We’re investing £350,000 to install approximately 1km of water main in Ulcombe to support the network and ensure sufficient pressure and secure supply of top quality drinking water to our customers in the area.
The project is taking place in Ulcombe Hill, between the property ‘Glebe House’ and the junction with Lenham Road. The new pipe is being installed using traditional trenching techniques. This involves installing the new water main in stages, with the road being returned to its original state upon completion of one section before the working area moves along to the next stage. As a safety precaution for pedestrians, motorists and our workforce, Ulcombe Hill is closed to through traffic only. We will also need to close Chegworth Road and install temporary traffic lights on Lenham Road at the junction with Ulcombe Hill and Chegworth Road.
Work started on Monday, 15 August and is expected to take five months to complete. Our team is working hard to complete the work as quickly and safely as possible.
Diversion Route
To minimise disruption, the work will be carried out in phases, with the road being returned to its original state upon completion of one section before the working area moves along to the next stage.
Residents will be notified in advance when workis due to progress from one phase to the next.
Phase 1
15 August to early November
Work will start on 15 August, and will take place from Glebe House (south of All Saints Church) to Charltons Farm.
Phase 2
Early November to mid-December
Charlton Farm to the junction of Ulcombe Hill and Lenham Road.
Phase 3
Temporary traffic lights on Lenham Road. Chegworth Road and Ulcombe Hill will be closed to through traffic only.
School buses
Due to the closure of Ulcombe Hill, school bus services will need to alter their routes, and so feeder minibus services will be in place to get children to altered pick up and drop off points. These will connect to Arriva 89 mornings/59 afternoons to Maidstone and Starline Coaches services to Cornwallis Academy (66) and The Lenham School (L3).
The minibus feeder services will be operated by R&J Coaches and they can be contacted on 01303 813696 or sales@randjcoaches.co.uk(opens in a new tab)
Feeder services will run as follows:
- From 1st September 2022, connecting with Arriva 59/89 at Chart Corner, Chart Sutton: For students at all Maidstone secondary schools. 6.40am from Ulcombe School, connecting with Arriva 89 leaving Chart Corner at 7.12am. Return bus from Chart Corner connects with 59 arriving 4.38pm, and gets back to Ulcombe School around 5.00pm.
- From 5th September 2022, connecting with Starline Coaches 66 at Chart Corner, Chart Sutton: For students at Cornwallis Academy, Linton. 7:30am from Ulcombe School, connecting with Starline 66 leaving at 8:01am; return bus from Chart Corner connects with 66 arriving at 3:12pm, and gets back to Ulcombe School around 3.35pm.
- From 5th September 2022, connecting with Starline Coaches L3 at Grafty Green, King’s Head: For students at Lenham School. 8:10am from Ulcombe School, connecting with Starline L3 leaving at 8:20am; return bus from Grafty Green connects with L3 arriving at 3:50pm, getting back to Ulcombe School around 4:00pm.
Temporary Timetables for the main buses can be downloaded here:
Starline 66(opens in a new tab)
Starline L3(opens in a new tab)
Arriva 89/59(opens in a new tab)
NuVenture 59(opens in a new tab)
Any further information regarding any of these services will need to be directed to the relevant provider - Starline, Arriva, or R&J Coaches.
FAQs
We do all we can to minimise disruption to motorists and the community when laying new water mains and always look to install pipes in locations which will cause the least disruption, such as grass verges and when in a road, as close to the verge as possible.
In the case of Ulcombe Hill, the road is too narrow to allow traffic to pass the work site and so the road will need to be closed to ensure the safety of both motorists and our construction team.
There will be two diversion routes for this scheme.
Ulcombe Hill will be closed to through traffic only. We will also need to close Lenham Road at the junctions with Ulcombe Hill and Chegworth Road to undertake connection works to the existing network. The diversion routes are available to download via our website.
The closure at the junction with Lenham Road is to through traffic only. Residents and businesses will be able to travel along Ulcombe Hill across the junction to Chegworth Road and back, but will not be able to turn into Lenham Road.
The diversion route, which has been agreed with the local Highways authority, is required to follow the same class of road or above to ensure it is suitable for all traffic. The route will be clearly signed for the duration of the scheme.
We are aware that local residents may know quicker ways to navigate around a diversion route although we do not encourage this, again for safety.
Before work starts, all local bus companies are contacted and presented with the project plans.
It is then up to the bus company to understand what impact the work will have on their services and provide alternatives. We do not influence their decision and are unable to provide a solution for them.
As with all of our roadworks, we will always maintain access for emergency services.
Likewise with bus companies, the emergency services are briefed well in advance of any roadworks and are adept at making their own arrangements to find alternative routes. This is common practice.
Access to properties and businesses will be maintained at all times, however there may be a short wait if we are working in front of your property and access to businesses may be via the diversion routes or from one end of the works.
Bin collections and postal deliveries will still be able to access properties for the duration of our work, they will need to follow the diversion routes as signposted throughout.
As the work will require connections to the existing network, there will be a short interruption in supply. We will notify you well in advance when this is due to happen.
Customers with additional needs be it a disability, mental health or financial concerns can sign up to our Priority Services Register to help us understand how we can help you. More information can be found here.
Project Updates
Tuesday, 21 February 2023
14:45 PM
Project completed
We’re pleased to say that this scheme has now been completed and the area returned to its original state. Thank you to the community for your patience while we carried out this essential work.
Wednesday, 8 February 2023
16:21 PM
Work restarts
We returned to site on Monday 6 February and we’re excavating to allow us to make the final connection to the new water main. This will take place at the junction between Lenham Road and Ulcombe Hill and will result in your water supply being temporarily interrupted or you may experience low water pressure.
This is planned to take place between 11:00pm Tuesday 14 February until 02:00 am Wednesday 15 February, for a total duration of three hours.
Once water supplies return to normal, you may experience a slight discolouration or air in your water supply. This is normal following an interruption to supply and not harmful. To clear this, you simply need to run the cold water tap in your kitchen until the water runs clear.
Due to the nature of this work, there may be some minor noise from the use of equipment but please be assured that we will keep any noise to an absolute minimum. We apologise for any disruption this essential work may cause.
Tuesday, 10 January 2023
10:17 AM
Work scheduled to resume
The final stage of work will now be completed in February. We have been unable to do this sooner as we needed to investigate an issue on the network before we could complete the work.
Work will resume on Monday 6 February and is expected to take two weeks. Both Ulcombe Hill and Chegworth Road, at the junction with Lenham Road, will be closed and there will be temporary traffic lights on Lenham Road. This will be the same as it was prior to Christmas, and the same diversion route will be in place.
We are sorry for any disruption caused as a result of this work.
Monday, 12 December 2022
08:51 AM
Break in works for Christmas
This week we’ll be refilling our excavations to allow all roads to be open for the Christmas break. We will also be clearing our compound, however, we will need to return for a short period in the new year to complete the final connections. This will require the temporary traffic lights to be placed back on Lenham Road, and a closure of Ulcombe Hill and Chegworth Road. We will update this webpage once the date has been confirmed.
Monday, 5 December 2022
15:48 PM
We’ve now closed Chegworth Road and traffic lights are in place on Lenham Road. Ulcombe Hill remains closed to through traffic. We are aware that Windmill Hill has been closed; this is not related to our works, and is for work being carried out by Waterlink.
Monday, 28 November 2022
10:45 AM
Change to road closure
We’re pleased to advise that the final stage of the scheme will no longer require the full closure of Lenham Road. This work will now be carried out under traffic lights, which will be installed on Lenham Road on Monday 5 December. This work will however necessitate the closure of Chegworth Road which will be closed to through traffic during this work. Ulcombe Hill remains closed to through traffic.
Friday, 25 November 2022
10:45 AM
We’ve installed a further 155m of new main and this will be tested this week. The road has been returned to its original state and we are preparing to transfer services to the new main.
Friday, 25 November 2022
09:45 AM
Emergency road closure by SGN on diversion route
We've been advised that an emergency road closure has been set up by SGN at the Warmlake crossroads, which affects the diversion route for our work on Ulcombe Hill.
Unfortunately, we are unable to lift our road closure to relieve congestion as we are currently pouring concrete, which takes at least five days to set. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
Monday, 21 November 2022
09:45 AM
This week, we’ll be excavating the trench to Lenham Road ready to lay a further 20m of new main. The existing trench will be refilled and returned to its original state.
Tuesday, 15 November 2022
13:36 PM
This week, we’ll be excavating 120m of trench to lay part of the new main. We’ve laid 820m of new pipeline to date and have returned the previous excavations to their original state. We have also carried out work to confirm our final connection points.
Wednesday, 26 October 2022
18:25 PM
Potential water supply interruption
Between 9pm on Monday 31 October to 4am on Tuesday 1 November you may experience an interruption to your drinking water supply or low pressure.
This is while we connect the new pipe to the existing network.
One connection will be taking place near All Saints Church, Ulcombe and the other near the entrance to Church Farm North.
Our contractor will be completing the work with as little noise as possible but some will be inevitable.
We are sorry for any disruption this important work may cause.
Once water supplies return to normal, you may experience slight discolouration or air in your water supply. This is normal following an interruption and not harmful. To clear this, you simply need to run the cold water tap in your kitchen until the water runs clear.
Monday, 17 October 2022
07:47 AM
We've returned the previous work area to its original state and services are being prepared to be transferred once testing has been completed.
Monday, 10 October 2022
16:27 PM
As of the end of last week, we've laid 690m and are currently excavating services to transfer to the new main. We'll continue to reinstate the section of trench currently open.
Tuesday, 4 October 2022
13:56 PM
Our road closure has moved along Ulcombe Hill, with the road being returned to its original state for the first section of work. Further main is due to be laid this week.
Tuesday, 27 September 2022
14:43 PM
We’re pleased to say we’ve now laid 420m in total, and have been continuing to excavate for further main laying. We also undertook a connection to our existing network last week.
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
13:52 PM
We’ve laid 138m of pipework and are continuing to excavate the trench for the next section of mainlaying.
Monday, 15 August 2022
08:00 AM
Work on this project has now begun.
Work on this project is due to begin on Monday, 15 August.
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