Residents and businesses are preparing for a two-month road closure amid an ongoing “storm” of roadworks throughout their town this summer.

Gas works on the A251 approaching Faversham started on Monday but it is “still open for business”, a leading councillor and trader are insisting.

A good chunk of the town’s road network has been dug up recently for various reasons, grinding the market town to a halt at times.

Within the past month, Love Lane has had three-way traffic lights and traffic is often slow on North Lane due to a similar system set up while Southern Water carries out repairs on the town’s ailing infrastructure until mid-August.

This is combined with the role Brenley Corner plays in Operation Brock, which sees the roundabout reduced to one lane to carry out checks on lorries and prevent them from bypassing the M20 en route to Dover.

The latest scheme to be implemented is the almost eight-week closure of a three-mile stretch of the A251 – which links Faversham to Ashford – to facilitate gas works.

However, Kent County Council representative Antony Hook (Lib Dem) told KentOnline he feels the town will be able to cope with the continued strain.

“It seems to be a storm of many different things, both planned and unplanned,” he said.

“Brenley Corner is a real problem, it’s very frustrating and seems to happy every single school holiday.

“The lack of communication is bad and we need to see more co-ordination and joining up between parties as the compound effect impacts residents.

“However, Faversham is still open for business – people just need to allow extra time.

“The town is fairly walkable so residents can move about and enjoy the area.

“It’s not ideal but people should still come and life has got to continue.”

Nicky Reader, who owns East Street Deli, noted the traffic had not yet impacted her business.

She said: “I do hear anecdotally one or two people saying the traffic out there is pretty awful.

“But we're not a sort of drive-to destination like, say, Canterbury would be.

“Faversham is quite rare in that respect, we've got everything here in the town centre.”

It comes as Brenley Corner’s role in future Operation Brock efforts will be limited.

It is understood using the roundabout, which links the A2, M2 and A299, will be a last resort for the rest of the summer.

The A251 closure, which came into effect on Monday (August 5), will last until September 27 and will be split into phases in a bid to manage disruption and delays.

The first phase has seen the stretch shut from the motorway sliproad towards Ashford. Traffic can still access the M2 in both directions though.

The stretch will be out-of-bounds for more than three miles from Junction 6 of the M2 slip road in Faversham to Dayton Road in Badlesmere Lees.

SGN is set to upgrade the road's gas pipe, which, once replaced, is expected to last for eight decades.

It means drivers will face a 21-mile diversion between Canterbury along the A252.