Upper North Street, Brighton repair works delayed until July

Repairs to Upper North Street in Brighton were initially started in March because water was leaking out of the road and flowing down a hill.

The work has already been extended by a month and now signs at the site suggest there is another hold-up.

Work began at the end of March after buses were controversially diverted down the road from Western Road where major improvements are being carried out.

Upper North Street works have been delayed into July (Image: Public)

The “emergency repair works” were scheduled to be finished by May 5 but signs at the site soon changed to say it had been extended into June.

The latest signs now show the work has been pushed to July 7, nearly four months after the damage was first spotted.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council apologised to residents, saying a number of inter-linked works were talking place.

It said it intended to re-open the road "as soon as possible".

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Despite the damage coming shortly after hundreds of buses were diverted along Upper North Street, the council has denied any link between the increased traffic and the damage.

The council doubled down on the remarks after a similar leak was spotted on a new diversion route in Montpelier Road, saying the leaks were “entirely unrelated” to the buses.

However, a letter to Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas from a Southern Water boss said the extra buses could not be ruled out as a factor.

In the letter Southern Water chief operating officer Bob Collington said: “The additional traffic or weight of vehicles coupled with the failing road surface may have played a part in the mains fitting failure, however, this would be difficult to confirm.”

Upper North Street repairs earlier this year (Image: Andrew Gardner | The Argus)

The diversion is part of improvements to Western Road which were scheduled to last around 18 months.

The scheme is designed to encourage "more cycling, wheeling and walking", making it easier to travel through the city and improve air quality.