Millions of pounds have been rescued from a neighbouring council in a bid to help reduce traffic on the roads.

In 2015 the Maidstone Joint Transportation Board (MJTB) successfully received £8.9 million from the government to carry out work on major junctions.

However, after delays and cancellations to key meetings, bosses decided to award £2 million of that cash to improve the Hall Road junction of the A20 in Aylesford which is part of Tonbridge and Malling.

Furious Maidstone councillors voted unanimously this month to return this money back into their control so that it could be used in the County Town as intended.

Cllr Brian Clark (Lib Dem) said it was money that needed to stay in the town, he said: “Just because there’s delays in the Maidstone scheme we do not believe that a scheme that’s ready to go should be given the money.

"That doesn’t make this acceptable.

"This is Maidstone’s money, it’s been allocated for junctions in Maidstone, and it needs to go to Maidstone.”

Part of the £8.9 million had already been put towards improvements in Maidstone including the Armstrong Road junction with the A229 as well as Willington Street and the Coldharbour A20 roundabout.

Kent County Council Project Manager Russell Boorman warned at the most recently MJTB meeting on April 17 that if the money recovered from TMBC wasn’t spent soon, it could go to waste.

He said: “It’s a spend it or lose it scenario unfortunately.

"If there isn’t another scheme within Maidstone that can be fast-tracked to delivery and construction, and be approved by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership then there’s a big risk that the money will be lost.”

Councillors are yet to decide where the money will be spent but those in favour of the cross-party agreement are positive that this public money will not be thrown away.

Cllr David Burton (Con) said: “We’re not going to put it in a barrel, pour diesel on it and set fire to it so it’s lost. It remains public money and it will be used somewhere.

"My understanding is that if we don’t use it in the timescale, the money goes back in the pot and we go again.”

The deadline for plans to be drawn up and for this money to be spent is March 2021.