Maidstone gas works hit their 3rd month as road remains shut

KentOnline / KMTV

Local residents, businesses and even sports groups say they just want the work to be fully finished, so their street can open again.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00If you had to describe the works in just one word, what word would you think?

00:04Oh, massive headache. That's two words, but headache.

00:08First it was to repair the gas pipes and then it became a matter of replacing them.

00:12Since Friday the 18th of April, Loose Road in Maidstone has been either partially or fully shut in both directions.

00:19The main road provides a strong link between Maidstone and South West Kent

00:23and with it closed, traffic has been diverted elsewhere.

00:26But despite what you might think, locals are saying that what they've noticed most about it is the quiet.

00:32I've lived in this house off and on for 40 years. I can tell the time by the traffic.

00:38So it feels like the lockdown feels like Covid. It's very, very peaceful apart from the digging.

00:45What I've learned or what I feel like we've learned is this work has been put off for years and years and years

00:52for fear of closing the road and actually closing the road hasn't been that bad.

00:59Sarah continued to say that the public outcry may have been unwarranted

01:03and although occasional noise has disturbed her sleep, she'd rather see the roads fixed

01:08than have it become a bigger issue down the line.

01:10For local businesses, however, the quiet presents a different problem.

01:14Well, there's no traffic so nobody can get here very easily so people have got a point.

01:22We've had quite a few cancellations because of people unsure about getting here

01:26and the timing and where they're going to park and stuff.

01:28But your locals have still managed to get through, especially people who are walkable.

01:32You know, you can't avoid it so we just have to go with it and keep smiling.

01:37But that can be difficult, with local leisure and sports clubs affected by the wide area of roadworks.

01:43With the number of local clubs that we play against and having our team members,

01:49rearranging a match is quite difficult.

01:52A, whether we're going to play it here or at an away team, getting there,

01:57ensuring people that don't have cars are picked up.

02:00They may not then be available on the next match day.

02:03So yes, it does have an impact.

02:06According to SGN's latest update,

02:09For everyone's safety, while we carry out this work,

02:11Loose Road has had to remain closed until Sunday the 1st of June.

02:15During this time, we also aim to replace a section of old metal gas mains along Cripple Street

02:20and into the junction with Bowton Lane.

02:22Now, whether the roadworks will stop at the 1st of June, as predicted by SGN,

02:26or if, according to other sources, they continue further than that,

02:29people here just aren't sure.

02:31They're stuck in a little bit of a limbo.

02:33But they will say that it doesn't matter how long it takes,

02:36just as long as the work gets done.

02:38Finn McDermid for KMTV in Loose.

02:40Finn McDermid for KMTV in Loose.

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