Alfriston residents attend public meeting over five-month high street closure

Alfriston residents and business owners were invited to a public meeting to voice their concerns over plans for five-months of roadworks in the high street.
Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104341008Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104341008
Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104341008

More than 80 people attended the meeting, organised by South East Water (SEW), on Tuesday (October 29) to have their say on the £550,000 scheme to replace an unreliable water main through the village between January and June next year.

The meeting, held at the War Memorial Hall in Alfriston, saw SEW engineers display detailed plans of the proposed work and ask villagers to raise any concerns they may have.

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A SEW spokesperson said, “Residents and business owners made suggestions about the siting of road signage and said they were worried about the potential use of narrow country lanes by drivers unwilling to use the official diversion route.

Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104208008Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104208008
Alfriston High Street (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-191017-104208008

“They also stressed the need for advertising to highlight that Alfriston will be open for business as usual throughout the work.

“The project involves closing Alfriston to through traffic for around five months while still allowing local people and visitors full access to shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses.

“The two village car parks, The Dene and The Willows, will remain open during the work as will the coach park.

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“A diversion route on local A roads will be in force and SEW is planning a major public information campaign.”

The spokesperson said SEW intend to advertise in local media to inform road users of the closure.

Jeremy Dufour, project manager for SEW, said, “We spoke to more than 80 people about the project at the drop-in session to gather feedback about our plans and answer residents’ questions.

“We are sharing that feedback with our contractors and with East Sussex Highways department, which was also represented at the meeting.

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“Although we expect the work to take around five-months to complete, we will work as quickly and as safely as we can to finish the project with minimal disruption.

“We understand roadworks are inconvenient and appreciate the understanding shown by customers at the consultation session.”

Mr Dufour said he encourages residents to visit SEW’s website for more details about the plans and for regular updates as the work progresses.

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