Portslade residents have been given a second dose of roads chaos after council building works meant a key junction was closed again.
The work is taking place at the old school building at the top of High Street, on the corner of Mile Oak Road.
It has brought the closure of the same junction affected by the previous use of the building as a covid centre.
And it has fuelled road safety fears for the residents of Mile Oak Gardens – a narrow road being used as an unofficial diversion by frustrated drivers.
Independent councillor Peter Atkinson has spoken about the problems. He said: “To say that I’m angry and disappointed is a slight understatement, particularly after all these residents were put through during the testing centre being sited there.”
The school building – formerly a secondary school and more recently a sixth form centre – is to become offices for children’s social workers.
One Mile Oak Gardens resident said: “We did not receive any correspondence from the contractors on the planned road closure.
“I have spoken with other neighbours who were totally unaware until they saw signs go up over the weekend, let alone the length of time these closures are in place.
“However, much they think these signs will work to divert the traffic it is the complete opposite. From 6am this traffic was thundering down Mile Oak Gardens at dangerous speeds.
“As I was leaving for work, I witnessed cars being hit and wing mirrors smashed. I have had to go out with a broom and clear glass that as landed in front of my driveway.
“The speed at which cars are travelling is dangerous. Those of us that need to get our vehicles off/on our drives have great difficulty as there is little to no consideration.
“People are trying to get to one end of the road as fast as possible before the meet any oncoming traffic.
“It would have been sensible to make Mile Oak Gardens a one-way street during this period to avoid damage, and dangerous driving.
“Mile Oak Gardens is not wide enough so sustain the volume of traffic. It is only a matter of time before something more serious happens!
“I understand these works need to happen and for them to happen road closures are necessary to allow them to happen.
“However, the complete lack of communication and consideration for the residents around the area is what frustrates me (and my neighbours) the most.
“It is more than likely too late for any action to happen now but maybe in the future more could be done to consider the residents that are affected.”
A council official said: “Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the disruption that has happened over the last few days.”
She said that “this is news to me” because the contractor, ALS, had “confirmed that they were ‘letter dropping’ all of the streets we had advised them to – so I had no reason to believe they wouldn’t”.
A letter, headed “Installation of joint bay and electrical cables on Mile Oak Road”, has since been shared with some residents from project engineer Paul Hosker, from UK Power Networks.
The letter said: “UK Power Networks are the electrical distribution network operator for your area and are responsible for the installation and maintenance of all the electricity cables that carry power to your home or business.
“I am writing to let you know that in partnership with our contractors ALS Civil Engineers, we will begin working on Mile Oak Road from the junction of High Street to outside 33 Mile Oak Road.
“This work requires us to excavate outside in the footway and carriageway, and this requires us to close the road.
Our works are planned to start on Monday 11 April to Wednesday 27 April. All works will take place between 8am to 6pm, as requested by Brighton and Hove City Council.
“I can assure you we have taken every step to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum for you and we do not anticipate any interruption to your electricity supply.
“We anticipate for all works to be complete by Wednesday 27 April.
“Thank you in advance for your co-operation. If you have any queries regarding this work, please do not hesitate to contact 0800 028 4587 and reference our job number 150079111.”
