12:25pm Thursday 15th May 2008
By Charley Morgan
BUSINESSES in Limpley Stoke say they have lost thousands of pounds in trade due to the roadworks that have closed the A36 through the village.
The 12-week closure has led to booking cancellations, a lack of passing trade and managers having to lay staff off.
Bosses at The Hop Pole Inn and The Limpley Stoke Hotel estimate they have lost £20,000 in a raft of cancellations.
Steve Crawley, sales and marketing manager of Latona Leisure, which owns both premises, said: "We have guests arriving and it's taking them in excess of an hour to get here from Bath.
"One got charged £34 in a taxi to get into Bath because of the diversions at night.
"We had a conference cancelled last week that was worth £2,000 in business and we've had about 10 similar ones cancelled too so it adds up to £20,000, and that's just the business we know about not the passing trade.
"We don't want to make people redundant but if business keeps suffering"
Mr Crawley said customers either could not find their premises or could not get to it if they arrived because of congestion on Winsley Hill during rush hours.
He added: "The Highways Agency has put up signs saying business open as usual' but people don't know what business they mean.
"The diversions are too long, completely unnecessary and have added to the problem because people don't use them and find rat runs."
Margaret Day, manager of The Rose and Crown pub, said she would never have bought the lease from Enterprise Inns last May if she had known the roadworks were planned.
She said: "I certainly wouldn't have bought the lease or done the renovations in October and November if I'd have known about this.
"The Highways Agency told me the roadworks weren't planned until November but they must have known. It has hit us really badly."
Mrs Day said business was down by two thirds and many big parties had cancelled, losing her thousands of pounds of trade.
She has reduced the hours her staff have to work, meaning many have quit because they cannot afford the pay cut, and closed the pub from 3-6pm during the week. She added: "We just can't get the people in."
The roadworks, which are being carried out either side of the viaduct to stabilise the road, are due to finish by the first week of July.
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