PEDESTRIANS can again use a street in central Winchester that was closed for over a year.

Council chiefs are not satisfied, however, and are threatening legal action if Staple Gardens is not reopened to motor vehicles as well.

Part of it was shut when builders moved onto the old site of agricultural merchants, Scats, in February, 2005. Laing Homes then started on a mixed scheme of housing and offices called "Northgate Chambers".

When work began, the northern end of Staple Gardens was fenced off from the outside world. Signs warned of "periodic" closures for 12 months, but the road remained off limits for over a year.

Staff at nearby firms, including MBA Systems, Orange Chemicals, and the Hampshire Chronicle, criticised the prolonged closure, complaining of longer journeys to work, which forced some to catch earlier trains.

Laing Homes insisted that Staple Gardens had to remain shut for health and safety reasons during the building work.

The county council wrote to the firm last year to see if pedestrian access could be restored, even if reopening the road to cars was not feasible. But it refused and kept the road closed. The situation stayed that way even after the traffic order giving Laing Homes the right to shut the road expired in mid-February.

The firm reapplied to keep it closed, but council chiefs refused. A fortnight ago, Laing Homes created a makeshift walkway. But it was too little, too late in the view of the council, which is now confronting the firm about the situation.

"We will write to Laing Homes saying we require Staple Gardens 'to be fully opened for vehicular traffic'. We will also point out that the matter has been referred to our legal department to take appropriate action," a council spokesman said.

Despite several calls, Laing Homes declined to comment.