THE body responsible for two simultaneous sets of major roadworks has insisted the delays could not be avoided.

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which bids for government cash to grow the local economy, says the current delays show the county’s infrastructure has suffered a long lack of investment.

Nine months of work on the A338 Spur Road began in September, while another nine-month scheme for the Hunger Hill area of Poole town centre started in October.

The timing has been criticised by town centre retailers, including Beales boss Tony Brown, who has said it is unacceptable to run both schemes at once.

The work is being carried out by council contractors but is part of a multi-million pound investment secured by the LEP to spur growth in the area.

Lorna Carver, director of the LEP, said: “We get annual funding and this is in our business delivery for this year. We have £35million coming through the LEP next year.

“We don’t apologise for attracting the investment but we’re sorry for the delays.

“You can’t make the much needed improvements without delays but we absolutely need them, which is proved by the inconvenience.”

She said the LEP had worked closely with councils over the improvements, which she said were about jobs and housing.

“I think there’s been underinvestment in infrastructure for a long time in Dorset, which shows when we do some improvements,” she said.

Sara Uzzell, former hotelier and deputy chair of the LEP’s board of directors, said: “We’re genuinely sorry at the impact.”

She said the LEP supported efforts to boost Bournemouth for the festive season, including its Christmas Tree Wonderland campaign.

“We’re genuinely sorry that the timescale could affect that but I think they’ve done everything they can and engaged with contractors about what the constraints are to try and find the best solution to satisfy all parties,” she said.

The A338 roadworks are part of the £59m Bournemouth International Growth Programme, which is intended to create thousands of new jobs around Bournemouth Airport and Wessex Fields.

The LEP said the work was timed to avoid the summer holidays and air festival, so there was no way of avoiding the pre-Christmas trade. Lane closures will stop for four weeks from December 10 and contractors are looking at whether they can be opened sooner. Other measures are also being proposed to lessen the impact on shops, including a later start for the overnight closures planned on November 17 and 18.

The Poole works will not stop until Christmas Eve, although the majority of lanes will be kept open from December 10-24.