DRIVERS trying to leave a busy business park have been waiting for more than eight minutes for traffic lights to change to green because of a fault with the system.

Staff working in Basing View received an email yesterday informing them about congestion problems in the evenings, after queues of traffic built up trying to exit the site, and they were advised to plan a "staggered exit".

A road through Basing View has been closed since November last year, so work could start on a new multi-million-pound John Lewis At home and Waitrose store.

The closure means traffic can only access the Eastrop Roundabout via one exit from Basing View.

Eduardo Hernandez, economic development officer at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, emailed businesses in Basing View to explain why the traffic had worsened this week.

The email, seen by The Gazette, said: "I have now spoken to Hampshire County Council and they have confirmed that there was a problem identified last week with the phasing of the lights at the Eastrop Roundabout. They put in a temporary fix which they thought had been effective.

"However, this week the control system has developed an intermittent fault which means that every now and again (there is no apparent pattern) the system misses out the stage which turns the lights green on the Basing View approach. When this happens the lights do not turn green for 500 seconds - this is responsible for the backlog."

Workers were on site yesterday to try and resolve the problem.

Mr Hernandez added: "It does seem to be an unusual fault. I have asked to be kept informed of progress and will, in turn, update you as soon as possible.

"Unfortunately at this moment we have no information regarding how long the repair will take. Therefore you might want to be cautious, at least for today, and plan a staggered exit for your staff in order to avoid or at least reduce the impact that congestion might have on them this evening."

He pointed out that although Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is not responsible for roads and highways, it is "doing all we can to help business occupiers in Basing View because we realise the magnitude of this issue and the impact it has on businesses."

As previously reported in The Gazette, the council has said the road through Basing View is not due to re-open until mid-August.

A date for the opening of the 78,000sq ft John Lewis At home and Waitrose store has not yet been announced, but the company is currently recruiting to fill the 330 jobs created.

It is thought the store is on target to open later this year.