A trader is demanding a refund on his rates after discovering the road outside his shop is to be dug up for the second time in six months.

Repairs and resurfacing work in Gardner Street, Brighton, began in February but has over-run and is still going on.

Jim Keeble, of the Two Way book shop, found out there were plans to dig up the new surface soon after it is finished to install water mains.

He said: "The council didn't even seem to know about it when I asked them. Eventually they said they had only just found out.

"It seems ridiculous that they are just about to finish laying the pavement after the repairs only to dig it all up again in a few months."

After a meeting between the council and the water company, the work was brought forward to September.

Council workers will finish laying the pavement at the end of this month, stop work for the busy summer months and then the water company will come in and lay new water mains in September.

The council will then take over and finish laying the road.

Traders received letters informing them of the plans on Friday.

Mr Keeble said: "They just seem to have made such a meal of this. It looks like a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing.

"If I hadn't intervened I think it would have gone ahead next year.

"Why didn't they do it all at once? Then they would only have had to lay the road once.

"We should get a refund of our business rates because of all the unnecessary disruption."

A spokesman for Southern Water said the company had contacted Brighton and Hove City Council nine weeks ago giving advance notice of water mains renewal work.

He said: "An urgent site meeting was scheduled for Monday, July 4, to review the situation.

"Subsequently Southern Water will now carry out this essential work in mid September instead of the originally planned start date of February 2006."

A council spokeswoman admitted the works had taken longer than expected.

She said: "The council has done everything possible to make sure traders were not inconvenienced by these roadworks.

"Claims that repairs have affected shops takings are questionable as at no time was Gardner Street ever closed and at no time were the pavements ever blocked.

"We have worked with Southern Water to co-ordinate repairs to Gardner Street."

Monday, July 11 2005