Horn Street Closure now expected to last until Mid-November

4.42.20pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 11th Sep 2008

Water main replacement in Horn Street is now expected to take until mid-November to complete, according to an update received by Cheriton Lib Dem Councillor Tim Prater from Kent Highways Services. The road has been closed to through traffic since January this year, with the work expected to take only around 4 months originally.

Horn Street runs between the A259 Seabrook Road junction and Cheriton High Street in Folkestone.

The update from Kent Highways, received in response to a request from Tim Prater on how much longer works were likely to take, said:

"Horn Street, Folkestone: the water main is currently being replaced by Folkestone and Dover Water Services. They have encountered a number of issues and therefore, this has extended the estimated finish date some what. If works continue at the current rate, the completion of the works is expected to be Mid-November."

Shepway & Folkestone Councillor Tim Prater commented:

"I'm grateful for the response from Kent Highways, but it seems incredible that water mains works intended to take 4 months could drag out to over 10 months!

"Having a key local road closed for this long is just not acceptable. Utility companies should be made to ensure road closures are kept to a minimum, and forced to bring in extra resources to get jobs finished on time or fined for every day they are late."