'Village roadworks are forcing us to our knees'

A pub landlord in a village facing months of roadworks says disruption has "forced us to our knees".

Works to replace gas mains pipes under roads in Bramley and Shalford have been scheduled to last 35 weeks, and entered their second stage on Monday.

But Steve Hardstone, landlord of The Jolly Farmer pub in Bramley High Street, said customers might be deterred by queues at temporary traffic lights and congestion on the roads.

SGN, which has been carrying out the roadworks in Surrey, says it recognises the frustration which can be caused by the works, but that they are "essential to ensuring nearby properties remain safe and warm for many years to come".

Hardstone said: "It has been a very difficult trading environment.

"I'm very fed up because this has been continuous. It doesn't help customers if they think it will take over 45 minutes to get into the village.

"It feels like this has forced us to our knees and kicked us in the face."

Bramley and Shalford businesses were warned to expect disruption around Chinthurst Lane, and nearby Horsham Road.

Hardstone also pointed to years of separate issues which have caused disruption in the village, including a fuel leak into the water supply in 2024 and a sewage treatment plant fault in 2023.

Temporary traffic lights are being used around the works, and motorists have been told to leave extra time for their journeys.

An SGN spokesperson said it had trialled a new lights system earlier in the works, but that these have since been replaced after encountering issues on site.

"All businesses remain open as usual and access to them will be maintained throughout our project," they added.

Victor Wharton, who has lived in Bramley for four years, said: "It has been nothing but roadworks, they will never end."

Maureen Barnes added: "If it's really bad I wouldn't go out.

"I used to have a business and I wouldn't want to be on this road at the moment."

Concessions have since been made as part of the works to mitigate some of the disruption, including not completing work outside schools until the summer holidays, and removing restrictions for local election polling on 7 May.

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