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1.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1       This report provides an update in respect of the proposed A249 Bearsted     Road Major Infrastructure Project.

1.2       The A249 Bearsted Road Maidstone scheme involves the signalisation and enlarging of the A249 Bearsted Road, A249 Bearsted Road/New Cut Road roundabouts and the widening of the A249 between the 2 roundabouts, including the use of Smart Technology to ease congestion, improve traffic         flow and accommodate traffic associated with the Kent Medical Campus      Enterprise Zone and growth in the town centre and south Maidstone.  A   key objective of the scheme is to reduce queueing at peak periods and       ease congestion at these junctions to improve journey time reliability.

1.3       The A249 Bearsted Road Maidstone project is expected to contribute to       improvements in journey time reliability on this major strategic route       corridor towards the M20 J7.  The scheme will also contribute to the         planned introduction of 3000 jobs and construction of 1500 new homes by          2025.

1.4       The increased circulatory requires third party land at the Bearsted     Road/New Cut roundabout, however this is being ‘gifted’ by the developer        and Kent County Council (KCC) has agreement in writing from the relevant   parties.  No planning permission is required, and this scheme can be         delivered as Permitted Development.

1.5       It is intended to start construction in summer of 2019. This allows     sufficient time to engage with the local community, engage with relevant    stakeholders and still complete the main works by the end of the 2012/21          financial year.

1.6       A working group has already been established comprising of key KCC, MBC           and Highways England (HE) officers to ensure successful delivery of this   project.

1.7       All costs associated with the scheme and its construction, currently   estimated at £11.399m (including 2017/18 costs), are to be funded    through the award of the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) by         the Department of Transport (DfT), Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) and        Sec106 developer contributions (see below). 

  * Land gift of £420k is not included in the above total.

2.           Progress:

2.1    An external consultant, WSP, was engaged in 2017 via the Medway     Framework Contract to provide all the necessary resource to complete the           outline and detailed design.  This was programmed to be completed by       December 2018 and was delivered successfully. 

2.2    Engagement sessions were organised for all affected stakeholders and          residents in October/November 2018.  These sessions were well attended        and were received positively by the majority of those who attended.  A         distribution list has been collated for those wishing to be kept informed of      progress and will receive an electronic copy of the newsletter automatically      as well as a paper copy being delivered accordingly.   

2.3    Feedback received has been recorded and minor alterations to the design      are currently being finalised to reflect those comments.   

2.4    The contract documentation is being prepared and it is envisaged that the     tender will be distributed in February/March 2019 with a Tender Award in           May 2019. 

2.5    Construction will commence in the summer of 2019, concentrating on the     new access into Newnham Court Shopping Village in the first instance and   then moving out to the highway network.  Traffic management is yet to be        decided, however there are several measures being contained within the   tender documents that will mitigate the impact of these works. 

3.       Conclusion

3.1        Kent County Council presents this report to Members for information.

3.2        KCC will keep Members and the board updated at key milestones throughout the next stages.