Overrunning roadworks which have disrupted the High Street for nine months have turned Cranbrook into a ghost town, according to traders.

Now its county councillor Seán Holden is demanding an investigation into why the works, which were due to finish in November, have taken so long.

A six-week project to replace gas mains in the town centre started in Stone Street last July. A second phase, lasting two months, started in the High Street and Angley Road from September.

SGN, the utility company leading the project, says the work will take at least another month – with St David’s Bridge closed for six days from yesterday (Thursday) and a further three weeks’ work in Stone Street.

SGN spokesman Chloe Boyce said delays were due to unforeseen engineering difficulties and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Cllr Holden said the High Street was paying the price. “This has been a disaster – nine months of complete disruption,” he said. “The town has been treated with arrogance and disdain, with road closures, bus services being affected, shops going out of business. The compensation scheme is so difficult it is impossible for anyone to claim.”

Among his complaints were that workers did short shifts, or were absent from the site.

Businessman Howard Cox, who runs the FairFuelUK Campaign, says politicians should be demanding compensation for traders. He said: “This has been absolutely devastating for the economy and the town is already on its knees. It is now basically a ghost town. All it’s missing is the tumble weed.”

Roger Chant has run High Street health food shop Vegetare for the past 25 years. He said: “This has stopped people coming to the town. It is very difficult to come to terms with because we were starting to sense that we were coming out of the recession but this has knocked us back.”

Richard Lipscombe, owner of High Street gift shop Lemon Blue, added: “Customers are saying they won’t drive in any more. The whole thing is absolutely horrendous and the contractors have already had to come back to re-do some bits that weren’t done correctly the first time.”