Mixed views in Ironbridge as business owners navigate first day of major road closures
Ironbridge businesses had mixed opinions on the first working day of roadworks that have closed off one of the main roads into the town for the next two months.
Some companies have already seen a hit in trade with one reporting a Sunday drop in income to just £58 but others are saying it is better to get the works out of the way now, before Easter and the tourist influx expected at the World Heritage Site.
The work is due to last until Friday, April 8.
One of the big fears is if the closure from the Waterloo Street roundabout at the top of the High Street up to Jockey Bank/Madeley Road Junction overruns and affects the crucial Easter weekend from April 14 to 17.
Gail and Mike Perks at the Cleo's of Ironbridge cocktail and coffee bar wished the roadworks could have been delayed to give them more time to recover from closures during the pandemic.
"On weekdays in the summer we could take £1,000 in a day," said Mike. "Yesterday (Sunday) we took just £58 and we shut at 3pm because it wasn't worth it. We are not getting any compensation.
"They are frightening people away from the gem of Telford. I hear that taxi drivers are refusing to come here because customers don't want to pay the extra mileage.
"We get all this but we have to pay £2,500 in rent and £1,000 a month in business rates."
And Gail added: "Valentine's is going to be a washout and what happens if the roadworks overrun to Easter? That's a big worry."
Kevin Fletcher, of the family firm Trotfield Windows, said: "I had one gentleman who wanted to come in, but doesn't use sat navs, who said he would leave it until the end of the roadworks.
"We might only have four or five customers in a day but if they are spending thousands of pounds on windows, that is a big impact on the business and all the people we have to support.
"We were closed for 12 weeks in the pandemic when we could not work. It would have been better if the work was delayed to give us more time to recover, and I think it is better than closing during the spring."
The works are to carry out essential structural maintenance on the section of retaining wall adjacent to the lower section of Madeley Road. The length of the retaining wall will be removed and rebuilt including the complex series of supporting arches to safeguard the road’s stability.
Meg Prince, who has been at the Ironbridge Book Shop for seven years, was one of those business owners with a 'better to do it now' attitude.
"These things are never good but the work has to be done," she said. "It probably will affect custom because most people panic when roads are closed and don't come in. But it is better to get it done now in February than in the summer."
Alison Fraher, at Chrisalis News, said: "There is never a dull moment in Ironbridge, but at the moment, touch wood, it has been normal.
"We have had one thing after another with the flooding and the pandemic but I have customers who live locally and who have been supporting the shop."
Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for neighbourhood services, regeneration and the high street, Councillor Lee Carter, has said that the authority appreciate the disruption this will cause. But he says ancient Ironbridge is a particularly difficult area due to its age, heritage and architecture.
He has called on people to continue to support all the local businesses, which remain open throughout the work.
More information about roadworks in Telford can be found at telford.gov.uk/roadworks.
Full details of bus diversion routes will be made available at telford.gov.uk/info/20174/public_transport/475/bus_service_disruptions.
