M2 junction 5 improvements

Improvements to the slip roads and junction approaches at the M2 junction 5.

Start date Autumn 2021

End date 2025

Cost £50-£100 million

Visualisation of the M2 junction 5 Stockbury interchange once improvements are complete

Latest updates

19 October 2021
October road closures and another opportunity to meet the team

Our onsite surveys at Church Hill have shown the presence of electricity cables underneath the road. For us to safely move these, we’ll be temporarily closing the junction in two phases.

For the first phase, we’ll be closing the Church Hill exit on to the A249 from 8am Monday 18 October until 8am Thursday 21 October. You will be able to access the A249 via Honeycrock Hill as usual.

The second phase will see the Church Hill entrance from the A249 closed from 8am Thursday 21 October until 8am Saturday 23 October. You will be able to access Church Hill by continuing along the A249 northbound, taking the fifth exit at the Stockbury interchange to join the A249 southbound and then using the first right turn to crossover the A249 on to Honeycrock Hill.

There will be a lane closure on the A249 northbound, south of the roundabout, from 9.30am to 3.30pm on Monday 18 October and Tuesday 19 October. This will start at Hayes lane and move north towards the Stockbury roundabout and the M2 eastbound entry slip.

The A249 northbound link road onto the M2 eastbound will be closed daily from 9.30am to 3.30pm starting Wednesday 20 October to Friday 22 October. Please note you will still be able to access the M2 eastbound from the rounabout.

There will be a lane closure on the M2 eastbound exit slip to the A249 northbound which will be extended onto the A249 north between 9.30am to 3.30pm from Monday 18 October to Friday 22 October.

We will have traffic lights in place on Maidstone road, between 9.30am to 3.30pm from Monday 18 October to Friday 22 October.

Come and meet the team

Our project team will be bringing our mobile exhibition unit to the area next week to provide you with more information about our improvements.

We’ll be on hand between 11am and 4pm each day at the following locations to answer any queries you may have on the scheme:
- Wednesday 27^th October – Tesco Grovewood Dr N, Grove Green, Weavering, Maidstone ME14 5TQ
- Thursday 28^th October – Morrisons Mill Way, Sittingbourne ME10 3EX
- Friday 29^th October – Stockbury Memorial Hall, Stockbury, Sittingbourne ME9 7UD
- Saturday 30^th October – Moto Medway (Farthing Corner) Services – (London/ Westbound) Rainham, Gillingham ME8 8PQ
If you, or someone you know, has questions about the project and can’t make one of the dates above, our virtual exhibition will remain open through our work. You can also arrange a call with one of the team, to do this call us on 0300 123 5000 or email m2j5@highwaysengland.co.uk.
22 September 2021
Want to know more about our work on the M2 junction 5?

Our virtual exhibition is open

Our work to start the M2 junction 5 improvements begins at the end of the month, with site clearance taking place before the main construction work starts in January 2022.

You can visit our virtual exhibition to find out more about the scheme, what we’ll be doing and when, and how we’ll be protecting the environment throughout construction, along with a host of other information.

The project team will also be on hand at the following times to any questions you may have:

Wednesday 22 September from 9am – 12pm

Thursday 23 September from 3pm – 6pm

Friday 24 September from 10am – 1pm

Saturday 25 September from 9am – 12pm

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter on the right-hand side of this page to stay up to date with the project as construction begins.

As restrictions have been lifted, we’ll also be running some face-to-face events in late October. The dates, timings and locations of the events will be advertised here on our project website and through our social media channels.

You’re also welcome to call us on 0300 123 5000 or email us at m2j5@highwaysengland.co.uk to speak to one of the team about the project.

Preparation work – September 2021 to January 2022: Site clearance, compound installation and utility pipe diversions

We will soon be starting preparation work at the end of the month, which need to be completed in order for us to begin the main construction activities in January 2022.

These works will include:
- The diversion of water pipes, electricity and phone lines
- The installation of a site compound
- Vegetation and site clearance
The majority of these works will be taking place away from the roads, but some lane and full closures will be required. These will be advertised both here, as well as through our social media channels.
21 June 2021

Public Inquiry decision announced

Today we welcomed the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to approve our proposed improvements for M2 junction 5 Stockbury Interchange. The decision can be viewed on Programme Officer’s website.

Thank you to everyone for their engagement and contribution in the development of the scheme to date.

Improving the Stockbury Interchange will bring real benefits to the drivers who use this junction daily, and it will improve the flow of traffic around this junction, providing a safer and more integrated network for everyone.

Further information regarding the consultation and decision is available on the Programme Officer’s website.

To make sure you know what’s coming up, sign up to our project newsletter using the sign-up link below, we’ll also be providing regular updates on this page.
20 January 2021

Public Inquiry completed

The public inquiry into our proposals to make improvements to the M2 junction 5 has finished. A report is now being prepared by the Planning Inspector for the Secretary of State and we expect a decision on the project at the start of the summer.

The public inquiry was held as a virtual event in November 2020, and you can view the documents and information gathered during the review on the programme officer’s website.

We’ll be sharing more information about the final designs later this year.
22 September 2020

Virtual Public Inquiry Announced

On 4 September 2020, Highways England received notice from the Department for Transport (DfT) that the Public Inquiry for the M2 junction 5 improvements scheme will be held on Monday 9 November 2020 starting at 10am.

The Inquiry will be held as a virtual event, run by an Inspector in the normal way but with the parties invited to join via Microsoft Teams or by phone.

A Pre-Inquiry meeting will also be held as a virtual event on Tuesday 29 September 2020 at 10am. At this meeting the Inspector will arrange the timetable for the proceedings in connection with the Orders. You'll find more information about Highways Act 1980 Orders in the Document section of this page.

Anyone wishing to attend either the pre-inquiry or public inquiry must make their interest known to the Planning Inspectorate as soon as possible prior to the Inquiry. Please make it clear in your response whether you wish to join the meeting, make a statement or ask questions at the meeting.

Those wishing to join either meeting should contact ETC@planninginspectorate.gov.uk quoting the DPI reference number (DPI/U2235/19/21) and provide their contact details. Alternatively, telephone 0303 4445572.

Any queries regarding the programme of the Public Inquiry should be made directly to the Programme Officer, Yvonne Parker.

You will be able to view all documents related to the Public Inquiry on the programme officer's website
30 April 2020

Changes to M2 junction 5

We're making improvements to the M2 junction 5/A249 Stockbury Roundabout. These changes will support improvements to safety and the potential for economic development and growth in the region.

The Public Inquiry which was due to commence on 28 April 2020 has been postponed until further notice on the recommendation of the Planning Inspector, based on the Government’s latest advice regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are actively working with the Department for Transport (DfT) to arrange a future Public Inquiry for the M2 junction 5 Improvements Scheme.
31 March 2020

Update on Public Inquiry

Once new dates have been arranged for the Public Inquiry, the project webpage will be updated and participants notified. In the meantime, if you have an urgent enquiry, please contact the Programme Officer Yvonne Parker directly via email at posltd@virginmedia.com.

At least two weeks prior to the start of the Inquiry formal notice of the proceedings will be placed in the local press and around the site of the scheme.

Following the inquiry, the Inspector will publish a report with their recommendations regarding the orders to the Secretary of State, who will subsequently announce their decision.
11 October 2019

Public inquiry and Statement of Case

On 30 August the Department for Transport issued to all objectors a ‘notice of intention to hold Public Local Inquiries’ into the Orders for the M2 junction 5/A249 Stockbury Roundabout improvements scheme. The date of this notice is known as the ‘Relevant Date’ and other key dates in the public inquiry process are measured from it.

As part of the process, we have written a Statement of Case which summarises the scheme, objections and representations and Highways England responses.

All documents related to the scheme referred to in the Statement of Case are available to view in the 'Highways Act 1980 Orders' and 'M2 junction 5 - Deposit Documents' sections below.

Reference copies of all of these documents are also available for inspection at Sittingbourne Library, Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4AH during their normal opening hours.

See more updates

Project information

Current proposals would see the existing roundabout replaced with a new interchange, which is a flyover, to provide free-flowing movement on the A249.

Two new dedicated free-flowing slip roads would be created with a left turn for traffic travelling from the A249 southbound to the M2 westbound and a left turn from the A249 northbound to the M2 eastbound.

Maidstone Road to the A249 Stockbury Roundabout would be closed, and Maidstone Road would be re-routed to link with Oad Street. The existing junction of Oad Street with the A249 would be closed with a new link provided south of the existing Oad Street to connect with the A249 Stockbury Roundabout.

The M2 junction 5/A249 Stockbury Roundabout cannot cope with existing traffic flows. The junction is also one of the top 50 national casualty locations on England’s major ‘A’ roads and motorways.

One aim is to improve journey times. Our improvement scheme will reduce delays meaning people will have quicker and more reliable journeys. The scheme will improve the safety of the junction for all road users The improvements will support economic growth as increasing capacity at the junction will support the future housing and employment growth in the area.

Preferred Route Announcement (May 2018)
Consultation Report (May 2018)
Scheme Assessment Report (May 2018)
Scheme Assessment Report - Appendices
Consultation Brochure
Print questionnaire

We published the Orders for the M2 junction 5/A249 Stockbury Roundabout improvements scheme under the Highways Act 1980 on 13 June 2019 with a representation period of six weeks that ended on 25 July 2019.

The Orders and supporting documentation are still available to view online. Please visit the Highways Act 1980 Orders section below.

Since June 2019 modifications to the scheme have been proposed as a result of discussions with land owners and stakeholders.

The modifications require changes to the Side Roads Order (SRO) and Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO). The modifications can be found in detail under Highways Act 1980 Orders below and are described in the section 'Modifications to Orders' below.

As a result of these modifications and additional assessment in relation to air quality an Addendum to the Environmental Statement has also been published. This can be found under ‘Environmental 2019’ in the documents section below.

Both the modifications and the Environmental Statement Addendum were published for consultation on 24 January 2020. As of 7 February 2020 we have published a further additional assessment to the Environmental Statement Addendum Annex 1 which includes updates to the noise assessment following a re-run of the noise model and assessments of two additional construction compound sites.

These can be viewed in the Documents section below and are available for viewing in hard copy at Sittingbourne Library from 10 February 2020 until the start of the Public Inquiry.

The consultation period on the Environmental Statement Addendum Annex 1 ended on 9 March 2020. Highways England has considered representations made in preparing its documents for the Public Inquiry.

The preliminary design drawings are included in the Highways Act 1980 Orders section in the documents area below, along with the reports that detail the traffic assessments undertaken during the preliminary design.

Secretary of State Decision Letter

The Secretary of State, on 21 June 2021, confirmed with modifications the Truck Road Order, Side Roads Order and Compulsory Purchase Order. He issued a Decision Letter (dated 17 June 2020) to Highways England and those parties represented at the Public Inquiry.

The Highways England (A249 Trunk Road Stockbury Roundabout Improvements) (Side Roads) Order 2019

The Highways England (A249 Trunk Road Stockbury Roundabout Improvements) Compulsory Purchase Order confirmed in 2021

Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet
Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet pages 1 - 10 (scan of original copy from DfT)
Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet pages 10 - 20 (scan of original copy from DfT)
Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet - table 1, pages 21 - 22 and table 2 1-10 (scan of original copy from DfT)
Compulsory Purchase Order – Order and Schedule booklet - table 2 and pages 20-31 (scan of original copy from DfT)
Compulsory Purchase Order - Plans
Compulsory Purchase Order - Public Notice

The A249 Trunk Road (Stockbury Roundabout Improvements) Order 2019

Modifications to the Side Roads Order and Compulsory Purchase Order 2019

Supporting documents that have also been published include:

Statement of Reasons
Consultation Report
Preliminary Design Drawings (available in the 'Highways Act 1980 Orders' section below)
Scheme Assessment Report
Scheme Assessment Report - Appendices

Environmental Statement

Environmental Statement - Volume 1
Environmental Statement - Volume 2 – Appendices (available in the 'Environmental 2019' section below)
Environmental Statement - Volume 3 – Figures (available in the 'Environmental 2019' section below)
Environmental Statement - Non-technical Summary
Environmental Statement - Public Notice

Environmental Statement Addendum – Volume 1 Main Text
Environmental Statement Addendum – Volume 2 Appendices - Appendix D.6 Amended Habitat
Environmental Statement Addendum – Volume 3 Figures (please view addendum documents for Volume 3 in the 'Environmental 2019' section below)
Environmental Statement Addendum Annex 1 – Volume 1 Main Text

Core Documents on Deposit

View the Core Documents for links to all relevant documents.

Modifications to Orders

There have been a number of minor changes to the scheme since the orders were published on 13 June 2019. These are as a result of ongoing liaison with land owners and safety related improvements. They include:

A new field access at Whipstakes Farm is proposed to replace the one being stopped up under the Published Scheme. (MOD-1)
The provision of a secondary field access to the parcel of land located north of the M2 viaduct and between Maidstone Road and the A249 following a request for further mitigation by the affected landowner (MOD-2)
Amendment of Plot 1/8 for change of ownership (MOD-3)
Amendment of Plot 1/14 for change of ownership (MOD-4)
Amendment of Plot 1/21 for change of address (MOD-5)
The layout of the existing Church Hill junction to be modified as follows (MOD-6):

The existing U-turn facility would be removed. There would no longer be a need for a U-turn facility due to the provision of the link from South Green Lane to Oad Street and the Stockbury Roundabout.
The existing southbound deceleration lane would be lengthened to 110m, incorporating a 30m direct taper.
The merge corner radius would be changed.
The radius to Church Hill would be changed.
The minor road traffic island would be changed to the standard configuration.
The existing northbound left-turn auxiliary lane would be retained.