A SEVEN-month construction project to divert sewage flows away from over-loaded Ormesby has no hope of being completed by a March 2009 deadline.Speaking at Ormesby with Scratby Parish Council's meeting on Monday night contracts manager Andy Pearce of Barhale said hitches over the route of the new £1.

A SEVEN-month construction project to divert sewage flows away from over-loaded Ormesby has no hope of being completed by a March 2009 deadline.

Speaking at Ormesby with Scratby Parish Council's meeting on Monday night contracts manager Andy Pearce of Barhale said hitches over the route of the new £1.7m pipeline and planning issues meant the time target was “out of the window”.

But he assured councillors the company was poised for action working from a temporary base already set up at the recycling centre in Caister, a hub from where workers will also co-ordinate the Northgate Street storm tank and sewer upgrade.

Chairman Geoff Freeman said he had every confidence in the company carrying out the work for Anglian Water and that as long as it started in the next few months flooded-plagued villagers would be reasonably happy.

Mr Pearce, a former Winterton parish councillor, who has lived in Ormesby for 15 years, said directional drilling techniques meant little visible excavation along the route of the 6km pipeline.

The black plastic 315mm tubing will be laid at 100m intervals tracing a route from a new pumping station at Thoroughfare Lane, clipping the top of Ranworth Drive, crossing Station Road and coming out on Old Coast Road.

It will then follow the A149 towards the stadium, looping back to Caister treatment works.

Mr Pearce explained the new pumping station was “little more than a glorified manhole” with a glass fibre box and a

6m pole all that was visible above ground.

“We are set up and ready to go,” he added. “The March deadline is out of the window and the work is weather dependent but the soils are not marshy so we should be able to plough on regardless.”

Concerns were also raised at the meeting over odour problems in the village at the Decoy Road pumping station and close to the First and Last pub.

Problems at the former were said to be due to a woodchip and stainless steel biofilter which had collapsed.

At the First and Last chemicals that are added to the sewer were only being re-ordered when they ran out - a practice which has now been changed Jim Shrimplin reported.