MOTORISTS travelling around or into Alton via the A339 can expect around four months of disruption in the new year if South East Water goes ahead with the proposed installation of a new water main.

Letters have been sent to residents informing them that, as part of an ongoing programme to improve the town’s water supply network, the water company is planning to install 3,000 metres of new water main along the A339 as it travels across the south-west end of the town.

But county councillor Andrew Joy has joined Alton Town Council in insisting that every effort should be made to try to minimise disruption at what will be “a critical time in the social and economic life of the town”.

And to seek to coordinate the work with highways changes and bridge works associated with proposed development in the area.

The new main will follow the A339 from its junction with the B3349 Odiham road, up Pertuis Avenue and Whitedown Lane, around The Butts, along Butts Road and under the bridge to link up with the B3006 Selborne road, from where it will cut eastward across country to join up with the B3004 Caker Lane at its junction with Windmill Hill.

The £1.4m scheme is said to be necessary to improve the capacity of the network and ensure that the company can continue to maintain water pressure to the Alton area.

South East Water delivery manager Chris Love confirmed: “As part of our ongoing programme to improve our water supply network we are planning to install 3,000 metres of new water pipe along Whitedown Lane (from its junction with the Basingstoke road) around The Butts, along Butts Road and Selborne Road. The new pipe will then continue to be laid across private fields.”

And he added: “We need to carry out this project to improve the capacity of the network and ensure we can continue to maintain water pressure to the Alton area as the community grows. The scheme will also allow us to secure water supplies in Alton by feeding the area from an additional direction. This work forms part of the company’s £424m programme of investment between 2015 and 2020 to improve water supplies to our customers.”

According to South East Water, construction work is to be carried out in sections, with the road being returned to its original state upon completion of each section before moving onto the next stage. This will involve the use of temporary traffic lights and the closure for a time of Butts Road.

Mr Love said: “To minimise disruption to local residents, we are planning to use temporary traffic lights along most of the highway section of the scheme to keep traffic flowing.

“However, to keep the public and our workforce safe we will need to implement a temporary closure of The Butts while we lay the new pipe in the road around the green.

“We know roadworks can be disruptive and we don’t take the decision to implement traffic management lightly but this is the only way we can keep motorists, pedestrians and our workforce safe while this work takes place. As a result we have been working closely with the local highways department to plan this work.”

The contractor, Clancy Docwra, is scheduled to start work on Monday, January 23, and, while the entire project is expected to take approximately one year to complete, the road section, including the area around The Butts, should take four months.

Work will take place during normal working hours, although there may be some activity at weekends, and the company insists the contractor will “work hard to complete the job as quickly and safely as possible.”

Bearing in mind the disruption expected to the town over the next few years as construction traffic makes its way around and across Alton to access major development sites and, in particular, the removal and rebuilding of Butts Bridge, anticipated to take place in early 2018, Alton Town Council is urging South East Water to consider 24-hour working to try and significantly reduce the timescale for the installation of the water main.

Councillors draw attention also to events held on The Butts, such as the Victorian Cricket match, and the programme of events planned between May and July next year when Alton will be working with neighbouring Chawton as part of the Jane Austen 200 commemorations.

Billed as “a big tourist attraction in the UK for 2017” the fear is that any prolonged disruption could have “a huge financial impact on the town”.