New road opens after 58-year wait

A relief road around a Kent town opened on Saturday - 58 years after locals first asked for it to be built.

The 600m-long road is designed to take passing traffic away from Edenbridge's historic and narrow High Street.

The road has finally been built with funding from Kent County Council and Sevenoaks District Council and was opened at 11am.

The opening of the road was marked by a procession of vintage cars driving along it and a tree planting ceremony.

Councillors said they hoped it would regenerate the town and stop its buildings suffering traffic damage.

The road was opened by the chairman of Kent County Council, Kent Tucker.

He said: "We have waited for this improvement for many years so I hope it will now make life easier for all local residents, pedestrians and motorists and prove to be a huge boost for the town."