More delays for drivers

Weeks of delays are in store for drivers battling to get through Cheslyn Hay with further roadworks announced for the centre of the village.

Motorists had breathed a sigh of relief when road closures and diversions appeared to be coming to an end but National Grid has revealed more work is planned.

Frustrated villagers had been demanding to know when work to replace old metal pipes close to the war memorial would be finished and were surprised when one set of temporary traffic lights remained in place.

The lights were removed at the weekend but more work is now planned in nearby Station Road and will later also be carried out in Coppice Lane, in a move which will inevitably cause a lot of disruption.

Jane Taylor, spokeswoman for National Grid, said: "The traffic lights were set to come down at the weekend and we will then be moving to Station Road where we will be replacing individual service pipes from the main in the road into properties.

"We will be doing it in the length of Station Road and it will take four weeks. We will be putting temporary traffic lights in place but only as and when necessary."

Councillor Mac Harris, a parish councillor in the village, said: "People just want to know when all these roadworks are going to be finished. I don't think I've ever seen so many holes in the village's roads."

The recent major roadworks in the centre of Cheslyn Hay involved 650ft of old metal pipes being replaced. But businesses in the village claimed trade had fallen by up to 40 per cent since work started.

AJ and RJ Stevenson Chemist's and the Co-op were among those affected by the work. Traffic was diverted around the one-way system in the opposite direction while part of High Street was closed and drivers experienced lengthy waits because of three-way traffic lights.