Petersfield’s High Street is going to be resurfaced for the second time in two months as the best laid plans of Hampshire Highways have gone awry.

A senior engineer has confirmed the tarmac laid between the war memorial and The Square in March will be replaced early next week.

Contractors are being forced to rip it up and start again because it was laid to an “incorrect specification” with overnight repairs scheduled to begin at 8pm on Monday, April 29.

The good news is the additional work will be carried out at no additional cost to the county council with the lower section of Chapel Street also being resurfaced during the three-night programme.

It’s unclear what went wrong during the much-heralded work in March – which took place in largely wet conditions – as no technical reasons have been provided.

But it’s slightly embarrassing with Richard Peach, assistant highways manager at Hampshire Highways, apologising for the inconvenience the further closures will cause.