Kent plans a mini roundabout and new crossing at St Stephen's Hill and Downs Road. The £150,000 works could start in February 2027; comments close 1 November.

Kent County Council wants to replace the give-way junction at St Stephen’s Hill and Downs Road in Canterbury with a mini roundabout. It is asking people who live near it, or travel through it, for their views until midnight on Sunday 1 November 2026.

The scheme would cost about £150,000. If it goes ahead, the council expects to build it in February 2027, over one to two weeks. Source: Kent County Council’s announcement of 2 October.

What would change

The council’s consultation document covers St Stephen’s Hill between Downs Road and Hackington Close. It proposes to:

  • replace the existing give-way junction with a mini roundabout
  • move the uncontrolled crossing on Downs Road about 5 metres further from the junction, to make room for the roundabout
  • move the traffic calming chicane further along Downs Road to suit the new crossing position
  • realign the kerb on the north-east corner of Downs Road, so buses and other vehicles can turn in from St Stephen’s Hill more easily
  • add a new uncontrolled crossing on St Stephen’s Hill

An uncontrolled crossing has no traffic lights: people wait for a safe gap in the traffic. The council’s scheme plan labels the Downs Road one a “relocated pedestrian refuge”, an island in the middle of the road.

Why the council wants it

The junction is part of the council’s work under the Kent Bus Service Improvement Plan, a package of road changes meant to make buses quicker and more reliable. The consultation document says the junction “has been identified as a location where improvements could support the safer and more efficient movement of existing bus services”.

The council lists these aims:

  • slower speeds on the approach to the junction
  • safer, more accessible walking between St Stephen’s Hill and Downs Road
  • easier turns between Downs Road and St Stephen’s Hill
  • more consistent bus journey times
  • more people walking, cycling or taking the bus to nearby schools and the city centre

One line in the document goes further than a junction tidy-up. It says the changes could “potentially enable existing local bus services to operate new routes towards the University of Kent”. The document does not say which services, or when.

The money comes from the Department for Transport’s grant for the bus improvement plan. The council says that funding is ringfenced, so it can only be spent on bus infrastructure projects like this one.

What the works would mean

The council says building the scheme may need:

  • localised road closures
  • temporary traffic lights
  • overnight working

It says residents would get a newsletter and start of works notices before anything began, and information boards would go up on site. Any temporary footpaths would be kept level where possible, with ramps where needed.

The council’s own equality assessment flags two downsides. Some people may face longer walks because the crossings move. Disabled people and those with mobility needs may find the new layout harder to use until they get used to it. The draft assessment is on the consultation page, and the council says it will update it after the consultation.

What it means for you

If you use this junction, on foot, by bus or by car, this is the stage where comments can still change the design. The council says it wants views “to help finalise the scheme design”.

  • Read the plan first. The scheme plan and the consultation document are on the Let’s Talk Kent page. The plan shows exactly where each crossing would move.
  • Respond by midnight on Sunday 1 November. The questionnaire is online on the same page. A Word version is there too.
  • Prefer post? Write to Major Capital Programme Team, Kent County Council, 1st Floor, Invicta House, Maidstone, ME14 1XX.
  • Questions or a paper copy: email BusPriority@kent.gov.uk and quote “St Stephen’s Hill”.

After the consultation closes, the council will publish a report on the feedback and any decision on the same page. We will report it when it does.

This is a Kent County Council scheme, not a city council one. The city council is running its own travel choices survey until 26 October, which asks about buses across the district. For what is closed on the roads this week, see our Canterbury roadworks page.