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Dear Editor,

Re: Does road petition put business ahead of safety?

The businesses are 'bleating'? according to John who posted recently.

The petition was active for a few short days, due to poor communication of the deadline for objections by Kent Highways, but in that time the businesses signed and so did well over 500 residents.

So a large number of canvassed residents and the majority of the businesses are objecting. Not whining or bleating, but making reasonable and lawful objection. Even though it was completely ignored.

To be factually correct, the bypass has affected the level of trade for businesses already to varying degrees, therefore it is fair for those business owners to assume that further measures to divert the traffic from the business will have a further effect.

It also isn't fair to state that 'very few' rely on passing trade, unless of course you are one of those traders or have actual information to the contrary.

There are car sales, other vehicle services, a Pub, a Caravan sales and accessories site, various takeaways and some other shops. There is soon to be a hairdressers where the 'property shop' was, which is why there is no sign of life in it.

Was the 'bypass' scheme really designed to protect the children from the village? Or could it possibly be to try to accommodate some of the traffic from all the new properties going up on the new estates? I've asked around and looked for statistics on all of the accidents involving child pedestrians that must have made it necessary to take such drastic measures - and came up short.

All of the shops and businesses rely on both local customers and passing trade - and I feel it's unfair to put the 'blame' on Tesco for being part of the objection, when in actual fact the majority of the businesses were equally active in that action.

Gill