THE town centre car park in Ringwood will be excavated as works get underway by Bournemouth Water.

Work will begin on Wednesday, October 20, to excavate The Furlong, just west of the main town roundabout (across the road between the short and long stay car parks).

Bournemouth Water is accelerating its work on the water main diversion to mitigate the impact on Christmas trade.

Two-way traffic lights are expected to be in place at this location for approximately two weeks - this is in addition to the ongoing works in Mansfield Road.

In order for Highways England to make improvements to the A31 at Ringwood between the A338/B3347 (Ringwood) junction and the B3081 (Verwood) junction with road widening, Bournemouth Water are required to divert a section of water main which currently runs along the carriageway.

They are installing a new 450mm pipe instead of the current two 12-inch pipes - the new pipe is expected to make the section more resilient to failures.

Bournemouth Water set up their site at the Furlong Shopping Centre car park on Monday, June 7, ahead of starting the construction work on Monday June 14. Construction activities are due to be completed in February 2022.

A Bournemouth Water spokesperson said: “While we must carry out this work so Highways England can complete their scheme, we will do our best to minimise any disruption to local residents.”