The proposed Herne Relief Road is formed of two sections: the Bullockstone Road Improvement Scheme and a spine road through the proposed Lower Herne Village at Strode Farm. This project seeks to bring forward the Bullockstone Road Improvement Scheme element of the Relief Road.

Bullockstone Road provides access from the south towards the centre of Herne Bay and the towns railway station and provides a route which avoids the busy Canterbury Road/A299 junction. Bullockstone Road is currently a constrained, weight restricted, narrow, single carriageway route which does not provide a safe and suitable route for all users. Despite this, Bullockstone Road is regularly used as a “rat run” between the Greenhill area of Herne Bay and the A291 to Canterbury. Furthermore, the constrained nature of the route as a result of neighbouring hedges/vegetation and properties do not allow for the provision of walking and cycling.

The A291 which travels through the centre of the village of Herne is a key corridor in the area as it provides access between the A299 and the A28 and thus further afield. The strategic importance of the A291 results in this route and the village of Herne being subject to large volumes of traffic. Consequently, the already highly constrained village of Herne suffers from severe congestion.

 The Bullockstone Road improvements include:

• the widening of the road to 7m;
• the provision of pedestrian and cycling facilities between A291 Canterbury Road and Lower Herne Village;
• improvements to drainage; and
• construction of new roundabout junctions at Lower Herne Village and A291 Canterbury Road.

The scheme aims to:

• reduce congestion and traffic volumes in Herne;
• provide infrastructure that supports the construction of around 2,500 new homes; and
• provide walking and cycling routes and easier access to bus routes and schools.

Funding approval

The project was considered by the Accountability Board on 12th March 2021 and the decision was made to approve the award of GPF funding to the project. The funding will be released in two tranches, with the release of the second tranche (£1.4m) being subject to the following funding conditions:

• provision of evidence of planning approval for the Hillborough development following the scheduled planning appeal.

If the planning appeal is unsuccessful, the value of the GPF loan will be reduced to £2.1m (tranche 1 only).

Growing Places Fund

The Growing Places Fund (GPF) was established by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (formerly the Department for Communities and Local Government) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2011. The aim of this funding is to unlock economic growth, create jobs and ‘kick-start’ house building at stalled development sites.