In July 2023, we started work in Leeds, Kent to replace and upsize 535 metres of an ageing, burst-prone water main in Upper Street.
This was phase two of a two-year investment of more than £1 million to improve water supply network in the village and support increased demand for water following new developments in the area.
The project was expected to last six months, however the project completed three months early.
Communication on this phase of the work began during phase one, with mention frequently made that we would be returning for a second phase.
We met with Leeds Parish Councillors in March, who explained the main concern was traffic not using the diversion route but the surrounding narrow lanes, with the extra traffic causing gridlock, delaying emergency services, and causing damage to property.
To better understand the knock-on impact of closing Upper Street, we met with other local parish councils in the area. This session was well-received by the councils, who appreciated us taking the time to listen.
A public drop-in session was held in May, with approximately 150 attendees from the local area. It was clear people understood the need for the work but were fearful of the traffic impact and so were upset a representative from Kent Highways was not in attendance. We arranged a second public meeting with Highways present, where we suggested a revised traffic management plan with an additional seven road closures to encourage use of the official diversion route.
Before work began, we laid the foundations for strong relationships with businesses, including The George Inn and Leeds Castle, both of which were unhappy with the length of the closure and the timing in the school holidays. However, we worked with them to minimise disruption and to support them. This included assisting The George Inn with advertising, and lending marshalling support to Leeds Castle for parking and traffic movement during a key event.
During the project, we continued to meet with these businesses, as well as organising two public review meetings to understand how traffic was impacting them during the works.
We worked with Leeds and Broomfield Primary School to support the running of a minibus to allow children from the Langley end of the closure to get to school without increasing school run traffic. At the end of the project, we offered a goodwill payment to support the fundraising efforts for their new memorial playground considering the additional costs incurred as a result of the minibus. We have been invited to attend their summer fete this year.
Over the life of the project, there were more than 500 stakeholder emails to process and in a post-works survey, 43 per cent of respondents said they were very unhappy prior to the start of work, and after the work, 62 per cent said they felt the work went better or much better than they expected.
