Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Update

The Spending Review announcement listed the A21 Tonbridge to Pembury Dualling scheme for potential construction in future spending review periods, subject to the outcome of statutory processes. For more information visit our Future Delivery Programme page.

What is happening next

On 10 June 2010 the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government  announced that the public inquiry for the Tonbridge to Pembury Dualling Scheme will be postponed until after the outcome of the Government Spending Review is known in the Autumn. You can view the letter issued by the Government Office for the South East (PDF 313KB) or further information can be found on the Department for Transport's website.

The Project so far

The Draft Compulsory Purchase Order and Highways Act Orders were published on Friday 11 December 2009.  The consultation period for the Draft Orders ended on Friday 5 March 2010. Alternative Proposals for the scheme have been received and can be viewed on the Publications Section of this scheme's web site. The period for commenting on the Alternative Proposals ended Thursday 3 June 2010.

The Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government decided to hold a Public Inquiry (now postponed). The Public Inquiry Hearings were planned to commence on Tuesday 13 July at 10 am in the Parkside Suite of the Ramada Jarvis Hotel. You can view the Notice of the Pre Inquiry Meeting, the Pre Inquiry Meeting Agenda, the Notice of Intention to Hold a Public Inquiry, the Public Inquiry Notice, the Highways Agency's Full Statement of Case and the Highways Agency's Listed Buildings Statement of Case on the Publications section of this scheme's website. All those who have responded during the consultation period have been notified individually.  All comments received will be made available to the Inspector, who may decide to make them public.

To help us understand the impacts on the environment for these improvements, we have undertaken an environmental impact assessment of the proposals - this is recorded in an Environmental Statement (ES) and a Non Technical Summary (NTS) leaflet of the ES. The full Environmental Statement, Explanatory Statement and Non Technical Summary leaflet can be viewed on the Publications section of this schemes website.

If the scheme is approved, construction is anticipated to start towards the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012 and be completed by the end of 2013.

You can write or e-mail the Highways Agency at;  A21 Tonbridge to Pembury Team, Highways Agency, Federated House, London Road, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1SZ. E-mail: a21tonbridgetopembury@highways.gsi.gov.uk 

History of the Dualling scheme

The Secretary of State for Transport in his announcement on the Access to Hastings Multi-modal Study made on 12 July 2001 accepted the need for upgrading the heavily congested section of the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury.

The A21 links the Hastings/Bexhill and Tonbridge Wells/Tonbridge conurbations to the M25 and the trunk road network. Between the M25 and Tonbridge the A21 is a dual 2-lane carriageway standard with grade separated junctions, limited access and no central reserve gaps. Between Tonbridge and Pembury the standard drops immediately to single carriageway with poor horizontal and vertical alignment. This section of the A21 has a poor accident record and experiences severe congestion throughout the day and particularly at peak times. There are no footways on this section and verges are either very narrow or non-existent.

The A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury passes through a very environmentally sensitive area with landscape, cultural heritage, ecological and settlement issues being key constraints to route improvements. Almost the entire route is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and being an historic route, largely follows the landform.

Following a public consultation exercise at the end of 2002, the Secretary of State announced the preferred route for the A21 Tonbridge to Pembury Dualling in July 2003 and the scheme entered the Government's programme of major schemes.

The proposed improvement broadly follows the line of the existing A21 and will be to dual 2-lane carriageway standard with grade separated junctions at the Fairthorne and Longfield Road Junctions at the south end of the scheme. Segregated access roads will be provided to give access to the existing properties along this section of the A21, with the provision of a separate footpath/cycle way throughout the length of the scheme.