ANGRY householders are demanding compensation from Hampshire County Council after suffering eight weeks of road works ‘misery,’ during which some homes were cut-off altogether.

Residents in Stonehill Road and Kenley Road, near Grayshott, objected that they had been given no advance warning about Operation Resilience maintenance works, and the repairs had taken twice as long as the four weeks originally scheduled.

The road works, which started on April 4, were completed in Stonehill Road last Friday, and were due to finish in Kenley Road last week.

Stonehill Road resident Margaret Mawson said: “The crux of the matter has been a total lack of communication and care from Hampshire County Council.

“Able-bodied OAPs with friends in affected roads were lugging food shopping back from three to four roads away, as internet providers could not get close enough to deliver.

“Pedestrian access for the able-bodied was severely restricted on Stonehill Road and Kenley Road and there was none for disabled persons at all.

“There were steel cages across the road on cement mounts and no emergency lighting at night, which was dangerous.

“A perpetual concern for residents was the emergency services wouldn’t be able to get to them if needed.

“Traffic diversions down Linden Road, Wilsons Road and Fairview Road were increasingly angering residents there, as the roads are too narrow for two-way traffic for a month or more without traffic lights.

“Residents are proposing to withhold council tax payment, because they were at their wits end with this fiasco.

“We were blocked in with no vehicular access or egress for almost two weeks, including weekends.

“Vehicular access from our drive has been impossible to expedite without taking the bottom of the car off.

“Nobody on site has ever visited us to explain what was going on. We had to seek them out ourselves.

“We have cancelled many appointments due to this blockage.

“We are both OAPs and need access to the doctor’s surgery in Grayshott. This has been impossible.”

Residents are now braced for a further bout of road works.

Hampshire County Council is due to carry out carriageway resurfacing works at the end of August.

Responding to residents’ complaints last week, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Rob Humby, said: “Our highways teams strive to work to deadline and to minimise inconvenience for road users when undertaking repair work.

“Regrettably in this instance, the work has taken longer than originally anticipated due to unforeseen circumstances relating to ground conditions.

“During this time we have sought to ensure pedestrian access is maintained, and have re-opened the road to traffic wherever possible.

“Work has started again this week, which we anticipate finishing on Friday, weather permitting, and I am pleased residents will soon benefit from an upgraded drainage system and new road surface.”