Construction of Kent's first zero-emission bus service starts this month.

Fastrack will connect Whitfield to Dover Priory railway station and the town centre and the work is expected to take about 18 months.

Construction of the rapid bus service includes a new bus, cycle and pedestrian-only bridge across the A2 at Whitfield and a new link road from the B&Q roundabout in Whitfield to Dover Road at Guston.

The junction with Dover Road will be for buses, bicycles and pedestrians only.

With the project’s focus on carbon reduction, the contractors will plant more than 10,000 trees, shrubs and hedgerows and provide enhanced wildlife habitat in the area.

Work begins following the award of the contract by Kent County Council to Colas UK Projects Ltd.

KCC is managing delivery of the project on behalf of Dover District Council, with both aiming to see the district and county become carbon neutral by 2050.

A fleet of new electric buses will be used for Dover Fastrack.

KCC worked with Volvo to trial them in 2018 and has been awarded funding as part of the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme.

Dover Fastrack also creates a transport interchange with high-speed train services from Dover Priory, so giving a link suitable for commuting, business and leisure trips to and from London.

It will also provide a quick and easy way to reach the town centre and Dover Castle.

Dover Fastrack is backed by central government with £22.9 million from a funding programme designed to help stimulate new housing development at Whitfield and the former Connaught Barracks site.

"It is important that public transport is improved."

DDC was awarded the grant by Homes England and is working in partnership with KCC as the highways authority.

Cllr Trevor Bartlett, leader of Dover District Council, said: “We’re excited that Dover will boast Kent’s first zero-emission bus service, demonstrating our commitment to improving public transport options so that local people have real alternatives to car journeys.

“Fastrack represents the biggest investment in public transport in Dover for many years and is key to the delivery of new housing at Whitfield and the former Connaught Barracks site, and our ambitions to cut carbon emissions.”

David Brazier, KCC’s cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “After a lot of preparatory work and negotiations, work on this exciting project is about to get underway.

“It is vitally important that public transport provision is extended and improved, and the Dover Fastrack is a major step forward with that ambition.”

Sophie White, a director at Homes England, said: “Our role as the government’s housing agency is to work with partners like Dover District Council to build new homes for the people who need them most.

"We’re pleased that funding through the Housing Infrastructure Fund will help the council to build infrastructure, which will provide sustainable travel links to support those new communities in the future.”

The project will create new jobs.

Colas will also use several Kent-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of the supply chain, which will help to maximise local economic benefits.

The team will also arrange science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) awareness sessions in schools, colleges, and universities.