A road near a railway station will shut for 17 months while the expansion of a village continues.

Heritage Road in Aylesham – between Canterbury and Dover – will be closed from tomorrow (Monday) until January 21, 2025, during the construction of the Aylesham Garden Village development.

The closure will be from the Market Place end of Heritage Road up to Aylesham station.

Dover District Council says this is needed for the safety of the public and workforce.

The alternative route for any through traffic is via Kings Road, Cornwallis Avenue, Ratling Road, Ackholt Road, Queens Road and vice versa.

The path from Burgess Road (close to the Ratling Road junction) which leads to the skate park and station will remain open.

Part of Bell Grove in Aylesham will also be closed for 12 days while sewer connections are carried out.

The shutdown will be south of the junction with Burgess Road, also from Monday, with estimated completion of the work by Friday, September 1.

The alternative route for any through traffic is via Burgess Road, Ratling Road, Ackholt Road and vice versa.

Residents living in Bell Grove will be able to access their properties during the closure.

Aylesham, originally a mining village for workers at Snowdown Colliery, is gradually being transformed with the development of the Garden Village.

Work started in 2014, with a total 1,292 homes planned.

About 1,000 are already occupied and the growth pushed up Aylesham’s population from 4,905 in 2011 to 6,400 in 2021.

Another road in Aylesham has been shut for a long period.

Colliers Way closed in May and has an estimated reopening date of May 6, 2024.