CIVIC chiefs have blasted the actions of a water company after a Hampshire road was shut again yesterday (Jan 8) for three more weeks of work.

Bosses at Test Valley Borough Council have criticised Southern Water for disrupting traffic since December 2016.

They say that the work was originally supposed to finish around April last year.

Now, Southern Water have closed another road for at least three weeks in Awbridge.

The company say that due to different ground conditions, the work has been delayed and that they are notifying residents.

The B3084 Stanbridge Lane is now closed, and will be for three weeks at a minimum, an action that deputy leader of TVBC, Nick Adams-King, has criticised.

Cllr Adams-King said: "The residents of Awbridge and in particular Stanbridge Lane, Cooks Lane, Awbridge Hill and Romsey Road have had to put up with Southern Water closing their roads for well over a year.

"Every estimate of the time necessary to complete work has been missed, resulting in closures for much longer periods than initially reported.

"Disruption to local residents has been immense. Frankly, Southern Water should be considering more innovative ways of dealing with their water main repairs rather than closing the road yet again."

Awbridge Parish Council chair, Peter Allen, said: "Residents have often had to take long detours to reach their own homes and local businesses have lost custom as a result of these works over-running.

"Stanbridge Lane is a heavily used road, it's not only the main route into Romsey for most villagers, but also a through route to the villages to the north.

"It's been very frustrating for villagers to see no work being carried out for days at a time, despite the road being closed or traffic lights being in place."

Southern Water have offered to present their plans for further works to the village at the parish council meeting on January 11, a move which has been welcomed by cllr Adams-King.

The provider also defended its actions and apologised for the inconvenience.

A statement said: "We really do understand people's frustrations at the delays to our scheme and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.

"Reasons for the delays include us having to deal with different ground conditions than those expected from our ground investigation report, and, most recently, a changeover of sub-contractors.

"We have notified residents on the progress of our work throughout the scheme."