Parts needed for traffic lights no longer made

BBC Red temporary traffic sign at junction which reads: "Wait here until green light shows"BBC
Permanent repairs have not been possible due to "various factors", the city council said

Traffic lights in a city centre, which have been broken for more than a month, have not been fixed because the right parts are no longer made.

The signals at the Civic Centre junctions with Portland Terrace, Civic Centre Hill and Havelock Road in Southampton stopped working on 13 September.

Southampton City Council said it had faced "challenges" repairing the lights because some unique parts were "no longer manufactured".

Temporary traffic lights are in place until the authority finds a permanent solution.

A white car waits at a junction where there is a red temporary traffic sign which reads: "Wait here until green light shows." Next to it is a temporary traffic light which is on red. Behind that are several permanent traffic lights which appear to be off
Temporary traffic lights will operate at the junction until replacements have been installed

In a statement, a council spokesperson said thorough planning and funding would be required to replace the traffic lights.

"We appreciate the public’s patience and advise that you please plan your journey where you can and seek alternative travel options where possible," they added.

Cumberland Place and Havelock Road fully reopened in August after nearly six months of roadworks, including the installation of "state-of-the-art" traffic lights.

A one-way system was in place on the ring road during the work.

While traffic flow at the Civic Centre junction was affected, the traffic lights were not updated or replaced.