THE boss of Beales has warned that the Spur Road traffic jams will hit retailers in the crucial pre-Christmas period unless highways chiefs reconsider.

Tony Brown, chief executive of the department store chain, believes two lanes could have been kept open in the busier direction throughout the project.

Beales in Bournemouth saw staff and suppliers stuck in queues on the first day of the roadworks, when some motorists reported it taking up to two hours to travel from Ashley Heath to the town.

Mr Brown said: “A lot of staff arrived late. A lot of meetings were cancelled because people couldn’t get here. Suppliers arrived late. That’s also created a productivity issue.

“Nine months of this will mean a real challenge at Christmas in Bournemouth.”

He feared there would be a perception among the public that it was too difficult to get to Bournemouth to shop.

Roadworks are currently happening on the southbound carriageway, causing a bottleneck as two lanes merge into one.

But Mr Brown believed a contraflow could have been set up on the opposite carriageway as well, allowing to lanes to run southbound in the morning. The contraflow could have switched in the evening to create two lanes northbound when that was the busier direction.

“All they have to do is put that traffic management system in place because they know the volume of traffic at every time of the day and most cities would have done exactly that,” he added.

The roadworks come towards the end of a year that has seen unprecedented pressure on high streets, with some big retailers disappearing and others making cuts.

Bournemouth’s Marks & Spencer closed in April, while its House of Fraser was earmarked for closure when the business faced mounting debts.

Mr Brown’s comments echo those of Paul Kinvig, chief operating officer of Bournemouth Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID).

He said the work was essential but warned that Christmas was “massive for Bournemouth” and a “game-changer”.

Mr Kinvig said: “I’d be concerned about these roadworks and how that could affect such a big time of year for the conurbation.”

Gary Powell, head of traffic, engineering and major projects at Bournemouth council, said previously: “We are aware that these works will cause some delays and as a result have been advising of the roadworks on all platforms for a number of weeks, advising drivers to allow extra time for their journeys or find alternative routes.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time and thank drivers for their patience.”