Residents are experiencing a feeling of deja vu as their street is dug up again - less than four months after the last time.

Only this time, it is to result inFant residents losing their bus service.

Back on July 11 this year, a 10-ft deep sinkhole appeared in Hackney Road near its junction with Milton Street in Fant, Maidstone.

The road was closed to traffic for a month while Southern Water struggled to repair the cause of the problem - a collapsed sewer.

Now the road is being dug up again - without notice - in exactly the same place, this time by UK Power Networks.

They are responding to a power outage that affected the area around 6pm on Sunday night.

The road has been closed to traffic at the corner of Milton Street and Hackney Road and is expected to remain closed for two weeks until December 16.

The closure has thrown up exactly the same problems as before.

Ward Councillor Kimmy Milham (Green) said: “Once again there is inadequate signage or diversion warnings.

“And just as before, it’s leading some drivers to drive the wrong way down a one-way street, rather than take a long diversion.

“Motorists are again going the wrong way up Milton Street and Bazelgette Rise, a place where we have already had a fatality. It is dangerous!”

Cllr Milham was referring to an accident in December 2021, when a pensioner was struck by a car that came out of Bazelgette Rise and travelled the wrong way down one-way Milton Street.

She said: “Local councillors had complained to KCC and the police about the situation last time, but no lessons seem to have been learned.”

The current closure follows hot on the heels of a closure in nearby Upper Fant Road by South East Water to repair a leak. That closure, which was only completed on November 26, fortunately, lasted only two days.

Cty Cllr Chris Passmore (Lib Dem) said: “To give UK Power Networks their due, their contractors were working until gone 10pm on Monday to fix the problem and there are half a dozen UK Power Network vans there today.

“They tell me there is a problem with the 50-year-old power cables beneath the road.

“There were power cuts on Sunday night because the sub-station in Black Court was put out of action.

“Residents only have power today, because the substation is being run off a temporary generator installed in Acorn Close.

“This is a key route, not least for parents travelling to the Bower Grove and Jubilee Schools.

“What is annoying is that UK Power Networks did not communicate with anyone that a road closure was imminent and the signage has been inadequate.

“It is a failing of the current regulations that for anything deemed an emergency repair, the utility companies don’t even have to notify KCC until two hours after the road has been closed!”

“However, I have been reassured that the road will be open again by Monday.”

One of the victims of both road closures is the No 78 bus run by NuVenture, with the same service also afected by a similar closure in North Street in Barming.

The services are currently being diverted along the Tonbridge Road while the roadworks are in place.

Cllr Milham said this morning: “I fear for the future of this service.”

“There have been so many disruptions on this route. Even without the road closures, the bus often struggles to get past all the parked cars.”

Cllr Milham said that Fant suffered particularly from an excessive number of parked vehicles, partly because of its huge density of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

It has the highest number of HMOs of any ward in Maidstone.

She said: “When an ordinary family home is converted to say a six-bed HMO, it immediately also increases the potential number of parked cars six-fold.”

No sooner had Cllr Milham made her prediction, than Norman Kemp, the owner of Nu Venture, announced that the latest road closure had proved the last straw.

He said the company would be cutting back its No 78 service in the New Year.

Mr Kemp said: “I very much regret to advise that the road closures which plague our route through Fant mean that we are giving up operating all but a token once-a-day bus on service 78 from January 20.

“The situation in Fant, especially Hackney Road, has been greatly exacerbated in recent years by excessive kerbside parking which makes the passage of buses (or any large vehicle) very difficult. It is surmised that this may be related to the parking needs of multiple vehicles for a single residence.

“Our new bus timetable will be available from January 13.

“Meanwhile, our service 78 is being diverted away from much of its current route, to the annoyance of users.”

Mr Kemp added: “The issue of keeping roads open when under-carriageway infrastructure is aged needs a national debate.

“With the law as it stands, favouring as it does the utility providers, the transport-related needs of residents are at the mercy of gas, electricity, water and other key service providers, who, by law, can open and shut roads willy-nilly without immediately informing Kent Highways.”

The question of HMOs - and whether anything can be done to limit their spread - is due to be debated tonight, Wednesday, by Maidstone council.

The debate has been proposed by Cllr Paul Harper (Fant and Oakwood Independent).

He said today: “I am really saddened at the loss of this bus service, so many people rely on it to get into town.

“But it’s not Nu Venture’s fault.

“Parking has become such a premium in Fant that people are forced to park anywhere, right up to junctions and cutting sight lines.”

“It’s very difficult to even safely drive a car around Fant now, let alone a bus.

“Something must be done to stop this proliferation of HMOs.”

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said: “Our engineers are carrying out essential repair works in Milton Street and Hackney Road to maintain reliable electricity supplies for the area.

“We have liaised with the local authority, and we aim to return the area to normal by Monday.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will complete this work as quickly as is safely possible.”