Stop the 6 week road closure of Broad Street Lyminge

The closure of this arterial route of the Elham Valley that runs between Folkestone and Canterbury will have a significant impact on Residents, Businesses and the local economy. The main impacts are related to the lengthy diversion and its extended period in place.

Lyminge to Folkestone is 6.5 miles, the proposed diversion is 13.8 miles.  This is more than double at 7.3 miles extra. There are also alternative routes via Brady Road and Loughborough Lane which are small roads and the impact to local residents and wildlife on these roads has not been considered.

The decision to close the road, cited for safety reasons of the works has been made with minimal if any consultation of the local community including no engagement of the local Parish council, as trusted advisory body.

Key Impacts

• Access for Emergency services - the time to get to Lyminge will be doubled if coming from Folkestone this is a risk to life
• Cost to local businesses still trying to recover from Covid, who will lose custom as visitors will not head to the villages (tourists, day trippers and many more)
• Cost to residents in terms of extra fuel and time taken to get to / from Folkestone - a twice daily trip to/from folkestone will be an extra 600 miles over 42 days and around about an extra £160, families who travel a number of times a day may have significantly more cost
• Buses are diverted starting at Sibton Park, some elderly residents will not be able to easily reach this bus stop
• Age Concern will have issues providing services to residents with Dementia
• Traffic on smaller local streets not designed for that level of traffic will cause delays and damage
• Impact to local nature on lanes where lorries or other larger vehicles try to squeeze through
• Road jams caused by larger vehicles using unsuitable roads
• Overall environmental impact / additional pollution of the extended journeys

There must be a better way, by signing this petition we will show there is no support for proceeding with the road closure for this extended period due to the impacts mentioned above and we request for it to be stopped and a considered alternative to be agreed with all key stakeholders including residents and local businesses.