To help alleviate an increase in usage, Tovil Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) will be open for longer two days a week.

Over the past few weeks the site on Burial Ground Lane has seen an excess of 2,000 cars a day.

Unfortunately, the increase in use is having a knock-on effect to the roads around the site which queues causing a significant impact along Lower Road.

KCC cabinet member for waste Mike Whiting said: “We appreciate that the amount of people visiting the HWRC has increased which we’ve put down to a number of factors.

“Increased housing development in the area has no doubt contributed but we’ve had the good weather, the time of year when people have a spring clean, and the fact that our Gravesham Pepperhill site is closed due to fire damage.

“We hope that by extending the opening hours we can make it easier for people to visit at a time that suits them.”

The trial starts today (May 8) and runs until September.

The HWRC will be open until 6.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

From next week (beginning May 14) it will run Wednesdays and Thursdays until 6.30pm.