Roadworks to resume on Holyhead Road

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The final phase of improvement work is to be carried out on one of the main roads into Coventry, lasting 14 weeks.

Coventry City Council's highways team is to continue the work on Holyhead Road, which began last year.

It includes upgrading traffic lights at Four Pounds Avenue, the Morrisons superstore, and Grayswood Avenue/Kingsbury Road junctions.

Work begins on 23 January and will also include improvements to roads and verges, meaning possible delays.

There will also be new street lighting and better facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at these junctions.

As lanes will be be closed and delays possible, Coventry City Council has advised motorists to use alternative routes along Allesley Old Road and Radford Road.

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Traders hit out at Coventry City Council over work to improve Holyhead Road

PLANS to carry out repairs to Coventry’s Holyhead Road for four months has re-ignited anger among nearby traders.

The city council has already carried out the first phase of £1 million repairs to upgrade traffic lights and to spruce up pedestrian crossings, pavements and grass verges, as part of its preparations in the run-up to the Olympics.

It caused uproar among several local shop owners who said they suffered crippling losses during the six-week closures between the city centre and Northumberland Road.

But now the council’s highways team is due to spend a further 14 weeks working on stretches from the entrance to Morrisons, past Four Pounds Avenue, to the Grayswood Avenue and Kingsbury Road junction, from Monday January 23.

Traders say they are still struggling to ride the economic storm and fear they will be hit even harder because of the fresh roadworks.

Yasin Nawab, who runs City Ink Refills and Party Balloons, in Holyhead Road, said the council should be spending the cash on small businesses instead.

He said: “I lost 35 per cent of trade during the work last year. The council don’t need to repair the road – there is nothing wrong with it.

“(Last time) was a nightmare because the road was completely dead, people thought the road was closed completely.

“My business has been affected a lot already. We rely on passing trade. I’m just about surviving as it is.

“We asked the council several times to improve parking outside our shops but they’ve done nothing to help us.”

Wayne Barker, assistant manager of Ron Barker Quality Meats, claimed they hadn’t been notified about the work: “This has been sprung on us and we’re all frustrated. These are not the easiest of times – possibly the worse time with it being just after Christmas. It’s hard enough for trade already.”

The road will remain open to traffic but delays are expected because lanes will be closed. Council bosses have advised motorists to use Allesley Old Road and Radford Road instead.

Harendra Patel, owner of The Eyewear House, said: “We always prefer the council to carry out repairs to the road in the school summer holiday time because there is less traffic. Obviously that’s not going to happen between now and the Olympics.”

He said traders and residents were angry because they wanted better parking – not work aimed at making the city look prettier for Olympics visitors.

He added: “People are trying to ride the storm - they don’t need anything else to discourage customers. More congestion will cause people to avoid the road altogether. It’s a big problem.”

[dutchman]

The chip shop just off Holyhead Road in Minster Road was put completely out-of-business during the previous works. It has since reopened but as a curry house. I suspect the neighbouring Londis on the corner of Minster Road suffered an almost-as-catastrophic drop in takings as well?

In spite of that the work was almost entirely cosmetic with the top-surface being scraped-off and loose chippings laid in its place. It's only a question of time before the work needs doing again.

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As lanes will be be closed and delays possible, Coventry City Council has advised motorists to use alternative routes along Allesley Old Road and Radford Road.

Those words obviously feel on deaf ears as the outbound lane was jammed solid between the Ring Road and Four Pounds Avenue this evening!

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The road was clear this afternoon but I don't know if that's because the work is finished or they've just knocked-off for the holiday?

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Holyhead Road traders: Roadworks have cost us a fortune



TRADERS on Coventry's Holyhead Road say they have made collective losses of up to £150,000 after three months of roadworks.

When work began on the busy route in January, shopkeepers told the Telegraph of their fears that passing trade would be killed off and closures could have a “devastating” effect on their livelihoods.

And with work due to finish this week they have confirmed their worst fears have been realised.

Traders say they have each seen a massive drop in customer numbers and huge losses in business.

Alan Mackie, manager of Wilda’s Hot Jacket Potatoes said: “We are about 25 per cent down. We will never make this money back again.

"People who have half an hour lunchbreaks didn’t want to spend all that time stuck in traffic so they were put off and went elsewhere.

“All we need now is people to see the road is back open again and just hope that our regular customers come back.”

Yasin Nawab, who runs City Ink Refill and Party Balloons, said it had taken the council weeks to even put a sign to tell motorists and residents the businesses were still open.

“We fought for the sign to be put up to say businesses were open but that didn’t happen until four weeks after the work started,” he said.

“We have had no passing trade over the last 14 weeks while the works have been happening. I think I have lost about 45 per cent of my customers.

“Now the work has finished we have another fight to get the customers back.

"My business will just about survive this year but we hope people will come back to us.”

Up to £1million was spent on the roadworks around Holyhead Road to replace traffic lights, spruce up pedestrian crossings and resurface the road between Four Pounds Avenue and the entrance to Morrisons.

Work was also carried out at the Grayswood Avenue and Kingsbury Road junction.

Traders say they have written to Coventry City Council to ask about compensation but have been told they are not covered for losses from passing trade.

Joan Spencer, secretary of the residents’ association, added: “I have seen most of the business figures from these shops and I can tell you they add up to losses of between £140,000 and £150,000, and that doesn’t include the big stores up at Alvis retail park.

“Everyone here has been massively affected by these roadworks and we are slowly losing the ethos of this whole area.”

The council has previously said the work was necessary to improve a main route into the city in time for the Olympics, when Coventry will host football matches, and to install better traffic lights to reduce delays in the long term.