A ROAD will close for almost nine months as part of roadworks which need to be completed before any more home owners can move into a new estate.

Pulley Lane, in Droitwich, will shut for 35 weeks from July 1, in order for the road to be widened and for traffic lights to be installed.

The closure is part of a larger project, which starts on Monday, to improve the ‘dangerous’ junction between Pulley Lane and the A38.

This work needs to be completed before numerous empty properties at the Yew Tree Hill housing estate, off Pulley Lane, can be occupied.

County councillor Tony Miller said the Pulley Lane closure will mean that residents already living at the estate have to take a 10-minute detour to reach the A38.

He said: “I think if I lived there I would be spending the developers a bill for petrol.”

Developers Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes previously reached a legal agreement with Wychavon District Council that no more than 188 homes on the estate would be occupied until they improved the junction.

We have previously reported how deposits have already been put down on several finished homes, with buyers now in limbo as they wait for the works to finish so they can move in.

The first of three phases starts on Monday, which will lead to the closure of Copcut Lane for four weeks to enable construction vehicles to load and unload material.

Drainage infrastructure will then be installed during the second phase of the project, which is due to last eight weeks and will begin immediately after the first stage.

During this phase, two-way temporary traffic lights will be set up on the A38.

The final stage will result in Pulley Lane shutting for 35 weeks so permanent traffic lights can be set up and road widening can take place for approximately 200m on either side of the junction between Pulley Lane and the A38.

The A38 will also be narrowed during this phase, with speeds reduced to 30 miles-per-hour.

Redrow Homes said it was required to carry out the works and thanked locals for their patience, while Persimmon Homes added that road closures were necessary for the overdue junction works.

Mark Marsh, technical director for Redrow Homes, said: “We are required to introduce traffic lights and associated highway improvements at this junction and we thank the local community for their patience during ongoing building works.”

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes, said: “We are working closely with the county council to keep the disruption to a minimum and apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

“It is a necessity to close roads to complete the overdue junction improvements, which are a well-reported planning obligation for all three developments at the Yew Tree scheme.”