NEWS that pipe-laying is running slightly behind schedule in Knapp Lane has re-ignited a debate on whether the controversial "rat-run" between the Worcester Road and the Homend should be closed or made one way.

Another idea is to make it "access for residents only".

Comments on the Ledbury Reporter Facebook site appear to show no clear consensus, more than one month after the Knapp Lane/Homend junction was shut.

In that time, traffic past the closed junction has been one way and controlled by traffic lights; but delays have not been noticeably longer that those caused in the past by vehicles exiting or entering Knapp Lane.

Ledbury Resident Diane Barnfield said that Knapp Lane "should be one way" to reduce the risk of future traffic problems.

Other Ledbury residents would like to see Knapp Lane closed to traffic permanently.

Helen Robson said: "I love Knapp Lane being closed".

And Adrian Baugh Cochrane said the closure: "It's great. Knapp Lane is better closed."

But other residents have pointed out that the closure has moved the traffic problems on elsewhere.

In particular, because it is still possible to enter Knapp Lane from the Worcester Road, motorists have avoided coming up against the closed Homend junction by turning left from the lane into Bank Crescent, a narrow residential street, to link up with The Homend further down.

Ledbury resident, Abby Pattison Wake said the closure of Knapp Lane and the extended closure was "very frustrating".

She added: "It hasn't stopped people coming through the town and causing no end of traffic problems."

Ledbury Resident, Mike Kidd, who previously expressed the idea that Knapp Lane should be "access for residents only" said he hoped the closure "would once again bring 'The Rat Run' to the attention of our county representatives who could now initiate some action".

With tongue in cheek, he described Knapp Lane as Ledbury's unofficial "Northern By-pass".

The work laying new gas pipes should have been completed by the end of November, but now National Grid says the work will not be completed until the end of this week, if all goes to plan, because of an unexpected problem.

A National Grid spokesman said: "We have extended the job by a few days because we have had a few engineering issues. However, the work will be finished and the site cleared by Friday (December 4).

"We had an issue with a short section of the pipe which was a different size to what was shown on our records."

The delay means that the work, including the closure of Knapp Lane and trenches in the Homend, to lay 120 metres of gas pipe, will have taken over a month.

The size of the main has been increased "to help improve gas pressures in the area".

The new stretch of pipe is made from "a hard-wearing plastic which, once in the ground, will last for several generations with no need for maintenance".