Poole High Street traders hit by road closure (From Bournemouth Echo)

Poole High Street traders hit by road closure

7:00pm Friday 5th February 2010 in

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RILED by roadworks and aggrieved by the smell of gas, Poole traders hit by a three-month road closure say their businesses are paying the price.

Shops at the lower end of Poole High Street say custom has plummeted since the gas main replacement work began on January 11.

The work has closed the road to cars and it is barely accessible to pedestrians, according to the traders, who say their customers are turning back thinking they’re shut.

Now, almost four weeks in, things have gone from bad to worse, according to Fay Barnes, manager of Gemini gift shop.

She says there is now just a two-foot gangway to her shop, and the smell of gas has left her with a headache and feeling nauseous.

“When I came in this morning there was a horrific gas smell,” she said. “I feel sick and I’ve got a headache. I usually light incense but I daren’t light anything in case there’s a gas leak.”

She says her shop is empty, and she is shutting some days and closing early others.

She added: “I’m not taking any money in the week. When people come down here they walk away when they see all the mess.”

A spokesman for Southern Gas said “a residual smell of gas” was to be expected on mains replacement projects. But he advised anyone who smelt a strong smell to speak to a manager on site who “can do tests there and then to see if there is a leak.”

He added: “We do understand businesses’ concerns about loss of takings and loss of trade, that is what our compensation policy is there for, in line with Ofgem’s recommendations.”

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