Residents say an upcoming road closure in the heart of their village is “ridiculous” after repairs dragged on for more than 12 months less than a year ago.

Ferry Road, in Iwade, will close from Grovehurst Road to School Lane for works on a main water pipe that supplies Sheppey.

The road runs through the centre of the village and is used by drivers heading to and from the Island via the Kingsferry Bridge.

Southern Water is conducting the repairs on the 200-metre stretch of road which will close from Monday, September 9, for four weeks.

It says despite previous tests showing no leaks in the area, an additional specialist contractor that used CCTV, acoustic and audio studies, found there were two possible leaks.

It comes just months after Southern Water carried out work in the same road that took more than a year to complete.

Iwade villagers say they want to see the pipe repaired for the foreseeable future.

James Edwards, who lives in Plantation Court just metres from the leak, says he is not looking forward to the noise engineers will be making outside his home.

The 47-year-old father of two, who has lived in the village for 13 years, added: “I can put up with the annoyance of the works as long as the pipe is fixed.

“The problem with the pipe has been reoccurring since the pandemic so people on our road are disgruntled by it.

“It’s not only an inconvenience for people driving around but also an eyesore.

“I can only assume it's an old pipeline that cannot cope with new developments in Iwade and on Sheppey.

“It's not just a problem here, things like this are happening across the country where development hasn’t been backed up with new infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, Debbie, who did not want to give her second name, acknowledged the need to repair the pipe but called the situation “ridiculous”.

The 44-year-old Sheerstone resident added that she “doesn’t trust Southern Water” to get the works completed within the four weeks it has set out.

Pete Filipovic, aged 51, says he understands people’s frustrations but believes the work is necessary to improve the infrastructure of the village.

The chemicals engineer, who lives with his mum and dad in Sheerstone when he is not working abroad in Holland, added: “We need to have a bit of patience.

“Yes it's an inconvenience but I think most people understand it needs to happen to improve the pipes so it doesn't happen again.”

Cllr Roger Clark (Con), who represents Iwade on Swale council and lives in Peach Blossom Drive, says the works are “diabolical”.

He added: “People in Iwade want to know why the water leak problem is happening again and why we are going to be disrupted again.”

Meanwhile, Cllr James Hunt (Con) who lives in the village says the closure will cause “traffic chaos” for residents as it will happen at the start of the new academic year.

He added: “It is a ridiculous situation which has been going on for years and it should have been fixed by now.

“It’s going to have an impact on all residents as the ways around the closure are just going to get busier.

“School children on their buses are also going to feel the impact in their first weeks back from the summer holidays.

“If there is a problem on the A249 during the closure people will try and use Iwade to get around it which would cause chaos in the village.”

He added: “I hope that the works are not only repairs but upgrades, to finally sort the fix for good. The development has come to the area but we are still lacking in the infrastructure.”

Southern Water has apologised to residents and commuters for the “inconvenience”.

It said its main responsibility is maintaining the water to the Island so it is unable to schedule the work outside term time.

A spokesman added: “As the engineering work is complex, a road closure is required.

“The road closure is also necessary to help our engineering teams carry out the excavation work safely.

“We apologise to residents and commuters for the inconvenience caused.”

KentOnline asked the water company why there has been persistent water leaks in Iwade but it declined to answer.

It also did not answer whether the pipe is being repaired or upgraded.