FRUSTRATED traders have criticised the time taken to reopen a road following a lorry smash almost three months ago.

Upper Norwich Road, off Poole Hill in Bournemouth, was sealed off in October, after a lorry smashed into a block of flats there, causing serious structural damage.

But there has been no sign of any remedial work being carried out, to the dismay of residents and shop owners who say the closure is causing a major headache.

Mike Peach, who runs Nuga Best, said: “It’s affecting all our businesses. There is a lot of residential property on the other side and people can’t walk through to us now.

“We are losing a lot of passing trade. We had only been open a few days when the incident occurred and it has affected us quite badly.”

Fatih Dede, the owner of the Best One convenience store, said: “We would just like to see some sign of work starting there.

Absolutely nothing has happened, it is as if it has been forgotten.

“The council is supposed to be improving this area and this does not look good.”

And Steve Barrett, who lives on Poole Hill, said: “I am disgusted at the total inaction by Bournemouth council in getting this road re-opened and forcing the insurance company of the flat damaged to get it fixed.

“If this had been a main road blocked, would it have taken so long? I think not.”

But Paul Adams, building control officer at the council, said: “Our hearts go out to the residents of the property on Upper Norwich Road – a rather unpleasant thing to have happened.

“When such an incident occurs the council’s role is to attend the site and cordon off the area making it secure for residents and members of the public until the owner has taken over responsibility, which we did immediately in this instance.

“The owner or company responsible for the property is then in charge of organising and funding the clean up and repairing any damage to the building, which we hope gets sorted soon.”

It’s thought the flat is managed by Burns property management, who were unavailable for comment over the festive period.