Bedford Traffic Disruption - Anglian Water St Paul's Square Works

With works by Anglian Water to fix a broken water main in St Paul's Square set to continue through the weekend, the following statement has been released by the Council:

"We have encouraged Anglian Water to address water related problems in St Paul's Square for many months. With water collecting on the roads and with freezing conditions overnight and during the day we again contacted Anglian Water last week to report this and request action to address it.

It is incorrect of Anglian Water to attribute blame to the Council for the disruption and delays caused to traffic by this work as Anglian Water advised the Council that it would only be an overnight closure.

We understand that engineers from Anglian Water remain on site and will be working through the weekend to fix the leak. Based on their advice we expect work to be completed and the road to be opened on Monday afternoon. While this work continues we advise drivers to avoid Horne Lane and St. Paul's Square and to expect delays in journeys through the town.

Buses coming into Bedford town have been diverted to Prebend Street and Midland Road. Local bus services are not stopping at Borough Hall, Bedford College or St Paul's Square.

For anyone using the car parks at Riverside Square, River Street Multi-Storey or the Harpur Centre, bus lane restrictions have been removed so you will be able to access them by driving up River Street from Greyfriars."

Anglian Water had earlier claimed that it had only been informed of the water leak in St Paul's Square yesterday, when in fact they were requested by the council to take action to address the fact that water was gathering on the road last week. This request was only the latest from the Council for Anglian Water to address the water-related problems which have been evident on the square. Mayor Dave Hodgson has today contacted Anglian Water to encourage it to communicate with the public about what is going on and to ensure an effective traffic management plan is in place, with much more comprehensive signage than has been evident through the day. Anglian Water's Operations Director apologised for the avoidable problems we have seen in those respects, and assured Mayor Dave that all efforts will be made to make the repairs as swiftly and safely as possible.

As the Council's statement says, it is expected that work will continue through the weekend before reopening on Monday afternoon. Motorists are warned to expect delays until the road is reopened, and to note the interim arrangements in place, including the temporary removal of bus lane restrictions on River Street and Horne Lane to enable access to the Riveride Square, River Street and Harpur Centre car parks.