A KEY Cumbrian road route will be closed for an £800,000 resurfacing project.

The works will take place from September 1 on the A686 at Meathaw Hill, near Alston -for about five weeks - the road will be closed.

A diversion will be in place - but access for residents, businesses, emergency vehicles and school buses will be kept.

It will cover a 4km section of the route from the junction of the C3039, Leadgate, to the junction of the A689.

Access from Alston to Leadgate will be maintained until the last stage of the work - closure date will be posted on social media.

Claire Driver, county councillor for Alston and East Fellside, said: "By working together with the local community, we will ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.”

Work will also be carried out at the top of Front Street, replacing cobbles and tarmac with tarmac, to make it safe for winter - it will entail a five day road closure.

The county council says it's a temporary while they find funding for to reinstate the cobbles

Dave Liquorice, Save Alston Front Street, said: "The removal of the cobbles is disappointing but we have to be pragmatic."

"That messy patch of cobbles and tarmac wouldn't last two winters."

A virtual drop-in sessions on September 7 will be held, details in due course.