isle of Sheppey.
“This scheme was included in KCC’s Local Transport Plan 4. There are currently no further plans for improvements to this road.”
Phase one involved the construction of a new roundabout at the junction of Lower Road with Barton Hill Drive and phase two provided an improvement for the Lower Road arm of Cowstead Corner Roundabout.
A 1.1km section of new shared footway and cycleway was also added.
