Village businesses fear ‘catastrophic’ impact of road closures
The road closures are set to be in place until November 7th
There are fears road closures in a Cotswold village off the A417 near Cirencester are having a “catastrophic” impact on businesses amid calls for compensation for the loss of trade during the disruption.
Gloucestershire Highways started carrying out essential resurfacing work on the roads to and around Elkstone last week.
But business owners say the works which are scheduled to run until November 7, apart from weekends, are causing them to lose out on vital trade during one of their busiest times of the year.
The temporary traffic order for the village which is just off the A417 near The Highwayman Inn (which is unaffected by the closures) suggests the closures would be from 7am to 7pm.
And business owners say they face further disruption until the middle of November as day closures are planned for he A417 slip road for County Highways surfacing work.
Sarah Noyce, who is a business owner at Elkstone Studios, is extremely concerned about the impact the ongoing road closures are having on her Salt and Steel store.
She believes the village’s businesses should be compensated for the impact the road works are having on trade and questions why the works were not planned for the quiet season in January.
There were also no temporary road signs in place to advise customers that businesses are still open, she said.
“When we received the letter from Highways, it was highlighted in bold, proposed closure,” she said.
“In my mind, if anything’s proposed, it’s not necessarily set in stone. It’s a suggestion.
“So I went back to the council to say, look, the last quarter in retail is when we make our money.
“If you’re going to close this down, can you do it in January? Is there any way that you can close half the road so that people can still access the Elkstone studios?
“We received the round robin to say, basically, no, we’re going ahead regardless.”
She replied to the cocuncil asking how to claim compensation for the disruption it will cause to her business.
“It’s slightly different for my business because it’s a retail store,” she said.
“Our business is lost, if somebody comes to buy a Christmas present and we’re closed or a piece of clothing that they’re looking for and we’re closed, our business is lost.
“We’re not going to make the money up.”
She said what adds insult to injury is businesse closed the whole site down on Thursday (October 23), the first day of the roadworks, only to find the road remained open.
“We were told there’d be absolutely no access because the whole road is closed,” she said.
“And then I found out at 4pm the road was open after all as it is today (October 28), as it was yesterday.
“There’s signs up everywhere saying that the road is closed and all the other businesses are closed down, so we are going to be forced to close.
“Then this morning I’ve received another email to say that mid-November, the slip road off the A417 is going to be closed.
“So it’s taking us right through from last week, right through to mid November. It’s a massive disruption.”
Councillor Julia Judd (C, Ermin), who represents the area at Cotswold District Council, said there are 20 thriving businesses at Elkstone Studios who she fears will lose out on thousands of pounds over the next weeks.
“Local authorities are expected to support them and understand why it is catastrophic to cut them off from their customers,” she said.
“Thousands of pounds will be lost to these little businesses, in a time of already great hardship.
“It is completely baffling why Gloucestershire County Council have not communicated with them other than telling them that their customers will not be able to access them for 12 days.
“It is inhumane the way they have been treated. I just hope they can all survive. ‘
“It’s a catastrophe.”
Highways cabinet member Joe Harris (LD, Cirencester Park) said the council is grateful to residents and businesses for their patience with the works.
He said the works will provide a long-lasting high-quality road surface for the village and the closures are necessary for safety reasons.
“We completely understand that these resurfacing works will cause disruption and we’re very grateful to residents and businesses in Elkstone for their patience,” he said.
“I represented Elkstone as the county councillor until earlier this year and this stretch of road was one that residents regularly raised with me, so I’m really pleased that it’s now being properly resurfaced as part of our commitment to fix our roads.
“This scheme is essential to deliver a high-quality, long-lasting surface rather than more patching. To achieve that standard, crews need to work continuously in one direction using large machinery and hot tarmac, which means the road must be fully closed during the day for safety reasons.
“We’ve worked closely with councillors, residents and businesses ahead of the closure to help people plan, and every effort has been made to minimise disruption. Access will only be allowed where it’s safe and won’t delay the work.
“These closures are never ideal, but doing the job properly now will mean fewer disruptions and a much better road for years to come.”