Road closures are killing business, say traders

The closure of Victoria Way is one of the issues affecting Woking town centre

Roadworks and closures in the centre of a Surrey town have been a "nightmare" for business, traders have told the BBC.

Issues with Victoria Way, in Woking, began in 2021 when cladding panels fell off the Hilton hotel in stormy weather, leading to road closures for repairs - a situation which has repeated itself several times.

One business owner told BBC Radio Surrey there had been "late deliveries and missed appointments", while a Goldsworth Road convenience store owner said roadworks there were "killing" his trade.

Southern Gas Networks (SGN), which is responsible for the Goldsworth Road works, said it understood residents were frustrated.

The Hilton hotel's developer, Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM), has also been approached for comment.

It has previously apologised for the inconvenience and also said it empathised with the frustration felt.

'Huge empathy'

Richard Field, who runs Fields Car Centre, told BBC Radio Surrey his was a "very busy garage" servicing about 25 cars a day.

"It has been an absolute nightmare for us as a business. A lot of it is diagnostic work where we need to road test vehicles," he explained.

"There have been late deliveries, customers missing appointments and some delivery drivers won't come into Woking anymore because they just sit in traffic," he said.

Mr Field said the recent closure of Goldsworth Road due to gas pipe repairs by SGN had added to the town's gridlock.

Khaneja Harcharan, who runs a convenience store in Goldsworth Road, said the roadworks were "killing his business".

Mr Harcharan said: "Every day, I am losing at least £500. I don't know how I am going to pay the rent."

Woking Borough Council leader Ann-Marie Barker said she had "huge empathy for business owners, residents and visitors to Woking".

However, she encouraged people to keep visiting the town, describing it as "still very much open".

The council leader said she was doing all she could to ask utility companies and SRM to "get the hotel made safe so the road can re-open".

Safety concerns

SGN said gas was now available to almost all properties in Woking and it understood that residents and traders were "frustrated" by the roadworks.

A spokesperson said Goldsworth Road remained closed "to ensure everyone's safety while we carry out urgent gas network repairs following damage caused by water entering our pipes recently".

They said the damage was "irreparable" and a replacement needed to be made.

Work will take until the end of the week and the road was unlikely to be safe to open until early next week, they added.

Victoria Way, a key route in and out of Woking, is expected to re-open in March.

Surrey County Council has also been approached for a comment.

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