Swanscombe landslip nightmare 'must end' says new Dartford MP
Galley Hill Road has been closed for more than year.
Dartford's new MP says the 'nightmare' the Swanscombe Landslip has caused for residents 'must end'.
On the 10th of April last year, a landslip occurred on Galley Hill Road. It has been closed, with no clear indication to when it may be open again.
It's left residents feeling very frustrated, with some now 'fearing for their lives' with lorries cutting through their neighbourhoods due to drive not following official diversion routes.
In May, investigators were finally granted full access to the site, but Dartford's new Labour MP, Jim Dickinson, wants the works to be 'prioritised'.
Speaking to us at Westminster he said: "Galley Hill Road is collapsed and has been for 14 months, making peoples lives a nightmare and a misery, causing danger and potential injury.
There may not be a short term fix but it needs to be moved forward as quick as possible.
"I'll be using my influence as a newly elected MP to say to the Kent County Council that they must make this a priority.
The nightmare that the Swanscombe residents are living through must end as soon as possible.
"I'll look to get the Department of Transport, perhaps get it up to ministerial level and make it a priority at national level as well.
I'm not naïve enough to think that this would be the only example of local MP asking for support from a department, but we need to try that don't we."
Jim Dickinson was voted in as MP for Dartford this time last week, on Friday 5th July, as he beat long standing Conservative candidate Gareth Johnson by just under a thousand votes.