Shrewsbury trader’s despair over roadwork hold-ups

Caroline Jones who runs the Post Office on Abbey Foregate in Shrewsbury has said people are avoiding that part of town because of work being carried out at the Reabrook Roundabout.

Miss Jones said trade has been hit by the roadworks, which have seen cars queuing along the entirety of Abbey Foregate, and she is worried about the long-term impact.

Only last week Shropshire Council announced that the work was set to go on for three weeks longer than planned due to engineering difficulties.

The works had been set to finish on July 2 but will now continue until July 26.

Miss Jones said she is already 30 per cent down on business and is now "terrified" what the coming months will hold.

She said: "It started four weeks ago and we had no warning at all. Maybe it was because the roadworks weren't directly outside or they thought it wouldn't directly affect us.

"But there was clearly a problem from the start. The traffic is backing up all the way down Abbey Foregate and now people are avoiding the area completely.

"People that are still using the road just don't have the time to come in. It's full of traffic outside but there's not a soul in my car park or in the post office.

"It really is terrifying. I only have limited resources and I know I'm not the only business struggling.

"My problem is that the council hasn't done anything. I have contacted them a few times now and no one will speak to me or come out of anything. It is good that is their intention now, to come out and talk to us.

"They need to work with us, they need to talk to us.

"I am a well established business. I have survived here for 10 years, and I cannot be beaten now by council roadworks. I just won't.

"But another month on top of this, I am worried. I have staff I'm having to send home or cut their hours because it's so quiet, I'm sure other businesses are too.

"It is really not good for the town."

Last week Shropshire Council apologised for the disruption caused by the work, which is part of the £12 million Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package – designed to relieve congestion across the town.

The authority had reacted to criticism of the work – and the timescale, which has seen a number of different works taking place at the same time – by saying it has a deadline to spend the money.

A council spokesman said: "In order to comply with the particular conditions for the funding, secured via the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), there is a deadline for the money to be spent and the package to be completed."

Steve Brown, Shropshire Council’s highways transport and environment maintenance manager, said that the work is essential for Shrewsbury to cope with plans for hundreds of homes to built over the next few years.

He said: "We are now two years into a five year programme which has been carefully planned and designed to meet the ever increasing demand on the town’s roads and centre.

“The town is expanding, with many housing developments and employments sites already being built and many more in the pipeline. We cannot stand still – we have to create capacity where we can to relieve congestion and improve the environment in the town. There is no better time to deliver improvements than now.”

Last week two Shropshire Councillors called for an inquiry into the disruption caused by the works and their planning.