A MAIN road in a North Yorkshire seaside town is to close for a fortnight.

North Yorkshire County Council said the A171 Scalby Road in Scarborough will close for two weeks to allow essential sewage work to take place, in connection with a new development on the former rugby ground.

The development - which includes an extra care facility, residential properties and a GPs surgery - was given planning permission in 2015, and work will start on Monday, February 18, between Keld Close and Newby Farm Road.

The road will be closed until March 4, with a signposted diversion via the A165, then between March 4 and 15 there will also be a partial closure of the Scarborough to Whitby lane.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive member for highways, said: "All work is being undertaken and paid for by the developer. It involves forming a new site entrance and pedestrian island on Scalby Road, which normally might have been done under temporary traffic lights, but the developer also needs to connect to an existing sewer in Scalby Road which, unfortunately, is located in the middle of the road and relatively deep.

"To carry out this connection requires a wide excavation, leaving us not enough width of unaffected road to allow traffic to get past, even under lights. There will be some resurfacing of the carriageway at the end of the work and the road closure allows this to be done safely and quickly."