Shop owners' fury at street works delay

Pavements works on Queen Street in Morecambe have run over the 10 week timescale.

Owners of shops on Queen Street spoke in April about the effect the works were having on their business, and now one business owner, who does not wish to be named, says his takings were down 30% in one month.

Other shop owners have said the almost complete lack of access, even for pedestrians, has meant their businesses have struggled.

Mick Jenner, from Queen Street News, said: “The disruption we are suffering doesn’t seem to come into the equation. It’s been slow progress, it’s a classic case that they don’t have any urgency.

“If they had contractors on the job they would have finished on time.”

Lynda Humpage, who has owned Sew ‘n Go for 12 years, said: “The works were meant to finish by June 10 and they have only done one side of the road.

“A lot of my customers come in cars and they can’t get down the street. Some customers walk but it is affecting the older folk because they can’t get here. It is going to take a miracle for them to finish now unless they bring extra men in.”

Another business owner who did not wish to be named, said: “I’ve lost a lot of passing trade and over the past two weeks, takings are 50% down. They seem to have made a mess of the whole street.”

Deborah Pearson, who has owned The Sandwich Bar for 10 years, said: “It has aaffected us a lot as a lot of our customers are elderly and disabled. They take one look and try and get here and give up.

“With the pavements being a lighter shade, they show blood up more. Once a month we have to hose the pavement down to get rid of the blood after fights outside.

“They seem to be having a big push to try and get it finished now.”

Dwayne Lowe, area highways manager, said: “The footway scheme on Queen Street will be completed by the end of the month. We may still have to finish some minor works to the drainage, but we can do those while keeping the road open using traffic management.

“This has been a challenging scheme to deliver, as we have had to balance getting the work done with allowing access and deliveries to local businesses, but we are pleased that we are approaching a successful conclusion.”