BUSINESSES are bracing themselves
for the impact of roadworks
they fear could choke the life out of
their town.
Retailers are worried many shoppers will
abandon Eastleigh now lengthy resurfacing
work has started on one of themajor routes into
the town centre.
Although diversions will be put in place, the
loss of Southampton Road until November is
widely expected to bring much of the already
traffic-clogged town to a virtual standstill.
advertisement
Outrage from traders and the borough council
won a partial U-turn from Hampshire County
Council, meaning the road will now reopen during
the crucial November and December
Christmas run-in.
The £1.5m project is split into three phases,
closing sections for about six weeks at a time,
starting with the stretch between the Romsey
Road roundabout and Blenheim Road, by the
Swan Centre. Council chiefs say they are planning
a series
of special
events to help
ensure people
don't turn
their back on
Eastleigh.
Chairman of
the Eastleigh
local area
commit tee,
Cllr Chris
Thomas is
telling visitors
that the
town is still
very much
worth coming
to.
"We're going to be doing all
we can to support the traders
during what's going to be a
very difficult time for them,"
he said.
"It's clearly going to have an
impact, but we're putting lots
of exciting events on right
across the summer, from
music on the bandstand to
the helicopter show - all to
show it's business as usual."
But one business that
stands to suffer more than
most from the work, which
began yesterday, is the Spike
Island motorcycle shop.
The Southampton Road
MoT station faces a potential
crisis when it is cut off by the
scheme's second phase,
between Blenheim Road and
Derby Road, which will last
for six weeks.
"We understand the work's
got to be done," said owner
Gordon Bevis, "but if it puts
us out of business that's 15
years of trading down the
drain and three people unemployed."
He says he has tried to negotiate
with the county council
for continued access to the
shop through a public car
park, but progress has been
slow.
"I've been told there's no
chance of compensation, but
it's quite a major thing and
we need a little assistance
from them because this is our
time of year when we make
the money to see us through
the winter.
"They seemed very keen,
but I've heard nothing since.
I'm not angry, but I need
results because we've got to
stay open."
Southampton and Fareham
Chamber of Commerce said
it will be monitoring the
progress of the work to
ensure deadlines are kept to.
"It is also crucial that the
public continue to support
businesses in Eastleigh during
this period to ensure
their survival," said director
general, Captain Jimmy
Chestnutt.
Posted by: Rich, Eastleigh on 11:26am Fri 4 Jul 08
what complete bodge job already. they closed off part of the road by the new houses that are being built near Lakeside for about 5 weeks. so it'll be closed again for six weeks..eerr...why didn't they do it in one go? I'm not a coucil planner but even i can see that. Eatleigh is not the best place in the world to begin with, so they expect some crappy bands on the bandstand to entice people sit in stand still traffic for an hour...yeah good luck!
what complete bodge job already. they closed off part of the road by the new houses that are being built near Lakeside for about 5 weeks. so it'll be closed again for six weeks..eerr...why didn't they do it in one go? I'm not a coucil planner but even i can see that. Eatleigh is not the best place in the world to begin with, so they expect some crappy bands on the bandstand to entice people sit in stand still traffic for an hour...yeah good luck!
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
