Developers are being pushed to revise plans for a major roadworks project to avoid up to three months of traffic chaos.

A section of the A257 Littlebourne Road – a key route in and out of Canterbury – was due to be fully closed off for 13 weeks last month to allow new utility infrastructure to be installed for the nearby Royal Parade housing estate.

The road layout was also set to be reconfigured, causing significant disruption to bus services and leaving drivers facing a 14-mile detour via the Adisham Road at Wingham and the A2 to get in and out of the city.

To residents’ relief, the closure was called off at the last minute after a request for an extension to the start date was rejected, but questions remain about when and how the inevitable operation will now take place.

Neither housebuilder Taylor Wimpey – which owns Royal Parade - nor KCC has divulged details about what ideas are being worked on to achieve the least possible interruptions.

Kent county councillor Mike Sole says he has written to Taylor Wimpey urging it to reduce the effects a likely road closure will have on motorists.

“I have asked that as a condition of the works’ closure, the following are agreed before any long closure is granted,” Cllr Sole (Lib Dem) told KentOnline.

“Firstly, agreed arrangements for bus services, and in particular those for school pupils.

“I would want to see any closure to be for the shortest time possible and any closure of more than a couple of weeks to take place over school holidays.”

The KCC representative for South Canterbury added the housebuilding giants should audit likely alternative routes that will be used instead of the official diversion.

“Where appropriate, temporary HGV signs and ‘pedestrian in road’ signs should be arranged, and certainly some line refreshing, pothole repair and vegetation cut back,” he explained.

The works are a requirement of the approved planning permission for the Royal Parade development.

Construction of the scheme has been ongoing for years, with scores of families already living on the estate, which will comprise 500 homes when complete.

When asked for the latest on the plans and how the company was planning to reduce the impact, a spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: “We are working constructively with Kent County Council to agree a programme and start date for the necessary works on Littlebourne Road.

“Discussions are ongoing but we would like to assure the local community of our commitment to completing the works with as minimal disruption as possible.”

Cllr Sole previously said "more robust" processes were needed by Kent County Council - as the highways authority - to challenge Taylor Wimpey's plan.

KCC says it has been working alongside Taylor Wimpey to review the design of the works.