People in a Rother Valley community are bracing themselves for a month of disruption as the main route from Petersfield to Chichester is to close for nearly a month.

The road between South Harting between the B2146 and B2141 junction will be closed for at least three weeks from next Monday, October 7.

It’s part of a delayed project to connect Uppark House to the mains sewage system for the first time with an extra week being allowed to account for delays.

Work on the two-phase scheme was due to begin early this summer but was postponed after a lorry struck a house on The Street close to the parish church.

The road could not reopen until safety was assured, forcing the National Trust and West Sussex County Council to push the project back.

Phase two, which will involve the closure of the B2141 from the B2146 junction to Uppark for six to seven weeks, is now likely to take place in spring or summer next year.

Non-residential traffic heading to Harting Hill, Chichester and Compton will be diverted via Midhurst while Hill Lane – a narrow road that runs east of South Harting to the B2146 – will be made one-way in a northbound direction.

Traffic marshalls will also be stationed at the Elsted Road ends of Tipper Lane and Hill Lane as a safety measure for residents and Diggers Forest School pupils.

The work at Uppark marks the first time the 17th-century house has been connected to the mains sewage system.