Call for compensation for Christchurch businesses over 'never-ending' roadworks

A CHRISTCHURCH business group has called for compensation for traders as a music teacher revealed he lost £3,000 in just six weeks thanks to “never-ending” roadworks blighting the town.

Simon Mellish, who runs Hybridstix drum teaching studio, said he has had to cancel lessons for students “because they are simply unable to get here”.

He told the A&T: “For someone coming from Iford to get to me for 4pm they would now have to leave by 2.30pm.

“But a lot of students are kids at school and college who don’t finish until at least 3pm. I recently had four students cancel on me in one day.

“I have pupils coming to me from all over but they just cannot get into Christchurch and haven’t been able to for weeks now.”

There are currently emergency works along the A35 at both Iford Bridge and Barrack Road with no end date in sight.

At Iford roundabout there are four-way traffic lights as SGN deals with a “major” gas leak.

In Barrack Road one lane in each direction remains closed between its junctions with Stour Road and the Fountain Roundabout.

These come after work on the bypass caused traffic chaos in December.

Christina Pengelly, lead of the Christchurch Business Improvement District (BID) group, said the work on Barrack Road was “important” but “taking a toll on local businesses”.

She said: “Every time one set of roadworks is completed, another issue arises in the Bargates and Fountain Way area.

“The BID has been working with the council to address these issues, but it seems there are deeper problems with the infrastructure in the area.

“As a result, businesses are losing customers due to the lack of parking and difficulty accessing the shops.

“The BID is calling for compensation for affected businesses, without the need for complicated paperwork and multi-year financial documentation.”

Mr Mellish added he was angry about the lack of notice from BCP Council about the roadworks, giving him “no time at all to make other plans”.

He said: “The Iford Bridge roundabout roadworks were announced just days before being started. If I knew what was going to happen in enough time I can make other arrangements, like changing times of lessons or days.

“I now have to work at weekends instead of seeing my children, so that I can give lessons to students who are taking exams.

“BCP Council just don’t seem to care about people like me and other businesses in the town at all.”

At the start of the year popular butcher Meadowbrook announced it was closing the outlet in Barrack Road, blaming customers’ “continuous battle with roadworks”.

A spokesperson for BCP Council said: “We appreciate the frustration that these emergency utility works may cause, particularly to businesses, residents and those who regularly commute through Christchurch.

“In the past few years there have been a number of unplanned street works carried out by utility companies in the centre of Christchurch.

“It’s a main through route, with few alternative routes, which means unplanned works are more likely to lead to congestion.

“For safety and public health reasons, the council cannot prevent emergency works from taking place or control the timing.

“However, we do work with the responsible utility company to minimise the impact and duration of this type of work as far as practical. Utility companies have a statutory responsibility and are allowed to carry out unplanned emergency works at short notice.

“We would urge residents and those travelling from further afield to allow extra time for their journeys while these works are taking place, to avoid peak travel times and to consider alternative options such as walking or cycling when possible.”