As you may be aware, we’ve had several leaks and bursts in and around the Rake area in recent years.
We’re sorry this happened – it’s not acceptable. We’re always working to reduce the number of leaks and bursts we have. With this in mind, we’re going to be making some improvements to the water network in your community.
What's going to happen and when?
We’re going to replace around 1.15 kilometres of water pipes in the Rake area, with work taking place on London Road, Bull Hill and Canhouse Lane.
We’ll be starting work on Monday, 27 July 2026, on Bull Hill with a rolling road closure in place, as we work our way down the road towards Canhouse Lane, where work will continue.
We expect this project to take approximately six months in total. We’ll do our best to get the work done faster if we can.
How will this affect you?
We’re sorry for the disruption this work is going to cause – we know it’s inconvenient. We’ll do our absolute best to keep it to a minimum.
Road closures
Road closures will be in place on Bull Hill and Canhouse Lane while we carry out work on the roads in sections, with diversion routes in place during this time.
- During the work on the north section of Bull Hill, two separate diversion routes will be in place. One will be via Harting Combe Road and Canhouse Lane, with the other being via London Road, Rogate Road, Harting Combe Road and Bull Hill.
- During the work on Canhouse Lane, a diversion route will be in place via Harting Combe Road and Bull Hill
- We’re also planning to use traffic lights at the junction of London Road and Bull Hull for a period of three weeks.
Frequently asked questions
You will be able to get to and from your home or business during this work.
You may have to wait occasionally if we’re working directly outside the entrance to your property just while our team makes the area safe for you to get by.
The direction you enter from may not be your usual route or it may change as we move along the road.
There may be a short interruption to supply when we connect our new pipes to the existing network. We’ll let you know if this is going to happen at least 48 hours beforehand, so you can plan ahead.
We’ll be using a mix of drilling and open cut methodology to lay pipes during this project and once we have installed the pipeline, we’ll be transferring around 20 customer services to the new mains.
If you’re likely to need any extra support during the work, you can join our Priority Services Register. We have all sorts of services to help you if you need it. For example, if you’re struggling financially, you have an illness or disability or you’re looking after a child under five.
Find out more and sign up at southeastwater.co.uk/priorityservices(opens in a new tab).
If you have any questions or concerns before the work starts, please contact us:
- Call us on 0333 000 0002
- Email: customerservices@southeastwater.co.uk
We’ll post regular updates and other information on this web page.
When the work is underway, the team on site will also be happy to help you.
Project updates
Tuesday, 8 September, 2026:
We’ve carried out testing on the first 175 metres of pipeline laid as part of this project.
We’re continuing to lay pipeline in Bull Hill and we’re planning to make a further connection to our network on Thursday, 10 September.
There may be a short interruption to supply while this takes place. We’re sorry for this and we’ll work to complete this as quickly as possible.
Tuesday, 1 September, 2026:
We’ve completed two connections to the existing network and we have been continuing excavations for further main-laying with another 60m laid this week totalling 185m of pipework laid to date. We’re planning a connection to the existing network on Thursday, 10 September. There will be a short interruption to supply while this takes place.
Tuesday, 25 August, 2026:
We have now laid 110 metres of water mains on Bull Hill - and 125 metres overall on this project.
We’ll continue to lay the new pipeline in the road this week, with the rolling road closure and diversion route remaining in place.
Tuesday, 18 August, 2026:
We have completed two connections to our network and installed 56 metres of water mains on Bull Hill.
We’ll continue to lay the new pipeline in the road this week, with the rolling road closure and diversion route remaining in place.
Wednesday, 12 August, 2026:
We’ve now completed work on London Road, with the temporary traffic lights now removed from the junction of London Road and Bull Hill.
Work is now continuing in Bull Hill, with a rolling road closure and diversion route in place as we work to lay 1.15 kilometres of new pipeline in the Rake area.
Monday, 27 July, 2026:
Work is now underway on our project to lay around 1.15 kilometres of pipeline in the Rake area.
Traffic lights are now in place at the junction of London Road and Bull Hill, with a rolling road closure on Bull Hull and diversion routes being set up for the first section of work.
Share this Article: