Plans to alleviate daily peak-hour congestion on an industrial estate by launching a commuter river taxi have been dropped.

Medway Council was given £1.5 million of government cash for the project back in 2015, but a consultation with local businesses held last year revealed there was not enough of an appetite for such a service.

The authority now has until September to produce a business case for a different congestion-reducing solution – most likely to be a dedicated slip lane from Anthony’s Way onto Berwick Way – or risk losing the money.

Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett (Con) admitted the council should have sought the level of demand for a river taxi service before requesting the finances, but said a new scheme can be produced “within the next month”.

He added: “I think one of the problems with sustainable transport intervention is it relies on people wanting and using it – otherwise it’s not a sustainable transport intervention.

“I suppose, with hindsight, what perhaps would have been helpful is if we in Medway consulted on this earlier rather than put forward the case first.

“Obviously we then could have come up with this much more workable and productive alternative option at an earlier stage. Having said that, we are where we are.”

“I suppose, with hindsight, what perhaps would have been helpful is if we in Medway consulted on this earlier..." Cllr Alan Jarrett

The initial proposal put forward emphasised the money would be used to promote “sustainable” transport on the Medway City Estate, but questions have been raised about how eco-friendly the new proposal would be.

Addressing a South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) meeting held on Friday (June 7), Cllr Mark Coxshall (Con) from Thurrock Council said: “This is fundamentally different. I can’t see how a slip road is sustainable, which was the point of the original scheme.”

But he went on to support a motion which allows Medway Council to present its new business case to the SELEP in September. If it is not approved, the £1.5 million will have to be returned.

Members of SELEP’s accountability board, which decides on how to allocate Local Growth Fund money from central government, said the outcome is more important than the solution.

Kent County Council leader Cllr Paul Carter (Con) added: “It might not be as green, although I suspect a river boat with a diesel engine would pump just as much into the atmosphere as the road network.

“Clearly that scheme will not deliver what is needed, and I think this will deliver the objectives to a greater extent. Provided it passes the business case, let’s get on with it.”

Medway Council has already spent £500,000 of public money on manually-controlled traffic lights at the Medway Tunnel in an effort to address the queues face by nearly 6,000 employees who work on the estate.

According to meeting papers, the intervention has resulted in “an average time-saving benefit of 39 seconds per vehicle over the peak hour period”.

Cllr Jarrett defended the improvements, adding: “It doesn’t sound a great deal, but when it’s affecting so many people it is quite a significant amount of time already.

“This revised scope (slip road) will add to that and make further improvement.”

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