ANGRY traders have spoken out about the terrible timing of roadworks.

In Saltash, the road leading to the town centre’s two main car parks has been closed this week for resurfacing. And on Monday, the work will move to Fore Street, where Cormac will be repairing and re-laying block paving in the parking bays and bus bays. The work is scheduled to go on until November 26.

Cormac says that the work is necessary because the paving has become loose and uneven – and that after consultation with the town council, it has moved the main work of resurfacing the whole of Fore Street back until next spring.

But having only just recovered from major disruption from the Tamar bridge work and coming out of the pandemic, local traders are not happy with the decision. Sarah Martin, the chair of Saltash Chamber of Commerce, said: “We were in touch with Cormac months ago to ask them not to do this work in the Christmas run-up. As far as we were concerned, all they were going to do this month was remove the humps in the bus bays (which were put in for social distancing). But now it turns out they’re doing all the parking bays.

“Cormac says they’ve programmed the work to end before the Christmas trading period. But that starts now – and our full decorations and lights go up on November 18.”

Husband and wife Nicky and Adam Webb from Nicky’s glow beads and gifts shop are angry about the situation. Adam said: “It’s absolutely appalling, obviously we had COVID which has been trouble for all of us, and then the bridge closure through the summer, just when you think you’re getting through it.

“We knew they were going to resurface the street so we went to Hilary Frank, a Cornwall councillor, and she came back and said that Cormac had agreed to do it in January, February or the spring, and do the bus lanes, which was fab - but now they’re going to do the parking bays and have a one-way system. So in November, which is our busiest month, the roads will be down to one lane. The half-hour parking outside is a godsend for us, for people to come into our little shop, but they’re going to shut them.

“You get to the point of ‘what’s the point in having a shop in Cornwall?’ You might as well have one in Plymouth.”

David Cene from the shop Two for Tea is concerned about deliveries. “I rang Cornwall Council and they haven’t come back to me yet. I have glass deliveries and I can’t expect a guy to walk 300 yards down the road carrying glass.

“They should have left it till after Christmas,” he continued.

“November’s my busiest month. Do I want anything to impact on November? No.”

“It’s been said its weather dependent, and if we have lots of torrential rain, guess what? They’ll leave chaos and just clear off. If it goes into December we’re really in trouble, November is tragic, but December is horrendous.”

Cornwall Council says it has ensured it’s taken consideration of the traders during a consultation. In a letter to local businesses, the Council said: “We have programmed the works to finish before the Christmas trading period to minimise the impact on businesses and residents. For the same reason, in consultation with the town council we have reduced the programme of the works to we are carrying out at this time. This means works to resurface Fore Street will start in the Spring next year.”

The Council added that it fully appreciated the impact the works on the Tamar Bridge have had to Saltash over the summer and autumn and “was doing all it could to minimise further disruption”. It explained that to reduce disruption in the main street there will be a ‘give and take’ traffic management system, meaning one side of the road will be closed, tapering traffic to be single file, and road users will pass at their discretion when the road is clear.

“There will also be temporary parking restrictions in order to complete the parking bay work,” said the Council, “but only two bays will be closed at a time. And while work is being done in the bus bays, the bus stops will be moved to a temporary location nearby. Work is being done out of hours where possible.”

But Chamber of Commerce chair Sarah Martin said it “beggared belief” that Cormac were going ahead with the work now when traders were doing all they could to recoup what they had lost.

She said that the town did not want barriers and signage up during the Christmas shopping period – and says she feels the work could have all been done in one go in spring of next year.

Saltash, she said, is bucking the trend: it has new businesses that have started up and kept going through the pandemic, and more retail units are full now than at any time in the last few years.

A scheme to refund parking charges to shoppers will soon launch and continue through into 2022.