Residents in a Cornish town are up in arms over a decision to close their main street to traffic for over three months.

Villagers in Looe, East Cornwall have been told the main road into the town will be closed from next week until April 5th to enable property developers to lay sewage and drainage systems for a new building plot. The news has come out of the blue to the great majority of the townspeople but house builder Barratts and South West Water (SWW) say there is no alternative but to lay the pipes under the main road.

A spokesman for SWW said: “We have to provide a connection which will not place other customers at risk of sewer flooding and it means the road needs excavating. We will work with Barratt Homes, the local highway authority and residents to minimise the inconvenience.”

Shopkeepers in the town are appalled at the news and delivery drivers and other commercial traders who are already struggling with ancillary motoring costs such as fuel and commercial van insurance will now find their businesses under threat unless a solution is found very quickly. Armand Toms. a councillor for East Looe. said villagers were outraged at the plans and warned Barratts and SWW: “They need to come and explain themselves to the people of Looe. They were happy to speak when they wanted to get planning permission and then it all seems to have gone out of the window.

“It is the impact on our lives – like having to drive an extra seven miles to take the children to school or get to the doctors. The town’s businesses will feel the pinch with the main areas of housing cut off, except via a narrow alternative along Barbican Hill”

The townspeople have put forward alternative plans but have still to hear from Barratts and SWW.