Key facts
Location: Hollow Lane, Snodland
Work: Replacing 845 metres of water main
Starts: Monday 6 October
Duration: Approx. six months
Investment: £461,000
We’re replacing around 845 metres of ageing water main in Snodland. By laying a new pipeline, we’ll be able to improve the water supply in the area.
We always want to make sure our customers get top quality drinking water and this new water main will allow us to improve the water quality for customers on Hollow Lane.
When will work start, and how long will it take?
We started this project on Monday 6 October, and expect to take around six months to complete the work. Our team will work quickly to complete the project sooner, if possible.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, our programme was delayed, and we had around 100 metres of pipeline left to replace when our permit to work within the road expired. We’ve now confirmed a new date with the local highways authority to complete this project.
We’ve been working with the local Highways authority to confirm the most suitable date to return and finish this project. It has been agreed that we will return during the school summer holidays.
We will be returning to Hollow Lane on Monday 27 July, for approximately one month.
Will there be roadworks?
The remaining work will be carried out using a mix of road closure and temporary traffic lights. This has been agreed with the following programme:
Monday 27 July:
Return to site at the southern end of Hollow Lane at the junction with Malling Road. Hollow Lane will be closed to through traffic. Access will be maintained for residents and businesses via the northern end of Hollow Lane. The diversion route, agreed with Kent Highways, will be signposted for the duration and will soon be available on this webpage.
This closure will run until Saturday 15 August.
Wednesday 5 August:
Three-way traffic lights will be in place at the junction of Hollow Lane and Tom Joyce Close until Tuesday 18 August.
Wednesday 19 August:
Three-way traffic lights will be in place at the northern end of Hollow Lane at the junction with Snodland Road and Birling Road. This will be in place until Sunday 23 August.
Monday 24 August:
We’ll be continuing to work at the junction on the final section of this project but with no incursion into the road. This will be until Wednesday 26 August, when we plan to complete the project and leave the area.
Map key:
Red line - road closure
Blue line - diversion route via Birling Road, Constitution Hill and Malling Road
FAQs
We do all we can to minimise disruption to the community when laying new water mains and always look to install pipes in locations which will cause the least disruption, such as grass verges and when in a road, as close to the verge as possible.
In the case of Hollow Lane, residents and businesses will still be able to access their property from the northern end of Hollow Lane while we have a closure at the southern end at the junction with Malling Road.
The diversion route will be signposted for the duration of the work and will be available on this webpage.
As with all our roadworks, we always maintain access for emergency services. Emergency services are briefed well in advance. Our team will work as quickly as possible to make working areas safe for emergency vehicles to cross.
Bin collections and postal deliveries will still be able to access properties for the duration of our work. We advise of these services of our works and it is up to these providers to ensure that their services can continue during our works. Our on-site team will work with providers.
As the work will require connections to the existing network, there will be a short interruption in supply. We will notify you in advance when this is due to happen if you are impacted by this.
Customers with additional needs be it a disability, mental health or financial concerns can sign up to our Priority Services Register to help us understand how we can help you.
More information can be found at southeastwater.co.uk/priority
This dedicated scheme webpage will be updated as work progresses, but if you have any concerns during the work, the staff on site will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
If you would like to speak to us direct, please call our advisors on 0333 000 0002 or email us at customerservices@southeastwater.co.uk
Project updates
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
11:29 AM
Returning to Hollow Lane
We’ll be returning to complete our project on Hollow Lane on Monday 27 July, for approximately one month. We’ll work as quickly as possible to complete the work sooner if we can.
Wednesday, 22 April 2026
15:30 PM
Project update
We’ve left the area as our permit to work in the road reached its end. We do still have around 100m of pipeline left to install and the final connection to make before abandoning the old pipework. We’re working with the local highways authority to arrange a time to return and complete this project.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the delay to this programme. We will advise on dates for the return and completion of this project in due course.
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
16:00 PM
Easter progress
Our team has continued to make progress on this project, completing the majority of the work required on Birling Road.
We are now continuing work under three-way traffic lights at the junction of Hollow Lane, Birling Road and Snodland Road.
Wednesday, 25 March 2026
08:12 AM
We’ve reopened the section of road which was closed, and are now working under two way lights.
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
12:06 PM
We’ve transferred 24 customer supply pipes to the new section of main and will continue transferring customers this week. We are sorry to say we are running behind programme and are looking to complete the project by the end of May.
Tuesday, 10 March 2026
16:38 PM
We’ve now laid around 536 metres of new water main. Of this, 114 metres have been commissioned and 18 customer supply pipes have now been transferred to this new section of main. We’ll be transferring more customer supplies this week.
Thursday, 26 February 2026
09:55 AM
We’re now around halfway through this project, with around 486 metres of new water main installed.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
14:12 PM
We’ve laid a total of 233 metres of new pipeline, and 114 metres of this is now in service with the remaining currently being tested before we connect customer services. We’ve started excavating for the next 150 metre section, but are having to use the traditional ‘open cut’ trench method due to the geology of the road.
From Monday 2 February, we’ll be closing Hollow Lane for around nine weeks between the junctions with Tom Joyce Close and Edgeler Close. Our team will work to complete this section and reopen the road as quickly as possible.
Tuesday, 25 November 2025
10:21 AM
We've now moved into Hollow Lane at the northern end, working from the junction with Snodland Road. We have two-way traffic lights in place. Due to being behind on our programme, we are reviewing our order of work so that the April end date is still on target. Once this has been done, we'll notify residents of the new closure dates.
Monday, 3 November 2025
15:46 PM
We've completed the first half of the work to cross Snodland Road, and have now moved the traffic lights to the other side of the road to complete this crossing and start moving into Hollow Lane.
Due to a number of factors, we are a little behind programme, so the road closure currently planned in Hollow Lane for 14 November is likely to be moved. We'll update residents as soon as this is confirmed and a new date agreed with Kent Highways.
Monday, 13 October 2025
16:28 PM
Work has started on this project, with the first connection to the existing network planned for Wednesday 15 October. We'll then move into Hollow Lane to work along this road.
Monday, 6 October 2025
07:19 AM
Work starts
Work has started on our project in Hollow Lane, with traffic lights currently being set up for our first phase of work at the junction of Hollow Lane and Snodland Road. We know traffic around the town may be difficult while there is an emergency closure on the A228 and are sorry for this. Thank you for your patience as we work to improve the water supply network in the area.
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