Hertfordshire County Council asks Affinity Water to investigate why South Street in Bishop’s Stortford remained closed 48 hours after repair and maintenance work finished

Highways chiefs have asked a bungling water company to investigate why Bishop’s Stortford’s main shopping street remained closed last week, despite work being finished two days earlier.

South Street was shut for essential maintenance and repair work by Affinity Water on the evening of Sunday November 3 and remained closed to through traffic until Wednesday morning (Nov 6).

A barrier was installed outside Marks & Spencer to stop traffic going through and the work scene yards up the road was cordoned off. On Tuesday, all that remained was the road closure barrier, with cement around a small inspection cover the only sign of the water company’s work.

The closure posed difficulties for deliveries to shops and confusion for drivers, many of whom ended up having to make U-turns on the one-way street.

A spokesperson for Affinity Water told the Indie last Wednesday that the “scheduled work” had been finished on Sunday evening, adding “everything was cleared by 6am Monday” – which clearly was not the case.

Highways agency Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) initially referred the Indie back to Affinity “for details of what happened on site”.

But on Monday after we again highlighted the issue, a spokesperson for HCC said: “We are currently in discussion with Affinity Water regarding this incident and we have asked them to investigate what happened and report back to us.

“Once we’ve received their explanation, we will determine the appropriate action to take.”