Homeowners will be forced to surrender their driveways this summer for roadworks.

People in Willington Street, Maidstone, have been told there will be no vehicle access to their homes while engineers reconstruct and resurface the carriageway.

KCC plans to start the first phase this Thursday and hopes to finish by Sunday, August 31.

The section will be split into two parts. The first will be from Denton Close to Valentine Road and the second will stretch between Valentine Road and Sutton Road. Each part is expected to take around three weeks.

The rest of Willington Street will be excavated next year.

Although the scheme has been separated into stages, the whole road will be shut.

Drivers who live in the affected areas will have to park elsewhere on the closed carriageway.

A 64-year-old man who lives in the are of the first part of phase one said: “It will be a huge inconvenience. Willington Street has been used as a cut-through to the motorway for many years but it is a residential road and KCC should treat it as such.”

People living in the immediate community will have access to diversions through Northumberland Road and Westmoreland Road, in Shepway, but other traffic will be directed along the Ashford Road and Sutton Road.

Timing of traffic lights in the town centre will be altered to cope with the extra vehicles and there's a possibility Romney Place will be closed in a bid to help traffic flow through Lower Stone Street.

The Park and Ride service in Willington Street will operate as normal, with access only from the A20 Ashford Road.

David Brazier, KCC's cabinet member for environment and transport, said security officers will patrol the area while people are unable to park on their driveways.

He added: “With a project of this magnitude and complexity, disruption is inevitable but we will be doing our utmost to make sure that this is kept to an absolute minimum.

"We apologise in advance for the inconvenience caused and will try to keep this to a minimum. There are significant long term benefits to the works as we have designed the repairs to last many years ahead.”

Workers are expected to be at the site between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week.