Hampshire County Council roadworks on Brookley Road in Brockenhurst blamed for traders’ plummeting takings

TRADERS on a high street in the midst of a seven-week closure have been forced to shut their doors and pay wages out of personal savings.

As reported by the A&T, the county council dropped a “bombshell” on Brockenhurst in April when it announced it would be closing Brookley Road for seven weeks for repairs.

Local business owners warned the short-notice work to install a speed bump and fix drainage would have a devastating impact on their livelihoods, especially over the two May bank holidays.

With weeks of works left to go, one trader told the A&T she will have to pay staff wages out of her personal savings this month, while another said they closed their doors for two weeks because of the disruption.

Grovely Pets owner Liz Chislett-Milne Grovely said her takings are down 50% this month.

“I haven't even made enough to cover my bills,” she told the A&T. “I’ve had to set aside staff wages out of my savings. The village is dead, every day, since these works began.

“People try to drive down here and do their 50-point turns to get out afterwards but it puts a lot of people off coming. Congestion on The Rise has been terrible. Everything that we predicted about reduced customer traffic has come true.”

She added: “This was a completely inappropriate time to do this work, businesses are hanging on by their fingernails.”

Richard Wolstenholme, who runs Pot Pourri card and gift shop, closed his store for two weeks while work was taking place outside.

“We wouldn’t have closed in that time if the works weren’t going on,” he explained. “We were just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

“One of the biggest problems for me, other than the constant noise of cutting and drilling, is that every time the door opens it blows a load of construction dust into the store. The workers tried to damp it down as they go but it’s not wholly effective.”

Nick Munik, who runs the village veg store and chairs the local business association, said: “Our business is probably 15% down during this period, and I would say we’re one of the luckier ones.

“Some businesses are between 30 and 40% down or maybe more on their takings. We’ve had a business close for a couple of weeks rather than try to deal with it.

"The county council has been completely unhelpful. Trying to contact them and ask for help gets you nowhere. You just get told the works are on schedule. We’re depressed about all of it but we’re just plodding on as usual.”

Brockenhurst Bowling Club secretary Lyn Godden previously told the A&T she feared for the club’s future after the short notice of roadworks left the club scrambling to reschedule match dates and commercial visits.

“We’ve had to rearrange a lot of matches to be away that were supposed to be at home,” she said. “It’s been difficult getting coaches of visiting teams in and out of the car park because we’ve only had half the usual ingress space.

“It’s the traders I feel sorry for, I know one had to close for a while rather than struggle to stay open. I’m still worried about the impact these works will have on a commercial exhibitor day on 11th June, where we have a supplier coming to sell gear and share a commission. I dread to think what the impact will be for businesses if the work has to carry on much longer.”

Responding to concerns, a Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: “Work to deliver significant and essential repairs to the highway drainage system on Brookley Road, and to install cycling and walking improvements, were arranged to avoid the busy Easter and school summer holiday periods.

“The nature of the work involved means the scheme must be undertaken during drier weather to be delivered effectively. It was therefore not an option to do the work later in the year.

“We are always mindful of the potential impacts of roadworks in a busy area like this and do all we can to help businesses to plan in advance, and to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.

“Pedestrian access to the shops and local businesses has continued throughout the construction period and we were able to lift the road closure over the early May Bank Holiday. Work is currently scheduled to finish week commencing 16th June, subject to weather conditions.”