SEWER repairs at the busy Shepherd and Flock roundabout sparked traffic chaos across Farnham last week, beginning with delays of more than an hour and a half on the A31 Farnham bypass on the Monday.

Thames Water was scheduled to close a lane of the roundabout on Sunday ahead of the roadworks beginning on Monday morning. However, this was not completed as planned and traffic management continued to be put in place during the Monday morning rush-hour.

As a result, three mile-long queues built up on the A31 travelling eastbound stretching back as far as the Farnham House Hotel, and Farnham town centre was also gridlocked as drivers attempted to avoid the A31.

Approaching roads including Wrecclesham Hill, Firgrove Hill, Station Hill and Castle Hill also saw long queues develop and for many the delays were compounded by ongoing roadworks in Bordon and Farnborough.

The essential valve maintenance work by Thames Water is expected to take another two weeks to complete but fears for a repeat of Monday’s chaos receded on Tuesday after the utilities company confirmed it will be able to complete most of the work without encroaching on the highway.

A Thames Water spokesman said: “We’re very sorry for the traffic problems on Monday while setting up the work site. We’re now set back off the highway the vast majority of the time, with traffic restrictions only likely to be in place very early in the morning between 5am and 7am for deliveries.

“This is a must-do job to help keep the sewer flowing smoothly and prevent customers and the environment suffering from flooding and we will be working hard to get everything back to normal as soon as possible.”

Many frustrated motorists took to the Herald’s Facebook page on Monday to vent their frustration. Typifying the comments of many, Mark Leonard said: “40 minutes it took for a five min journey. They didn’t even need to block off as much of the dual carriage way as they did!”

Others drew a comparison between the delays caused by Thames Water’s works and the lane closure on the A31 proposed by Crest Nicholson as part of the Brightwells regeneration scheme on land south of East Street.

Malcolm Crockford wrote: “If the East Street Degeneration Project (Brightwells) ever goes ahead, I estimate such traffic disruption, and worse, will last for 18 months to two years.”

A condition of Brightwells’ planning permission stresses construction of the main part of the scheme cannot commence until a temporary construction access bridge is built over the River Wey, allowing heavy construction traffic to access the development site from the A31 rather than going through the town centre.

This temporary access will require a closure of one lane of the A31 eastbound between Hickley’s Corner and the Shepherd and Flock for two periods of around four months each.

However, speaking to The Herald this week, leader of the Farnham Residents group Jerry Hyman again cast doubt on Crest’s intention to build the temporary construction bridge in the face of yet another amendment to its scheme this week, and warned Brightwells will have a far greater impact on Farnham’s road network once completed than seen this week at the Shepherd and Flock.

“I doubt Crest has any real intention of providing a dedicated construction access for Brightwells,” said Mr Hyman. “However, Crest’s new road scheme and part-pedestrianisation would cause even worse gridlock every day in perpetuity - which is why it is imperative Farnham prevents it.”

• Crest Nicholson’s latest proposed amendments to its Brightwells scheme include a substantial increase in size of its proposed extension to the Grade II listed Brightwell House which it proposes converting into a number of restaurants, and the change of use of the building originally proposed for the relocation of the Brightwell Gostrey Centre from community use to retail, food and drink.

To view and comment on Crest’s application to Waverley Borough Council, visit www.waverley.gov.uk/plan

ning and search for application reference number WA/2016/0268.