Frustrated residents whose lives have disrupted by the collapse of a major road will hear the latest progress on its repair tonight.

More than 50 residents held a protest earlier this month to highlight the lack of action in the 12 months since the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe shut on April 10 last year.

Neighbours have been invited to a meeting by the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association tonight (April 22) to find out the next steps in getting the thoroughfare between Swanscombe High Street and Ebbsfleet’s Kufflink Stadium reopened.

The meeting will take place at Swanscombe Heritage Hall in Craylands Lane from 7pm and is expected to be attended by Toby Howe, highways manager for Kent County Council as well as representatives from the police.

At the last meeting in January residents were told there were four possible options to fix the road including making it a single carriageway with traffic lights at either end or building a retaining wall to strengthen it and build the road up to it.

The A226 Galley Hill Road has been shut since April last year following a landslide.

Frustrated residents have been pushing for action after being left counting the financial, emotional and physical costs related to the long closure.

Legal wranglings around gaining access to the land have prevented works from taking place to date.

But last week a digger was spotted and intrusive investigations on the site were started.

Chairman of Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents’ Association (SGRA) Peter Harman said: “It’s good to see that at last, we have some further progress with Galley Hill Road.

“KCC has now been granted legal access to the southern side of the road by the landowner, and the specialist surveying contractors are on site today surveying the chalk spine under the roadway.

“We are still waiting on the two landowners on the northern side of the road to agree access arrangements with KCC.

“The SGRA will continue following this up to get the road fixed as soon as possible.”