Trader seeks compensation for roadwork issues

Kaspar Wimberley, co-founder of SCOOP, said trade had been down 30% since access to the food shop was affected by road resurfacing in St John

A Jersey shop owner thinks the government should offer compensation to businesses that have lost trade during roadworks.

Companies have complained that confusing and long diversions while the main road in St John is resurfaced have put customers off.

The food shop SCOOP (The Sustainable Cooperative) in neighbouring St Lawrence says trade is down 30% since its access was affected.

Co-founder Kaspar Wimberley said he hoped the government would offer more support to small businesses.

He said: "Maybe there's ways of making those roadworks as efficient, as quick as possible. Maybe also getting work done outside working hours."

Mr Wimberley said he believed drivers had been avoiding the area at peak times due to the bad traffic.

He said: "Some people have been saying it's taken them 15 or 20 minutes longer to get to the shop.

"We obviously get a lot of people who might just be passing and not necessarily making a trip to us, but will turn off and come and do some shopping here."

Mr Wimberley has encouraged customers to "rally round" the shop and keep coming to visit.

'Essential works'

Infrastructure and Environment, the department responsible for the closures, said work to resurface roads in St John's Village had lead to some restricted access from Carrefour Selous to the village.

It acknowledged the inconvenience the diversions had caused drivers but said teams were working hard to complete the resurfacing as quickly as possible to minimise disruption.

It said the "essential works" had been planned for five years.