RESIDENTS and motorists in Alton are being warned to plan ahead as work to lay a new water main moves into The Butts area of town.

South East Water began a £1.4m project to lay a new 3,000-metre pipeline in private land and along Selborne Road, Butts Road, The Butts and Whitedown Lane on January 30.

Work is said by South East Water to be “progressing well” and so far 1,286 metres of pipe has been laid through privately-owned farmland, to link up with the Windmill Hill reservoir, and along Selborne Road.

This week contractors will move onto the next stage which will take the pipeline around the double roundabout and onto Butts Road.

This will require the installation of temporary traffic lights, to ensure the safety of the public and the company’s workforce.

This stage of the operation is expected to take approximately three weeks before the site is temporarily restored in time for the town’s Jane Austen commemorative events at the end of June.

In addition, South East Water will be constructing a new slip road to access a compound on land off Selborne Road, needed to minimise disruption in the area.

Matthew Cooper, project manager at South East Water, said: “The safety of the public and our workforce is our number one priority when we carry out work which is why we need to have temporary traffic lights in place.

“We will be working as quickly as possible to lay the next section of pipe before the Jane Austen commemorative events take place next month. We will then return to the area at the end of June to carry on laying this section of pipe.”

Mr Cooper continued: “We know roadworks can be frustrating but we will be working as quickly as possible to minimise inconvenience to local residents and businesses.”

This scheme forms part of the company’s £424m investment programme between 2015 and 2020.

The project will culminate at the junction of Whitedown Lane (A339) with the B3349 Odiham Road and is expected to be completed by February.

It is needed, according to South East Water, to secure water supplies for those who, and will be, living at the south west end of town.