A local authority has abandoned plans to lower speed limits on a dangerous section of a major A-road despite multiple fatal accidents occurring there.

Kent County Council, which is now under Reform UK control, reversed its December decision to reduce speeds from 40mph to 30mph along Marine Parade between the Catamaran Yacht Club and Barton's Point Coastal Park in Sheerness.

The U-turn comes after Kent Police indicated their officers would struggle to monitor speeds effectively in one direction due to visibility constraints, though the force maintained they had no objections to the proposal proceeding.

The coastal route, which serves as a key connection between Sheerness and Minster, experiences daily use by hundreds of motorists and has witnessed two deaths over the last five years.

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The original proposal would have established a 30mph zone along the stretch of Marine Parade that currently permits vehicles to travel at 40mph. Council officers gave their backing to the scheme nine months ago, with implementation expected within half a year for £6,000.

Councillor Mike Whiting had even gone so far as to pledge £1,124 from his Kent County Council Member Grant allocation towards the project.

Traffic surveys conducted on the route revealed that motorists typically travel at approximately 35mph in both directions, below the existing speed limit. The reduction aims to improve safety along the busy coastal road, which provides a vital link for residents travelling between communities.

Strong public backing emerged for the initiative, with residents expressing overwhelming support for measures to address the dangerous conditions on the route.

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A growing petition called on the council to install a speed camera at the junction

Officers advised that accurate speed monitoring would only be possible for vehicles travelling in one direction from the newly constructed enforcement bay. The £18,000 lay-by, specifically built to accommodate mobile speed camera vans, sits more than 100 metres east of the proposed 30mph zone within the existing 40mph area.

A bend in the road obstructs the view towards Barton's Point, preventing officers from obtaining reliable speed readings for traffic heading in that direction.

Inspector Ben Brennan from Kent Police's Roads Policing Unit confirmed that while the force had "no objections to the proposal", their Safety Camera Manager had identified these practical enforcement limitations during site assessments with council officials.

The road has witnessed multiple serious incidents, including a fatal collision involving a pedestrian in his 20s who was struck by a VW Golf near Barton's Point entrance in January 2023.

In another incident, a 77-year-old woman lost her life in 2019 following a head-on crash between an Age UK minibus and another vehicle close to the yacht club.

More recently, two separate accidents occurred in November last year near the Barton's Point entrance. The first incident on November 1 involved two vehicles, while a second collision between a white Audi and a silver Peugeot took place less than three weeks later.

These incidents formed part of the evidence supporting the original speed reduction proposal, highlighting the ongoing safety concerns along this coastal route.

Whiting, who represents Queenborough and Halfway on Swale Council, branded the reversal "appalling" and urged Kent County Council to reconsider.

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The council had previously pledged to lower the speeds to 30mph from 40mph

He said, "I am disappointed with KCC. It should have taken the police's advice and gone forward with the scheme anyway," he told Kent Online.

He highlighted that funding had already been secured and the proposal enjoyed broad backing from Minster Parish Council, Sheerness Town Council, local residents and senior county council members.

A petition demanding speed cameras for the route gathered more than 770 signatures, describing it as an "accident black spot".

The petition detailed: "Too many of our neighbours and friends have been hurt or put in danger because of this. The lack of a full-time speed camera isn't just inconvenient, it's life-threatening."