Hordle businesses losing customers as gas repair roadworks cause traffic chaos

BUSINESS owners in Hordle say they have "had enough" of long-running gas works driving away shoppers – with one pharmacy estimating it has missed out on more than 1,000 prescriptions.

The work on Ashley Lane began in August, with Southern Gas Networks (SGN) initially making repairs to a gas main.

But they will now last until February, SGN confirmed, after it was decided to replace the existing metal pipe with a plastic version which has an 80-year lifespan.

SGN told the A&T the "urgent upgrades" were needed to ensure a "safe and reliable" gas supply, and the lights would be removed during the Christmas period.

One business hugely impacted by the ongoing work is Hordle Pharmacy in Ashley Lane.

Manager and dispenser Tracey Leech told the A&T some customers were choosing to use other pharmacies due to problems accessing the site and having nowhere to park.

She said: "We've had enough. It is really affecting our business – we are losing money from the pharmacy side and the front trade and we are losing patients because of it.

"We usually do around 6,500 prescriptions per month and we are down by about 1,500.

"The traffic lights are right outside so people can't pull on the forecourt. We have a lot of elderly people who park in Vaggs Lane and we run [prescriptions] out to them, and we are doing more deliveries which is costing us money."

Victoria Sheppard, owner of Hatherleys Hair and Beauty in Stopples Lane, said although customers had not been cancelling appointments they had been turning up late due to the roadworks.

She said: "We had no awareness the roadworks were happening so we could not tell customers in advance.

"As a busy salon it was a nightmare to start with – at one point we were running 30 minutes behind and I had to ask my staff to collect my children from school. It hasn't been fun."

The owner of Everything Pets, also in Stopples Lane, said her takings were down by a third since the work began.

A local resident, who asked not to be named, said the area had been "blighted by traffic lights".

He said: "It's very frustrating and it is making me so irritated. It is quite a busy road already, with residents, the school traffic and the church.

"I am less than impressed at why it has to take so long."

A spokesperson for SGN told the A&T: "We’re investing over £200,000 to carry out urgent upgrades to our gas network in Ashley Lane, Hordle.

"To help us complete our work safely four-way temporary traffic lights are in place at the roundabout where Ashley Lane, Vaggs Lane, Silver Street and Everton Road meet. These lights will be in place for a further four to five weeks.

"Following removal of the four-way lights we’ll place two-way traffic lights in Ashley Lane either side of its junction with Stopples Lane.

"These will be needed for approximately eight weeks before our project is complete. However, they will be removed during the festive period.

They added: "The new plastic pipe has a minimum lifespan of 80 years. This means that when the work is complete local residents will be able to enjoy a continued safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come.

"We’d like to thanks the Hordle community for their continued patience and support."