BUSINESS owners in Westbury have raised concerns about the effect next month’s A350 road closures will have on their trading.
The stretch of the A350 from the Bitham Park roundabout to the Market Place will be subject to closures and diversions for two months until the end of November. There are concerns that restricting access to the town centre during the busy Christmas trading period will spell disaster for businesses on the High Street.
Gary Davies of Davies Hardware in Edward Street said, “It’s a really poor decision. They are going to be closing the town down at the busiest time of the year.
“Westbury has a fragile economy already and have Wiltshire Council considered what effect closing the A350 will have on businesses here?
“I realise the repairs will have to be done but why choose October and November in the lead up to Christmas? It seems it’s done for their convenience, not ours. Why couldn’t they wait until January or February? I can’t believe they would do it to Trowbridge.
“We have already ordered tens of thousands of pounds of stock for what is our busiest time and then they land this on us. Who makes these decisions? Despite the roadworks, we will still very much be open for business, we’ve still got lots to offer and we would urge local people to still come and support the town.”
Andrea’s Flowers is on the High Street; owner Andrea said, “The closures will really affect the businesses because it will be so much effort to get to the shops. It’ll be difficult for us to even get to work.
“Trade’s quiet at the moment anyway because of the town centre parking charges, and this will only make it worse. The next couple of months aren’t looking good.”
Chris Linham of C. Linham Traditional Family Butchers in Maristow Street commented, “The roadworks need doing so we have no choice in the matter. There aren’t many small businesses left in the town and sometimes it feels like nobody listens to us, but at the end of the day even a huge corporation couldn’t do anything about it.
“Any kind of restrictions will dent business, but I’m sure the council have made plenty of effort to limit the damage; we’ll just have to deal with it. They’ll always have opponents, but hopefully it will all be done on time and we can return to normal.”
Wiltshire Council communications officer Sue Ellison said, “The people of Wiltshire said one of their priorities was to improve the roads. This is essential repair which needs to be carried out on a key route through Westbury. The work can only happen once any utility works have been carried out so the road is not resurfaced twice incurring additional cost to the taxpayer.
“We gave information on the road closures a month in advance to the town council and also hand delivered letters to residents and businesses affected by the works.
“We’ve only had one trader come to us and we have reassured him there will be plenty of signage so people are aware businesses are open as usual. No other traders have contacted us but we are happy to discuss any concerns with them.”
