Kentish Express Ashford & District
Drivers slam ‘appalling’ sudden closure of road
Motorists were angered by the “sudden” closure of Leacon Road, which was shut last Thursday for electrical work.
Although the road is closed off at the Matalan end it is still accessible from the other end where initially there were no road signs making drivers aware of the closure.
This means that motorists using Leacon Road to get on to Brookfield Road are having to turn around just before the junction and go all the way back.
One motorist, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s absolutely appalling, there’s no indication whatsoever that the road is closed.
“I travelled all the way down Leacon Road from the town centre to get onto Chart Road, only to find out it’s closed at Matalan.
“There are a lot of very unhappy motorists. It’s very time-consuming to travel all the way down there then to turn round and have to go back towards the town centre. It’s a disgraceful way to treat the public.”
A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said: “Our engineers are repairing an underground electricity cable on Leacon Road, Ashford, to maintain reliable electricity supplies in the local area.
“It’s important to us to minimise the impact on residents so we will be putting some extra signs in place warning about the road closure ahead.
“Work is due to be completed by January 24, although our engineers always aim to complete the repairs as quickly as possible. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Signs have now been placed at both ends of the road to notify people of the closure.
The road closure is having a “huge” impact on the nearby Matalan store, said a spokeswoman for the busy branch.
She explained: “Anyone that is unfamiliar with the area doesn’t know how to get here from Victoria Road.
“A lot of our customers come from Folkestone and the New Romney area so they don’t know the area and have to use their SatNavs to find their way to the other end of Leacon Road.
“It is having a massive impact on our store but we’ve had really good communication with UK Power Networks and it is for emergency work. The signs do say ‘Road closed except for Matalan access’.”
Matalan is still open for business and is accessible from Leacon Road via Victoria Road.
What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, Unit 4, Park Mall shopping centre, Ashford TN24 8RY or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk