Town's roadworks are mental torture - traders

Kully, of Windmill Fish Bar, said the roadworks in Stafford were impacting her business

Businesses owners said they feared their town was "dying" amid a series of roadworks that have been damaging their trade for years.

Work has been taking place on a number of roads in Stafford, including on the A34, A513 Beaconside, A449 Wolverhampton Road, Doxey Road and Chell Road.

Residents said the closures and temporary traffic lights put in place as a result had caused widespread disruption, with some telling the BBC they felt like moving house.

Staffordshire County Council said it understood the frustration and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Kully, from the Windmill Fish Bar on Castle Hill, just off Doxey Road, said she only found out about the nine-month work to create a new cycle lane when the signs were going up.

As well as the disruption leading to fewer customers visiting the fish bar, she also spoke of the noise made while workers were on site.

“It’s affecting the businesses so much. This is my livelihood. It really is financially damaging my business,” she told BBC Midlands Today.

She added that it had been “mental torture” for the businesses in the area and there had been no help for those affected.

Greg Burgher said the roadworks in Stafford were "horrendous"

Greg Burgher, who runs GBD Rescue and Recovery Stafford, said some of the roadworks had been going on for longer than he could remember.

“It’s long enough for you to get used to there being roadworks everywhere now and it shouldn’t be like that,” he said.

“Stafford used to be a great town and at the minute it’s horrendous. It makes me feel like I want to move out of town.”

Resident Darren said: “It’s carnage. I’ve lived here all my life – born and bred in Stafford. Stafford town is dying from all the shops closing down but who would want to come to Stafford with all the roadworks?”

The council said it understood the frustration the work had caused

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for strategic highways Mark Deaville said: “I fully understand the frustration these road improvements are causing and apologise for the inconvenience to drivers.”

But he said residents had told the authority that the quality of the county’s roads was a priority to them and that carrying out the works “often causes delays”.

“I sympathise with drivers, residents and businesses. It is most important that we work with them throughout this period and we will be issuing regular updates on the works,” he added.