The town centre has been earmarked for a range of upgrades, but local businesses are worried about the effect on their profits. Finn Macdiarmid reports.
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00:00As part of a set of upgrades around central Dartford, the West Hill Junction at the top of Spittle Street is now going to see roadworks,
00:08but the time frame given by the council is raising some issues with locals.
00:12I'm here at the West Hill Highfield Junction, which could see up to six months of construction lasting until June 2025,
00:20so it's no wonder that local business owners are concerned about what the construction might mean for their profits.
00:26The upgrade will make minor changes to the junction, such as changing the pedestrian crossings to make them simpler and installing new traffic-like technology.
00:34Local businesses, like Allison's Pantry, are concerned that the roadworks could affect their long-term profits.
00:40The pantry mainly receives business between breakfast and lunch, so foot traffic is essential to its income.
00:46There are also concerns with the construction potentially affecting deliveries and parking.
00:52Yeah, so deliveries, so they're turning this road, which is at the moment a one-way street, into a two-way road.
00:58To do that, they're going to have to suspend a lot of parking, and there's not a massive amount of easy parking anyway,
01:05and then large lorries and arctics have got to turn round.
01:08Jason mentioned that the communication from Dartford Council was particularly poor,
01:12with him only today being informed that a preliminary road closure would be happening for two days.
01:17In a statement, Dartford Council said that we're working hard to transform Dartford's town centre
01:22to help improve the quality of life for both residents and businesses.
01:26Through easing traffic flow and providing civic and green spaces for the community,
01:30our goal is to create a sustainable and high-quality environment that will encourage investment to our town.
01:35Many local people had heard of the Dartford Regeneration Project, but didn't understand why it would take so long.
01:42I think construction is a good thing, but with the length of time, it becomes disadvantageous.
01:48Yeah, I believe it will create a lot of congestion around the local town, make it awkward for everybody to go shopping.
01:55It's going to make it awkward for me to go to the gym, so yeah, I don't think six months is fair, I reckon.
02:00Yeah, shouldn't take long.
02:02As soon as I heard about that they're going to close it, which is definitely affecting my business,
02:09and then it is difficult to the customer as well.
02:13Well, as time goes on, more and more of Dartford could be worked on,
02:16including developments on Hyde Street, Spital Street and Overy Liberty,
02:20which according to the scheme plan are either on hold or are dependent on further funding.
02:25Finn McDermid for KMTV in Dartford.