BUSINESSES have expressed their hopes that roadworks in Bournemouth's town centre shared space will be concluded quickly.

The council is carrying out £121,000 of resurfacing work at the junction of Old Christchurch Road by Horseshoe Common, to replace paving which had been dislodged and cracked since it was laid three years ago.

James Rhodes, group manager for GE Bridge & Co Ltd, said the shared space itself had proven difficult for customers to navigate, and the works were contributing to the problem.

The store, on the corner by the junction, provides an array of aids for disabled people and those with chronic conditions. It is thought to be the town's second oldest store, having been at its location for 143 years.

"Things were just settling down and now they are digging it all up again," he said.

"We are managing at the moment, but the feedback from our customers is that it is very difficult for them to get to us."

He said the shared space was a "hazard" which could be "frightening" for elderly people, and that "the number of horns we hear and near misses speaks for itself".

Closer to the current works, Levant Lebanese restaurant has also been experiencing problems.

"We want them to hurry up to finish it," said Moh Shi, a member of staff at Levant.

"The summer is just starting, and we have customers thinking we are shut because we have to keep the door closed. We want it done as quickly as possible."

A temporary traffic order is in place banning buses from the area between the junctions of Fir Vale Road and Glen Fern Road, as well as from Fir Vale Road itself.

The work is scheduled to last until July 16.

Last month the borough revealed the road surface had experienced "premature wear", and claimed an increase in the number of buses travelling through the junction was responsible.

However this assessment was rejected by Yellow Buses and Morebus, which both said no additional services had used the route.

Days later the council accepted the bus companies' figures, and released a new statement saying it was looking into why the road surface "has deteriorated much quicker than expected".

Responding to a query on this by the Daily Echo, Gary Powell, head of traffic management, said: "If and when investigations are able to draw a conclusion about the cause of the early deterioration of the road surface at Horseshoe Common, we will proactively advise the public and set out lessons learned."