New Milton councillors demand answers from SGN as gas works shut Old Milton Road roundabout

New Milton councillors have demanded answers after emergency gas works shut off a main route in the town.

The Old Milton Road roundabout was closed from Monday afternoon for SGN engineers to carry out an urgent replacement of a gain main in the centre of the road.

This has blocked access to the roundabout from Gore Road, Old Milton Road and Whitefield Road.

Access from the southern side of Old Milton Road left onto Gore Road has been maintained.

There is uncertainty over how long the work will take, although SGN has secured a permit until Monday 16th December.

This along with the Bashley works, and a recent two-day closure of New Milton Infant School for emergency gas repairs, sparked concern among councillors over the state of the town’s infrastructure.

Cllr Steve Clarke told Tuesday’s finance and general purposes committee meeting he was contacted by one of the town’s “most important businesses” about the roundabout closure.

Fearing it would remain in place right up to Christmas, he warned some traders could lose 30% of their annual turnover this month.

“The whole situation in the town centre is unsatisfactory for reasons we can’t argue with,” Cllr Clarke said.

“I think our utility company needs to be asked to provide better signage, clearer information and compensation to affected businesses.”

Stressing frequent road closures were angering locals, he added: “I think what we need from SGN is to know what the scale of the problem is in the town, and what the predicted works are for the next 18 months to two years, so we can inform the town of exactly what to expect.”

It was agreed a letter would be drafted.

An SGN spokesperson said: “At this stage it’s too early to say how long the repairs will take to complete.

“Engineers are committed to completing these works as quickly and as safely as possible, they will be working on site until repairs are complete.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”